Kitzbuhel – which opened the first non-glacier ski area in the the Alps for the 17-18 ski season in the Resterkogel sector in mid-October – has opened a second part of its ski area, its famous Hahnenkamm area, for new season snowsports too.
The famous Tirolean ski area had stockpiled snow from last winter and spread it on its slopes making runs about a kilometre long and attracting around 1500 skiers for the increasingly popular opening weekend. This was the third year and the earliest opening yet for the resort.
The resort has been boosted by fresh snow on top of last year's snow at the weekend and temperatures have also been cold enough for snowmaking.
Austria has nine ski areas open – more than any other country in the world at present – with the year-round Hintertux glacier offering 34km of runs sine this past weekend, the largest single area currently open anywhere in the world.