14 November 2008

Ski resorts set to open early

Heavy snow falls across Europe and North America means that a number of ski resorts are due to open early this weekend.

Obergurgl (Austria), Flims/Laax (Switzerland), Lenzerheide (Switzerland) and Hemsedal (Norway) are all due to open, according to the Ski Club of Great Britain.

Heavy snowfalls across Austria, France, Italy, Switzerland and Scandinavia have allowed some resorts to already open, including Bormio in Italy and Geilo in Norway.

The snow depth is Zermatt is reported as 220cm on upper slopes, while Saas Fee has more than 1 Ã~½ metres.

There is a blanket of white snow across Tignes, with 10cm on the lower slopes, according to the Ski Club.

Many North American resorts are also open early including Snowbird in Utah and Mammoth in California.

Breckenridge and Arapahoe Basin in Colorado are also now open, as is Banff in Canada which was the first Canadian resort to open this winter. Jasper in Alberta, Canada, is set to open this weekend.

Alyn Morgan, from the Ski Club of Great Britain, said: ââ¬ÅâœAfter some good periods of snow this month, including heavy snow over the past couple of days in Europe, the winter ski season really feels like it is upon us.

ââ¬ÅâœIt bodes well for good early season conditions and hopefully good snow cover for the festive period.ââ¬~

by Phil Davies 

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