Over the past 24 hours (January 29-30), another 25 centimeters of snow fell on Hermon. Now at the top of the mountain the height of the snow cover reaches 1 meter, and at its base it exceeds 60 cm. The peaks of the Golan Heights and Galilee are also powdered. Only for most Israelis all this beauty is inaccessible: due to the war, entry to the north is limited, and Hermon is completely closed.
“For the first time since the end of the Yom Kippur War, entry to the resort is closed for security reasons,” says Miki Inbar, deputy director of the ski resort on Hermon. “In other years, we would, of course, open the slopes, but now you can’t even get here – everything is blocked, entry allowed only to military personnel with special passes.”
The yellow gate at the entrance to Hermon, well known to Israelis, is closed. The military is now on duty here. Even the online broadcast cameras installed on the territory are turned off. So it is impossible to see the “white kingdom” even remotely.
According to the weather service, snowfall will continue in the coming days, and the depth of cover even at the bottom of the mountain will reach a meter. Usually this is enough to open all the routes that can accommodate tens of thousands of Israelis at the same time.
Unlike Hermon, tourist sites in the Golan and Galilee have not received orders to close. However, there are still no visitors. And not because it’s dangerous: many people find it impossible to have fun when there’s a war going on.
However, everyone is full of hope to “break away” when everything calms down. Tourism is expecting a real renaissance, all forecasts say.