Semmering (Austria) (AFP)
Loudspeakers call on skiers wisely aligned to keep their distance and wear an FFP2 mask: apparently, the Austrian resort of Semmering has adapted well to the pandemic.
But despite the multitude of precautions, the maintenance of winter sports in the midst of a health crisis bristles more than one.
First of all in neighboring countries deprived of snow sports, such as Germany and France, but also in Austria, despite the image of a "ski nation" that this central European alpine country likes to give itself.
Between those who taste the peaks and those who juggle as best they can between telework and home schooling, the divorce is over.
Robert Buchmeyer is part of the first camp.
Passionate about the slopes since the age of six, he has had to give up his week's vacation due to hotel closures but he does not shy away from the pleasure of days in the mountains.
"It's excellent for your health, to breathe in the fresh air, and then we don't have much else to do," he told AFP, his ski boots clicking on the asphalt in the parking lot. from Semmering, one hour from Vienna.
- "Chance to shine" -
Concerts canceled, museums and restaurants closed, children deprived of class, the government has just extended the third confinement.
Rare exception: skiing, an outdoor discipline considered less risky.
If the pressure of the industry, strong of 250 stations which represent an economic windfall for the country, played a role, the decision of the government is also of the emotional register, estimates Rudolf Müllner, historian of the sport at the University of Vienna.
From a vast empire to a rump state, Austria, fallen by the shocks of the 20th century, drew its pride in skiing after the war.
"It was THE chance to shine on the world stage," said the analyst.
"It is only in this sport" that the country could "assert its identity in this way", he insists.
In the 1960s, whole families followed the exploits of champions adored on television, young teenage girls put up giant posters in their bedrooms and the middle classes discovered the pleasures of skiing.
Three decades later, two-thirds of Austrians were engaged in skiing on a regular basis.
Today, they are only a third, according to figures from the Research Institute of Leisure and Tourism.
A disaffection linked to the increase in the price of packages, to the wider range of entertainment and to ecological awareness.
- Crowd and contaminations -
And the current situation will not help improve the image of skiing, according to Peter Zellmann, director of the Institute.
Many were thus offended at the sight of the crowd photos at the ski lifts widely shared on social networks, and at the recent discovery of sources of contamination in several stations.
"It has become a major dividing factor," confirms former skier Nicola Spiess-Werdenigg.
“When some people rejoice in skiing while a mother is stranded at home with her three children and can't even go to the zoo, naturally it hurts and feeds anger,” she says.
In solidarity, she will not go skiing this winter and would have liked such a decision at European level, but the conservative chancellor Sebastian Kurz had refused the German proposal for a concerted closure.
However, not all stations rub their hands.
While small businesses like Semmering have done their best by attracting Viennese, the large resorts in Tyrol (west), which usually welcome millions of foreign tourists, are largely deserted.
The authorities' controversial decision will not prevent "an economic catastrophe, of which we will begin to take full measure in six months", warns Zellmann.
On the slopes of Semmering, Tanja, a 32-year-old teacher, has a thought for her fellow citizens less fortunate than herself.
Closing the stations would restore a sense of unity to the country, she admits, while finding it difficult to satisfy everyone "in times of pandemic".
© 2021 AFP