The winter sports season in Sauerland officially started this weekend with two ski lifts. The first skiers whizzed down the first open pistes. "The beginning has been made," said a spokeswoman for the ski lift carousel in Winterberg in North Rhine-Westphalia on Saturday.

It's a small start, she stressed. "We hope to be able to put a third lift into operation at the beginning of the week, which will connect the two slopes."

After all, the landscape appeared in wintry splendor to match the start of the season due to fresh snow. However, visibility was temporarily impaired by heavy fog. The fresh snow from above was not enough to be able to prepare the slopes: These were artificially snowed with "technically produced snow" with snow cannons. "We use clear water without additives for this," said the spokeswoman.

The two lifts, Poppenberg and Rauher Busch, are the first of 26 in the ski area. There are 130 ski lifts in the Sauerland. There was still plenty of room in the parking lot on Saturday. It really gets going at Christmas, when the first rush of skiers is expected. As many of the lifts as possible should be running by the time of the important Christmas business. However, a few cold nights would still be needed for the snow cannons to work. "The snow machines are currently running everywhere," said the spokeswoman. However, it will still take a while before it is fully operational.

Ski lift carousel notice