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Highland skiing season to open in Sochi at 3rd attempt

The date was delayed due to lack of snow cover but thanks to frosts, the whole artificial snow-making system keeps operating intensively, the ski resort's press service says

© ITAR-TASS/Artur Lebedev

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SOCHI, December 25. /TASS/. A highland skiing season will open in Russian Black Sea and ski resort of Sochi on Friday. This date was delayed twice due to a thin snow cover.

Highland ski resort Rosa Khutor was the first to invite tourists on ski routes. The snowfall going for the past few days made the snow much thicker. Thanks to frosts, the whole artificial snow-making system keeps operating intensively, the ski resort’s press service told TASS.

One of largest highland ski complexes at Sochi ski resort Krasnaya Polyana offers 77 kilometers of ski tracks with elevation difference set at 1,534 meters this year. A massive inflow of tourists is expected already during first post-Olympic highland ski season in Sochi, the Rosa Khutor press service said. Skipasses will be on free sale at resort’s ticket offices and at its online shop since December 26. However, during the New Year holidays from December 31 to January 9 their sale may be possibly limited due to a high demand. Meanwhile, “tourists accommodated at hotels of the ski resort have traditional privileges for the sale of skipasses,” Rosa Khutor said.

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Following Rosa Khutor other Sochi ski resorts which also had to delay the opening of their ski routes said they were ready to receive guests. Owners of ski complexes assured that snow falling for the last two days would be enough for massive skiing.

About one meter of snow is needed to prepare ski tracks, specialists said. A weather forecasting station placed in the highlands reported that 30 centimeters of fresh snow has fallen at an altitude of more than two thousand meters above the sea level a day before the start of the skiing season and air temperatures dropped to minus 3-6 degrees Celsius in the highlands. According to weather forecasts, this will be sunny on a day of official opening of ski runs.

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