Youth Parliament at the Alpine Convention adds its voice
YPAC, the Youth Parliament at the Alpine Convention, met in Sonthofen in mid-March to agree ten demands for the "Alpine Town of the Future", generating valuable publicity in the process. More »

CIPRA's point of view

The Alps are far too valuable for the Olympics
The result of the vote held on 3 March 2013 in Graubünden is clear: 52.7% are against the Winter Olympics being held there in 2022. This example shows that there is no desire for gigantism in the Alps. More »

News from the CIPRA

Claire Simon takes up post as CIPRA Executive Director
CIPRA International is getting a new Executive Director. Claire Simon, 35, holds dual French-German nationality and is the first woman in 60 years to lead the organisation. Nor is that the only first. More »

News from the Alps

What counts for the diversity of Alpine species
An international team of researchers has decided on the 50 most important questions for the connecting of habitats in the Alpine regions. Research, support and projects should thus now all be singing in unison. What really counts for the Alpine space? More »

Lecco opens Alpine Town Year
Lecco, the capital of the province of the same name, has this year been selected as the "Alpine Town of the Year 2013". The opening ceremony took place at the beginning of April and the initiatives for the Alpine Town Year were briefly presented. More »

Agenda

Exhibition: DEMOCHANGE. Photographs of change in Alpine regions. 26.12.2012 – 25.4.2013. Bruneck/Brunico (BZ). Language: de, en, it. Organisation: demochange - Hochschule München, Fakultät für Tourismus, München/DE. More »

Conference / Congress: ALPSTAR Mid-Term Conference: Live smarter, live better, live regional!. 24.4.2013 – 27.4.2013. Grassau/Archental. Language: en. More »

Excursion: Plant Science Expeditions. 24.4.2013 – 21.7.2013. different places. Organisation: Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center, ETH Zürich, LFW B 51, Zürich/CH. More »

Festival / Concert, Film / TV and/or Radio Broadcast / Reading: 61° TrentoFilmfestival 2013. 25.4.2013 – 8.5.2013. Trento and Bolzano. Language: en, it. Organisation: TrentoFilmFestival, Trento/IT. More »

Conference / Congress, Festival / Concert, Excursion: Kiku. International Mountain Summit - IMS. 17.10.2013 – 22.10.2013. Brixen/Bressanone. Language: de, en, it. Organisation: International Mountain Summit IMS, Eventus (OK), Brixen/Bressanone/IT. More »

Strange but true!

… the Wurmberg hill, which rises above the small town of Braunlage, is the planned site for northern Germany's largest ski area, supposedly as a boost to the economy.
The locality is sorely lacking in tourist infrastructure, while the neighbouring village of Schierke itself intends to become the "Chamonix of the North". But no effort is too great for Braunlage: it is investing 10 million euros in the project, including the latest artificial snowmaking equipment, and has already cleared 16.5 hectares of forest in the midst of the Harz Nature Park. Just one thing, however, seems to have been overlooked: at the beginning and end of the winter of 2011, it was only possible to ensure artificial snow coverage of Alpine ski pistes at altitudes of 2,400 metres and above. The Wurmberg rises to a maximum height of just 971 metres. This means that either the ski area must somehow be located within a gigantic cold-storage warehouse, or huge quantities of chemicals must be mixed into the artificial snow.
Source and further information: Süddeutsche Zeitung, 20.02.2013, page 3