With glacier ski areas Les 2 Alpes and Tignes both deciding to postpone opening this October, its looking like Val Thorens might be the first resort to open for the season in France this autumn.
Europe's highest altitude resort will open for its 50th full season with its Grande Première opening festival in four weeks' time on November 19th and 20th.
The event will see a test village operating at Place Caron with all the latest equipment to test from more than fifty major brands. There'll also be activities organised throughout the weekend and a fun area (mini snowpark..), Live DJ, quizzes, a Raclette Party followed by a fireworks display on the Saturday.
Although a dozen glacier ski areas have opened in Austria, Italy and Switzerland already, Les 2 Alpes and Tignes both say that although they've had some snowfall, they've not had enough to open their glaciers as planned.
Tignes, which used to open every day of the year, then at least every month of the year and until recently always by late September, says it will open as soon as it has enough snowcover – and there's about a foot of snowfall forecast this weekend – so it may still open this month. However its marketing is now focussed on its main season start on 26th November.
Les 2 Alpes though has given up on its planned three week late-October – early-November opening and says it will offer activities like mountain biking instead and now open for the season on 3rd December.