Sierra Nevada ski resort in Granada received almost 55,000 visitors this weekend

The Sierra Nevada ski resort in Granada had a great long weekend in terms of visitor numbers, with levels of skiers reminiscent of pre-pandemic times. Just over 37,000 skiers went to the Sierra this weekend, an average of 7,400 skiers per day. There were also more than 11,000 visitors who didn’t ski and almost 6,500 people who took part in “complementary activities”.

This makes up a total number of visitors of 54,538, the fifth highest since records began, which is especially impressive considering the skiable surface area was just 14.9 kilometres, making the total occupancy rate 76%. Being outside and practising a sporting activity, none of these people were required to wear facemasks, of course, but it’s hoped that there was enough distance between visitors on the mountain to prevent it becoming the site of an outbreak of coronavirus.

The weather was kind to the Granada resort, which enjoyed plenty of sunshine and not much wind, all of which prompted people to come out for a day of skiing. The quality of the snow on the slopes was excellent, although there was a delay in the opening yesterday, Wednesday December 8, as well as some visibility problems, rainfall, and the Veleta chairlift being out of service until late in the morning.

Those in charge of the resort hope that, with a view to the coming weekends and the Christmas holidays, the weather will change and give way to a front that will allow an increase in the skiable surface area. Meanwhile, the snowmaking system was activated in the Loma de Dílar area, which has been set as a priority objective to increase the skiing area.

Source: Andalucia News Today, December 9, 2021