They were not allowed to unlock the previous winter season, now the Bavarian lift operators should only allow skiers with 2 G plus guests, which they strongly opposed. Peter Lorenz, deputy chairman of the Association of German Cable Cars (VDS) and managing director of three Bavarian ski areas, explains why.
SZ: Are you relieved that ski resorts in Bavaria are now only allowed to open with 2 G and without additional test evidence?
Peter Lorenz: Yes, of course, that’s me. The scheme was disproportionate. In the Allgäu, some ski areas started under 2 G plus, that didn’t work. The queues became very long due to the triple check of vaccination certificates, ID cards and, above all, test certificates. Sometimes the skiers had to queue for 45 minutes. We wouldn’t have got through the winter like this. 2 G is also an effort, but feasible.
What caused the state government to change course?
You could tell that there was a shot over the target. After all, most of the thing about skiing takes place outdoors. It would have been absurd in some cases: 3 G applies in the trains and buses, 2 G plus would have applied in the well ventilated cable car cabins, that doesn’t fit together. In addition, many guests would have switched to Austrian ski areas. And that after we weren’t allowed to open the ski areas in Bavaria for the entire past winter.
Peter Lorenz is the deputy chairman of the German Cable Car Association (VDS) and managing director of the Brauneck, Spitzingsee and Wallberg mountain railways.
(Photo: Brauneck / Wallbergbahn)
The regulation according to which you are only allowed to fill your cable car cabins up to 25 percent will remain in place.
Yes, we have to wait and see how the regulation is interpreted. In many Bavarian ski areas we mainly have chairlifts and surface lifts for which this does not apply. There are four-gondolas in our Brauneck ski area. If I can only put one person in there at a time, that would be a junk. Families and the same household must of course also be able to share a cabin. If you are alone, you can also drive alone. But if we are really only allowed to use 25 percent for the larger aerial tramways, people will wait in line for an hour downstairs, I don’t know if that’s better. And economically that would be difficult anyway.
You can rely on winter this December. Regardless of whether it is on the north or south side of the Alps, in most regions it has already snowed several times, and the mountains are deeply wintry. As a result, many ski areas open before Christmas, and some are already open.
Germany: The Zugspitze is already open here, Fellhorn / Kanzelwand, Oberjoch, Söllereck and Grasgehren have already started the season, and there is already a lot of snow in the eastern Allgäu.
Austria: The country is still in lockdown until December 12th, but this does not extend to the ski resorts. Some are already open, in addition to the glacier ski areas Kitzbühel, Salbach-Hinterglemm (partial operation), Ischgl, Alpbachtal and Kühtai. St. Anton am Arlberg, Sölden, Obergurgl and Obertauern all open on December 13th.
In Germany and Austria, 2 G.
In South Tyrol and Trentino Val Gardena, Val di Fassa, Plan de Corones, Dolomiti Superski and Madonna di Campiglio are already open. There is 3 G.
How is 2 G controlled in ski resorts and how do you avoid long queues?
Season ticket holders only need to be checked once when purchasing their ticket. The day guests will be asked for their 2-G proof at the cash desk. With full operation on weekends and during the holidays, you will also need a security service who checks in front of the cash register. In addition, in many ski areas we have wider setting areas with drawn lines. And many people are now so sensitive that they reprimand the others if they get too close to them and do not adhere to the rules of distance. And we point it out to people too.