Israel's Mt. Hermon Invests One Million Dollars in Site
By
Joel Leyden Jerusalem----February 21….Israel's only ski area, Mt. Hermon, has invested over a million dollars for the 2004 ski season. The Hermon, which is located on the Golan Heights, recently suffered an accident which claimed one life as a snow tractor slipped from its position. "This was truly a tragedy," said Hermon CEO Menachem Baruch. "We have not had an accident of this sort since 1971 and our safety record is a model for ski areas around the world. The police are investigating this accident and we welcome their findings." The Israeli ski area invested monies into extensive renovations including the replacement of conveying and monitoring systems and doubling a ski lifts hourly occupancy from 400 to 800 at the top cable car. In addition, the Hermon has opened a vast valley which will provide both intermediate and expert skiers with many new trails. Up to 2,000 Israeli skiers carve turns on the Hermon's slopes daily, with another 6,000 people entering the site to ride cable cars, go sleigh riding or just smile as they throw snowballs in the Mid-East sun. The Hermon has its own ski school with dozens of ski instructors coming from both the immediate area, Europe and the United States. The Hermon's ski patrol also has a reputation for excellence and is in constant contact with the Israel Defense Force's elite alpine unit which also patrols the area. Most people worldwide are surprised to hear that Israel has a ski area. "When one thinks of Israel, usually images of deserts and camels come to mind," says Marcello Attar, vice president of marketing. "In fact, we have over 45 kilometers of ski trails, five chairlifts and several t-bars operating throughout the area." The Israeli ski site is operated by residents of the nearby village of Neve Ativ. There one can find several hotels and restaurants which serve the apres-ski environment. Many of the ski instructors and equipment operators come from the Israeli Arab village of Magdal Champs which is located on the Israel Syrian border. Recently there were rumors that the Hermon ski operators were planning to burn down a private ski shop in Magdal Champs and many Israelis viewed this as an apparent act of harassment by the Hermon management. "This
was a staged story in which no one from the ski area was involved in," said
one ski area source. The Hermon Ski resort has several official and private Web sites which provide an abundance of information on the ski area. These sites include the Israel News Agency, the Hermon Ski Resort (Hebrew), Ski Israel Chat List and the Israel Ski Club (Hebrew).
Sponsored
by IsraelPr.com |
