It's snowing hard in the Alps for the second time this week, after big snowfalls on Monday.
With tour operators beginning their 19-20 programme tomorrow in most cases it seems like perfect timing – so long as related disruption is minimal.
Up to 60cm (two feet) of fresh snow has been reported in the last 24 hours, similar to accumulations in the same period on Sunday/Monday at the start of this week.
With the snowfall expected to continue in to the weekend it looks like some areas may boast 7 day metre snowfall totals by Sunday.
Heavy snow has been reported over a wide area (and down in the Pyrenees), but the biggest accumulations have been around Tignes, Val d'Isere and Bonneval sur Alp. Val d'Isere is due to host World cup racing this weekend and had already re-arranged the race schedule to best suit likely conditions.
This week's snow has not only refreshed upper slope cover after a fortnight of it becoming hard packed since the last snowfalls at the end of last month, but has also brought good snow depth to lower slopes which had previously been bare.
After heavy snowfall in November built bases in the Alps up to 4 metres at one resort, all in all it is looking like one of the best starts to the season for some years.