Snow Compass - A Scientifically Based Orientation Guide For Swiss Winter Sports Destinations Developed
What will winters look like in the future? What are the forecasts for natural snowfall? What is the potential for artificial snowmaking? Which adaptation strategies are most effective?
In collaboration with the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, MeteoSwiss and the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science of ETH Zurich, Swiss cable car companies, the Association of Swiss Tourism Managers and Switzerland Tourism offer the Snow Compass, a scientifically sound guide to the questions raised for Swiss winter sports destinations.
The project
The project provides various tools and scientifically sound data to help mountain railway companies, tourism organizations and communities in winter sports destinations formulate optimal climate adaptation strategies.
The Snow Compass incorporates scientific analyses and forecasts from the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF on the development of the natural snowpack in the various meteorological regions of Switzerland, at different altitudes and with varying slope aspects. Furthermore, the SLF projects the number of hours available for artificial snowmaking in these regions and altitudes, based on data from 280 measuring stations. A dashboard from Hanser Consulting AG further illustrates the snow dependency of the destinations.
Based on this, numerous strategic options and initiatives are proposed for how the offering can be adapted in the future, as well as theses on the future of alpine winter sports and a collection of scientific studies on the topic are published.
The foundations were developed in the period 2024-2025 and are regularly reviewed for their relevance.
How should the climate data be interpreted?
The data in the Snow Compass are available as baseline values for the reference climate 1991-2000 (climate averages 1991-2020) as well as projected values for a warming of the annual mean temperature in Switzerland compared to the reference climate of +1, +2, and +3°C.
Snow and climate researchers in Switzerland currently expect (as of 2025) that by 2050 a warming of +1 to 1.5°C (expected climate) will occur compared to the reference climate of the Compass Snow.
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