Where can I go skiing this Christmas?

A snowHead

Norway, “if you have had a confirmed (laboratory tested) COVID-19 infection within the last six months.” you are exempt from quarantine requirement.
https://www.helsenorge.no/en/coronavirus/international-travels/#reisekarantene

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I've just booked Levi in Finland with Crystal ski, probably 50/50 chance that Finland opens it's borders next month

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@WishIWasFitter, Good luck! Take your thermals

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Thank you

After all it is free

Interview in "Der Spiegel" with Austria's tourism minister yesterday, explaining the rationale behind Austria's intention to open its ski resorts before Christmas:
https://www.spiegel.de/reise/europa/oesterreich-tourismusministerin-das-virus-holt-man-sich-nicht-auf-der-piste-a-38f55482-d30b-44ff-b05c-ac36ebb0cd35

Austria's Minister of Tourism on the winter season
"I'm not at all afraid of being infected there"
When can the ski lifts start up again? Angela Merkel calls for the winter sports areas to be closed. Austria's Minister of Tourism, Elisabeth Köstinger, doesn't think so - the vacation in her country is safe.
An interview by Claus Hecking • November 27, 2020, 1:17 a.m.

SPIEGEL: Minister, you and your Chancellor Sebastian Kurz promised in September that there would be "skiing fun" this winter. Would you still say that despite soaring infection numbers and a new lockdown with curfews, schools and business closings?

Elisabeth Köstinger: We will do everything we can to ensure that the number of infections falls and that a winter holiday in Austria is possible. I assume that we can do this with a joint effort. Tourism is indispensable for all of Austria, especially for the rural regions. And we showed in the summer: Holidays in Austria are safe.

SPIEGEL: Chancellor Angela Merkel has doubts about that. She calls for the Europe-wide closure of all ski areas.

Köstinger: I can't get anything out of this approach. That is also not a European responsibility. I don't know on what legal basis the EU should order the closure of ski areas. Apart from that, Austria is taking all measures to enable safe holidays. You don't get the virus on the slopes, but when you party afterwards. That's why there won't be any après-ski this year.

SPIEGEL: How do you want to ensure that a skiing holiday in Austria is safe?

Köstinger: By eliminating all sources of danger. There are comprehensive concepts for the winter season that guarantee this security. Our Ministry of Health has carried out detailed cluster analyzes of previous infections. In the hotel and catering industry, the incidence of infections was very low. Most cases occur where people know each other well: in the family environment and in the leisure sector. We also have the largest free trial program for hotel and tourism employees in Europe . More than 500,000 tests have now been carried out. Before Christmas we will test the population all over Austria.

SPIEGEL: But last March, thousands of ski tourists in Austria were infected with the virus. You can't afford a second Ischgl .

Köstinger: We couldn't afford the first Ischgl either. But we all learned something new in dealing with the corona pandemic.

"The situation in gondolas is no different from that in a subway or tram."
SPIEGEL: What if the neighbor coughs in the gondola or in the bubble chair lift?

Köstinger: 85 percent of all lifts are open anyway, in the fresh air. The covers of the chairlifts are partly removed, partly they cannot be closed. And wearing mouth and nose protection is mandatory in all lifts. The situation in gondolas is no different than in a subway or tram. The operators are instructed to always ensure fresh air supply. And there is no cable car in Austria that takes longer than 15 minutes to travel. The risk of infection is low.

SPIEGEL: Images recently went through the social networks. In Austrian ski areas such as the Zillertal or Kaunertal glacier, they showed crowds of tourists crowding in front of cable car stations.

Köstinger: These pictures from the Zillertal and Kaunertal were catastrophic. We held intensive discussions with the cable car operators so that this would not happen again. The operators have comprehensive prevention concepts that they also implement. There are floor markings and disinfectant dispensers everywhere at the entry and exit points. And on the following weekend, these scenes no longer existed: because the health authorities and the police took over control on site. The cable car companies learned quickly - and so did the skiers. We trust that after nine months of the pandemic, people will have internalized the rules.

SPIEGEL: But what if some don't follow the rules?

Köstinger: Every cable car company has its Corona officer. There will be security services at critical points, and police or cable car employees will also take over supervision.

SPIEGEL: How should that work with food - in deep winter, in closed rooms?

"We don't give France any advice on when it can reopen the Louvre."
Köstinger: With 50 or more guests, every company has to present a prevention concept. These include: regular ventilation, sufficient space, strict rules at the buffet. Employees and guests must wear mouth and nose protection and guests are only allowed to take off their masks at the table.

SPIEGEL: Then they can still infect each other.
Köstinger: You can do that in other places within your group. Personal responsibility is required here. Our concept prevents the different groups from infecting each other. You know: in the summer we had an eruption on Lake Wolfgang. This cluster mainly affected young employees. It was able to be completely contained within a very short time without many visitors being infected. We carried out thousands of tests on site - and had extremely fast contact person management. That worked extremely well.

SPIEGEL: What have you prepared in case there is an outbreak in a ski resort?

Köstinger: If guests need health care, it will of course be made available to them anyway. The tourist regions have agreed on a system of "safe houses" for milder developments. That means: Special accommodations are provided in which the corona infected are accommodated. They can no longer infect each other. This is how we ensure maximum security for everyone involved. In consultation with the German health authorities, infected people can also be brought home without symptoms.

SPIEGEL: The restaurateurs have invested a lot of time and money in their new concepts. Nevertheless, they had to close in early November, in the second lockdown.

