European ski resorts have more mud than snow

WENGEN, Switzerland — At many ski resorts across Europe, there's more mud than snow. World Cup race courses are flanked by dead, brown grass.

Tourists twirl umbrellas in the streets rather than clump around in ski boots. The telephone hot lines at Europe's ski resorts have gone cold. Those who bother to call are most often greeted with depressing news of high temperatures and lack of snow. "No winter sports are possible again today," is the recorded message on the "snowphone" for Oberhof — a top German training area for ski jumping, bobsled and biathlon. "With the current warm climate it's very clear that things have become completely crazy," says the Meteo France national weather service recording. "We're in winter and the temperature in the valleys is the equivalent of the end of March."

Tourism in the Alps is crucial for the European economy, with up to 80 million tourists and 160 million ski days in Austria, France, Switzerland and Germany each year. Though a few lucky areas have snow, for the majority the situation is bleak. Much of Europe has seen record-high temperatures in January.