Andorra Opens Some Ski Resorts for Locals Only
4th January 2021
Last modified on May 5th, 2021
It opened up some ski areas on Saturday for local residents only and hopes to allow international visitors this weekend. UPDATED
Andorra closed its resorts over Xmas and New Year to show ‘solidarity’ with its European neighbours, Andorra closes its ski slopes.
“Today is Opening Day in Grandvalira!,” said the Andorra ski area on Saturday.
The slopes of Pas de la Casa haven’t opened yet, however, there are lifts running in the areas of Grau Roig, Arcalís, Soldeu, Tarter, Canillo.
“First day…Happy to open the station again. Happy to see you on the lifts and down our tracks. THANK YOU ….We hope that very soon we can be many more,” said the area of Pal-Arinsal.
Masks are compulsory on the ski lifts and they are limited to 50-75% capacity.
A distance of 1.5m must be maintained between people in queues.
The decision to open was taken in consulation with the neighbouring authorities in Spain and France.
Andorrans are subject to ID checks before being allowed on the lifts to ensure that they have the right to be on the ski slopes.
French residents will not be allowed to cross the border into Andorra to ski.
The prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales said that checks are taking place at the French border.
“Great news, the ski resorts of Andorra have now opened, residents only during this week, and hopefully international guests from the 9th, depending on the epidemiological situation,” said Steve Hull from the operator, Andorra Resorts, to PlanetSKI.
Andorra currently has one of the highest levels of Covid-19 of the ski nations in Europe.
It has 464 recorded cases per 100,000 of population over a 7-day period.
By comparison it is 155 in its Pyrenean neighbour of France, and 155 in Spain also.
In the Alps it is 280 in Switzerland, 178 in Italy and 155 in Austria.
One of the team from Andorra Resorts, Esther, was skiing in Vallnord at the weekend as the lifts started turning.
“This weekend it was the opening day in Vallnord so we went skiing in the area of Pal, which had open 70% of the slopes and up to 70cm of snow coverage,” said Esther.
“The temperature was below zero, however, we could see a good number of skiers enjoying the snow! The maximum capacity was controlled in Vallnord so there were barely any queues.”
Here at PlanetSKI we’ll keep you posted on developments ahead of this weekend and on whether Andorra will open to international skiers and snowboarders.
