An interesting piece by BBC news if you are going to Austria this winter.

BBC news reporting the unseasonally high temperatures in the Austrian Alps.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15868294

Hmmm. Scary, but it will come.

Kinda reminds me of 2001, skiing Klosters and Davos, great conditions, then drove through to Arrabba in the Dolomites. The whole of the Sella Ronda was a white strip among green fields. Wierd but still good skiing. On the third week, drove over the Brenner pass to the Wildschönau. Again full cover, great skiing.

The slopes that face north are now heavily frosted, and the machines are switched on.

If anything, the berglift companies will be spending less on snow machine use this month, because they have started two weeks later. The limitation on snow production is usually the flow capacity of the water pipes & pumps.
The BBC are just reporting something that happens almost every year.

Dave Mac wrote:
The BBC are just reporting something that happens almost every year.

With you on this Dave.
After a few extremely good Decembers this becomes the norm in peoples minds.
My first ski trip was to a low, little, Austrian resort - mid January. Ours was the first week of that season that the low slopes had been open.
Snow cannons have hugely extended the season across the years allowing for a far more reliable start and end to the season in what is, after all, an industry totally reliant on the weather.

Is worrying tho tbh. Im off on 14th of Jan, so still plenty of time, but if we get another 6weeks of warm weather, than not good at all.

Dave Mac wrote:On the third week, drove over the Brenner pass to the Wildschönau. Again full cover, great skiing.

Never heard of it