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Ski lift operators and many local managers have greeted with anger and frustration the decision to postpone the opening of the ski slopes until at least March 5. In the late afternoon of Sunday, February 14, a few hours before the announcement of the government’s decision, in many ski resorts the snow cats prepared the slopes with a view to the opening of the ski lifts, scheduled today in Lombardy, Piedmont and Valle d ‘Aosta, and Wednesday, February 17 in Veneto.
The work of the plant’s engineers was paralyzed by the order signed by the Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, who extended the closure for almost three weeks. The postponement was decided following the opinion of the Technical Scientific Committee that advised against the reopening of the plants due to the worrying spread of the so-called variants of the coronavirus, more contagious. In the statement issued Sunday night, the ministry said that “the government is committed to compensating operators in the sector as soon as possible with adequate refreshments.”
Already a few minutes after the announcement of the extension of the closure, there were protests from many operators and presidents of the Regions who in recent weeks had worked to ensure the reopening of the plants safely with rules and measures to try to avoid queues and crowds. , which were apparently deemed unavoidable by the government anyway.
– Read also: The ski resorts will be closed until March 5.
More than the confirmation of the closure – it is the third time that the start of the ski season has been postponed – to enrage the operators was the management of communications that in recent days has caused a loss of work and economic resources. With a view to reopening, especially in Lombardy, Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta, plant managers had invested tens of thousands of euros to prepare the slopes, hired seasonal workers and started selling thousands of passes that must now be repaid. Restaurants and shelters had ordered perishable products, stores had stocked up with clothing and technical equipment.
– Read also: What is behind a ski slope?
The problem of the resources invested in the preparation phase was partially mitigated in Veneto, where President Luca Zaia had signed a reopening order on Wednesday 17 February (this had delayed some operations completed over the weekend in Piedmont, Lombardy and Aosta Valley). In the autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano, in the orange zone, the reopening had already been compromised by a worrying growth in infections.
The consequences are significant for the entire delicate mountain economy, which is already unstable due to the often controversial and unsustainable development of the ski lift sector. In recent years, many small stations have been closed, and the debate about the future of the larger ones has intensified, considered by many as problematic not only because of the environmental impact but also because of the amount of investments needed, first of all to cover the now common lack of natural snow (which, however, is abundant this year).
At this point, it is difficult to say if it will be able to reopen from March 5 or if the ski season can be ended. “We are furious, it seems like a joke,” says Valeria Ghezzi, national president of ANEF, the cable car business association. “It was the State that gave us the green light in full compliance with the regulations. At least we hope that the last sentence of the government press release (the one on immediate refreshments, ed) has immediate and urgent application.
(Ansa / Roberta Marrollo)
The same request was made by the President of Veneto, Luca Zaia. In an interview with Corriere della SeraZaia explained that in addition to the so-called refreshments, that is, compensation for the lack of reopening, compensation will also be needed. “Because in this case, with a view to reopening soon, the operators had already cleared the slopes and posted signs, bars, restaurants and shelters had been supplied, the seasonal workers had gone to the mountain,” said Zaia. “Did you say no to all these people the day before? There are no words to describe the motivated anger of our operators. Zaia also explained that tourism is the leading industry in Veneto and accounts for 18 billion out of 160 of the gross domestic product. Of the 70 million tourists who come to Veneto each year, 66% come from abroad. ‘It means that Veneto is on his knees today. Despite the blocking of layoffs, it has already lost 65,000 jobs, of which 35,000 in tourism, “said Zaia.
Zaia’s position is also shared by the President of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Stefano Bonaccini, who defined the sudden closure as “unacceptable”: “We are not scientists and the protection of health will always come first. But I hope that what happened is the last time because it is no longer tolerable.
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On Sunday night, the president of the Piedmont Region, Alberto Cirio, described the government’s decision as “an unacceptable lack of respect on the part of the state that must guarantee its citizens, not harass them.” On Monday morning in Piana di Vigezzo, 1,720 meters in the municipality of Craveggia, in the province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, in Piedmont, the elevators were opened in violation of the government ordinance.
«Again on Friday the Region had assured us the opening and we have prepared everything, for sure, to reopen. And so we did, ”said Luca Mantovani, one of the owners of the company that manages the plants in the Piedmont valley.
Skiers waiting their turn to access the slopes of Piana di Vigezzo. (ANSA / Renato Balducci)
In Lombardy, a countdown was set on the websites of many ski areas to mark the wait until the day of the reopening. The countdown stopped a few hours before the start. The Valtorta-Piani di Bobbio district, between the Lecco and Bergamo provinces, had already sold 9,000 ski passes and had hired around 30 seasonal workers. “What they are subjecting us to is a game of slaughter that can only generate anger,” explains Massimo Fossati, president of ANEF Lombardia and manager of the Valtorta-Piani di Bobbio ski area. “Because if today you tell us to open and hire, tomorrow you can’t tell us to stay closed: it is not respectful to those who have hired or those who have been hired.”
– Read also: What to do against variants of the coronavirus
Jonathan Lobati, president of the Valle Brembana mountain community in the Bergamo province, says that until 7:00 p.m. Sunday in Foppolo, the valley’s best-known ski resort, snow cats hit the slopes. The ministry’s press release stopped everything. “This disorganization is violence against a world that some probably think is only for the rich. But that’s not the case, “says Lobati. «The perplexities and doubts of the Scientific Technical Committee were already there since Thursday. Why was no action taken on Friday? The managers would have avoided expenses to prepare the tracks, the insurance, the hiring of the employees later canceled. It would have been better to say from the beginning of winter that this year the season would have been skipped.
A ski slope in Solda, South Tyrol (Ansa / Giampaolo Rizzonelli)
Roberto Failoni, Councilor for Tourism for the autonomous province of Bolzano, also believes it would have been better to avoid conflicting communications a few days later. In recent months, Failoni has organized numerous conversations with those in charge of the plant to identify the anti-infective regulations and in any case guarantee the reopening. “They had to say immediately that the elevators would be closed all season: we would have saved ourselves work and anger,” explains Failoni. “I don’t dare to think about how Lombard and Piedmontese friends feel. The decisions taken a few hours after the plants opened are surprising, also because I don’t think the problem arose on Sunday.
Marco Bussone, president of the National Union of Mountain Municipalities, is concerned about the mistrust that these decisions could generate towards the institutions. According to Bussone, the mountainous areas already feel little considered by politics and the decisions made in recent days do not help. “That the state does not make itself feel close is a very serious problem. Unfortunately, there is a perception that some people receive help and many others are forgotten. There is too much distance between the center, where decisions are made, and what is considered the periphery. I think it is worse to allow gatherings in large urban centers without knowing how to manage them than to open small stations and plants in the open air with a management system studied in detail by the operators and the Regions ».
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