Snowmaking, cleared parking spaces and waiting in the unknown: lift operators are ready for the season, but worry about ski tourers who climb unprepared slopes despite warnings.
Schliersee / Bayrischzell / District
- In the skiing areas of the district there is currently no infrastructure - toilets, lifts and restaurants are closed due to the corona.
Ski tourers
and other tourists come anyway.
Peter Lorenz, Managing Director of Alpenbahnen Spitzingsee, sees this as a problem: “In the future, people will come en
masse
.
That is exactly what we partially foresaw. "
Alpen-Plus spokesman criticizes the closure of the ski areas
According to Lorenz, it is understandable that people need exercise, "but perhaps it would have been wiser
to
channel the
flow of
visitors
instead of blocking everything".
Lorenz therefore hopes that the ski areas will open in January.
At the urging of the public, the lift operators continue to manage most of their parking spaces.
"That is why we either kept the parking fees as in summer or increased them," explains Antonia Asenstorfer, press officer for the Alpen-Plus ski areas.
So you can
cover
the costs for
winter maintenance
.
Parking fees will be increased, toilets will be opened
“There was a lot going on at Spitzing last weekend,” reports Asenstorfer.
At the parking lot of the Stümpfling chairlift, the
lift operators
have recently started charging ten euros per day - five euros more than in summer.
“In return, we opened the toilets there,” says Asenstorfer.
The other three partner areas of Alpen-Plus at Brauneck, Wallberg and Sudelfeld have also opened their parking spaces.
According to Asenstorfer, the operators charge five euros each at Taubenstein, Wallberg and at the touring car park in Wegscheid (Brauneck ski area).
“Parking at the cable car in Lenggries, on the other hand, is free,” says the press spokeswoman.
Since there is hardly any snow there, the
rush
is still low.
Ski touring involves dangers
Astensdorfer, like Lorenz, understands people who seek exercise in the fresh air.
"At the moment, the situation is
still
reasonable
due to the
snow conditions
," she says.
The slopes are not secured, however, piles of snow lie undistributed on the slopes - ready for
preparation
.
“What we urgently need is planning security,” she emphasizes.
“A certain
lead time is
necessary
for personnel planning and the further procedure for preparing the slopes
.” Katharina Waller, employee of Bergbahnen Sudelfeld, can also understand tourers in principle.
“But we're not officially open,” she explains.
The entire area is therefore not geared towards visitors: "The snow cannons are not padded,
cables
and
hoses
are lying around freely."
Mountain rescue services take longer to reach potential accident sites
That is why the employee warns against sports on unprepared slopes - even if the lift operators are currently not liable for accidents.
"For us it is a strange gut feeling that so many athletes are out and about, although the mountain rescue service does not have the same options as in normal operation." So far, no
accidents have
happened, but you want to be prepared.
The Sudelfeld mountain railways are therefore already working out a
concept
with the
police
in order to be prepared for future visitor flows.
Until the next snowfall, hikers and walkers also take advantage of the beautiful weather, especially on the Hirschberg.
“We haven't got any snow here yet,” says lift operator Josef Kandlinger.
At his lift, four euros per day are currently due for parking for winter maintenance.
“We're also eagerly waiting for more
information
from the
government
.”
Nap
