While alpine ski resorts are anxiously awaiting a possible reopening of ski lifts, some resorts specializing in cross-country skiing are fully booked.
This is particularly the case on the Beille plateau, in Ariège.
Here the crowd is such that the manager of the resort has already had to prohibit access, to regulate the flow of skiers.
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"There is a crazy world, I can't believe it."
Yves "can't believe it", this inhabitant of the valley near the Beille plateau, in Ariège, where the largest Nordic ski resort in the Pyrenees is located, thought he could take advantage of the calm of the mountains.
But it is quite the reverse.
While the Defense Council must make its decision on the reopening of ski lifts in ski resorts, some sites specializing in Nordic skiing have been breaking attendance records since the start of the season, such as here.
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"It was a crazy thing"
"I came last Wednesday, there were people like that, it was a crazy thing", he abounds at the microphone of Europe 1. Among these new followers of cross-country skiing, Régine.
Accustomed to alpine skiing, this 50-year-old has not hesitated to change disciplines to enjoy the snow.
"It's a lot sportier than I thought, being a beginner at over 50 is not easy."
And yet, many French people have swapped the rental of alpine skis for snowshoes and touring skis.
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Reopen to regulate the flow of skiers
So much so that this influx has become difficult to manage for Georges Vigneau, the manager of the station.
He therefore calls on the government to reopen the ski lifts to distribute all these customers.
"Today, I think we exceed the 1,200 packages. The weeks we have now are weeks that we live during the February vacation," he said.
"At a given moment, you are no longer able to provide quality service to the people you welcome. Opening everything, at least during the February holidays, will allow customers to be distributed over all the resorts. ski."
This will allow "to avoid phenomena of concentration".
To regulate the flow, Georges Vigneau has already been forced three times, including last Saturday, to ban the road that leads to the station.