Although the peak ski season started with the Christmas holidays, and thanks to the extended winter break, many people planned to enjoy cold sports this week as well, the warm weather across Europe frustrated the freedom of many. At the ski rental companies, they at least experience more people canceling or rebooking their booked ski trip for a later date – simply because there is no snow even in the remote mountains.
– In Austria, for example, ski lifts transport hikers in the lower regions, but even in France or in the mountains of southern Serbia, which are popular with the inhabitants of Szeged, there is hardly any terrain suitable for this sport – said Bence Valle, Alpoksí business manager. At Bocskai utca rental office, the season is increasingly shifting to January and February due to the fact that the weather at the beginning of winter leads to an uncertain snow situation.
– In many cases, families with young children plan such trips not primarily for sports, but for snow, because Szeged children don’t really see anything like that at home. However, if they are not in the mountains of neighboring countries, they would rather not travel – said the business manager about the current situation.
He added: The season has not been shortened because of this, because even in March, many people still say goodbye to a kind of winter, skiing in early spring, when it is much easier to accept the mild spring weather.
It is known that skiing is not a cheap sport, but fortunately, you do not necessarily need to purchase the necessary equipment, as almost everything can be rented. Anyone who takes equipment from Szeged to Austria, said Pines Valley, for example, pays as much money for one week’s rent as he would for one day’s rental of the same equipment there.
– The most necessary equipment package, such as stick, shoes and bar, costs 2,500 HUF per day, but all other equipment, from jumpsuits to helmets, can be rented. With children, for example, who outgrow their clothes every year, it is very useful not to have to buy everything for a week of sports, but it is also a better solution for skis, for example, so that even ordinary skiers can carry with them always the latest ones. In addition, we also keep track of what each guest has borrowed, so that we can find it again if something really worked for them or, on the contrary: if they needed something else, the store manager explained.
By the way, with them, the full ski package for 5 days costs about 20,000 HUF, only gloves and socks are included, since they cannot be borrowed for hygiene reasons.
9-year-old Emma and 5-year-old Emily are also getting ready to go skiing with the family, and they personally chose skis for themselves yesterday. In both of them, of course, pink predominates, even Emily’s helmet will be pink. Emma would be a bit more extreme with the shoes because she chose orange. So they will certainly be satisfied with their appearance, but as they said, this is not the best in skiing.
“But the fact that we can be in the snow,” they smiled.
