Tiffindell, the only commercial ski area in South Africa, will be auctioned off this week on July 12th.

South Africa's first truly commercial ski centre opened in 1993, thanks largely to snow-making technology and a determined and innovative management team, but it has not operated for several African winters.

Tiffindell had planned to expand and add a gondola but instead new owners Tiffski Properties who took over in 2007 ran in to financial problems and are now bankrupt.

The auction will take place in Johannesburg on July 12th and is reported to have attracted local and international interest.

Locals living in the Eastern Cape where Tiffindell is located said the resort’s closure has had a major negative effect on local business, but it is not clear if any of those bidding for the property intends to re-open it.

Although it relies on snowmaking for consistent snow cover, Tiffindell does see significant natural snowfall on occasions.

Guests have been snowed in occasionally and falls of up to a metre in 36 hours have been recorded in recent years.

Although the only ski area in South Africa, another ski area, Afri-Ski,. Which is closer to Johannesburg but located within the land-locked nation of Lesotho, has gone from strength to strength in recent years.

The African ski season typically starts and ends earlier than the rest of the southern hemisphere, commencing around mid to late May and ending in early September.

---