Surrounded by the remote brown mountains of a country in drought, the resort’s three small slopes are this year layered in artificial snow created with water pumped from eight surrounding dams. It is a rare winter treat that attracts visitors from the continent and beyond to Afriski, which is back with a buzz this season after power cuts and other issues kept it closed in 2023. At 3,000 metres (10,000 feet) in the Maluti Mountains, the resort has weathered a series of challenges since it opened 22 years ago.