Summer in the snow: The onset of winter surprises a hut owner in the Alps

Summer in the snow: The onset of winter surprises a hut owner in the Alps

Imagine experiencing an unexpected onset of winter in the middle of summer. That's exactly what happened to Niklas Meibert, the landlord of the Hannoverhaus in Ankogels, Carinthia. On Tuesday of this week, around 20 centimeters of fresh snow fell there at an altitude of 2,565 meters, in a month that is actually dedicated to warmth and hiking. Loud Mercury The surprise effect was great after numerous old snow fields had already melted in June.

The onset of winter came at a bad time. “We had to temporarily stop operations,” said Meibert. A new employee from Hesse was unable to take the cable car up due to the stormy weather and snowfall. While some guests took the opportunity to build a snowman, many others experienced the disappointment of cancellations. The quality of the snow – wet and soapy – also makes hiking conditions difficult.

Capricious weather and its consequences

What does this sudden onset of winter mean for the region? These freak weather events are related to the increasing effects of climate change on the Alpine region. As a study in the “International Journal of Climatology” shows, snowfall in the Alps has decreased by around a third over the last hundred years. Particularly since the 1980s, when average temperatures have risen by around one degree Celsius, precipitation no longer falls so often as snow but increasingly as rain, even at higher altitudes taz reported.

These changes not only affect winter sports enthusiasts, the environment also suffers. Loud Federal Nature Conservation Association The changing snow conditions also have an impact on the growing seasons and glaciers. “The mountains react very sensitively to these climatic changes,” says an expert. Larger amounts of snow and sudden temperature changes increase the risk of wet snow avalanches and the likelihood of mudslides, which can cause great devastation.

A summer completely different

Summer, which is usually a time full of hiking pleasure for the Hannoverhaus and the surrounding region, has proven to be challenging this year. Niklas Meibert, who experienced similar weather-related closures last year when two meters of fresh snow fell in September, will have to adapt to the circumstances this time too. The hut, which can accommodate around 50 guests and is open from late December to late March and July to late September, has now closed its doors until weather conditions improve.

The cable car station, just ten minutes away, attracts around 300 visitors during the day, but as long as the weather conditions remain unpredictable, the Hannoverhaus will have to miss out on good business. Whether and when summer will return remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: nature has its own rhythm, and sometimes everything happens differently than you think.