Kitzbühel opens for skiing tomorrow, November 7th, the first non-glacier ski area to open in the country.
For some years now, the resort's KitzSki lift company has opened a few kilometres of terrain on some of the resort's highest slopes at Resterkogel, using snow farming – snow piled up last spring, stockpiled under cover through summer than spread back out on the slopes in the autumn as things cool, to open a run. The resort has also had some natural snowfall in late October.
Professional racing teams are reported to have already been training on the groomed pistes throughout the week, but for the weekend the public also have access. From Friday to Sunday (7–9 November), recreational skiers can take to the slope.
There will be around 20 ski areas open in the Alps this weekend, most of them thanks to high altitude glacier terrain, but Kitzbühel joins Switzerland's Murren in opening thanks to snow farming.
All open areas are in Austria, which already has seven glacier areas open, Italy and Switzerland. Only France has nowhere open yet, the first expected to be Tignes and Val Thorens in just over a fortnight's time, on November 22nd.