Fresh snow beckons Italian skiers returning after 20 months
ABC News
After a season of being restricted to watching snow accumulate on distant mountains, Italian skiers are finally returning to the slopes that have been off-limits since the first pandemic lockdown in March 2020
SAN VIGILIO DI MAREBBE, Italy -- After nearly two years of being restricted to watching snow accumulate on distant mountains, Italian skiers are finally returning to the slopes that have been off-limits since the first pandemic lockdown in March 2020.
But just as the industry is poised to start its recovery from the lost season and the abrupt closure the previous year, a spike in cases in the Alpine province bordering Austria is underlining just how precarious the situation remains.
As if on cue, snow fell overnight into Saturday, blanketing the slopes of Plan de Corones in the South Tyrolean town of San Vigilio di Marebbe, giving a fresh covering to the man-made base just in time for opening day Saturday. Skiers came from as far away as Croatia and the Italian capital, Rome, as well as from neighboring valleys where slopes have yet to open.
“I have shivers up and down my spine, because we left the slopes on the famous March 8 of 2020, rushing to Rome because everything was going into lockdown,” said Monica Meloni, 53, from Rome, as snow continued to fall. “We did the last run on this slope, looking at each other and asking ourselves, 'When can we get back?' It took nearly two years."
