The Christmas holidays are one of the most popular times for skiers to hit the slopes to enjoy winter sports. In recent years, warm winters have limited opportunities for active recreation enthusiasts, and this year is no exception. However, several slopes are opening up and hoping conditions will be kind to allow sports fans to have some fun.
The first hills to welcome skiers this year were Briežkalns and Gaiziņkalns in Madona region. The lifts were also turned on at Žagarkalns in Cēsis over the Christmas holidays, where the beginner area and two main slopes have already been covered with snow.
“The snow is very thick, mostly at least half a meter to a meter of compacted snow,” says Juris Žagars, the owner of Žagarkalns. “No, this warmth today and tomorrow will not do any harm. And then it will be cold, and after New Year there will be a stable, proper cold wave. So we will blow more snow and gradually open all the tracks. It is very good that we managed to do this now for the long Christmas holidays. This is very important.”Â
The Reina Trase ski slope in Sigulda is scheduled to open today, December 26th. But with major compromises – only the main slope and one lift will be opened. This has been the reality that ski slopes in Latvia have had to live with, both this year and in recent years. You can only work as much as the changing weather conditions and the snow you produce yourself allow.Â
“My friends are already laughing, I think that this is a very expensive hobby and sometimes you have to admire yourself and everyone else who is still doing it,” says Olavs Legzdiņš, owner of Reiņa Trase. “Because if winter lasts a month for us, then we also catch it by the tail. If it were normal or like it used to be, in childhood, for two or three months, then now everything is a little different everywhere, to say the least.”Â
The first skiers are also being welcomed at Ozolkalns, where only one track will be open for the time being.
“To be honest, it’s not easy to get by,” admits Ä¢irts Kaļķis, chairman of the board of Ozolkalns. “And what we are doing is trying to restructure in order to survive. So that we also have some kind of business in the summer and autumn. We have boats in the summer, a campsite down the bottom. And now we are thinking about how to further develop it in other seasons, so that the infrastructure that was built for winter can also be used in other seasons.”
Kaļķis adds that it would be good if winter ski slope owners were helped in the same way as farmers, who can sometimes claim compensation when inclement weather damages crops. “If only we had European structural funds available to restructure the business,” Kaļķis said.
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