Overview
- The operators announced on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, that Kolben will stop preparing pistes and producing artificial snow for future winters.
- The decision ends about 15 years of conventional winter skiing at Kolben and follows three recent winters that together lost just over one million euros.
- Management blamed warmer, wetter winters that increasingly bring rain instead of snow and shortening periods cold enough for effective snowmaking.
- Technical and resource limits drove the choice: tighter rules on water withdrawals from the Ammer, higher electricity and diesel bills, and growing investment needs for snow systems.
- Kolben will keep year-round attractions running — the chairlift, summer toboggan run and Kolbensattel‑Hütte — and allow small Wank tow‑lifts to operate separately when natural snow permits, a change that reflects wider viability challenges at low‑elevation Alpine resorts.