Willingen/Gersfeld (dpa/lhe) – Frost and snow gave Hesse’s winter sports areas an early start to the season on Wednesday. In the largest ski area in the federal state in Willingen in northern Hesse (Waldeck-Frankenberg district), it was the earliest start to the season in twelve years. “The conditions are very good. We have an average of 40 centimeters of snow on the slopes,” said Marina Kieweg from the Willingen ski area on Wednesday. There, the lifts at Wilddieb, Ettelsberg, K1 and Sonnenhang opened in the evening for floodlit skiing. According to Kieveg, all lifts will then run from Thursday.
On the Wasserkuppe, too, the starting shot of the ski season was given on Wednesday. The Fairy Tale Meadow Lift ran there from the morning. More lifts are to follow at the weekend. “It looks fantastic. Everything is white. It doesn’t get any better than that,” said Florian Heitmann, manager of the Wasserkuppe ski and toboggan arena (Fulda district). In the ski area in the Rhön there was 10 to 20 centimeters of natural snow. Improved with artificial snow. “With the icy temperatures, very good snowmaking was possible with low energy consumption,” explained Heitmann.
