Snow sees Austrian Alps open six weeks early

Over a metre of fresh snow cover has allowed the Austrian ski resort of Kitzbühel, in the Tirol region of the country, to open some of its runs six weeks ahead of schedule.

In its earliest ever opening, Kitzbühel is reporting more than 130cm of snow since Wednesday, according to holiday company Crystal Ski.

There was more good news for skiers planning an early Austrian ski holiday, with the resort of Lech reporting 180cm of snow, following heavy snow across the country.

The resort is due to open on December 1st.

For those that cannot wait that long glacier resorts such as Sölden, Hintertux, Stubai (Neustift), Kaprun and Dachstein (Schladming) are already open.

For more information on skiing in Austria, see the travelbite.co.uk Austria ski page.