Will it be a white season?

Those hoping for early signs of a snowy winter should look away now.

The record-breaking September heat has been keenly felt in the Alps.

Les 2 Alpes was to open the French season on October 21, but now says it’s sticking to mountain biking instead for a while longer.

Searching for positives, there have been some early snowfalls reported and glacier ski areas are already open – the majority in Austria’s Tirol region, alongside Saas-Fee and Zermatt in Switzerland.

Everywhere else, the early signs aren’t promising. Weather agencies predict new record-high temperatures for 2024, with the warming El Niño factor peaking this winter. It’s too soon to worry though. As we saw last winter, with the arrival of fresh snow in spring, things can change quickly. The main clues will come by mid-November, when forecasters will be hoping for more wintry conditions.

To ensure your holiday isn’t a washout, look for ski areas with plenty of high terrain, above 2,000m, or look to northern Europe. There’s been October snowfall in Scandinavia, and Finland’s Levi and Ruka have both already opened for their seven-month seasons, using snow recycled from last winter.

For extra security, Crystal Ski Holidays, Inghams and Club Med now have policies that guarantee against poor snow cover and closed slopes. The latter, in its most recent customer survey, found that 81 per cent of people would be more likely to book a holiday with an operator offering a snow guarantee. Under these terms and conditions, customers are offered the chance to move their plans to an alternate (open) resort, to ensure they can ski, or to cancel and claim credit towards a later departure.

Patrick Thorne