Skiers dream of empty slopes and pristine powder to plunder at leisure, but what price would you put on this notion of nirvana?

The idea of your own ski resort has been close to reality for a lucky few in some mountain regions of Europe this winter because of Covid-19.

Ski lifts are open, with assorted caveats, in many resorts in Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Bulgaria, Norway and Sweden but closed in France, Italy, and Germany, where governments have decreed the risk of spreading the virus is too high.

But with few tourists able to travel, locals and those living nearby have had the run of the mountains, albeit with a costly pay-off in terms of livelihoods and other negatives of a pandemic.

In Austria, where ski towns such as Ischgl were identified as Covid-spreading hot spots last winter, resorts were allowed to decide whether to open, despite the country being in lockdown.

St. Anton, part of the vast Arlberg region which includes Lech and Zurs, opted to run a handful of lifts, selling season passes and day tickets to local skiers. Hotels, guesthouses, and chalets must remain closed, so visitor numbers are low.

'Uber-weird times'

"To be living through these uber-weird times in such a beautiful place, and being able to ski every day with no-one around, getting my kids of five and three on snow, is phenomenal," said Andy Butterworth, director and co-founder of luxury ski chalet operator Kaluma Ski, who lives in St. Anton.

"Coupled with the perfect storm of incredible snow conditions does make it like a bit of a nirvana."

The atmosphere around town has been "super relaxed" with locals "grateful" they are still able to ski while the world reels, according to Butterworth.

Strict regulations are in place, with marked out, socially distanced queue lines, reduced capacities on lifts and the wearing of FFP2 masks compulsory. Links to Lech and Zurs are closed and none of the higher lifts on the mountain are open.

"Everybody is abiding by the rules because they realize how lucky we are," says Butterworth, before adding that recent incidents with some visitors gathering illegally have put people on edge.

Nearly 100 foreign nationals, including Britons, Danes, Swedes, Romanians, Germans, Australians, Irish people and Poles, were put in quarantine and could face fines of up to 2,180 euros ($2,605) for contravening travel and lockdown rules in St. Anton, according to local police.

"Locals are nervous, too, that they might close the lifts again, probably because it doesn't make financial sense -- I read in the paper the St. Anton lift company is losing 60,000 euros a day just by having lifts open -- or because something might happen with corona," he added.

That morning Butterworth had been skiing laps from the Galzig gondola and then the Gampen chairlift lift, which both depart from the town.

'Deepest snow I've ever skied'

"I just went up for a pootle to get out of the house, but it had snowed way more than we thought," he said. "There was nobody around, the visibility was clear and the snow on the piste was boot deep.

"Off the sides you were into knee deep, untouched powder on lovely, mellow, super nice runs where you didn't have to think about your skiing, it took care of itself. It wasn't too steep, just perfect pitches. Then you went back up to ski the track a meter to your left and it would be just as fresh."

Butterworth, talking on the phone from St. Anton's picturesque main street Dorfstrasse, also recalled a day in early January when he experienced "the deepest snow I've ever skied."

"St. Anton had more snow in 72 hours than anyone can remember," he said. "It was chest-deep powder, with that feeling that every turn was the perfect moment of snow flying over your head. Everyone was absolutely buzzing."

But this dreamlike scenario is only one part of the story in the Alps during the pandemic.

"There is the sad side," said Butterworth, who had to oversee an emergency evacuation of guests from the resort when the virus first hit last March. "There are no mountain restaurants open, there are no bars open, you can't do anything on the mountain apart from ski, you can't pop in for a hot chocolate or a lunch.

"I'm walking up the main street and I've seen three people, which for a day like today, at the end of January is so abnormal, so abstract, so strange.

'Ghost town'

"Normally the streets would be really busy, the shops would be lit up, lunch service would be starting in the restaurants and bars. But it's a ghost town. It's a lovely ghost town, it's snowing and it's pretty, but it's empty. There is no one around. There is just the bank, the chemist and supermarket open. It misses that buzz, which is a shame.

"It's sad to see businesses closed and probably not opening again until next winter. The effect on most people in town is probably more negative than it is positive."