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Despite the high energy costs: the ski areas open moderately at most. And try to save electricity now.
“We are neither relaxed nor panicky, there is something in between,” says Stefan Reichmuth from the Arosa Lenzerheide mountain railways about the current mood. “We are currently assuming that we will stay with the same prices, especially for day and multi-day tickets.” It sounds like Arosa practically everywhere: Big jumps in prices are not planned for any of the requested ski areas in Graubünden, Eastern and Central Switzerland.
The large ski areas have flexible prices
Nevertheless, the possible power shortage is breathing down the neck of the mountain railways. Various ski areas in Graubünden and Eastern Switzerland are slightly increasing their prices by two to four francs per day ticket. However, this cannot be said so clearly everywhere. Comparisons to last season are not always possible.
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Dynamic prices: When the weather is nice, the ski ticket is more expensive.
Keystone/Alessandro Della Bella
Larger ski areas in particular, such as the Weisse Arena Flims Laax Falera or Davos Klosters, have dynamic prices. This means that the prices vary, for example they are higher on a nice weekend. There is therefore no simple comparison between the prices.
Medium-sized ski areas such as Flumserberg, Obersaxen Mundaun or Brigels have already set their prices in spring. At that time, inflation was already expected, but not as sharply as it is now. Hence the moderate price increases of two to four francs.
Central Switzerland sometimes hits “slightly”.
Price increases as a result of higher energy costs are also an issue in the ski areas of Central Switzerland. Large ski areas such as Andermatt or Engelberg-Titlis have announced that they will leave prices at last year’s level. According to Adrian Bühlmann, Managing Director of the Central Switzerland Transport Industry Association (TUZ), there are a few medium-sized areas that raise prices “slightly” – by 2.5 to 5 percent for a day ticket or a season ticket.
If there is a power shortage in winter, the federal government could order the mountain railways to shut down the lifts. However, Stefan Reichmuth from Bergbahnen Arosa Lenzerheide does not want to paint the devil on the wall just yet. The mountain railways are already used to this type of uncertainty from the corona pandemic. “The work process is going as it has in the last two winters.” In concrete terms, this means thinking and planning in scenarios, remaining flexible and playing through possible decisions.
Mountain railways try to save electricity
The Bergbahnen Flumserberg have also been preparing for various scenarios since spring. Managing Director Mario Bislin says that they have had an internal working group since April that is examining possible cost-cutting measures and seeing “where we have opportunities that we can implement quickly.” It would be conceivable to close certain facilities, limit opening hours or let the trains run more slowly.
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There is savings potential in the restaurants: For example, through a smaller menu selection.
Keystone/Alessandro Della Bella
In Central Switzerland, TUZ Managing Director Adrian Bühlmann sees a lot of potential for saving energy in gastronomy, among other things. “The size of the menu and how much food is frozen have a significant impact on electricity consumption,” he says. In many buildings, heating, lighting and the operation of escalators could also be reduced. Bühlmann is convinced that a lot of electricity can be saved with the mountain railways without the guests noticing much of it.