Snowcard's early bird Freddie D checks out the possibilities...

I can remember my dad always went skiing the first weekend of December, premier neige it was called but in recent years, snow has often been slow to arrive, often not until the Christmas week. For some time the effects of climate change has been cited as the reason for shortening ski seasons, particularly in the lower resorts with no access to glaciers. So where is worth considering this early on?

As I write we are receiving reports of good early snow, as much as half a metre across the Alps. What we don’t know is whether this will continue into the main start to the season or, as last year, early falls had melted by Christmas and the season had a patchy start.

There are currently 8 glacier regions open, 4 in Austria like Solden. The higher resorts in Obergurgl and Obertauern will open later in November if the snow falls continue. 4 areas in Scandanavia are open including Ruka and Levi. In Switzerland, Engleberg, Saas Fee, Zermatt and Hintertux are worth looking at.

France does not currently have any open resorts. Even Tignes with its high glacier will not open until the end of November. However, Val Senales in Italy, Verbier and Crans Montana in Switzerland and Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy are all worth checking out for the possibility of an early season ski.

I've got my skis out of the loft and renewed my insurance!

(links and image curtesy of InTheSnow)