While the French and Swiss Alps are experiencing their best start to the season in years, ski resorts are also opening earlier than anticipated in Belgium, tempting locals to take to the slopes closer to home.
Snow has finally made an appearance in parts of Belgium, with blankets covering the beautiful Fagnard plateau at Signal de Botrange (the highest point in Belgium). Although the conditions are ideal for wintry walks, head of ski hire at Signal de Botrange Alexandre Féchir is "not really optimistic" about opening the runs at Botrange this weekend.
"It's still early in the season. A small layer has fallen but many areas are still too soft because the ground is too warm. The conditions are not ideal for cross-country skiing. If there's no more snow, it's going to be difficult this weekend," Féchir told Sudinfo.
'Just waiting for people to arrive'
Whilst the Signal de Botrange may not be ready for skiing, things are looking up at Ovifat in Waimes (Liège province) – one of Belgium's largest ski areas which has been in business since the 1930s. Equipped with snow cannons, the resort plans to open several runs this weekend (although snowboarding is banned). "The good news is that sub-zero temperatures have been forecast over the next few days; that's good for us," spokesperson Pierre Heinen stated.
"Once it freezes, we can use our snow canons to cover the slopes. If we can get some extra snow, that would be even better. But we should be able to open the blue run for downhill skiing and the toboggan run this weekend. The red run, on the other hand, is likely to be too small. But we're going to open this weekend and we hope we'll get quite a few people. It's all white here, the view is magnificent and we're just waiting for people to arrive."
At Thier des Rexhons in Spa and Val de Wanne in Trois-Ponts, there isn't currently enough snow for downhill skiing, but both are ready to open if conditions allow.
Skiing in the Ardennes in 1975. Credit: Belga Archives
Best seasonal start since 2005
Ski resorts in the French, Austrian and Swiss Alps are experiencing their best start to the season in years. Numerous resorts have opened early due to heavy snowfall over the past month. In Val Thorens, lifts have even been running since mid-November.
"Switzerland has already received double the normal amount of snow," weather reporter for wintersport.be Roel van den Bekerom told Het Belang van Limburg. "The situation remains exceptional. The northern Alps haven't had such a snowy start to the season since 2005. In November 2019, there was even more snow, but then it was limited to the southern Alps. Now almost all resorts are turning white."
This comes as a relief to Belgian winter sports enthusiasts, who last year saw the season flop during the Christmas holidays with endless rain and grassy slopes. "Of course, some of the snow in the lower areas may melt away," van den Bekerom cautions, "but there has been plenty of artificial snow produced in recent weeks. Just like the snow in the higher areas, this does not melt away again so easily, even if there is a solid thaw."
