The highest will be the first, that’s actually how it goes every autumn with Bavaria’s ski areas. Last year, the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn had prepared itself and its slopes on the Zugspitzplatt for the start of the season in mid-November, which was then postponed due to the pandemic and ultimately failed. That shouldn’t happen again this year in Germany’s highest ski area. From this Friday on, only those who have either been vaccinated or recovered will be allowed to wag. Negative tests will no longer be enough for using the lift and cable car, at least this season.
The details of this 2-G regulation were fixed by those responsible at the Zugspitzbahn on Tuesday with the Garmisch health department. According to this, all relevant proofs and IDs must be checked before access to the lifts, in all gondolas, indoor areas, lifts and in all queues an FFP2 mask is required. In order to create a little more distance, the Zugspitzbahn is only allowed to use its gondolas and the wagons of the rack railway to two thirds of the normal capacity. In order to be able to ensure all of this, the Zugspitzbahn will, at least initially, call in a security company.
Your own people have been busy for the past few days. Because it has snowed a lot this year on the Zugspitze, most recently last weekend. However, there have been positive temperatures again and again recently, which is why the bare rock peaks through the snow cover in many places. For such cases, snow has been bunkered on the Zugspitze for a number of years. The snow groomer drivers took it back from the dumps that were laid out in the spring and were shaded enough and distributed it in such a way that at least the two chairlifts can go into operation at the top.
Zugspitzbahn is hoping for 6000 visitors a day
How many skiers will use this offer is difficult to estimate at this “very special start to the season”, says a spokeswoman, but you can expect a few guests – especially since the skiers recently had to skip a whole season and also the operation in the glacier ski areas over in Tyrol has only been allowed to run under 2-G conditions since Monday. The neighboring country is not ideal for more than day trips, given its new classification as a corona high-risk area including official travel warning.
On the Zugspitze there could be around 6,000 visitors per day in the long term, is the hope and expectation of the Zugspitzbahn for the winter – and this for the time being regardless of the deep red hospital traffic lights and the current disaster. The cable car industry has never seen itself as a driver of infection anyway, which, however, does not distinguish it from other trades and did not save it from being forced to close last winter. The Association of German Cable Cars and T-bar lifts (VDS) estimates the losses incurred by its members at a total of almost 100 million euros.
Increased requirements make business more difficult
But even if the lifts should go through this winter, business will be more difficult given lower capacities and increased effort. Additional staff are needed, especially for the access controls, and even the cutlery in the restaurants on the Zugspitze will no longer be allowed to be taken by the guests, but will have to be given to them personally. The Zugspitzbahn and the other cable car operators in Bavaria want to have as little as possible to do with après-ski excesses like in Ischgl, which was considered a virus hub for half of Europe at the beginning of 2020. After the start of the season on Germany’s highest mountain, it will be a while before the railways start operating elsewhere. Most operators aim for the season to start shortly before Christmas.