Swiss authorities put organisers of the Alpine Ski World Cup races in Zermatt on notice Tuesday following allegations that excavators were damaging a glacier in order to prepare the piste.
Striking photos and videos by Swiss newspapers showed excavators working on the glacier -- a sensitive subject in Switzerland where glaciers have been melting at an alarming rate in recent years.
The Zermatt-Cervinia slopes on the Swiss-Italian border are scheduled to host the second event of the 2023-24 men's Alpine Ski World Cup on November 11 and 12, and the third event of the women's competition on November 18 and 19.
Work has been taking place on the Theodul glacier, close to Switzerland's iconic Matterhorn mountain, in order to get the downhill courses ready.
On October 15, the 20minutes newspaper asserted that according to GPS readings, the course route was being prepared beyond the area officially permitted for skiing.
Two days later, Franz Julen, head of the Zermatt organising committee, told the daily: "We have nothing to hide... we firmly reject all allegations.
"Nobody knows glacier extinction as well as we do in Zermatt. We know what's at stake and take this sensitive issue seriously."
He said allegations that they were damaging the glacier were "wrong".
"Three excavators worked on the glacier for three weeks. However, they didn't break anything, but filled and secured cracks with ice and snow," he said.
- 'Immediate ban' -
Last year's men's downhill races at Zermatt-Cervinia were scrapped due to a lack of snow, while unseasonably warm temperatures caused the cancellation of the women's races.
The environmentalist groups WWF, Pro Natura and Mountain Wilderness Switzerland instructed Lawyers for the Climate association to intervene.
They submitted an urgent request to the southwestern Wallis canton, accusing the competition organisers of "destroying a glacier to create a new slope for the Ski World Cup".
In a statement Tuesday, Wallis said its Cantonal Construction Commission had been unable to carry out inspections due to bad weather.
"It has however already been noted that part of the installations encroach, on a very small area, outside the approved ski area," it said.
"The CCC therefore issued an immediate ban on using the facilities concerned outside the approved ski area. This decision is subject to appeal.
"The CCC is, at least for the moment, refraining from issuing a general ban on the use of the entire track," and whether a fine needs to be issued "will be examined later".
Swiss national broadcaster RTS said the next steps were unclear but the decisions "could call into question the organisation of the World Cup downhills".
Switzerland's glaciers lost six percent of their total volume in 2022 due to a dry winter and repeated summer heatwaves, shattering previous ice melt records.