In the Sauerland and in the Rothaargebirge there are good winter sports conditions again for the first time this weekend after weeks of dry spells.
85 of almost 130 lifts were open - record for this winter.
“The conditions are great.
It doesn't get any better than that," said a spokeswoman for the Sauerland winter sports arena.
"Only the sun could still show up."
There was still plenty of fresh snow on Tuesday and Thursday.
Accordingly, the first parking spaces were full around 9.30 a.m. on Saturday.
"There's a lot going on in the core area around Winterberg and Willingen," said spokeswoman Susanne Schulten.
She recommended traveling anti-cyclically and also targeting smaller natural snow areas such as Sellinghausen or Usseln.
The temperatures in the Hochsauerland were constantly below zero at minus 3 to 6 degrees.
On the Kahler Asten, the snow depth was given as 26 centimeters.
In addition, the snow cannons have been in continuous operation in the frosty temperatures of the past few days.
92 kilometers of trails were prepared for cross-country skiers.
Since Christmas, double-digit temperatures with rain and strong winds had melted the snow quickly.
Most recently, skiing and snowboarding in the Sauerland was only possible in Winterberg on a few narrow swathes of artificial snow in the otherwise green landscape.
The winter sports arena Sauerland is a merger of the ski areas in the districts of Hochsauerland, Siegen-Wittgenstein, Olpe and the Hessian municipality of Willingen.
This includes 34 ski areas with 126 lifts.