Uphill and Downhill Histories. How Winter Tourism Transformed Alpine Regions in Vorarlberg, Austria – 1930 to 1970

Abstract Winter tourism developed an enormous transformative power. The example of Austria’s westernmost province of Vorarlberg is used in this article to highlight the changing role of ski lifts from three different perspectives: Firstly, an analysis of funding schemes for ski lifts reveals their economic vulnerability, which snowfall patterns augmented. Secondly, ski-lift entrepreneurs aimed to lower risks of insolvency by accelerating the uphill and downhill flows of people and by manipulating snow and topography. This, thirdly, was made possible by driving back private property rights in favor of the winter-tourism industry. Combining these three perspectives provides a deeper understanding of the transformation of landscapes in alpine regions between 1930 and 1970.