Tiffindell On The Block (10-Apr-11)

South Africa’s only commercial ski area, Tiffindell...

South Africa’s only commercial ski area, Tiffindell, which has been in financial difficulties for some years, is going to be auctioned at the end of May.

The South African ski season is often the first to begin each southern hemisphere autumn in late May so it is unclear whether the centre will operate in 2011.

Local media reports say that the sale of the centre, “...has drawn major interest from potential buyers both locally and abroad.”

High Street Auction Company spokesperson Spiro Barbaresso said, “From our first editorial, we’ve got a lot of interest expressed from a lot of the South African leisure companies. We’ve had international interest from international groups running ski resorts in Europe and America,”

South Africa's first truly commercial ski centre opened in 1993, thanks largely to snow-making technology and a determined and innovative management team. Natural snowfall of up to a metre in 36 hours has been recorded in recent years but the stretching of the season from mid-May (one of the earliest to open in the southern hemisphere), through to mid-September has been largely thanks to ever improving snowmaking techniques.

In recent years plans were mooted to increase the limited vertical at the area and the year-round viability of the centre by installing a gondola.