It's the usual nervous point in the autumn when skiers' eyes are focused on early snowfalls and snow forecasts.
It has not been a particularly promising autumn so far, following record warm summer temperatures in The Alps, but most areas that planned to open by now have largely done so on schedule and the amount of terrain open is increasing daily, with Solden the first to announce they have over 50km of groomed slopes open already.
In good news over the past few days tough, snowfall has returned to high ground, mostly above 2,000m, with more expected to lower elevations into next week. Cervinia, which posted 15cm in the past 24 hours is pictured this morning.
J2Ski snow forecasts are predicting up to 146cm of snowfall in the French Alps and Western Swiss and Italian Alps, over the next seven days with lower, but still significant falls forecast further east in the Alps. The Chamonix and Aosta valleys appear to be in the sweet spot.
https://www.j2ski.com/snow_forecast/
Across the Atlantic where ski areas are yet to see and real sign of the much discussed Super El Nino, the forecasts are also looking poisitive for the Pacific coast over the next few days, were up to 80cm is forecast in the Sierras, a region that typically does do well in El Nino years.
About 20 areas have opened already in the Alps, along with about a dozen areas in North America, half a dozen in Scandinavia and a few in Japan.