Skiers and snowboarders could look forward to three things at the weekend – fresh new snow, the opening of several Bavarian ski areas and the elimination of the obligation to test for vaccinated and convalescent people. “This is great news,” said the spokeswoman for the Bavarian Zugspitzbahn, Verena Altenhofen. “But we also have a crying eye.” After the weekend experience, some lift operators are worried about the capacity restriction for large cable car gondolas.
In large cabins with space for more than ten visitors, a maximum of a quarter of the possible guests are currently allowed, said Altenhofen. “It is clear that this will quadruple the waiting time.” At the Zugspitze, there were sometimes long queues at the weekend despite the mixed weather, said Altenhofen. “We had to stop ticket sales on Saturday morning.” It is now necessary to examine whether such an economical operation is possible. “The current Corona regulation is only valid until December 15,” said Altenhofen. “We hope that this was only a temporary restriction.” After all, large gondolas in Austria are also likely to be fully occupied. The fact that this is more strictly regulated in Bavaria, as with the recently dropped 2-G-plus regulation for ski lifts, is “a shame,” said Altenhofen.
Lifts had been idle for more than a year and a half
At the weekend, not only the Upper Bavarian ski areas Sudelfeld and Spitzingsee started the season, but also the lifts on the Schwarzwaldeck in Berchtesgaden and Balderschwang in the Allgäu. Further areas are to be launched next weekend, including the Jenner near Berchtesgaden, the Geißkopf in the Bavarian Forest and the Fellhorn and Nebelhorn near Oberstdorf. The lifts in the ski areas there had recently been idle for more than a year and a half: Last winter, the ski areas in Bavaria were not allowed to open at all due to the corona pandemic.