Ski Areas Stress Mental Health Benefits As Ski Slopes Reopen After 2 Years
Some ski areas in Chile have re-opened for the first time since winter 2019 as the country’s government eases restrictions as COVID infection levels drop.
Many are stressing the mental health benefits for people able to travel to the mountains again for ski holidays.
Valle Nevado, 50 kilometres from capital Santiago, is one of the country’s major resorts which did not open at all in winter 2020. Its manager Ricardo Margulis told news-agency Reuters that he let skiing fitted perfectly with the government’s campaign for people to bolster their mental and physical health with outdoor exercise.
Ski areas were allowed to open in Chile after the first wave of the pandemic eased, but it was already mid-August by then with only a month of the 2020 season left. Most, particularly the bigger areas, determined it was not viable to find staff and re-open for a short period and only a handful of small areas did so.
This winter re-opened resorts are stressing the needs for skiers to keep socially distanced, wear masks, but ski passes in advance online and follow the usual procedures. The country’s police force has been mobilised to help ensure compliance.
Another policy adopted in South America in the 2020 season that is not seen very often elsewhere – not opening at weekends to minimise virus spread danger – is also in force.
Like many countries Chile suffered a second, more virulent wave of the virus at the start of this year and it has since become the most prolific vaccinator of its population in South America and among the top 5% of nations worldwide for the percentage of its population vaccinated.
Chile’s borders remain closed so international tourism will be largely not-happening for a second year in a row. One of the country’s most famous resorts, Portillo, which relies heavily on international guests, has not yet opened and reports indicate it won’t open until mid-July at the earliest.
Most of the rest of the country’s ski areas have opened in the last few days or will do by next weekend.
