Hard to believe for those who took a late August Mediterranean holiday, but the snows have returned to the Alps and the new snow has meant an early season start for the Stubai Glacier, just south of Innsbruck and the Rettenbach Glacier, high above Sölden and host of the opening of the FIS race calendar in late October.
The upper slopes on both glaciers will be opening tomorrow for the winter season, with further slopes and lifts coming on-stream as further snow arrives from the sky and cannons. No crystal ball predictions here, but if the winter is anything remotely like the 17/18 or better still, the 18/19 winter then we are in for something special.
Autumn glacier skiing feels like such a bonus, months before the main ski season starts and offering some really great features such as Oktoberfest, ski testing and ski races. The Hintertux Glacier in Tirol operates year-round, so they will be wondering what all the fuss is about with season starts! Expect to see the stars of the ski race world on the snow in the coming weeks as they train before the FIS season starts.
A reminder of the conditions in mid-May 2019, on the Stubai Glacier: