La Clusaz (France) (AFP)
Thanks to exceptional snow conditions for the Pentecost weekend, the ski resort of La Clusaz (Haute-Savoie) has decided to reopen its ski lifts for two days, made possible by the deconfinement phase of May 19. .
"We can therefore officially announce the opening of the winter season on May 23 and, by the way, the closure of this season on the 24th. The season has never been so short and intense!", The station said ironically. its website during the announcement made on Wednesday.
In total, five slopes in the Balme sector, which culminates at an altitude of 2,400 meters to the east of the resort, are accessible free of charge for two days, from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., to winter sports enthusiasts, who can take two chairlifts and one cable car.
The passes to access the ski lifts available free of charge on the resort's site in limited numbers were snapped up in a few hours.
"We have imposed a welcome gauge of 1,000 people per day on the area", explains Jean-Christophe Hoff, the director of the ski lifts of La Clusaz, according to whom at least 35,000 requests for ski passes could not be satisfied.
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At least 30 centimeters fell during the night from Saturday to Sunday at the top of the Balme, which delighted the early skiers.
"It's an exceptional day, it's magic. With the sun and 30 centimeters of puff (powder) at the top, it's great," enthuses James Amé, a skier from Aix-les-Bains ( Savoie), after a descent.
To respect the health protocol in force, skiers must be masked, maintain a certain distance on the slopes and the ski lifts can only be occupied at 50%.
According to a report published in mid-April, the 2019-2020 season has been the "worst" in two decades for the ski tourism industry around the world due to the pandemic.
He believes the 2020-21 season will be even worse.
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