Climate change is a global phenomenon that affects various industries worldwide. One of the most affected industries is the snow-based industry, which includes skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, winter sports, and related tourism and hospitality sectors. This industry relies heavily on snow and cold temperatures, which are becoming less predictable and more challenging to maintain due to climate change. The impacts of climate change on ski resorts are extensive, such as reduced snowfall, shorter ski seasons, and higher expenses for both the demand and supply sides. As the winter season is crucial for the industry's income, particularly in the Alps, developing sustainable strategies to reduce the ecological footprint is essential, which is not always straightforward for several reasons.   To address these challenges, this study aims to investigate the relationship between tourism and climate change using a case study approach focused on Obertauern, a ski resort in Austria. The study will explore the interdependence between tourism and climate change based on interview studies with key stakeholders from the study area. The study examines the challenges associated with guest transportation and the need for increased cooperation between different links and sectors in the destination. Additionally, the study explores the role of snowmaking in ski resorts and the potential for year-round or two-season destinations, as these are often seen as the major adaptations in literature. Finally, the study emphasizes the importance of balancing adaptation and mitigation for the tourism industry in Obertauern to achieve sustainable development, as the tourism sector generates the destination's only income during the around six-month-long winter season.

Economic analysis and evaluation of sport events and sports infrastructure is a widely researched topic, especially when it comes to mega-sports events. As many of major and mega events require large amount of resources, governments and municipalities worldwide have to make decisions regarding support for the events. To determine whether and to what extent events should be subsidised with public resources, a thorough analysis of potential impacts of the event has to be conducted. Most of the studies within this field choose Economic Impact Analysis as a method, while many researchers point out a need for costbenefit analysis, as only a comprehensive analysis of costs and benefits for society can justify public subsidies for sport events and sports infrastructure. This paper presents a cost-benefit approach of sports venue evaluation. A cost-benefit analysis made in this paper, on the case of Swedish outdoor area of Lugnet, Falun, presents possible effects of sports infrastructure investments on social welfare. Analysis was aimed towards investments made prior to hosting 2015 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun. Presenting results for three alternative scenarios, this study compares different effects on social benefit. This research paper highlights areas that need to be investigated to ensure the better quality of the results, thus it can be beneficial for further studies of the topic. Results presented in this paper can also be beneficial for policy makers, as many of the potential welfare effects were described.

Магистерская диссертация состоит из введения, трех глав, заключения и библиографического списка. Проанализированы основные характеристики российских и зарубежных горнолыжных комплексов, оставлена карта позиционирования горнолыжных комплексов, разработано финансово-экономическое обоснование реализации девелоперского проекта строительства объекта туристско-рекреационного назначения. В заключении сформулированы основные выводы и обобщены результаты исследования. / The master's thesis consists of an introduction, three chapters, a conclusion, and a bibliographic list. The main characteristics of Russian and international ski complexes are analyzed, a map of the positioning of ski complexes is left, and a financial and economic justification for the implementation of a development project for the construction of a tourist and recreational facility is developed. In conclusion, the main conclusions are formulated and the results of the study are summarized.

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Trafikolyckor är ett stort samhällsproblem som många gånger kan förhindras då nästan samtliga olyckor sker till följd av mänskliga faktorer. Under vinterhalvåret är det många som kör bil till och från skidorter i Sverige där olika väderförhållanden kan ha inverkan på antalet trafikolyckor och dess konsekvenser. Syftet med det här arbetet var att undersöka hur personer som kör bil till och från skidorter i Sverige under vinterhalvåret uppfattar risker och om det finns några skillnader i riskuppfattning mellan könen. Den valda metoden för undersökningen var webbenkät som genomfördes på det webbaserade verktyget Survey&Report, där det insamlade datamaterialet har sammanställts och analyserats i Excel. Det har även gjorts en tematisk innehållsanalys på de fritextsvar som inkom i enkäten. Resultatet visar att det finns skillnader mellan kvinnor och mäns riskuppfattning där män funderar mindre över risker i trafiken jämfört med kvinnor. Ju mer mil en bilförare kör per år desto mer funderar bilföraren över risker i trafiken och är också mer medveten om de risker som finns jämfört med yngre och mer oerfarna bilförare. Kvinnor tar mindre risker i trafiken och tenderar att vara mer ödmjuka i skattningen av sin egen körförmåga jämfört med män. Slutsatsen är att hur bilförare agerar och skattar olika risker beror på vilken riskuppfattning de har och den varierar utifrån kön, ålder, erfarenhet, värderingar samt kultur. / Traffic accidents are a major problem that many times can be prevented, due to the fact that almost all accidents occur as a result of human error. During the winter months, many people in Sweden are driving to ski resorts, where weather conditions can have an impact on the number of traffic accidents and their consequences. The purpose of the paper is to investigate how people who drive to and from ski resorts in Sweden during the winter months perceive risks in traffic and whether there are any differences in risk perception between the genders. The chosen method for this paper was a web survey conducted on the web-based tools Survey&Report, where the collected data material has been compiled and analysed in Excel. A  thematic analysis of the free text responses was also applied. The results show that there are differences between women and men’s perception of risk, where men seems to think less about risks in traffic compared to women. The result also shows that the more miles a driver drives per year the more the driver thinks about risks in traffic and is also more aware of the risks that exist compared to younger and more inexperienced drivers. Women takes less risks in traffic and tend to be humbler in estimating their own driving ability compared to men. The conclusion of this paper is that how car drivers act and estimate different risks depends on the risk perception they have, and that varies based on gender, age, experience, values and culture.

