San Giacomo di Roburent – The last resort for skiers is artificial snow. But in San Giacomo the cannons to produce it do not go into operation. Yet there are. Like the cold that reappeared in the mountains with the beginning of the year. So why not use them? Thus the protest of tourists left short of facilities in the village ends up in the Municipality. With the administration of Roburent which is now knocking on the doors of the managers.
“We have collected numerous complaints – says the mayor Giulia Negri -. Some, absurdly, even say that it is up to the Municipality to intervene when the snow-making contributions are paid annually by the Region to the managers ».
And draw up the list of what has been received up to now by those who have contracted the San Giacomo plants: almost 150 thousand euros spread over various annuities and assigned to Robur Coop. Is it a lot or a little? Depends. The calculation is made on the extension of the area and on the needs of each individual station.
But this is not the point: “The real issue is that if the facilities are there, and the Region makes specific contributions, artificial snow must be produced”.
In Roburent the snow cover serves three slopes: Giardina, Pineta and Colmè. While a program agreement provides for the creation of an artificial storage basin that can guarantee high-altitude slopes that are always covered with snow. But the problem is not tomorrow. But the scarce ski offer of today which, in terms of tourism, risks compromising the recovery of the real estate sector. «To the advantage of other areas where many of our skiers were forced to move during the Christmas holidays because the lifts were closed here – explains the mayor -. I would have liked to discuss with the managers but despite the numerous attempts at dialogue, the company now replies that it does not want to interact except through the creation of a municipal commission that no one even knows who it should be composed of “. He adds: “Guaranteeing programmed snow on the slopes, even when natural rainfall is scarce, means not only the survival of the ski resort and the town, but also maintaining the value of the properties over time”.
In the meantime, how many days have the lifts been open? Just a dozen, if you count the weekend of 11-12 December and to follow the dates under Christmas until 29, the last day of opening. And if the managers from Robur Coop do not comment – “we do not enter into the merits of a controversy that is only specious” confirms Silvia Di Paola – however, there are not a few skiers who raise the reverse problem: the cost-benefit ratio to guarantee snow. artificial. In the face, however, of the use of increasingly scarce water resources. But there are those who, as an administrator, see it differently. «I agree that the Region contributes to the production of artificial snow because this generates economy in the area – concludes Negri -. Every euro spent on snow generates a flow of money equal to ten times as much on the related industries. Since we have the resources for snowmaking, we ask only one thing: to exploit them ».