Lift Accessed Skiing Returning to Africa
What's believed to be Africa's only operating outdoor ski area is making much of its slopes re-opening in full in 2024.
Africa is the only continent with lift-accessed ski resorts created in both the southern and northern hemisphere. Half-a-dozen countries have created ski resorts there over the past 70 years.
Unfortunately though, few, if any, have operated since 2020 either due to aged infrastructure needing repair, or issues relating to the pandemic, among other problems.
Lesotho’s Afriski was the most reliable, operating up to the 2022 season, but last winter had various operational difficulties which prevented it running much snowmaking and to it closing its 1km long main run. It had a smaller area open for snow fun, sledging and occasional snowboarding on terrain park features, but no full runs.
This year though it is making much of its main ski area re-opening in full.
“Afriski's Slopes will be OPEN for 2024 - June to August! We are so excited to welcome evertyone to our Mountain Kingdom Playground,” a spokesperson said.
The African ski season usually lasts from June to August in the southern hemisphere and January to March in the northern.
Elsewhere in Africa, lifts are not thought to be operating at Oukaïmeden ski area in the Atlas mountains of Morocco (pictured below), Africa’s most developed ski area and the only one with chairlift access. Local skiers and businesses have expressed their frustration with slow progress in repairing lifts to make them functional again.
The same is believed to be true at the country’s Michlifen ski area and at Chréa in neighbouring Algeria.
In South Africa, the Tiffindell ski resort is not though to have operated since 2020 when it closed at the start of the pandemic. It did post on its website in 2021 that it planned to reopen that winter but didn’t do so. It’s website currently says that it is for sale.
The continent is also home to some high glacier and/or permanently snow-capped high peaks in country’s close to the equator, which some skiers including Jimmy Petterson have hiked up and skied in past decades. However, all of these are fast succumbing to the effects of climate change and are disappearing fast.
The only place in Africa where lift-served skiing is easy to access and guaranteed to be open every day of the year is indoors at the Ski Egypt indoor snow centre near Cairo, run by the same company that operates Ski Dubai.
