The “smallest ski resort in the world” - an art project put together by a collective of four artists - opened in St. Gallen on Saturday, February 1. 

Smallest ski resort in the world opens in St. Gallen

The “resort”, which opened in St. Gallen in northeastern Switzerland on the weekend, is a residential home that has been transformed into a mountain lodge, complete with an Airbnb property, a souvenir shop, a T-bar lift, and a 20-metre black diamond slope - which breaks another record as the shortest black run in the world. 

The ski resort will remain open for another two months before its location - an apartment building on Schneeburgstrasse - is demolished in mid-2025 to make way for a new building. Until then, it is open to keen skiers from Friday to Sunday all through February and March, as long as there is enough snow. 

Art project invites reflection on future of ski resorts in Switzerland

The ski resort is part of an art project called “Grey Sky” (Grauer Himmel). It calls on people to reflect on the threatened future of one of Switzerland’s most beloved leisure pursuits: skiing. “We cling to the past, when people went to the lake in summer and to the snow in winter. But that world of our childhood may no longer exist,” the artists write on their website. “Summers are becoming rainy seasons and winters are becoming warm and foggy.” 

It seems fitting, therefore, that the ski run was decked out with “snow” delivered from a nearby ice rink on the day of its opening. Going forward, it will only be possible to ski on the slope if there is snow. The ski lift - which was borrowed from a resort in South Tyrol - will continue to run even on grey days.