Köstinger: My heart bleeds that we had to close the catering and hotel tourism business even though they did everything to create maximum security. But we had to restrict contacts, and the exit restrictions from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. are taking a large part of its business away from the catering trade. It was important to me to compensate the companies as much as possible for the failures. We replace them up to 80 percent of their turnover. And the strict measures now open up prospects for the winter season.

SPIEGEL: But what if the season is cancelled or starts late, as the governments of Germany, France and Italy are calling for?

Köstinger : We don't give France any advice as to when it can open the Louvre again. Nor do we prescribe in Italy or Germany when cafes, restaurants or schools can reopen. Each country should make its own decision based on its infection rate. The EU Commission has now made it clear that it does not intend to regulate this across Europe.

SPIEGEL: What do you do if the number of infections does rise again in January after the lockdown is lifted?

Köstinger: It is clear that we will have to prepare for tough, difficult months, not just in Austria, but throughout Europe. We will do everything we can to ensure that the number of infections remains down - with strict hygiene concepts and more personnel.

SPIEGEL: How much tourism do you expect this winter?

Köstinger: We now expect a slump of up to 50 percent compared to normal years. That's a problem. The hotel industry in Austria has only eight percent equity base.

SPIEGEL: How do you intend to prevent companies from going bankrupt en masse?

Köstinger: We provide guarantees for loans, hourly taxes, offer fixed cost subsidies, and short-time work for employees. We have reduced the sales tax for restaurants and hotels to five percent. And we offer the companies a reimbursement of 80 percent of the turnover compared to the same period in 2019. In the holiday hotel industry, the majority of the companies will make it: with massive support from the state. How big the support has to be depends on the number of visitors.

SPIEGEL: What does it depend on how many guests come?

"The risk of getting infected in a hotel in Hamburg is no smaller or greater than in a hotel in Serfaus."

Köstinger: Almost half of the visitors come from Germany. The quarantine requirement for returnees from Austria currently applies there. The greatest risk of infection comes from acquaintances - not from the hotel industry, where people wear masks and keep their distance. The risk of getting infected in a hotel in Hamburg is no smaller or greater than in a hotel in Serfaus in Tyrol . In my opinion, it would be key here to enable the most free. That means: If you come from Austria, a negative PCR test should be sufficient and you don't have to be in quarantine for days.

SPIEGEL: Virologists would disagree: In some patients in the early stages, the tests show no infection. Do you expect the German authorities to be convinced of your argument?

Köstinger: I believe that we need to deal with the corona pandemic differently. Of course, measures such as wearing mouth and nose protection, keeping your distance and maintaining hygiene are necessary. But I believe that quick tests will be a real game changer. We use them to filter out super spreaders very quickly. You know, we are the only country in the world that regularly tests employees in the hotel and catering industry. In the summer, we were able to isolate employees who tested positive very quickly, and the virus did not spread.

SPIEGEL: Will you go skiing yourself this coming winter?

Köstinger: Definitely . I'm not at all afraid of getting infected there. Distance, mouth and nose protection and hygiene concepts ensure maximum safety; there is no après-ski. And you don't get the virus out skiing. I'm looking forward to skiing fun.

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I had an email from Crystal today cancelling out Christmas trip to Finland, not sure what the plan is now.

@Checkflaps where did you stay in Leysin? Do you know the Leysin Lodges, they look to be on the piste or maybe on a field? Are they a trek to any restaurants?

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Christmas is cancelled for us.

I have amended my Eurotunnel booking from Christmas week to the week leading up to Easter Weekend.

First time I haven't been skiing at Christmas since 2007.

Here's hoping things will be OK come March.

snow reports

I cancelled our avios flights to Switzerland today and now I'm regretting it.

You know it makes sense.

Interesting reports in Scotland today, rather relevant to people's decision to travel (or not). Sounds like a fairly small number of people who "must travel" can have a big effect on every other bug:

Jason Leitch, the Scottish government’s national clinical director, said analysis by scientists in Edinburgh, Glasgow and St Andrews on the COG-UK consortium found that around 300 different strains of the virus were circulating in Scotland during the first wave. Their report confirmed a large majority of those strains were eliminated during the first lockdown, but the upsurge in cases later in the summer were caused by new strains from outside Scotland, often other parts of the UK but also from countries far afield.

...[we got] incredibly close to eliminating the virus in our communities, but as we opened up, inevitably people began to travel across the UK [and] travel abroad. New strains were imported again into Scotland.

[This] indicates that, while lockdown in Scotland is directly linked with the first wave case numbers being brought under control, travel-associated imports (mostly from Europe or other parts of the UK) following the easing of lockdown are responsible for seeding the current epidemic population.

This demonstrates that the impact of stringent public health measures can be compromised if, following this, movements from regions of high to low prevalence are not minimised.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

I've been following the situation in Switzerland and trying to talk my husband into a long weekend to no effect. If I could have found avios flights I would have pulled the kids out of school and gone. Avios flights came up today for Sofia, 23rd-28th, very tempted, but worried about the lack of snow. We are in Surrey which is heading into Tier 3. Unlike most of you we don't ski every year, I skied twice as a kid before doing a ski season twenty plus years ago, since then we've only been skiing twice. Part of the build up to skiing is I have given up smoking, when our Easter trip got cancelled I started up again, I don't think I will this time, but my weight has gone up and I could really do with the exercise. Still tempted with Switzerland. If I thought Easter was a definite I would stop looking and thinking about it but I'm not sure the situation will be any better then.

Help!!

Where can I go skiing this Christmas?

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