A COLD wave sweeping across Spain has proven to be great news for its ski stations – they have been able to start their season early and are already filling up.
With snow hitting the north of Spain and areas of high altitude, some of the major resorts in the country are looking forward to doing a roaring trade.
These include ski stations in the Pyrénées of Huesca, in the province of Teruel – both in Aragón – as well as Catalunya, Madrid, and Asturias, as well as in the south of Spain – the Sierra Nevada, in Granada.
Although ski resorts are hoping for a buoyant winter in terms of profits thanks to the early start, they still face challenges not seen in other, better-known slopes in Europe.
In Spain, only 10 per cent of skiers are tourists from abroad, and many of those who already live in the country simply hit the slopes for the weekend or even for the day.
But even then, Spanish ski stations collectively saw 4.8 million skiers last year, bringing in net profits of 100 million, allowing them to invest 14 million on improving facilities.
The first ski station of the season to open was Masella, in the province of Girona, with 11 kilometres of slopes and eight pistes, plus two ski-lifts in operation – and by next weekend, the management intends to open all 41 pistes with 49 kilometres of slopes and five ski-lifts.
La Molina, Girona, Baqueira-Beret (Lleida) and Vall de Núria are all open this weekend, and on November 30, those of Espot, Port Aine and Vallter 2000 will start their seasons.
All these ski resorts in Catalunya will shut during the week and reopen in time for Saturday.
Ski stations in Asturias will start their season next weekend, on Saturday, November 30 – a week earlier than planned – provided there is enough snow by then.
The Sierra Nevada has opened its Borreguiles and Río stations, with special offer prices for the first week – 25 euros for adults, 10 euros for children between five and 12, and under-fives go free.
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