Poly- och perfluorerade ämnen, även kallad PFAS, har både globalt och i Sverige upptäckts i höga halter i mark samt i yt-och grundvatten de senaste åren. Kemikalierna är svårnedbrytbara och studier visar på att de bland annat är reproduktionsstörande hos djur. Källorna till utsläpp av PFAS är många, men något som uppmärksammats den senaste tiden är fluorvallor som används inom längdskidåkning. I den här studien undersöks hur användningen av skidvalla innehållande PFAS påverkar ett område samt hur dessa ämnen sprids. För att undersöka detta har tidigare mätningar utförda i anslutning till längdskidspår använts, för att se hur spridningen skett vid dem samt vilka koncentrationer som kan påträffas.  Mätningarna var utförda vid skidspår i Oslo, Trondheim, vid Vasaloppet samt vid en tävling i Maine, USA. För att visualisera var i Sverige påverkade områden skulle kunna finnas gjordes dessutom en karta där orter togs ut på två olika sätt. Skidvalla bidrar till att orsaka högre lokala koncentrationer av PFAS, och kan få en stor påverkan i de områden där mycket skidåkning pågår. Samtidigt är det svårt att dra tydliga slutsatser då det finns fåtal studier och många diffusa källor som kan bidra till spridningen av PFAS. / Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are man-made chemicals used for their water, grease, and dirt repellent properties. Today these substances are widespread due to their ability to spread through both air and water. PFAS are long-term persistent and have hazardous environmental impact. Among others, affecting the reproduction of animals and has been shown to accumulate in the food chain. One product containing PFAS that has recently gained attention is fluorinated ski wax, due to the ban imposed on fluorinated ski wax by the International Ski Federation (FIS) from the season 2021/2022.  To investigate how the use of ski wax containing PFAS spreads and affects the environment at areas with cross-country skiing, results from previous studies have been analyzed. The previous studies were located at cross-country ski areas in Oslo and Trondheim in Norway, Maine in the USA and at the location of the Swedish competition Vasaloppet. A map has also been made to visualize where in Sweden there might be areas who have been contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances by the use of ski wax. To find the locations for these areas two different methods have been used.  The results of the previous studies shows that the use of fluorinated ski waxes gives higher local concentrations of PFAS at the locations of cross-country ski areas that are frequently used. However, it is still difficult to draw clear conclusions about how big the spread of PFAS contamination is, since the substances can be found in many different products and are easily spread. In the future there is a need for more studies and investigation to reach clearer conclusions. In addition, there is a need for more tests around different ski areas to see the impact that competitions have, but also how everyday skiing affects the spread of PFAS.

The deflection of the ski is a prerequisite for carved turns. The more the ski is edged, the more the ski has to deflect and the more radial force has to be realised in order to keep the whole edge in contact with the snow. To verify this relationship, local ski bending curvature, the lean angle and the radial force were correlated with each other. Characteristic curvature patterns as well as very large correlations (r > 0.7) between the variables were identified. / Die Durchbiegung des Skis ist eine Voraussetzung für gecarvte Schwünge. Je stärker der Ski gekantet ist, desto mehr muss der Ski durchbiegen und desto mehr Radialkraft muss realisiert werden, um die gesamte Kante in Kontakt mit dem Schnee zu halten. Um diesen Zusammenhang zu verifizieren, wurden die lokale Skikrümmung, der Neigungswinkel und die Radialkraft miteinander korreliert. Es wurden sowohl charakteristische Krümmungsmuster als auch sehr große Korrelationen (r > 0,7) zwischen den Variablen festgestellt.

