How much skiing is left?

With the warmest winter on record so far in the United States, and with snow shifting to much higher elevation in the Alps, ski aficionados have good reasons to worry. In fact, since 1990, the length of the skiing season in the French Alps is said to have shortened by an average of one month, a loss of around 3-5% per decade.

This season, unseasonably warm weather in Japan’s northern parts have caused iconic winter sights to melt earlier, the Japan Meteorological Agency forecasts temperatures in early March to likely be higher than usual. 

So there seem to be change all over the Northern Hemisphere this winter and while we try to blame El Niño for that, we should ready ourselves to see shorter ski seasons, climbing snow limits and less fluffy powder in years to come. How fast and how intensely this will come to pass, is hard to predict, but we shouldn’t be shocked if the process unfolds much rapidly than we might anticipate. 

Utah, that was legendary for its dry light powder snow, is finding more water content in it, and soon, “The Best Snow on Earth” might become part of ancient ski history. So my advice to you skiers and riders is to practice your beloved sport as much as you possibly can while it’s still possible, because your “turns” as wide or tight they might be, could be severely limited…