This year the lifts at the three-country point will be stationary. But that does not mean that it is definitively ‘over’: after the bankruptcy filing, a feverish search is now underway for a future solution for the ski area.
“We will put together a group from all groups in the municipal council. This should involve negotiations with the curator and possible investors in the interest of the community,” explains Mayor Reinhard Antolitsch.
At the same time, efforts are being made to obtain financial support from the State of Carinthia and tourism. “We have only recently had discussions again and the signals are very positive. But a sustainable concept is needed,” Antolitsch explains. And this clearly provides a year-round offering in the Border Triangle.
“This requires sacrifices on the mountain, such as a mountain bike trail, a climbing garden or something similar.” “We were able to agree with the Seltschach district that they would make one hectare on the mountain available to us. Further negotiations with landowners are ongoing,” the community leader said.
Only the proceeds from the summer activities could cover the future departure from the winter. Climate change must also be taken into account in a concept for the border triangle. That is why it is even more important to bring the chairlift up to date in the future. According to Antolitsch, the family-friendly slopes at an altitude of 1,600 meters are good to use, despite the lack of snow in winter.
The community leader has rejected a “small solution” that would see the community operate the practice lift this winter. “We asked the curator if we could rent out parts of the building. “Unfortunately, this is not legally possible,” Antolitsch explains. According to the mayor, the administrator’s ultimate goal is to serve as many creditors as possible through bankruptcy.
There is also a no to the idea of a community merger to allow the border triangle to be publicly exploited in the future. “It is not the responsibility of municipalities to operate ski lifts or swimming pools. We would not have the financial resources for that.”
Due to the downtime of the ski lifts at the three-country point, the municipality of Arnoldstein is not organizing a lift ticket campaign for young people this year. In the past, the municipalities of Arnoldstein, Finkenstein, Feistritz/Gail and Hohenthurn had used this campaign to subsidize operations at the border triangle and the Hrastlift. Antolitsch: “We prefer to invest our financial resources in the future of the border triangle.” There will probably be a subscription promotion for the Hrastlift. For example, the Bad Bleiberg city council will vote on this on Monday.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
