“Often you don’t notice you’ve gone too far!”

Is skiing in the forest actually allowed?

 The Austrian Forestry Act states that, in principle, skiing in the forest is allowed. There are, however, important exceptions:

• In reforestation areas with trees smaller than 3 m
• In forests close to ski slopes and lifts.

Do skiers and snowboarders cause damage in young forests?

Whenever the small trees are hidden under the snow cover or are so small that they cannot be recognised as an obstacle, skiers and snowboarders can cause serious damage to the young trees.

Most often the thin bark is completely shredded by the sharp edges and the open wounds then allow wood-destroying fungi (red rot) to penetrate. This can mean that the tree may appear to be growing quite normally but after a few decades it collapses because of the destruction of the wood body.

Repeated damage caused by ski edges can lead to the death of young plants.

What does that mean for effective protection of the forest?

Especially in forests, which protect the settlements and road infrastructure from natural hazards (site-protecting forests), the presence of young trees is important for the sustained protection. When old trees die, saplings should already be ready to grow so that protection is provided as quickly as possible. Any damage or delayed growth can impair effective protection.