The cross-country skiing season started at the weekend in Leutasch / Tyrol.
After only three days, the plant was closed again due to corona - despite exemplary measures.
Leutasch
- All of
Europe is
currently discussing the start of the
ski season
in the first
Corona winter
.
Cross-country skiing is still
allowed
in Austria despite a
strict lockdown
.
The
Seefeld Tourist Association
was therefore a good thing
when it opened its first
cross-country ski trail in Leutasch
on Friday
.
The temperatures were perfect.
The woods were lightly sugared.
100 cross-country skiers at the same time used the approximately one-kilometer route that was
groomed
from the snow of the previous
winter
.
There were also many Isartaler among the guests.
Everything went smoothly until the authority
started operating in winter
became aware - and the
cross-country skiing fun came
to an abrupt end on Monday after just three days.
Corona in Tyrol: Cross-country skiing trails closed after three days - despite exemplary measures
The
cross-country ski run in
the neighboring Olympic region was not permitted, according to the government.
The facility is a
sports facility
.
According to the current
Corona requirements
in Austria,
such a facility may
not be entered - at least by
amateur athletes.
According to the
Federal
Covid-19 Protective Measures
Ordinance, only top athletes
are allowed to
use the route for training purposes.
But the
tourism association (TVB)
on the Seefeld Plateau no longer wanted to evaluate who belongs to this category and who does not.
He played it safe and closed the route for everyone.
For TVB managing director Elias Walser, the declaration as a sports facility and the associated closure are incomprehensible.
Some time ago he had sent the
state of Tyrol
an inquiry regarding the opening, but received no answer.
Cross-country skiing
is
allowed
as an
individual
sport.
However, the operation of a system like the one in
Leutasch is
in a legal gray area.
Corona measures turn the trail into a sports facility: Tyrolean operations have to close after three days
The paradox: It is precisely the
safety measures that
Walser and Co. have worked out that are the company's undoing.
His
tourism association
has taken all precautions
to offer the greatest possible security
despite
Corona
.
Every cross-country skier had to
book
an
online ticket
in advance
.
The time window for staying on the trail was a maximum of two hours.
In addition, the association had the entrances and parking spaces
checked
by
security employees in
order to prevent crowds.
More than 100 people were not allowed onto the trail at the same time in order
to maintain
the
distance
.
The efforts were
"exemplary"
, says the Innsbruck-Land district administration.
But it is precisely these
measures
that would
turn
the trail into a
sports facility
.
“The executive is now monitoring whether the
amateur athletes are sticking
to the lock”, the state of Tyrol informs the state broadcaster
ORF
.
Walser is now hoping for the
end of the lockdown
, which is scheduled for December 7th in Tyrol.
He can't yet say how things will proceed.
“We are still preparing for
winter operations
.” The route in
Leutasch
is known as the
“snow farming trail”
.
This means that it was prepared exclusively with the snow from last winter.
This is stored in special depots on the plateau during the hot summer months.