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Despite the third closure in Austria, some winter sports areas are open. There was such a rush over the weekend in bright sunshine that some operators blocked access.
Large crowds in open ski areas in Austria: During the weekend, there were sometimes traffic jams for so long that some pulled on the emergency brake and blocked access. The Bodental in Carinthia, which offers winter hiking and cross-country skiing, remained closed on Sunday after Saturday’s rush, as did the toboggan meadows in Semmering about 100 kilometers southwest of Vienna. At Damüls in Vorarlberg, about 70 kilometers south of Lindau on Lake Constance, too large a crowd had to dissolve.
Many vehicles and hundreds of hikers.
The crowd in Damüls was due to the lack of snow in neighboring areas, said Andreas Gapp, Vorarlberg’s cable car director. “We have learned from this and will adapt our concepts as soon as possible.” Otherwise, he got a positive balance from Christmas days. “People wear the FFP2 mask, keep their distance and accept the rules of food and drink,” he said.
In the Bodental and Semmering areas, it was “lots of vehicles parked by the roadside” that alerted authorities. Access for fire trucks or ambulances was said to be partially obstructed. Hundreds of hikers were on their way and the distance rules of the crown could no longer be guaranteed.
Driveways now closed
On Christmas Day, Semmering had tried in vain to limit the number of barrier slides. Both parishes closed the roads completely on Sunday. The Semmering-Hirschenkogel mountain railways continued to operate. Ski guests who had booked online could use them. Cable cars have cut their maximum number of guests to less than half due to Corona’s distance rules.
Many ski areas are open in Austria, but practically only for residents. There is a 10-day quarantine requirement for those arriving from abroad, which discourages most tourists. The particularly effective FFP2 masks as mouth and nose protection are mandatory for all skiers over 14 years old who use gondolas or chair lifts or have to queue.
