Photo: Ferdinando Lomba Rdi // Facebook
With the ski season underway, many have flocked to snowy peaks around the world to get in on the fresh snow. However, in the Dolomites, hundreds of skiers discovered not only that there was no snow to shred, but that they were stuck at the top of the mountain and at the mercy of lift operators.
The fracas took place at Arabba-Marmolada, an Italian resort located in the Alpine range. As The Times reports, hundreds of skiers were trapped for hours at the top of the peak, due to unseasonably warm weather that turned the slope into mud and grass. What’s more, the warm temps meant that snow cannons were unable to artificially produce any of the white stuff.
As the traffic jam went on, the crowd began to get rowdy, with skiers shoving each other to get to the front of the queue. “The slope was closed due to lack of snow,” wrote Ferdinando Lombardi on a Facebook video showing the ensuing madness. “Two hours of queues to get down on the chairlift, and lots of people must have been stuck in Arabba. I want a refund for my ticket and for my glasses, which were broken by the crowd of people angry at the incompetence of the lift operators.”
In a statement from ANEF, Italy’s association of ski resorts, the organization’s leader Valeria Ghezzi provided little in the way of comfort for Alpine skiers hoping for better conditions later in the season. “The closing of the slope meant everyone had to take the lift down,” she said. “We really hope the snow returns for Christmas but right now it has been raining in the Dolomites.”
