Ski resorts “start” with a white Christmas

In most cases, the accumulation of the white bed is not enough to open the most advanced tracks, but it is enough to make the first attempts. The complexes thus make their predictions and approach the season with enthusiasm, welcoming families and fans “with great desire” who are taking advantage of their end-of-year vacation days.

San Isidro

The winter station of San Isidro, managed by the Provincial Council of León, was the earliest, as it opened the season on December 5. However, weather conditions (wind, rain, humidity and rising temperatures) only allowed it to remain open for a few days, even though it was used to accommodate around two thousand people. Taking into account the new forecasts, the Leonese complex has announced its reopening last Tuesday, December 23.

The Provincial Council had announced, a few days earlier, that the technical teams were working to ensure that the slopes in the Cebolledo and Requejines sectors were operational that day, with thicknesses of between 15 and 50 centimeters of powder and with “at least 8.6 skiable kilometers“.

Leitariegos

As the same sources from the Provincial Council add, its sister center, the station Laciana-Leitariegos Valley, I followed it on the calendar, marking December 24 as the opening date. In his case, this Christmas Eve was the first of the season. The technical teams put in place two green slopes -the School and the Bear- and two other blues (the Cave and Chagunachos). A few days earlier, the provincial institution remained cautious, faced with a “case” as variable as snow. “Depending on the use of the snow that has fallen in recent days and the work carried out with artificial snow, a greater or lesser number of skiable kilometers will be possible,” he said in a statement.

La Covatilla

Meanwhile, in the center of Salamanca La Covatilla-Sierra de Béjaralso started the season “falsely”, to the rhythm of capricious weather. Sources recall that they opened “on December 5”, but that they closed on the 9th and reopened “the following week”. A few days before Christmas, the DGT decreed road closures due to dangerous ice patches and the season. I came to open Christmasbut with mandatory channels. Which, they admit, “puts off the fans a little”, who usually travel by car and not in a 4×4.

However, in the following days the road was considered “clear” and the learning trails or final section of El Cerrojo are now ready to be used and enjoyed by snow enthusiasts. And there are a lot of them, and the cold works in its favor to maintain it. If at a thousand meters we calculate that there are already around 30 centimeters of snow, at 2,150 meters the thickness is 55, which becomes almost a meter at 2,600 meters above sea level. In the absence of the corresponding development work and especially a part ordered “a month ago” and which will be sent from France – the reducer of one of the chairlifts – to La Covatilla, we are working on the opening of the blue and red slopes. Even though they are not at full capacity, they are “very optimistic,” they say. “It’s been nine years since we opened so early and it was a spectacular season,” they remember.

La Pinilla

For his part, La Pinilla (Segovia) was booked just after Christmas: the ski resort opened its doors this Friday 26, but with only a few hundred meters to go. More precisely, those which correspond to three green slopesthose for beginners -Cerezuelo and Telebaby-, in addition to the space reserved for sleds. In the complex they say that they call them “all the time” to see if they are available and that even if “it seems white”, they are still in this accumulation phase in which the thickness decreases with each step. So, although in their communications department they affirm that “as soon as there are enough centimeters” they will “look forward to opening everything”, they also call for “taking advantage” of these beginnings of Christmas and expect that many will sign up for this plan. His prediction is around 400 visitors per dayin which tourists and skiers mix.

“It’s very good for us to start the season calmly and try all the new adaptations,” they say, emphasizing that they have implemented direct access via QR and improvements to the handlebars and discs or that they have carried out major clearing work. “To have a trendy station In terms of technology and services, it is enough to be able to open more kilometers of snow”, they recognize in La Pinilla. Although they focus on sport and accommodation, they offer a wide range of complementary activities (gastronomy, events) and highlight the facilities they offer to “arrive at any time”, which makes the snow, although rarer than in other enclaves, “more usable” to come and go in the same day.

Navacerrada

The “small” station Navacerrada, halfway between Segovia and Madrid -its proximity to the capital is one of its assets- has not yet been revealed. Although the fate of the station is in the hands of the courts, until it is resolved judicially, it remains in operation, and its general director, José Luis González, indicates that they plan to open “next week”, either January 1 or 2. New Year’s is generally not his “busiest” date, but seasons in which January 2 or 3 are skiable “the resort fills up,” he warns. If so far there hasn’t been “enough” snow, he admits, the first solid rains have created “a base” which we will now reinforce with artificial snow cannons.

Last year they opened on December 22, but the one-week interval does not worry them: “We have a very linear flow from Monday to Sunday and a very familiar audience, coming from schools and clubs”, explains González, which makes them think that they will have skiers after Reyes. In fact, the snowfall of last February, they were “overbooked”with many “very short-term” people, attracted by imposing densities at the end of the season. “We would prefer that this come in a more staggered manner,” he hopes.

Saint Agnes

The Santa Inés snow point, northwest of Soria, next to the Urbión Summitsdoes not provide information, but provides the most important information via the Internet and networks. In this last week of the year, the mini resort remains closed, but organizes collective snowshoe outings.

Exchange between La Covatilla and Alto Campoo

Thanks to this agreement, pass holders, both on public sale and at ski clubs (in the Adult and Children categories), will receive an invitation voucher for a one-day ski pass at the Alto Campoo resort. Conversely, subscribers of this other will be able to enjoy the mountains of Salamanca under the same conditions. As specified in La Covatilla, these will always be one-day ski passes, under the conditions of the original pass (if they allow access during the week, excluding Saturdays, etc.) and for the exchange of which it will be essential to have the current season pass and to pay five euros for insurance.