Cross-country skiing, a deconfined practice.

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  • With the ski lifts closed, winter sports enthusiasts could fall back on Nordic disciplines, especially cross-country skiing.

  • In the Pyrenees, the resorts are ready to welcome regulars and neophytes, in better snow conditions than last winter at this time.

  • However, these practices cannot claim to economically replace downhill skiing, which drains much more money and jobs.

Despite the recent warmth, there will be snow at Christmas in the Pyrenees, while it was scarce at this period in recent years.

"It's all the more annoying not to be able to open the lifts", loose Michel Poudade, the mayor of Angles, in the Pyrénées-Orientales.

But, for lack of an alpine (possible on the other side of the Spanish border), the Catalan village of 550 inhabitants can take out its joker, nestled in the heart of the Capcir area, between 1,500 and 1,900 m above sea level: Nordic skiing , not affected by government health measures.

"We expect a certain enthusiasm," assures the elected official, also president of the Pyrenean Confederation of Tourism.

There are people who will experience the holidays differently, through a framework they do not know.

»Cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, biathlon or even pony-sledges… The resorts are betting on“ new ”snow sports, where one does not stack on the chairlifts or in the gondolas, to limit damage.

"Give a positive message to future vacationers"

If the Capcir will launch its season on Friday, at the dawn of the end-of-year holidays, the 36 km of cross-country ski trails of the Pont d'Espagne, in the center of the chain, have already been accessible since last weekend. .

"It was a small opening for the locals," says Vincent Doutres, director of the tourist office in Cauterets (Hautes-Pyrénées), on which this sector, located between 1,400 and 1,800 m above sea level, depends.

It was about giving a positive message to future vacationers, reassuring them by showing them that when alpine skiing is closed, something else is offered.

"

The end of confinement, since Tuesday, gives hope for the arrival of tourists from the great southwest of France, but also from Pays-de-la-Loire, the area of ​​"catchment" of the places.

“People called us to find out what activities we could do,” continues Vincent Doutres.

At the Pont d'Espagne, December 9, 2020. - Cauterets Tourisme

Meanwhile, at an altitude of 1,800 m in Ariège, the big day took place this Wednesday at the Beille plateau, well known to Tour de France lovers.

"Last year, it was average at Christmas, we can expect better this time in view of the snow conditions", underlines the director Georges Vignaux, who recorded 48,000 sales of ski passes last winter.

Cow mountains suitable for cross-country skiing

But it is difficult to plan ahead for the first Nordic site in the Pyrenees with, in particular, 35 km of cross-country trails and 30 of snowshoes, not to mention sledding or sled dogs.

“We have a part of clients who make a stay, staying in the valley, but the majority are people who come during the day, making up their minds in the evening or in the morning.

»30% of them come from the Toulouse region, an hour and a half away, and some 25% from Ariège.

"We can not predict what will happen, when we see in particular the explosion of cases in Germany or the very high death rate in Belgium," continues Georges Vignaux, who also manages not far from there the small Nordic station of Chioula, whose opening is expected on Saturday.

The concern today is linked to the behavior of the public.

At the reception, people must respect the distances, that they wear the mask, if we want the season to come to an end, scheduled for April 5.

Then, on the slopes, they can take oxygen to the lungs.

"

A little further east, Michel Poudade does not shy away from his optimism.

"I am convinced that Nordic skiing will work well this winter in the Pyrenees, launches the mayor of Angles.

We have mountains with cows, open, less steep than large alpine resorts.

It's well suited for cross-country skiing or snowshoeing.

"However, the councilor recognizes:" Economically and socially, it does not replace alpine skiing.

But we do with it.

"

30 times more alpine ski passes sold than cross-country skiing last winter

Specialized stores will put away snowboards for a while to showcase sleds and snowshoes, and some specialist alpine instructors will introduce their customers to ski touring.

Restaurants will offer take-out.

But it's a stopgap for multipurpose sites, where downhill skiing remains a major juggernaut.

Thus, in Cauterets, “320,000 alpine ski passes” were sold last winter, against “8,000 to 10,000” for the background, details Vincent Doutres, who also intends to attract a local clientele at the foot of Vignemale, during the holidays. to come up.

While waiting for the hoped-for opening of the ski lifts in January, it is a question of limiting the breakage.

“The people who come will not be disappointed,” promises Michel Poudade, from his Catalan mountains.

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