As of: February 29, 2024, 4:51 a.m
By: Christof Schnürer
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There have rarely been such top days as in January on the Kranzberg.
Significantly, the clock there shows just before twelve.
© Peter Kornatz
The fight is getting harder and harder for the Wurmer family, the lift operators.
She ends the winter, which once again wasn't one, with huge losses in sales.
The beleaguered entrepreneurs from Mittenwald are hoping for political support more than ever.
Mittenwald
– The Wurmers have experienced some frustrating winters up on the Kranzberg over the past 54 years.
“But that was the worst,” Klaus Wurmer (51) doesn’t beat around the bush for long.
He and his wife Kathrin experienced hell - economically speaking - in the Kranzberg ski paradise.
“A catastrophe,” says the operator of the Luttensee and Wildensee lifts in view of the devastating results for the 2023/2024 ski season, which ended with a whopping loss.
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Alarming situation: Few days of operation and some of them only limited - “Pretty blatant”
A clear indication of the alarming situation: only 35 days of operation - and some of them very limited - are ultimately recorded.
Normally it should be 90.
In other words: two-thirds less lift operations, two-thirds less sales.
A fiasco.
“Yes, it’s pretty awesome,” admits Klaus Wurmer, whose father Peppi, with a lot of perseverance, created a family-friendly ski area between 900 and 1,300 meters above sea level on Mittenwald’s Sonnenberg in the late 1960s.
Many locals made their first turns here.
But in times of climate change, there have been no consistent winters on the Kranzberg for a long time.
The Wurmers and their up to 25 employees often have to help the white splendor get going thanks to modern and energy-intensive technology.
But even artificial snowmaking was sometimes seen by the devil in this messed up season.
Klaus Wurmer only remembers December reluctantly.
“We could have made snow there, but we had no electricity.” The snowfall had cut the lines.
Simply an example of the historically bad ski winter on the Kranzberg.
But calling it quits is still not an option for the beleaguered lift operators.
“We won’t give up,” assures Klaus Wurmer.
But sooner or later the family business will no longer be able to manage the winter lottery on its own.
The Mittenwalder is looking more than ever to talk to politicians.
“There was also support at the ice rink.”
Make contacts: Ski lift operator Klaus Wurmer (r.) is also looking to talk to District Administrator Anton Speer.
© Peter Kornatz
Frustrating winter on the Kranzberg (Garmisch-Partenkirchen)
In addition to a call for help to the town hall, Wurmer recently contacted Bundestag member Alexander Dobrindt at the CSU's political morning pint.
The two are said to have sat together for an hour.
“It was a great conversation.” And there may be opportunities through the Bavarian state government.
Without financial injections things are getting tougher and tougher.
“We don’t have many reserves anymore,” admits the lift operator bluntly.
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This is not legally possible and funding would not be permitted.
Mayor Enrico Corongiu
Wurmer would also like to get partners on board, talking about crowdfunding, for example, in which investors invest together in a project.
The 51-year-old can also imagine a “club for the Kranzberg” – as well as a summer operation.
Mountain bikes can also be transported using a drag lift.
The lift operator finds the Mittenwald Bike Club’s idea of the so-called Flowtrail – a designated route for mountain bikers – all the more interesting.
In this context, Wurmer reminds us that around 75 hectares are mulched every year in summer to prevent the ski slopes from becoming overgrown with bushes.
Of course the mayor knows all this.
Enrico Corongiu (SPD) also knows that the terrain in question is “the local mountain and a popular hiking area”.
Nevertheless, there will be a discussion in March with all those affected under the direction of the two SPD local councilors Bärbel Rauch and Ursula Seydel about a year-round concept.
One thing is obvious to Corongiu: “If we want to run a ski operation, then we also need economic use in the summer.” However, there will be no winter subsidy from the municipality for the privately operated ski lifts.
“This is not legally possible; funding would not be permitted.”
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