A band of heavy snowfall has been moving across the Alps bringing fresh cover to resorts already open for the 2015-16 ski season and inspiring views for those opening over the next three months.
Austrian ski areas, and particularly the Tirol, have fared particularly well from the fresh snow with Solden, which opened for the season 10 days ago, issuing a 'powder alarm' for more than a foot of snow on its glacier in the past 24 hours – a total of 37cm reported.
Other Austrian areas already open including Hintertux and the Pitztal glacier have reported heavy snow too. A total of eight areas, mostly in the Tirol, are scheduled to be open there by October 7th with many planning 'Octoberfest' and 15-16 ski gear testing weekends over the next few weeks so the snowfall is good news for them.
The Stubai glacier aims to open this Friday and it's also only a month until the first World Cup races are due to take place on Solden's glaciers.
Avoriaz (pictured above) was one of the high altitude French resorts to report snow right down to base level. All French areas are currently closed, but Tignes will open its glacier slopes in 10 days on October 3rd.
Elsewhere the glacier ski areas at Saas Fee and Zermatt bin Switzerland are open as well as Passo Stelvio in Italy, where a second area, Val Senales, expects to open on Friday.
Across the Atlantic Sunday River in Maine fired up its snow guns yesterday.