Simon Bumann, the tourism director for the Saas-Fe region said that although there is sufficient snow on its 3000 - 4000-metre peaks, the resort area is concerned enough about climate change to develop an intensive summer programme.

He said this brought an increase in visits from people interested in adventure sports like Nordic hiking with ski poles over rough terrain, mountain biking, canyoning with ropes through rugged gorges and more unusual activities like tree walking and mountaineering on the Via Ferrata.

"Via Ferrata was developed by the Italian military during World War II to quickly train non-mountain climbers in scaling difficult peaks," Bumann said.

As for the tree-walking sport launched last summer: "We call it Adventure Forest. You swing from tree to tree on a liana rope and cross gorges on hanging bridges. It's a great sport for the whole family."

The larger Swiss ski resorts like Zermatt, Davos or Grindlewald and France's Chamonix have also begun to increase traditional summer activities, which run the gamut from fishing, sailing, windsurfing and kite sailing on Alpine lakes and rivers to hiking and golfing.

Glaciers under wraps
The second largest golf tournament in Europe, the Omega European Masters from September 1-4, is held in Switzerland's Crans-Montana region. Glacier melting has forced the cancellation of the summer skiing season at several Alpine resorts.

"So far it doesn't look as bad as 2003, but glacier melting continues to be very negative," said Dr. Paul Frank, a scientist at Zurich University. "One can see that the glaciers are still suffering because their surfaces are very dark."

Some resorts in Austria have put parts of their glaciers under wraps. The Swiss resort of Andermatt followed suit in May, covering 2500 square metres of the glacier ramp with a special reflective covering that experts say appears to be working.

Urs Elminger of the Andermatt Gotthard Sportbahnen, the cable operator behind the project, said "the snow melt has been minimal" and added that he expected skiing conditions to be back to normal this winter.

Climatologist Martin Beniston of Fribourg University said: "Last winter we had a lot of snow in the lowlands and very little in the southern parts of the Alps. It varies from one year to the next. Overall the snow has changed very little above 1000 metres and most of Europe's ski resorts are well above this level."

A cool mountain retreat
Walter Loser, director of tourism for Crans-Montana said that since the European heatwave of 2003 there has been a slight increase in the number of people coming to the mountains for fresh air and a cooler climate.

He said 50 percent of summer tourists are from Asia, followed by visitors from the Middle East.

"The Asians come for short, overnight visits to see and photograph the beautiful panoramic vistas," he said. "Those from the Middle East come to escape the heat in their own countries. Switzerland is the number one destination for visitors from the Middle East and unlike the Asians, they often stay for lengthy periods in four to five star hotels or luxury apartments."

Beniston said Alpine resorts were doing the right thing in trying to increase summer tourism. "Remember, that's how the great Indian cities like Srinagar were created, as cool retreats from sweltering summer places," he added.

Frank agreed and says he would like to ask anyone who is not convinced that climate change is taking place to come to Pontresina in south-eastern Switzerland and walk the two kilometres to the Morteratsh glacier.

"You can clearly see that a one-degree temperature increase has caused a 50 percent volume loss since 1850," he said. "This is the reason why glacier change is the best natural indicator for climate change."

AFP