Early ski season in the Sauerland: first lifts open on Friday
With up to 30 centimetres of natural snow and good conditions for the snow cannons, Winterberg plans to start the ski season this Friday. Some other winter sports areas in the Sauerland are planning to start the season on Saturday and Sunday. The Sauerland winter sports arena announced on Wednesday that more than 100 kilometers of trails have already been prepared for cross-country skiers. Due to the snowfall of the past few days and the persistently frosty temperatures, an unusually early start to the season is possible this year.
According to the plans, four lifts in the Winterberg ski lift carousel will open on Friday. As soon as more artificial snow has been produced, more lifts will open. The largest ski area in the Sauerland has a total of 27.5 kilometers of slopes.
In the ski village of Neuastenberg, the Bödefeld-Hunau ski area in Schmallenberg, the Schlossberg/Küstelberg ski area in Medebach and Willingen in northern Hesse, the first lifts for skiers and tobogganists are due to open on Saturday.
More than 100 kilometers of trails for cross-country skiers
Cross-country skiers can already find groomed trails: In Bad Berleburg-Girkhausen in Wittgensteiner Land, more than 30 kilometers have been groomed, in Winterberg 50 kilometers. There are also groomed trails in Bad Berleburg-Wunderthausen and Willingen.
In most ski resorts, however, the focus at the moment is still on producing as much artificial snow as possible in the frosty temperatures in order to be prepared for the first peak of the season towards Christmas. The large ski resort in Willingen is currently planning to open on the second weekend of Advent.
Lift prices have risen slightly
According to the Wintersport-Arena Sauerland, the prices for day tickets this year are between 25 and 48 euros - that is 1 to 3 euros more than last year. In the smaller ski areas, you can often use the lifts much more cheaply than in the larger ones, said a spokeswoman.
The Winter Sports Arena is an association of ski resorts in the districts of Hochsauerland, Siegen-Wittgenstein, Olpe and the northern Hessian municipality of Willingen. This includes 42 ski areas with 147 lifts. A good third of the slopes are covered with artificial snow.
During their leisure time, many visitors might enjoy the early opening of ski slopes, thanks to favorable weather conditions and adequate snow coverage. Tourism in the Sauerland region could potentially benefit significantly from an extended ski season.
Cross-country skiers can exploit this weather as well, as numerous groomed trails in places like Winterberg and Bad Berleburg-Girkhausen are now available for their pleasure.
Source: www.dpa.com
