J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by SwingBeep

Cervinia has closed, but Sulden am Ortler and the Schnalstaler glacier ski area (Val Senales) appear to be open. Many of Italy's ski resorts are located in autonomous regions so the decrees issued by the government in Rome have to be transposed into local law. Aoste seems to have adopted the latest decree in full, but it looks like South Tyrol hasn't. There is no mention of ski lifts having to close on the Autonomous Province of Bolzano - South Tyrol website http://www.provinz.bz.it/news/de/news.asp?news_action=4&news_article_id=644808 it only says that public transport capacity has to be reduced to 80%.

The new Italian video news channel Local Team https://www.localteam.it/videos has some good high definition drone videos of the recent snowfall in the Dolomites. If you scroll down you will also see some videos showing the damage caused by severe flooding to a chair lift at Limone Piemonte recently.

Zermatt showed something similar https://www.ha-wear.com/collections/neckwarmer-facemask/products/halsschlauch-covid-19-community-mask at a press conference held earlier today to outline their COVID-19 strategy for the coming winter season.

As the Swiss COVID-19 regulations state that a mask has to be worn, the authorities will have to make an amendment to allow them to be used.

Several Austrian ski resorts are also offering own brand buffs. The Austrian COVID-19 regulations only state that you have to wear "mouth and nose protection", there are no other requirements so you can more or less use what you like.

Fachverband Seilbahnen, the Austrian ropeway operators trade association have also published their COVID-19 related safety and hygiene measures for the coming winter season. See "Verhaltensregeln im Winterbetrieb für Unternehmen" https://www.wko.at/branchen/transport-verkehr/seilbahnen/sicher-am-berg.html

The main difference as far as I can see is that the Austrian lift companies will allow skiers to use buffs and scarves as mouth and nose protection (the Austrian government regulations don't specifically state that masks have to be worn) whereas France, Switzerland and Italy require masks to be worn, as on public transport.

Admin wrote:Some fair points but most resorts have been very busy over the summer and seem confident they can deliver during the winter... as long as we can actually get there, of course!

The number of people visiting ski resorts in summer is far fewer than in winter, although staycationing locals have compensated for some of the missing foreign tourists in many places the numbers are down.

It's generally reckoned that ski lifts should be able to operate, but if season pass and advance ticket sales are considerably down some lift companies might have cash flow problems.

The operation of hotels, bars, restaurants and other après ski venues in a safe and profitable manner is much more problematic.

Flaine to Geneva airport using public transport is doable, but it requires several changes. The Les Carroz Flaine Express bus (bookable via Altibus) will get you to Cluses, from there you can take a bus or a train or a train and a bus to Geneva airport.

I wouldn't bank on Migros bailing out Inghams or any other of the businesses in the Hotelplan group. Migros is currently restructuring, it has recently disposed of a number of underperforming subsidiaries and is now focusing on its core business.

In Switzerland the construction and operation of passenger carrying ropeways that carry more than 8 persons is regulated at national level by the Federal Office of Transport (FOT) https://www.bav.admin.ch/bav/en/home/modes-of-transport/cableways.html Some of the cable cars are part of the Swiss public transport network, they are marked in black on the network map https://lostinswitzerland.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/karte-netzkarte-schweiz.pdf
The construction and operation of the smaller lifts is regulated by the Cantons.

All the laws and regulations regarding construction and operation are listed on the national language versions of the FOT website. Basically, in order to build a new passenger carrying ropeway a ski resort must first obtain a concession from the authorities and after completion an operating licence. The lifts are subject to periodic inspection, if they pass the inspection the operating licence is renewed. Until 2017 a concession expired after 25 years for lifts built since then it's 40 years. When the concession expires the ski resort can apply for an extension, if they want to continue operating an existing lift it has to meet current standards, this is not usually too much of a problem in the case of cable cars, drag lifts and funiculars, but it is often not cost effective to modernise chair lifts and gondolas so they are usually replaced.

There might very well be a legal nuance, according to the Austrian Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology website it looks like lifts that are regulated at regional level aren't classified as public transport https://www.bmk.gv.at/en/topics/cableways/responsibilities.html.

I don't think any of the Covid-19 regulations can be effectively policed, the Swiss authorities didn't bother with a fine for not wearing a mask on public transport as they said that they didn't have the capacity to collect one. If you won't wear a mask you get told to get off at the next stop. So, as you say it's likely that self-regulation will be required, the problem with that is that many people don't maintain the required distance.

I'm not absolutely certain, but I think that passenger carrying ropeway installations in the EU are generally considered to be public transport installations (they are covered by EU regulation 2016/424) and are regulated as such, they certainly are in Switzerland.

The French government department responsible is the Service Technique des Remontées Mécaniques et des Transports Guidés (STRMTG), there is an English version of their website http://www.strmtg.developpement-durable.gouv.fr/en/

In France, the wearing of masks on public transport and in all enclosed public places is compulsory, the fine for not doing so is 135 euros. Here in Switzerland the authorities made the wearing of masks on public transport, including ropeway cabins compulsory on 6th July https://www.newsd.admin.ch/newsd/message/attachments/62061.pdf

At Zermatt there is also no restriction on passenger capacity in the cabins. It is up to passengers to maintain a safe distance in the cabins, as is the case on other forms of public transport.