On December 2, skiers in the Andorran station of Grandvalira. – Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP
If it could have been missing during some Christmas holidays, this year the snow is well present in the Pyrenees . But coronavirus obliges, the French authorities have shut down the ski lifts on this side of the massif. A few kilometers from the border, the cable cars have resumed their slow broom. Andorra has indeed reopened Saturday its ski resorts .
But the right to be able to slide on the snowy slopes of the principality is for the moment only reserved for residents of this independent enclave wedged between France and Spain. The gauges of the stations are also reduced and the mask obligatory.
The estacions d’esquí confirmen the obertura progressiva from 2 of gener only per als residents in Andorra https://t.co/sS7WYQfSH0 – Govern d’Andorra (@GovernAndorra) December 30, 310
On Thursday, the Andorran government indicated the possibility of reopening its tracks to its French and Spanish neighbors from January 9 if the situation health is more favorable. This gradual and partial opening takes into account a complex “search for balances”, according to the head of the Andorran government Xavier Espot. “We cannot open the stations in a reckless and irresponsible manner” and take the risk that Spain and France “close our borders” and no longer allow their citizens to go to Andorra “because we have anticipated too much” , he had warned Thursday.
Ski, 30 at 40% of GDP
At the station Pal Arinsal, skiers could take advantage on Saturday of 43% of the ski area. But to get on the ski lifts, they first had to show an identity document proving that they were indeed Andorrans or residents. In order to encourage them to put on their skis, the resorts have decreed that the slopes are free this weekend.
“We only ask to end the season. But it will be a shock, very complicated year anyway, ”Grandvalira station manager Juan Ramón Moreno told AFP.
“If we followed a commercial approach, we would not have opened the station, because we are going through a very complex financial period”, has for his part affirmed the director of Vallnord-Pal Arinsal, Josep Marticella, however emphasizing “the commitment to the customer”. The latter indicates that the late opening of ski resorts this winter has already resulted in a loss of seven million euros. For the principality which has some 40. inhabitants, the winter sports season weighs 20 at 40% of GDP.