1/8
Here a part of the glacier on the Titlis will be covered in summer 2022…
Barbara EhrenspergerEditorial Green
“In 25 years there will probably be no more glaciers on the Klein Titlis,” says Urs Egli (46), Head of Marketing and member of the management of Titlis Bergbahnen, Hotels & Gastronomy. For Egli, the scenario that the glacier “dies” has been clear for years: “We have a slope glacier on the Titlis. The feeding zone is up below the summit of Gross Titlis, but this is very small compared to the rest of the glacier. This means that we know that the glacier will continue to shrink until there is no more,” he explains.
Elaborate and expensive
Nevertheless, the glacier is cherished and cared for. Since 2012, part of the glacier has been covered with a fleece made of a UV-resistant geotextile in spring and the fleece is removed again in autumn. What does that bring? This year the difference in altitude from the uncovered glacier to the covered part was almost five meters – the difference has never been so great. “It was very hot all summer long and the temperatures stayed high until well into the autumn,” says Egli.
The area covered was 14 soccer fields this year, compared to 10 fields the year before. This corresponds to around one fifth of the entire glacier surface. The masking work is time-consuming and therefore expensive.
“The whiter and cleaner the cover, the better the glacier underneath is protected. If the fleece is dirty, the ability to reflect is reduced,” explains the marketing manager. In principle, the fleece, which is eight millimeters thick, can be used for several seasons. It does not have to be disposed of because it is pure polyester that can be easily recycled.
200 day season
Why does the Titlis cable car go to so much trouble and expense to protect the glacier? “It’s not that we’re sustainable because we’re basically nice – but because it’s worth it,” says Egli with a smile.
In concrete terms, worthwhile means: Thanks to the covering, you don’t have to hope for cool temperatures so that you can be snowed in autumn to be the first ski area to open in Central Switzerland. Thanks to the covering, there is enough snow on the Titlis for a ski season from mid-October to around mid-May. “This year we will close on May 7th so that we can start covering in time,” says Egli. In addition, the Titlis ski area has the advantage that it is on the north side. It used to be a disadvantage because there wasn’t enough sun – today it’s an advantage because the snow stays on the ground better.
Thanks to the Trübsee energy and water
According to the 46-year-old, it is noticeable that ski tourists are also thinking about the sustainability of their favorite sport: “80 percent of the guests find it positive that we work as sustainably as possible, and for 53 percent of the guests sustainability is already part of the purchase decision”. .
Thanks to the Trübsee, the area has renewable energy and can also use the water from there for snowmaking. “We invest in modern systems because we can operate them in a more environmentally friendly way, i.e. with less electricity,” Egli lists the efforts. There are also photovoltaic systems, but also thoughts of a future without glaciers.
What next without a glacier?
The Engelberg railways offer 450 jobs. And what should happen when in 2048 there are no longer any glacier grottos to visit and there are only rocks and the panorama to be admired on the summit? A 50-meter tower by the Basel architect duo Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron will then be the attraction.
Egli still appreciates the glacier and that it is economically worthwhile to cover it with the snow that is pushed together in spring. Because: “We offer a fundamentally natural product that has been artificially developed.”
To show how beautiful this descent is thanks to the glacier, you’ll get on your skis and down the slope to the glacier lift. Are we harming the glacier with this? “No, on the contrary, the glacier will probably be around for a year or two longer thanks to the covering up,” he says. Glacier protection because it is economically worthwhile.