Ski fans in Saxony could look forward to wintry conditions for a good week. Now the slopes flow under the rain and mild temperatures.
Oberwiesenthal/Altenberg (dpa/sn) - Just a few days after the start, the ski season in Saxony is threatened with a longer break. "On Thursday we opened another lift, but if it continues to rain like this, we will stop operating on Friday," said the head of the Fichtelberg suspension railway, René Lötzsch, on request. The season started about a week ago in Saxony's largest alpine ski area.
"With the current rain, fewer and fewer guests are coming and they're soaked wet after about an hour. It's not all nice," emphasized Lötzsch on Thursday. The snow cover on the slopes is also becoming softer and softer due to precipitation and wind, and it is also not possible to prepare them at temperatures well above zero degrees.
"If operations are completely stopped, it will probably take 14 days before it starts again. And only if the weather conditions improve again," emphasized Lötzsch. But for that it would have to be much colder.
At least it doesn't look like that in the coming days. According to the German Weather Service, it will remain rainy at least over the Christmas period with temperatures of up to ten degrees, even in the mountains it should remain frost-free.
In Altenberg in the Eastern Ore Mountains, on the other hand, skiing is still fully operational. The condition of the slope is good, said operations manager Manuel Püschel. "The question is whether the guests will come when it's raining." It is important to get through the Christmas days and hope for better conditions.
In Augustusburg (Middle Saxony district) people are still skiing. He does not want to make forecasts, said Jörg Hammer, managing director of the ski lift operation on Thursday on request. "But if the weather doesn't play along, you've just been unlucky." In the Eibenstock ski arena, the lifts have been standing still since Tuesday evening. "On the 1st public holiday, the weathermen promise another turnaround, then it's on again," says the website.
