Winter sports - Ski season on the Zugspitze starts with fresh snow and fog
The ski season began on the Zugspitze on Friday with fresh new snow, but with frosty temperatures and fog. "Heavy snowfall, poor visibility - but pure joy over masses of snow," said Verena Tanzer, spokeswoman for the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn, summing up the start of the season on Germany's highest mountain.
According to Tanzer, locals with season and annual passes in particular were not deterred by the weather and made their first turns at over 2000 meters above sea level. "The first cabins up the mountain were full." Three lifts are in operation, eight slopes can be used - more than usual at the start. "Incidentally, we haven't had this much snow at the start of the season - over two meters - since 2007," said Tanzer.
Even before the Zugspitze - which is usually the first area to open - winter operations began in the middle of the week with lifts in the Black Forest, followed a day later by the Söllereck in the Allgäu. The heavy snowfall over the past few days had somewhat disrupted the order of the season opening.
Winter sports enthusiasts will once again have to dig deeper into their pockets. Depending on the ski resort, it is likely to be between just under four and ten percent. On the Zugspitze and in the Garmisch Classic ski area, a day ticket will cost 62 euros, 5 euros more than last season. In Austria, prices will also rise by up to ten percent.
Nevertheless, the anticipation was great. "Season ticket sales are going very well, interest in winter sports is unbroken," said Antonia Asenstorfer, Managing Director of Alpen Plus ski resorts and board member of the Association of German Cable Cars and T-bar Lifts. After two coronavirus years and a winter dominated by the energy crisis, lift operators are now hoping for a largely normal winter - with good snow conditions.
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Source: www.stern.de
