Switzerland in the Desert

Prepare to have your mind blown.

Saudi Arabia — not known for its abundant water amenities let alone snow and ice — is planning to build a gigantic ski resort and futuristic tourist village that it expects to attract 700,000 visitors annually when it opens in 2030.

The headline I saw for this story said it would be Saudi Arabia’s “first” ski resort.

Well…Duh.

What do you think of when you picture Saudi Arabia? Guys walking around in loose-fitting robes, lots of camels and oil being pumped out of scorching deserts?

Yeah, me, too.

But perhaps that’s an unfair stereotype. And if this incredible, $500 billion project — called TROJENA — comes off only eight years from now, the kingdom could become the Switzerland of the Middle East.

Whoah…

“Ambitious” doesn’t begin to cover what’s being attempted here. In addition to the ski resort, the project promises a nearly-two-mile freshwater lake, an interactive nature preserve, and — of course — luxury mansions for the truly blessed among us.

Project planners say the project will be powered entirely by clean energy in a place known for its unmatched production of “dirty energy,” i.e., oil.

But it’s that reliance on oil as the kingdom’s primary source of income that's part of the motivation for building TROJENA. With many nations turning to cleaner, greener energy sources, Saudi Arabia is looking to offset that expected ongoing loss of revenue by cashing in on the tourism dollar with a truly unique visitor experience.

Now, it’s not clear how the Saudis plan to maintain snow year-round in a place that averages 98 degrees in Summer and 58 degrees in January — its coldest month. Seems like that would require a tremendous amount of energy to keep that snow from melting as fast as it could be made.

But the resort will apparently be built in a remote, mountainous region of the kingdom near the Red Sea coast where mountains rise some 8,500 feet above sea level. So that will probably help a bit to slow the melt…

Just saying “Saudi Arabia” and “ski resort” in the same sentence is something few of us probably would have ever imagined. And there’s already plenty of fantastic ski resorts in beautiful places with climates that naturally support them — like right here in Colorado.

But if this project does indeed happen, I have just one thing to say:

“The future just keeps getting weirder.”