Laax
This Saturday, 29 October 2011, the winter season will kick off in Cervinia, Italy; Laax in Switzerland and Nakiska in Alberta, Canada.
The Cervinia opening was scheduled but the other two are earlier than expected and follow recent snowfalls.
At Laax (formerly known as Flims) the centre will open the Vorab Glacier every weekend from 08.30-16.30. The resort will then be open daily from 3 December 2011.
Laax is located 90mins from Zurich and takes in the mountains around the villages of Flims, Laax and Falera. The area covers 100sq km with 220km of pistes, 28 ski lifts and 70% of the ski area is between 2,000-3,000m, reaching 3,018m on the Vorab Glacier (one of the highest points in the Graubunden region).
Heavy snow has also been reported in Colorado (up to 15 inches in the past 24 hours) where three small resorts are already opebn and some of the big guns including Copper Mountain and Breckenridge are scheduled to join them over the next few weeks.