Ski slopes are open in June
Skiers get surprise bonus from bad weather as Pyrenees pistes will be open for business this weekend
RECENT bad weather has given skiers an unexpected bonus: with a Pyrenees ski resort opening this weekend, the first time they have opened in June.
Porté-Puymorens in Pyrénées-Orientales will have four pistes open on Saturday and Sunday from 8.00 to 13.00 and director Eric Charre says there is still plenty of snow.
He said that there was total snow covering above 2,100m with no bare patches and the snow was between 70 and 80cm thick – with drifts of up to five metres. There was even snow falling yesterday at the resort which did not see temperatures above 1C.
Porté-Puymorens lies between 1,600m and 2,500m with 50% of its area sitting above 2,000m and although it closed its doors officially on April 1 Mr Charre said the higher slopes were still as “snowy as in the middle of winter”.
He said there had been major snowfalls during the winter and, despite blocked roads and bad weather forcing them to close for 13 days, they had seen a rise in business – with 90,000 day visitors.
Numbers of skiers this weekend will be limited to 600 to avoid over-crowding on the slopes and he said they would shut in the afternoon as the sun softened the snow too much.
Photo from Porté-Puymorens webcam
