Hardly any precipitation

Snow cannons saved the blue and yellow ski season

Artificial snowmaking provided the necessary white on the local slopes.(Bild: Evelyn Hronek)

Most Lower Austrians have long since put their skis back in the cellar. So it's time to take stock of the winter season. And the results in the local ski resorts are positive across the board - but this was only possible thanks to the massive use of snow cannons.  

This year's winter in Lower Austria was characterized by extremely low precipitation and mild temperatures. The result for the winter sports areas: The white splendor for skiing fun had to be largely produced by the resorts themselves. "This winter was a great challenge in terms of snowmaking," confirms Markus Redl, Managing Director of Ecoplus Alpin. 

Satisfied with the winter results - the representatives of the Lower Austrian ski resorts and Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner.(Bild: NLK Filzwieser)

Plus of 25 percent
Nevertheless, the balance sheet is positive. Thanks to artificial snowmaking, the 15 blue and yellow ski areas were able to achieve around 100 days of operation. The tourism industry is also satisfied with the number of visitors. "It was a real comeback winter," says a delighted Johanna Mikl-Leitner. There are currently 660,000 visits to the slopes. "That's an increase of 25 percent compared to the last three," says the Governor, whose department is responsible for tourism. The joint season pass for ten ski resorts in Lower Austria was a success in its very first year. More than 8700 of these ski passes were issued - and used over 90,000 times.

Hochkar still in operation
The season ended last weekend in Annaberg, Ötscher and Semmering. Most other ski resorts had already closed their lifts earlier due to the weather. Only on the 25 percent Hochkar can you still make fast turns on the slopes until April 6.