The long-awaited suburban skiing trips in Beijing may have to wait two more days before they can begin. Reporters learned from major ski resorts in the suburbs yesterday that the vast majority of ski resorts will open in early December, about a week later than the originally expected late November. Due to rising labor costs, ski prices this winter are expected to rise by around 5% compared to last year.
“The daytime temperatures were relatively high a while back, making it difficult to preserve the man-made snow. Now the temperature has dropped, but the air humidity is also relatively high, which is also not conducive to snow preservation,” He Ping, chairman of the Junshan Ski Resort, told reporters. The ski resort is working around the clock to produce snow and is expected to officially open on December 4. Ski resorts such as Nanshan Ski Resort and Yuyang Ski Resort are also currently making snow, with most opening dates set for early next month. Among them, Huabei International Ski Resort opens earliest on November 23; Snow World Ski Resort opens latest, tentatively scheduled for December 17. To attract visitors, many ski resorts will start trial operations before officially opening. For example, Nanshan Ski Resort and Shijinglong Ski Resort will have trial operation periods from November 24 to 30, with official opening on December 1. The avalanche incident at Wanlong Ski Resort in Zhangjiakou, Hebei on November 23 has caused concern among many citizens about skiing activities. Reporters learned from suburban ski resorts that the avalanche at Wanlong Ski Resort occurred in the off-piste area reserved for expert skiers, while suburban ski resorts basically do not have off-piste runs due to temperature and humidity conditions not meeting requirements, so visitors need not worry about similar accidents.
It is understood that ski instructors’ salaries are based on a base salary plus commission. Ordinary instructors earn a monthly salary of 3,000 to 5,000 yuan, while senior instructors and one-on-one ski consultants can earn up to more than 20,000 yuan per month. Difficulties in recruitment, high wages, and increases in various daily operating costs have led to this winter’s rise in ski resort ticket prices. Fortunately, the increase is not large, only about 5%, which translates to roughly a 10-yuan change in ticket prices, and should not cause too much discomfort among citizens.