La Masella, España, Dec 14 (AFP/APP): Skis and snowboards slide down the slopes of the Spanish ski resort of La Masella, which opened Monday with curbs to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus that has kept ski stations closed in many other European nations.
“I didn’t think I could ski for the next two to three years. I was a bit worried but since it was Monday I thought there would be few people so I dared to come,” said 60-year-old Prisco Crespo.
The main parking lot at the ski station set in the midst of a dense pine forest in the Spanish Pyrenees, just two hours by car from Barcelona, was full and queues formed to board ski lifts. “We couldn’t wait. We asked for the day off work, we left Barcelona at six in the morning and are here to spend the day,” said Ricard Pons, a 29-year-old warehouse worker who came with his girlfriend.
Most European nations have kept ski resorts shut over fears that crowds and apres-ski revelry could fuel the spread of Covid-19. In the Pyrenees, only ski resorts in Spain’s northeastern Catalonia region have opened. France and tiny Andorra have put off opening their resorts until after Christmas while Catalonia’s neighbouring region of Aragon has still not set a date for when its slopes can open. Catalonia delayed the opening of its ski stations and there were doubts that they would be able to draw many customers because of virus restrictions that complicate travel, especially on weekends.
“In the end we decided to open because mountain areas depend on ski, we are their economic engine,” Joaquim Alsina, the head of Catalan ski resort association ACEM, told AFP.
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