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Until recently, it looked like this in Pany GR in many small and low-lying ski areas.
Temperatures of almost 20 degrees on New Year’s Eve and not a hint of snow at Christmas. But now winter is finally coming. According to the weather report, there will be snow down to 500 meters above sea level this Sunday. This news is a huge relief for many ski resorts. With an unbelievable amount of effort and commitment, they have been working on their slopes for weeks – only to watch them melt away immediately.
With the snowfall down to low altitudes and the announced lower temperatures from the middle of next week, many small ski resorts should now be over the mountain for the time being. This is also shown by the Blick survey. Because this weekend, a number of ski areas are finally starting the 2022/23 ski season:
Bergün – Filisur / Darlux GR
Actually, the official start of the season in Bergün – Filisur/Darlux would have been on December 17th. But like in many places there was no snow. Now the Darlux ski area can finally open on Saturday, January 14th. All ski slopes above the so-called «Snowhill» will be open. The cross-country ski trail in Bergün, the Tèct ski lift and the children’s area are also open. The Zinols ski lift remains closed due to the snow situation.
“We would like to inform you that thanks to the snowmaking and the tireless work of our employees, we can also open the valley slope again on Saturday, January 14th,” says the ski resort’s website. From Saturday, two gondolas, a chair lift and a tow lift will be open to skiers. This allows skiing on a total of six slopes, including the valley run.
It was not until Sunday that the small ski area above Lake Walen had to stop operations in order to protect the slopes and the little snow. Thanks to snowfall and slightly cooler temperatures, however, you can already open again on January 14th. For the first time, however, only one lift and one slope. “But we are confident that there will be more snow next week and that we can gradually open more and more slopes until the sports holidays,” says an employee of Sportbahnen Amden AG.
You can also ski again from this weekend in tranquil Avers in Graubünden. From Saturday, the children’s lift will open as a first step. From Monday, adult ski fans will also get their money’s worth again. Then the Cawetta ski lift will be in operation again. From February you can also go night skiing there again.
The Jeizinen – Feselalpe ski area in Valais is already open from today, Friday. During the week, the ski area was closed due to the high temperatures and few visitors. But now four of the five lifts on the mountain are open again and invite you to go skiing and snowboarding. The mountain railways are positive that operations can now remain open permanently and that all slopes are gradually open to traffic.
In Goms/Obergoms you can finally hit the slopes. From this week, two of the four ski lifts are open. One of the two toboggan runs and countless cross-country ski runs and winter hiking trails are also open. Even the night trail between Ulrichen and Obergesteln is passable and illuminated. The fun park for ski and snowboard freestylers remains closed.
Rothwald – Wasenalp am Simplon VS:
Here, too, the shortened season starts on January 14th. From then on, a lift and 10 km of slopes are open. Another lift opens on Sunday, and then a total of 20 of the 25 kilometers of pistes are open to skiers. There is now more than 60 cm of snow on the mountain and the gastronomy invites you to eat on the slopes.
You had to wait a long time. But now you can finally start the ski season at the Eischoll sports lifts in Valais. From January 14th, the chairlift, the ski lift and the children’s lift will be open for little ski fans. The valley run to the village and the connection to Unterbäch are open. There are still restrictions in the upper sections, because not all slopes could be groomed there due to the wind. Unfortunately, night skiing is not yet possible this weekend either.
At the beginning of the week, a number of other ski areas announced their opening for this weekend. You can read here what these are.