In a debate in a unique format, an elected left-wing environmentalist and a ski resort director face off… to better understand each other. To be discovered in “Twist”, the new show from the “Le Point J” podcast which enjoys reinventing the art of comparing ideas.
Faced with climate change, should we put away our skis? This crucial question for the future of Swiss winter tourism is the subject of the first episode of the Twistwhich opposes Mathilde Marendaz, Ensemble à gauche – POP deputy at the Vaudois Grand Council, and Laurent Vaucher, general director of Téléverbier. But be careful: there is no question here of a classic debate where everyone sticks to their positions. Both guests face challenges that push them to seek – and find – common solutions
I find it interesting that there is still a consensus around this artificial snow in low resorts
Twist renews the traditional debate by imposing on the participants a particular rule of the game: they must find points of agreement. To achieve this, they go through several ordeals which lead them to hear the other's point of view and to come to terms with it.
A “clear decline” in snow days at high altitudes by 2060
This first episode focuses on skiing, an important subject in Switzerland where this sport is practiced by 34.9% of the population, according to the Sport Suisse 2020 report. While winter tourism represents 1% of Swiss GDP and the climate outlook does not invite optimism regarding future snow cover, the tensions between economy and ecology particularly affect winter sports. The National Center for Climate Services recalls that Alpine glaciers have lost nearly 60% of their volume since 1850 and predicts a “sharp decline” in snow days at high altitudes by 2060.
Some resorts are trying to diversify and develop tourism outside the winter period. This is for example the case of Moléson, in the Friborg Pre-Alps: the director of the Moléson ski lifts indicates that today, they achieve more than 70% of their turnover “off-snow” between spring and autumn.
>> Will mountain biking replace skiing in our mountains? : Will mountain biking replace skiing in our mountains?
The Moléson is a very, very great success, but I do not believe that it can be multiplied as well as the Moléson did. […] The skiing activity at Moléson was not super important. In other stations it is much more important
During the debate between Laurent Vaucher and Mathilde Marendaz, concrete solutions emerge.
>> Find out which ones by listening to the entire first episode of Twist:
Grégoire Molle and the Twist team
Sports
