Ski areas in the Spanish Pyrenees will begin opening on Monday, 14th December, according to one of the biggest, Baqueira Beret.
Ski resorts in Andorra and France have been told to stay closed by their governments until January to avoid the danger of spreading the virus over Christmas and New Year.
The ski resorts argue they have adequate safety measures in place to operate without risking the spread of the virus, and those in Catalonia have now got the go ahead to open, after some delays.
There has been heavy snowfall in the Pyrenees over the past week leaving a lot of snow lying ahead of the season start.
The ski season did start on Spain earlier this week when the small area of Leitariegos in the Northwest of the country opened, although for local skiers only.
The governments of France, Germany and Italy had tried to persuade other European governments to keep their ski resorts closed over Christmas and New Year but that request has been rejected by most. Ski lifts have now started running in more than a dozen European nations. Only Andorra has agreed to do so, with Austria opening only to locals over Christmas and New Year but to the wider tourist market from January 7th.
There’s some confusion over what is and isn’t allowed. In France ski resorts are fully opening to winter tourism from December 15th and guests can do pretty much anything, including cross country skiing and ski touring, …except use the ski lifts. Other forms of mass public transportation in the country are allowed. In Austria pretty much the reverse is the case over Christmas and New Year with ski lifts running but hotels closed and tourists not able to visit.
The French government has said they plan to post border guards to try to catch and fine any French skiers who try to head to Spain or Switzerland to ski over Christmas and New Year.
