Plus grades are a problem for winter sports enthusiasts: Where skiing is still possible in Bavaria

Created: 12/30/2022, 5:05 am

By: Carina Zimniok

Skiing is currently only possible in a few places in Bavaria.

© Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa/Archive

The mild temperatures make things difficult for some ski areas in Bavaria, and there is often not enough snow.

But in some places it works with skiing.

Munich – Ferdinand Meiler has long ceased to be surprised at the snow conditions during the Christmas holidays.

"Everything is normal," says the junior boss of the small Steckenberg lift near Unterammergau.

Normal means: "Everything is green, up to the top," says Meiler.

It snowed a little on Tuesday night, "but you can see the grass everywhere".

Even at the top of the 1,686 meter high Laber.

Skiing is currently only possible on two button lifts and one rope lift in the beginners' area on the Steckenberg.

They were able to prepare the snow bands there when it was recently cold enough for the snow machines.

But what about other winter sports in the region? 

When Verena Tanzer from the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn looks out of her office, right next to the rack railway in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, she sees a lot of greenery.

"But from half of the valley descents, the forest is sugared," says Tanzer - and over 1000 meters it snowed on Tuesday morning even in the Garmisch-Classic area, which includes Alpspitze, Kreuzeck and Hausberg.

Plus-grade slopes: where skiing is still possible in Bavaria

On the Zugspitze, which of course has a special status, the night even brought 40 centimeters of fresh snow.

There, the snow groomer had to clear the terrace at the restaurant in the morning.

And a look at the Garmisch-Classic piste map shows that most of the runs are open – three even lead down into the valley, namely the Kandahar, Olympia and Kochelberg runs.

But the snow cannons stand still.

"We're not making snow at the moment, that doesn't make any sense," says Tanzer.

The reason: It's too warm.

Five degrees at lunchtime - "that's just zfui (Bavarian: too much)", says Tanzer.

The snow cannons only work from minus five degrees.

Other factors such as humidity must also be right before you can start the snow cannons.

And yet snowmaking has already achieved a great deal, says Tanzer.

"We're still benefiting from the very cold temperatures in mid-December," she says.

"We were able to make a lot of snow there." The mixture of natural and artificial snow became so compact through the preparation that it has now withstood the rain and plus degrees of the past few days, according to Tanzer.

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Departure into the green?

Some Bavarian slopes can still look forward to snow

Alpen Plus is also happy about the snow supplies.

Because the snow cannons also have to stand still at the associated Brauneck, Wallberg, Spitzingsee and Sudelfeld.

Antonia Asenstorfer reports that rain and wind have hit the slopes in places - but on the Spitzing and Sudelfeld the runs are "good together", the valley runs are possible.

At the Brauneck, too, we are still wedelling down into the valley - "but we'll have to see how things continue over the next few days".

Further east, in Berchtesgadener Land, the development is more negative: Because of the snow conditions, the Jennerbahn stops skiing on New Year's Eve.

"We've tried everything, but now it's no longer possible," says Thomas Hettegger, CEO of the Berchtesgadener Bergbahn.

A similar picture in the Bavarian Forest, where all ski areas are reported closed: even on the Großer Arber, where the start of the season is being postponed.

According to the website, the slopes have been well prepared.

However, we ask for your understanding that "we had no chance against six days of rain and temperatures up to seven degrees, even with the greatest commitment of our employees and also with our very good technology".

However, the gondola is open to pedestrians.

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