Industry News
Glacial retreat has claimed another victim, as European summer skiing hot spot Super Park Dachstein will not build any park features until next winter begins. This comes after Whistler’s Camp of Champions closing earlier this summer. The official statement claimed a decrease in glacial ice as one of the reasons for the closing. Additionally, the number of freeskiers and snowboarders most weekdays never exceeded 50-60. This small amount of visitors could not justify the environmental impacts of building one of Europe’s best parks each summer. Dachstein will still be open for skiing, but the park is gone for the time being. The glacier based park offered year round skiing for the past 15 years and was a favorite across Europe. Hopefully, the glacier can recover in the coming years and the park can come back for future summers.
Statement from Dachstein Superpark:
“After many great years of Superpark on the Dachstein glacier, we’ve heavy-heartedly decided that we will not rebuild Dachstein Superpark in the upcoming fall. One important reason is the increasing glacial retreat in the park area. It is definitely unjustifiable that we were already forced to damage the glacial ice sheet during the build-up. It’s the dictate of the moment to preserve the glacial substance. We ask you to understand the justified criticism of environmentalists. We most cordially thank all our loyal guests. Needless to say, we will again put all our force and dedication into Superpark Planai.
The regular ski operation will start in fall with the first onset of winter. The same holds true for the cross-country ski trail.”
