A “year-round imperative” has emerged in the great alpine communities of the Alps.

Though superb snow conditions of the past winter may have quieted the anxiety about the ultimate impact global warming will have on skiing, the potential impacts still loom large in the minds of everyone living there.

Local politics, land use decisions and governmental policies are now becoming more proactive and looking to attract visitors in all seasons. From Andermatt to Zermatt, ambitious building projects involving some world-famous architects reflect a fundamental change in the orientation of alpine resorts. It’s no longer all about skiing.
New spas, fitness centers, convention and conference centers, summer recreation amenities, and hot-bed projects have become the new focus for many alpine communities in the Alps. This is seen as the best way for mountain communities to adapt in light of global warming projections.

“The four-month winter season currently produces 80 percent of our annual revenue, with the remaining eight months accounting for 20 percent,” says Hans-Kaspar Schwarzenbach, Arosa’s director of tourism. “We are working hard to achieve a better equalization between winter and summer seasons.”

Zermatt Tourism director Daniel Luggen says “We don’t think our normal ski season will be seriously hurt in the next 10 to 15 years, as height and annual precipitation are on our side, but we are also developing our year-round assets and improving our snowmaking capacity. As it warms up in the cities, the Alps will become an increasingly attractive summer destination.”

In Andermatt, a new project received the overwhelming support (96 percent) of the local populace in a 2006 vote, with virtually no opposition from environmental groups. The project includes seven luxury hotels with 800 rooms, 400 vacation apartments, 50 vacation homes, an 18-hole golf course, constructed lakes with sandy beaches, swimming pool, concert hall, ice rink and stadium, shops, restaurants and a two-level underground parking lot. Construction should begin in 2009 and will stand apart from Andermatt itself on land vacated by the Swiss Army.

The Tschuggen Bergoase spa, designed by Mario Botta, opened in 2006 in Arosa. The futuristic stone complex adds to the 80-year-old Tschuggen Grand Hotel, providing a full spectrum of wellness/fitness facilities, including indoor and outdoor pools and a spacious relaxation area. The new spa has been so well received that the hotel has now extended its annual season to ten months, from late June to April.

Davos will have two distinctive new landmarks by 2010. One is a hotel/residential tower designed by world known architects Herzog & de Meuron. The other is a futuristic resort complex by Milan-based architect Matteo Thun.

The 28-story tower will loom over the century-old Schatzalp Hotel, located on a mountain terrace above Davos. Originally a tuberculosis sanatorium before its conversion to a luxury hotel in 1954, the Schatzalp was the setting for Thomas Mann’s novel “The Magic Mountain.”

Concluding that maintaining a luxury hotel was no longer feasible without wellness or conference facilities, expansion became the only course for the historic Schatzalp, according to Nicoletta Muller, hotel manager.

Meanwhile, the new InterContinental Davos is being developed. Along with 200 luxury rooms and suites, it will feature 60 residential apartments, four restaurants, a modern business center and an extensive spa and fitness center. It was easy to gain support from locals who don’t see Davos as a ski resort but rather “the highest town in the Alps.” Site of the annual World Economic Forum, it is rapidly becoming a world-class conference center.

The success of the WEF in attracting additional conference business is undoubtedly a strong motivating factor in Davos’ ambitious development plans, which include an upcoming renovation and expansion of its conference center, which they call their “Congress Centre.”

“Davos has become in important year-round congress destination” says Matthias Lowin of Feuring Hotelconsulting, the German group advising the owners of the InterContinental project. “The intimate size of our meeting spaces are designed to compliment the more expansive facilities of the Congress Centre and our varied resort facilities will enhance the experience for conference attendees.”

In Pragelato, the Pragelato Village Resort Hotel, with 208 hotel suites and apartments, opened just west of Turin at more than 1,500 meters above sea level, and close to the Sestriere ski slopes. The resort includes its own restaurants, bars, entertainment and shops, as well as a children’s village and a full-service spa. It is open year-round.

Another interesting project in the works is the 117-meter glass and steel pyramid set atop Zermatt’s Klein Matterhorn. At 3,883 meters it is Europe’s highest viewing point accessible by tram.

The building will be largely powered by its own solar energy sources, and is the brainchild of Heinz Julen, a local Zermatt artist and entrepreneur. He believes that the mountains have been abused by the over-emphasis on sport.

“Those who rush up only to ski down are missing the point,” he says. “We have neglected their spiritual side.”

Julen’s plan calls for two viewing platforms, both approached by a glass elevator: one at the mythical height of 4,000 meters, the other lower down the sheer face of the mountain, overlooking the dramatic crevasses of the Klein Matterhorn glacier.

The plan contemplates a restaurant, conference center, multimedia room, and a hotel offering a “once in a lifetime experience,” according to Julen. Pressurized air will be pumped in like an airplane cabin to prevent headaches. To enter the building, visitors will pass through pressure equalization cabins.

Julen, who has spent his whole life in the Alps says, “I dream of creating a spot that will honor the mountains like an opera house honors music, a spot where one can actually feel a mountain sunset.”

The Zermatt Mountain Cableways has approved major portions of the plan, namely the infrastructure, restaurant and viewing platforms, and is currently finalizing costs and technical complexities. “A go-ahead is expected by April, with construction slated to begin this summer,” says Luggen.

This is also a part of the world where the public funds are routinely used to construct expensive aerial trams because the locals view them as essential community benefit projects. Ski resorts then agree to maintain and operate the trams in the summer, fall and winter in these unique public/private partnerships, which are created to improve year-round economic vitality of mountain communities while providing exceptional recreation.

The great alpine communities of the Alps are building more conference and convention space, constructing more high-density hot beds, expanding summer recreation amenities, and providing more wellness facilities. This is all taking place in a socially conscious and environmentally sensitive political environment.

Are there things we can learn from our friends in the Alps? If you would like to discuss this further, please feel free to contact me at driley@tellurideskiresort.com.