Temperatures dropped in the Alps about 10 days ago, ending a month and half of predominantly above average temperatures up to mid-October. It remained mostly dry though with just the odd snow flurry up high. Now though things are starting to look more wintery with more measurable snow at higher elevations, such as on Glacier 3000 at Gstaad, pictured top.
The snowfall is arriving with perfect timing for the first FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup races of the 23-24 calendar coming up at Solden this weekend, then Zermatt-Cervinia at the start of November, so long as race days are clear.
It's a little late for some glacier ski areas like the Kitzsteinhorn above Kaprun, Diavolezza near St Moritz and Titlis above Engelberg which have all delayed planned October openings into November, due to the previously warm weather and Les 2 Alpes which cancelled planned to offer France's first skiing of 23-24 this week.
However eight glacier ski areas are already open in the Alps, more than half of them in the Austrian province of Tirol.
The latest snowfall is covering a wider area though, with the Pyrenees also reporting fresh snowfall, with Cerler in Spain pictured below.
