Wintersport-Arena Sauerland Is Optimistic About Winter

The skiing areas of the Winter Sports Arena Sauerland are looking towards the upcoming white season much more relaxed than a year before. The hope for a time as cold and snowy as the lockdown winter is greater than the fear of a renewed closure. To the extent that large investments are pending, optimism is not enough. Smaller innovations are pending with a joint Winterberg ski ticket and two new online shops.

More secure information base than in the pre-winter lockdown

Above all, the widespread political statement that there should be no third lockdown ensures relaxation. In the preseason it had almost completely paralyzed the alpine ski areas. Only Willingen and Winterberg were able to open for a good month in the late season under strict restrictions.

Another contributing factor to optimism is the widespread recognition that the risk of infection outdoors is extremely low. In addition, the past few months have shown that people's need to get out and enjoy fresh air and nature is unbroken and is even growing.

Hope for similar good weather as in the pre-winter

However, the prerequisite is that the coming winter season brings a lot of snow and cold. Weather like last season would be a guarantee for economic success: 57 days on which the temperature was permanently below zero degrees and 67 days with at least 20 centimeters of natural snow was 20-21 the best winter in five years. Due to the lockdown, however, the tourism industry went away empty-handed during this time.

The operators do not fear an uncontrolled "rush". With a controlled and comprehensive opening, there is a sufficiently large supply available to meet the demand. At peak times such as holidays or snowy weekends, online ticket systems can record and control demand. After online shops were already successfully used in Winterberg and Willingen, Neuastenberg and Altastenberg have now also acquired these systems.

New community ticket and ski bus to guide guests

A joint ski ticket “Around the Kahler Asten” is intended to draw visitors' attention to the offers in the area and to direct the flow. Also included are the ski lift carousel, Neuastenberg, Altastenberg, the Sahnehang and the Ruhrquelle. The ticket includes a ski bus that commutes between these areas in order to reduce individual traffic in the area.

After the changeable and humid summer, the snow-covered ski areas look forward to full storage ponds. In cold weather nothing stands in the way of good first-time snowmaking.

Due to the total economic failure last winter, only important repairs and replacement measures are currently planned. Improvements or extensions are not in sight.

New challenges of the future

Despite all the financial burden, the lift operators are looking to the future. Climate change and resource protection are the greatest challenges. The use of renewable energies has been an issue for many years. The large photovoltaic system was built in the Remmeswiese in 2009, and since then many smaller systems have been installed on the functional buildings. Talks are currently underway with providers to buy “green” electricity for Neuastenberg, Altastenberg, Winterberg and Willingen.

Most of the ski areas had already prepared hygiene concepts and planned their practical implementation last winter. In Willingen and Winterberg, the concepts were also successfully implemented at the end of winter. In addition, Willingen and Winterberg can look back on equally successful summer lift operations. Keeping your distance and wearing a mask have become a matter of course, and buying tickets online has become a habit. The operators believe that treating the lifts in the same way as local public transport would be appropriate. Because controls, whether vaccinated, tested or recovered, would be unrealistic during operation. In order to ensure a nice and safe winter season for everyone involved, they hope that the vaccination rate will increase significantly by then.

Cross-country skiing experienced an upswing

Nordic winter sports had a special position last winter. The cross-country ski areas were not affected by the lockdown. However, due to the fear of too large a rush, the available offers were hardly announced.

In addition, in the Nordic area, apart from Westfeld, there is almost no possibility of technical snowmaking. It is all the more annoying for the operators of the cross-country ski areas that they were only allowed to “drive at half speed” last winter. If the winter weather is as good as last year, they hope that demand will increase. Due to a lack of leisure activities, many people had bought cross-country skiing equipment. It is unlikely that all owners will now switch to cross-country skiing. However, the trail operators are hoping for one or two additional guests. It is true that the use of the trails is basically free in almost all areas. But the acceptance of a voluntary payment is increasing steadily. There are currently considerations to create another low-threshold way for the purchase of day tickets in the online area.

Trend towards shorter journeys and stays

With all challenges there are also opportunities. Current surveys show that Germans often shy away from long journeys and tend to take spontaneous, short vacations or excursions. This could increasingly attract guests from the nearby metropolitan areas to the Sauerland winter sports arena. Guests from the Netherlands, Belgium or Denmark usually spend longer vacations. The operators hope to convince them with their good hygiene concepts, so that they will not be deterred from vacationing in neighboring countries.