scene that has hosted concerts by Rihanna, Pink,
and Lenny Kravitz. Next December, Ischgl is set
to open thermal baths and an ice-skating rink.
Many locals still see themselves as down-to-
earth farmers who love their valley. Wolf ’s son
Hannes and 26-year-old grandson, Christoph,
introduce me to their cattle—Hermann, Kathi,
Gitta, and Lilly—as the four munch fragrant
hay on some of the Alps’ most expensive real
estate. The family would never think of getting
rid of them. “It’s heritage and duty,” Wolf says.
Yet Alpine farming is no longer enough to
make a living. “Without winter, these valleys
would be completely abandoned and empty,”
says Hannes Wolf. In 2020, Ischgl got a horrifying
foretaste of such a world, when it became an
early hot spot in the COVID-19 pandemic. Flee-
ing tourists helped spread the virus in Europe.
The pandemic shut down ski tourism across
the Alps. Millions of hotel beds stayed cold. But
climate change poses a more profound threat.ONE OR TWO DEGREES of warming may not sound
like much, but it can determine whether pre-
cipitation falls as snow—or rain. Turn up the
temperature just a notch, and snowflakes might
never form. That’s why the Alps are in deep trou-
ble, says Yves Lejeune, the scientist in charge
of the Col de Porte meteorological observatory,
at 4,350 feet in the western French Alps.SAVING WINTER 69