The winter season in Europe may kick off earlier this year as a number of slopes have reported receiving more than a meter of fresh snow in the previous week.
Consequently, this has marked the beginning of the tourism season for the continent, which means that winter has finally arrived.
In the month of October, European countries experienced a bout of warm weather, but the temperatures across the Alps have since then decreased rapidly.
Moreover, snowfalls are now covering the mountains, as they have been from the first week of the current month.
Ski resorts
As a result of the snowfall, Ski Solutions has revealed that more than 50 centimeters of snow is likely to cover a bunch of popular Alpine destinations across the continent in the upcoming week.
Some of the best-known Alpine locations have already announced that they will soon be opening their doors.
These include destinations such as Crans Montana, which sits in the Swiss municipality, and French destinations of Chamonix, French commune, and La Plagne.
In addition, the Austrian village of Saint Anton am Arlberg has also made it onto the list of ski locations that will begin operating soon.
Ian McIlrath, the Managing Director of Ski Solutions, further revealed that storms have taken over the Alps in the last two weeks.
Consequently, snow has accumulated to around 100 centimeters on the upper slopes, ensuring a solid base for the upcoming winter season.
In his words, the forecasted snow is likely to enable ski resorts to open their doors to tourists earlier than expected.
Bookings
The Managing Director additionally noted that there has been a surge in bookings for all these locations.
The rise in the number of bookings made has been attributed mainly to exceptional conditions, which make it more enjoyable to experience snow and ski in it.
On this note, Je2.com has introduced a 10% discount on ticket prices of selective flights, which are flying to specific locations. These destinations include Geneva, Salzburg, Chambery, and Grenoble.
Furthermore, in line with the good weather, more and more ski resorts are planning on publishing their opening dates.
However, slopes in France have not been opened yet. Big-name resorts believe that they will be able to begin operating a week earlier than usual.
Meanwhile, Tignes Resort is going to be providing access to 1,300 meters of slopes this skiing season.
Moreover, Kitzbuhel in Austria started letting in customers two weeks earlier, on the same date as Solden.
Open areas
As of now, a number of areas in Switzerland have decided to allow people to ski due to the accumulation of ample snow.
There are a total of nine areas, which include locations like Zermatt, Davos, and Verbier. The latter opened its doors three weeks earlier.
Italian ski resorts have announced that they will begin operating a week earlier than scheduled.
They have invited skiers to have a good time on one meter of snow in the final week of Madonna di Campiglio.
All of these ski resorts have taken to open up earlier as they feel threatened by the warming climate.
They are afraid of the looming possibility of being forced to shut down in case there is not enough snowfall.
