The horses have been all set. The gamers have been prepared. As have been the spectators, a lot of whom had arrived on the idyllic winter wonderland of St. Moritz, Switzerland, with mushy fur coats and classy moon boots. The whole lot was in place for the Snow Polo World Cup.
However the climate didn’t play alongside.
Due to excessive temperatures, the frozen lake of St. Moritz turned too slushy and slippery for the horses to gallop. In consequence, the occasion’s founder, Reto Gaudenzi, referred to as off all matches for the thirty ninth installment of the match which was held from Friday via Sunday, and resorted to a few days of slower, extra stationary penalty shootouts as an alternative.
The occasion, which contains a variation of polo performed on packed snow atop the frozen lake floor, attracts 1000’s of individuals to St. Moritz, a luxurious ski resort city, many from the best echelons of the 1 %. It’s sponsored by corporations promoting non-public jets, unique retreats and top-shelf champagne, and included a gala dinner that the organizers described as “the most well liked ticket on the town.”
Organizers tried to maintain an upbeat tone: “With the climate gods smiling, maybe delivering an excessive amount of sunshine in St. Moritz not too long ago, the ice depth is nice and fully protected,” they stated in a press release. (Whereas there was no threat of anyone falling via the ice, there was concern over horses falling on the ice.)
Temperatures had been effectively under freezing in current weeks, however the week earlier than the match they swung as excessive as 50 levels Fahrenheit through the day. At night time, temperatures dropped again under freezing, however not lengthy sufficient to forestall puddles from forming on the frozen lake.
These temperatures have been unusually excessive, if not unheard-of, for St. Moritz, which is about 6,000 toes above sea degree.
“That is very delicate for the mountain areas,” stated Lionel Peyraud, a forecaster at Switzerland’s climate service, MeteoSwiss. “The air is absolutely fairly heat.”
The snow polo match nonetheless had about 25,000 guests over three days, organizers stated, with a lot of them wandering across the lake consuming meals, listening to music and consuming champagne regardless of the truncated competitors.
“It’s the place to be,” Markus Berger, a spokesman for Switzerland Tourism, stated, including that a part of the explanation to attend was to “see and be seen.”
“It’s like a category reunion for a lot of of them,” Mr. Berger stated.
Late January is excessive season for winter tourism within the Swiss Alps. On the tiny Engadin Airport, which caters to non-public jets, about 25 jets landed and took off every day over the weekend, stated Christian Gorfer, the airport’s chief monetary officer and a local of the area.
“It’s loopy for the time being,” Mr. Gorfer stated. “As an airport we now have to take a look at the steadiness of motion and the surroundings.”
The tourism business in Switzerland, which depends closely on the winter vacation season, is effectively conscious of local weather change. Communities at decrease altitudes, particularly, have been attempting in recent times to search out totally different technique of revenue by attracting individuals for actions apart from snowboarding.
However St. Moritz is excessive sufficient that the results of local weather change shouldn’t be felt as intensely but, Mr. Berger stated.
“I don’t understand how the scenario in St. Moritz will develop, if that is an exception or if this may grow to be a brand new regular,” he stated.
Whereas the Snow Polo World Cup often doesn’t obtain a variety of mainstream media consideration in Switzerland, the occasion’s issues have been nonetheless significant for the remainder of the nation, Mr. Berger stated, as a result of it was all a part of “the picture of the Swiss winter.”
The subsequent occasion on the frozen lake of St. Moritz is scheduled for this weekend: the White Turf horse race. 1000’s of individuals attend the occasion, which is greater than a century outdated and is held over three Sundays in February yearly. However the White Turf might face the identical points that plagued the Snow Polo World Cup: Temperatures are anticipated to remain within the 40s Fahrenheit through the day this week, in response to MeteoSwiss.
Regardless of the sunny skies and the comparatively heat temperatures, Dennis Schiergen, the top of racing for the White Turf, expressed optimism that the race can be held. “Now the temperatures are fairly steady and the lake is recovering,” he stated.
On Friday, the primary day of the snow polo match, Alessandra Fenyves, who was in St. Moritz each as a polo fan and as a contract journal journalist from Italy, stated the environment was totally different than in earlier years. It was her seventh time there.
“It’s disappointing,” she stated in a cellphone interview, including that she had seen individuals depart the stands, that are often packed. “It’s like whenever you swap off the music at a celebration and the waiter comes and takes away the final chips on the desk.”
