As December approaches, the ski centers operating in Lithuania are still waiting for more wintry weather - until the cold weather hits, most of them do not make snow yet, so the slopes remain closed.
The representatives of the skiing centers interviewed by BNS say that natural snow alone is not enough for the tracks, and at positive temperatures the ground is not frozen, so the artificial snow melts quickly.
"For the last two seasons, we used to blow, then it would snow, then we would blow snow again. It's been very difficult for the last two years", Saulius Gramauskas, the manager of the company "Sruojas slėnis", which manages the skiing complex "Mortos kalns" in Plunge, told BNS.
However, according to representatives of the centers, there are no plans to raise prices too much this season.
Liepkalnis is already starting, but the season will be worse
Liepkalnis ski center in Vilnius started the season on Saturday. According to its manager Artūras Bielskas, the track is opened due to the great desire of the population to spend time outdoors.
"There are always people when we open. People want, they miss those entertainments, they want to be outside. But everything depends on the weather," A. Bielskus told BNS.
"The lows that came in allowed us to make enough snow to open up," he said.
However, according to him, the center may close again, because it will warm up again next week - 5-7 degrees of heat is forecast in Vilnius.
"Now we open for a few days, then we may have to close again, because the weather is very unstable. The activity is always difficult because there is no stable minus, winter weather. We have to adapt, to make that snow again", said A. Bielskas.
The manager of the Liepkalnis center does not expect such a successful year this year as last year, when the tracks were already opened at the end of November: "This year it is already mid-December and it is not yet clear that we will start the season normally."
Ignalina and Anykščiai are expected to open after the holidays, Plungė has no date
According to Jonas Paslauskas, head of the Sports Department of the district education and sports services center, which has been administering the ski track in Ignalina since this season, it is planned to open the tracks after Christmas.
The center doesn't have the capacity to make enough snow when the weather is warmer, he said, so it waits until subzero temperatures hit.
"The equipment is ready, everything is ready, we are waiting for the conditions. (…) There is no chance of forming a mountain from natural snow. It has never snowed so much. The basis is artificial snow," J. Paslauskas told BNS.
In Ignalina, more attention is paid to professional cross-country skiing athletes, but there is also a mountain track.
At that time, Udrius Armalis, head of the Anykščiai tourism center, which manages the Kalita mountain ski track, informed that the mountain is expected to be opened to visitors in January.
"We don't dare to start yet (...), we hope that the weather will improve and, according to long-term statistics, the ski season will start in early January." We have great hope," U. Armalis told BNS.
According to him, Anykščiai is also still waiting for frost, because it would be too expensive to open now, and besides, there are no visitors at positive temperatures.
"Costs are increasing and skiing is getting poor quality. The snow is melting, the spirit of skiing is not the same when there is no whiteness," said the head of the Anykščiai tourism center.
For his part, S. Gramauskas, the head of the "Morta kalns" complex in Plunge, emphasized that he will start operations "when it's winter".
"There is no winter yet and we are not starting. We need conditions like tonight to be cold - if it shows at least a week in winter, we try to take risks, we try to blow, to make snow", S. Gramauskas told BNS.
"If it's winter we'll work, if it's not - we won't work," he added.
Prices are not raised or increased symbolically
The managers of the ski centers in Ignalina, Anykščiai and Plunge assured that they will keep the prices of skiing this season as they were last year. At that time, the manager of the Liepkalnis center said that they were raised symbolically - approximately 1-2 euros.
"Maybe we raised a euro, because we hadn't raised it for several years. We are being chased by energy costs, which are high enough to raise our salary. So we have to raise the prices a little. But minimally enough, people will not feel much," said A. Bielskus.
A few years ago, the ski track also operated in Biršton, but due to the too short cold season, it was unprofitable.
"The city decided not to operate the ski hill anymore just because of the climate. If there is snow a hundred kilometers away in Liepkalnis, and the grass is green in Biršton. There was simply no snow," Rūta Kapačinskaitė, head of the Birštonas tourism information center, told BNS.
According to her, after the pandemic, the ski slope in the city no longer opened.
"They tried again one year, it was a very short operation, a couple of weeks, and a decision was made not to even try anymore," said R. Kapačinskaitė.
According to her, now the same slope has been handed over to a private company, which has established a summer toboggan run in its place.
However, according to R. Kapačinskaitė, the ski track in Biršton helped to attract more visitors to the resort.
Author Lukas Juozapaitis
