Willing is not always power. Despite the efforts of the last few days, none of the four ski resorts in the Aragonese Pyrenees will open their doors for the Constitución macrobridge, a hard blow for the regional economy. The absence of enough snow and the variability of temperatures in recent days, without the cold needed to consolidate the artificial snow produced by the cannons, have caused the slopes to not be in optimal conditions to receive skiers and to remain closed pending days better The same situation is repeated in Teruel, where only one of the two stations, that of Valdelinares, will inaugurate the season today with the partial opening of the facilities.
Uncertainty in the Pyrenean valleys has been the dominant note in recent weeks. The snowfall left by the storms Ciarán and Domingos in October and November drew a promising white layer that the subsequent rise in temperatures and rainfall took care of blurring. Even so, those in charge of the winter centers were confident that the cold front that swept the Pyrenees these days would leave sufficient thicknesses to receive the first skiers, a hope that has not materialized.
“The snowfall of the last few hours has not been enough to have optimal thicknesses for the start of the season”, assured yesterday the centers of Astún and Candanchú, in the Aragó valley. His decision was made public one day after the company Aramón, half-owned by Ibercaja and the Government of Aragon, ruled out opening its two stations in the Pyrenees (Formigal-Panticosa and Cerler) and Javalambre for similar reasons. in Teruel. “The weather conditions and the continuous snowmaking work (with artificial snow cannons) have not been sufficient to guarantee the opening”, they explained.
For now, the only one that saves the furniture is the Terol de Valdelinares resort, popular with skiers from neighboring Valencia. Thanks to the small layer of snow that fell on the night of Sunday to Monday and, above all, to the low temperatures of up to 7 degrees below zero recorded in the last few days, which have allowed the cannons to snow, it has been possible to start the slopes, albeit partially. In total, from today there will be five ski lifts operating, around 3.5 kilometers with thicknesses of 10 to 30 centimeters of snow, a surface that they expect to gradually expand as conditions improve. “It’s very good news, a shower of benefits for all of us who live and work here and a great way to end the year and start a new one”, assured the mayor of Móra de Rubiols, Hugo Arquímedes , in the local press.
With a total of 380 skiable kilometers spread over six alpine resorts, the delay in the start of the season is bad news for a sector that represents around 7% of the regional GDP. Stations don’t cash out. Its workers, the vast majority of whom are temporary employees, do not invoice these days either. And neighboring hospitality, restaurant or ski-related products trade do not meet expectations in a bridge that usually represents a significant pinch of their annual income.
“There has been an avalanche of cancellations and, at the foot of the slopes, one of the hotels will only open on a token basis”, explains Jesús Pellejero, president of the Tena Valley entrepreneurs and owner of two hotels in Formigal. Their hopes now lie that the snow forecast for this weekend will take root so that, along with the action of the cannons and treading the slopes, the resorts can open as soon as possible. “The most realistic scenario is that they can open on December 15 or 16,” he added. Meanwhile, the resorts open in Catalonia, Andorra or France are positioning themselves to capture the fans who were going to ski in Aragonese lands.
