Austria Ski Areas Close as Covid-19 Spreads
31st October 2020
Last modified on May 13th, 2021
Austria has imposed new new lockdown measures with resorts closed on Tuesday. It is a severe below for the snowsports industry. Nine resorts were open offering some skiing with excellent early season conditions.
Eight glacier ski resorts were open for skiing and snowboarding with Covid-19 measures in place.
The new measures mean all have had to suspend their normal operations.
They are Hintertux, Stubai, Sölden, Kaprun, Pitztal, Kaunertal, Dachstein and Mölltal.
Kitzbuhel in the Tirol had also opened a run in the Resterhöhe area.
Hintertux had this message as it closed its lifts on Monday.
“According to the motto ‘Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it was beautiful’
Full of gratitude, we look back on a slightly different, but still very beautiful summer and fall (beginning) with many wonderful moments THANKS to all our friends, guests & staff who contributed to safe cooperation on the mountain
“We Looking forward to a healthy reunion expected in December”
In the Tirol they are all closing to the general public, but some remain open for professional skiers and snowboarders.
“The ski resorts in the Austrian Tirol (Stubai, Hintertux, Soelden, Kaunertal, Pitztal and Kitzbühel) will close until the 30th of November,” said the Tirol in a statement to PlanetSKI.
“For professional skiers Kaunertal and Pitztal will remain open for training purposes.
“It is a shame since the conditions are great, however due to the COVID spread it has to be carried out in order to limit it.
“The second lock down in November is a hard hit for us. We hope to being numbers down and start a safe winter season in December.”
“We are very sorry that due to COVID-19 guidelines, we have to close our ski resort from Tuesday, November 3rd until the end of November 2020,” said the resort of Stubai in the Tirol.
“Thank you for your understanding and hope to see you again soon at Stubai Glacier.”
Hintertux also announced on Sunday morning that it is closing.
“Due to the official guidelines, we very much regret that the ski operation at Hintertux Glacier ends on November 2, 2020 at 16.30 pm.
“We are already looking forward to a healthy return on ski! Meanwhile, we’re keeping the glacier in mind as much as we all love it!”
It is a double blow for skiers and snowboarders able to get to the ski areas as the resorts are seeing some of the best early season conditions in recent years.
Resorts in other Austrian regions have also informed visitors that they are closing.
Kaprun in Salzburgerland, where the Kitzsteinhorn glacier has been open for skiing, shuts on Tuesday.
“We are sorry to inform you that our cableways, the ski area and our gastronomy as well as the amusement park Maiskogel (Maisi Flitzer) are closed from Tuesday 03.11.2020 until approx 23.11.2020 due to the COVID-19 protection measures regulation,” the ski area said on its website.
Carinthia’s only glacier resort, Mölltal, published this message on its Facebook page on Saturday.
Stay safe and see you soon! The Mölltaler Gletscherbahnen team!”The Dachstein glacier, in Styria, is also suspending operations on 3rd November in according with the protective measures ordinance.
“All events will not be possible. This will affect the sports, cultural and leisure sectors. Hotels will have to close,” said the Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz.
“In Austria we have seen an exponential increase in cases in the last few weeks, and an almost explosive increase in the past seven days.”
He admitted that the measures represented “dramatic interventions in our social life.”
Last week France imposed a lockdown and its open ski areas have closed, with others delaying their November openings.
French ski resorts close as country goes into second lockdown
Resorts in Switzerland remain open, but it can only be a matter of time before they close too as cases surge in the country.
Verbier Opens as Covid-19 Surges in Switzerland
View of Verbier. Image © PlanetSKI.
Italy too has closed its resorts to the general public, but there are exceptions.
Some ski resorts in Italy remain open
The Austrian Chancellor unveiled the measures on Saturday afternoon.
There will be a curfew from 8pm to 6am.
Most venues for leisure and sport will be shut – cinemas, theatres, swimming pools and dance schools.
Restaurants will shut but will be allowed to serve takeaways.
Betting shops must close.
He said that shops would remain open.
The restrictions come as infections approach a level which officials say will stretch the country’s hospitals beyond capacity.
The rules will come into force on Tuesday 3rd and last until November 30th.
On Saturday another 27 deaths were reported in Austria with a further 5,349 cases.
1,109 people have died during the pandemic with 104, 925 recorded cases.
The new restrictions were widely expected after much of the country went into the red level this week.
Austria turns red
We reported on the development on Friday on PlanetSKI, Covid-19 spreading out of control in Austria
All the measures will apply to ski resorts and mountain areas.
We have posted earlier on the overall measures in place in ski areas across the country:
- Tirol unveils plans for safe winter
- Arlberg ski area announces its Covid-19 policy for lift system
- Tirol answers your Covid-19 questions
Tirol, Austria. Image © PlanetSKI.
