 |
| Snowland Beauty... Afriski in Butha-Buthe |
Afriski in Butha-Buthe has become a hub for the
country's young winter sports enthusiasts to hone their skills and maybe one
day compete in the Winter Olympics.
Nestled high in
the mountains of Lesotho, skiers and snowboarders from around the world rub
shoulders at Africa’s leading ski resort, which is cultivating a loyal
clientele despite its diminutive size and remote location.
Afriski is
located 3050 metres above sea-level – just below Mahlasela Pass at 3222 metres
– in the Maluti Mountains and operates in north-eastern Lesotho near the border
with South Africa.
Since its
opening in 2002, Afriski has also become a hub for the country’s young winter
sports enthusiasts to hone their skills and maybe one day compete for gold at
the Winter Olympics.
“Afriski was
always a unique option as a destination,” says resort snowmaker Martin Schultz,
35, who comes from South African surfing hub Jeffreys Bay but swapped his
surfboard for a snowboard to take to the slopes.
“It’s been a
nice progress – nice amounts of terrain we’ve been able to open up,” he adds,
wearing stylish wrap-around blue mirrored sunglasses and a lemon yellow crash
helmet.
Schultz is
responsible for maintaining the quality and consistency of the artificial snow
on the slopes, used by the 12,000 visitors who travel to the resort in the
Maluti Mountains every season.
“We use
high-pressure air, high-pressure water and a certain temperature and humidity,”
he says of the resort’s state-of-the-art snowmaking equipment which is used
when snow is not falling naturally.
 |
| Afriski's world renowned snow slopes... |
Afriski’s main
kilometre-long piste is a strip of brilliant white snow between brown grassy
ridges and dotted with artificial snowmakers, although, on average, its three
slopes are covered with natural snow for several weeks a year.
Lesotho at the Olympics?
Both expert
and novice skiers go down the pristine slope from a height of 3,222 metres
(10,570 feet) to the compact alpine-style resort below. There, visitors drink
Gluehwein and listen to chart music in sub-zero temperatures.
“Ready? Go!”
shouts one ski instructor, from the United States, as she loads her young
charge onto the lift, while more experienced snowboarders spin and flip on
ramps nearby.
Schultz, who
worked as a ski instructor at resorts across Europe before spending nine
seasons at Afriski, hopes the resort will help the tiny kingdom one day win
medals at the Winter Olympics.
 |
| Moteng Pass on the way to Afriski... |
“One of
Afriski’s biggest priorities is to try and expand the skiing community in
Lesotho and we have kids’ programmes that generate a lot of interest from the
local communities,” Schultz says of the resort which employs 240 staff,
three-quarters of whom are locals.
“Some of our
kids like Thabang Mabari, the son of one of the guys who works here, has been
skiing for about five years and he’s brilliant. There’s a good future for kids
like that,” he said.
“Hopefully in
the future we can aim to get those kids to an Olympian standard so they can
actually fly the Lesotho flag at the Olympics.”
Ten-year-old
Thabang’s mother, Mathabang Mabari, who also works at the resort, says that
he had started skiing at the age of three.
“It’s
something he liked a lot. Of course it’s in his blood to compete, of all the
other kids of people who work here, he was the first to ski and teach the
others,” said Mabari, 36, who is from the nearby village of Moteng.
Outside,
slender-framed Thabang glides down the slope with ease dressed in yellow boots,
a black puffer jacket and red snow trousers.
Despite some
promising youngsters, southern Africa has yet to make a mark at the Winter
Olympics.
Huge potential…
South African
alpine skier Sive Speelman qualified for the Sochi games in 2014 – but was
blocked from attending by his own Games Committee who said he was too slow.
His dream to
be his country’s first black contender in his discipline was also thwarted at
this year’s tournament in South Korea and he was instead a technical assistant
to South Africa’s solitary winter games participant, Connor Wilson.
 |
| South African Winter Olympian Connor Wilson trained at Afriski... |
Lesotho has
never put a Winter Olympian forward.
Afriski is
Lesotho’s sole ski resort – the only other one in sub-Saharan Africa is
Tiffindell in South Africa which has two runs and relies on artificial snow.
“Afriski has
been a great help in my training. I don’t think I would have got to the Winter
Olympics without them,” said Wilson, 21, who was training at Afriski for a
fortnight.
“There’s huge
potential here. I always join in with the (local kids’) training … they’re
copying what I’m doing and they are always interested.
“One day
hopefully, they will go to the Winter Olympics for Lesotho.”
Ski in Africa…
Despite its
small size and relatively limited facilities, Afriski still sees itself as a
destination firmly on the global winter sports circuit.
It even pays
homage to its European competitors, naming its chalets after renowned ski
centres like France’s “Meribel” and “Courchevel”.
French ski and
snowboard instructor Thomas Frontoni, 23, said that he would recommend skiing
in southern Africa to Europeans despite the relatively short piste.
“Try it – it’s
always beautiful, perfect views, friendly people. Southern Africa is cheap for
European guys,” said Frontoni, originally from Nice. A full-day “snowpass”,
which gives access to all the pistes and lifts, costs M460 (US$34 or 29 euros).
 |
Winter Wonderland...
"Always beautiful, perfect views, friendly people." |
“It’s a small
resort … but I think if a French or European skier came here they’d have a good
time.
“I have seen
lots of South African pupils, Argentine pupils, Canadian pupils.”
“They don’t
come here because it’s a kilometre of skiing, they don’t come here because it’s
massive mountains,” added Schultz. “They come here to ski in Africa, because
it’s on their bucket list.”
AFP
