There may be still some doubts about whether global warming is taking place, but alpine warming is in full swing. The temperature rise in Austria since ca. 1880 amounts to nearly 2°C, compared to average global warming of 0.85°C
People visiting the alps in winter probably won't notice much difference as the temperature increase has mainly taken place in spring summer and autumn, and the effects on precipitation have been masked by snowmaking and snow management.
Last week I watched a program on the German TV channel 3sat "Der Schnee von Morgen" (The Snow of Tomorrow) in it Michael Manhart the managing director of the Bergbahn
Lech - Oberlech who is known in the industry as the 'Snow Pope' said that the quantity of natural snow these days was insignificant, his exact words were "Mickey Mouse"
Locally over the last 25 years I have seen several climate related changes, the Scots pines are dying out at lower altitudes and being replaced by downy oaks which normally grow in submediterranean regions. Most of our drinking water is provided by springs that are fed by snow melt, these are providing less water than they used to.
This week there was a report in the local paper that said that because of the small amount of natural snow we have received this season (30-60% of the average amount) Sass Fee and
Zermatt may not be able to open their summer ski areas.