Alps are warmest in 1,300 years [View All]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061205/ap_on_sc/austria_warming_in_alps


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The unseasonably warm weather this autumn has caused concern in Austria's ski resorts, where slopes are still largely covered in green grass instead of snow. Many, such as St. Anton am Arlberg, have had to postpone the start of their skiing season and some have tried attracting tourists with alternative programs, such as hiking.

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Wilma Himmelfreundpointner, deputy director of the St. Anton Tourist Office, said the resort has the capability to cover 80 percent of its slopes with fake snow. But the current mild temperatures and sunshine make that an impossible option at the moment, she said.

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In Hochfilzen, Tyrol, organizers of an upcoming international race went to the Grossglockner — Austria's highest mountain — to get snow they needed to prepare their track.

It took about five days to truck between 7,000 and 8,000 cubic meters (9,200 - 10,500 cubic yards) of snow from the Grossglockner, said organizer Thomas Abfalter.
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I've read elsewhere of worry over the Winter Olympics too