Sujet médiatique récent, le phénomène des changements climatiques est devenu en ce début de XXIe siècle une préoccupation récurrente. Nous nous sommes alors interrogés non pas sur les mécanismes de ces dérèglements et les modélisations de leurs manifestations mais sur leurs représentations sociales auprès des acteurs touristiques territorialisés et travaillant dans un domaine soumis à l'aléa climatique : les sports d'hiver. Nous avons voulu connaître ainsi de quelle manière se traduisent sur un territoire donné et pour une activité ciblée les connaissances scientifiques actuelles en lien avec les changements climatiques. Au travers des méthodes d'enquête et d'analyse utilisées en psychologie sociale et en sociologie, que la géographie s'est appropriées, nous avons identifié les représentations sociales de la clientèle et des opérateurs touristiques des stations de sports d'hiver des Pyrénées-Orientales. Nous avons également identifié les comportements et les stratégies managériales induits par ces représentations.

Per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) are used in the production of ski wax to reduce the friction between the snow and the ski. In this occupational study of ski wax technicians’ exposure to PFAS and particulate aerosol we have collected whole blood (wb) (n =94), air (n =84) and aerosol (n =159) samples at World Cup events from 2007-2011. We have analysed the blood, air and aerosol with respect to 13 perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs), 4 perfluorosulfonic acids (PFSAs), 3 fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs), 3 fluorotelomer acids (FTCAs) and 3 unsaturated fluorotelomer acids (FTUCAs). Further, we assessed the exposure to 3 particulate aerosol fractions (inhalable, respirable and total aerosol) in air. In comparison to a general population, several of the PFCA blood levels are elevated in the technicians’, primarily  erfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorononate (PFNA) with concentrations up to 628 and 163 ng/mL wb, respectively. Further,  we detected FTUCAs and FTCAs in the blood, suggesting biotransformation of FTOHs to PFCAs. The metabolites 5:3 and 7:3 FTCA were detected in all blood samples at levels up to 6.1 and 3.9 ng/mL wb. Levels of perfluorohexadecanoic acid PFHxDA) and perfluorooctadecanoic acid (PFOcDA) were detected in the technician’s blood at mean concentration up to 4.22 ng/mL wb and 4.25 ng/mL wb. The FTOH levels in air of the wax cabin during work ranged up to 997 000 ng/m3 (average=114 000 ng/m3 ) and PFOA up to 4 890 ng/m3 (average= 526 ng/m3 . FTOHs were not detected in aerosols but PFOA showed average levels of 12 000 ng/m3 (range=1 230- 46 900 ng/m3 ). The occupational exposure limit (OEL) of 2 mg/m3 was exceeded in 37% of the personal measurements with aerosol  concentrations up to 15 mg/m3 . Keywords : Perfluorinated, polyfluorinated, FIS, occupational exposure, ski wax,  iotransformation, metabolism, fluorotelomer alcohol, fluorotelomer acid, aerosol, dust, UPLC/MS-MS, GC/MS-MS

Title: Comparison of universal and specific functional stress tests of ski-mountaineerers. Objectives: The aim of the thesis is to compare maximal functional parameters of ski-mountaineerers measured during three functional laboratory stress tests. The functional stress tests were set on a treadmill, bicycle ergometer, and on a ski-mountaineer trainer. Consecutively, there is evaluated the meaning of testing of the functional parameters on the ski-mountaineer trainer. Methods: Interindividual and intraindividual descriptive study of 10 ski-mountaineerers of middle and high level performance. Results: The respondents reached the average value of VO2max 63,3 ml.kg-1 .min-1 on the ski-mountaineer trainer, 67,5 ml.kg-1 .min-1 on a treadmill and 66,5 ml.kg-1 .min-1 on a bicycle ergometer. The average measured HR on the ski-mountaineer trainer was 179 heartbeats/min, on the treadmill 185 heartbeats/min and on the bycicle ergometer 183 heartbeats/min. The average value of R reached the value of 1,09 on the ski-mountaineer trainer, 1,18 on the treadmill and 1, 19 on the bycicle ergometer. The highest measured value of VO2max reached on the treadmill was 79,3 ml.kg-1 .min-1 , the bycicle ergometer enabled to reach maximum 76,5 ml.kg-1 .min-1 and the highest value reached on the ski-mountaineer trainer was...