Experts blame the catastrophe on an exceptionally large snowfall in a very brief period. They contend that all that can be done to counter the wrath of nature is being done, like blasting avalanches, closing runs after heavy snowfalls and obliging off-piste skiers to hire a certified guide. But now you also can enroll in an avalanche safety course at just about any resort. To satisfy skiers' appetite for diverse terrain and scenery, resorts have banded into new and larger consortiums offering multi-area tickets that even allow skiing across national borders. We need to limit the number of people on the slopes.
Mountains mean silence and communication with nature.
The quest to modernize does not always translate into crowds and pollution, however. A growing demand for clean mountain air and unspoiled landscapes has encouraged the construction of beltways or tunnels that bypass town centers, such as in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, or of lifts that provide direct access to slopes from highway parking lots, such as in Flachau, Austria. Most Swiss resorts, including Saas Fee, Zermatt and Wengen, already are car-free. Electric buses ferry people around town. High-tech themes also run through millennium celebrations.