‘We still haven’t been able to open the winter season because of the warm weather. Our ski-tracks have 10 to 15 centimeters of loose snow, and what we need is 40 to 50 centimeters that will pack down to 10-15 centimeters. We haven’t got any snow-producing equipment: when the resort was set up in 1999, there was plenty of snow and no one actually thought we might need extra facilities to cover our tracks with snow. In this kind of weather, though, even having the equipment wouldn’t make a lot of difference, it just doesn’t work if the temperature is anything above zero. The special snow-producing facility is under construction at the moment, but this project requires a lot of money which we don’t have due to the absence of clients,’ the spokesperson for Zavialikha ski resort said to UrBC representative.

‘Our expenses reach a peak in the summer when we get the tracks ready for the season and train and certify the ski instructors. We are hoping to open at least one track this weekend, but we’re not sure it will actually work out. Even if the snowfall they forecast really takes place, people might still not come because skiing in warm weather in not very nice. We have been suffering great losses, our expenses do not pay off, and we have even questioned the very possibility of carrying on with the business,’ the spokesperson said.