The All Saints’ Day long weekend (from Friday, November 1 to Sunday, November 3) has always been one of the first opportunities to click back into your skis and spend a few days on the snow.
For the 2013/14 season as well, several ski resorts have opened or will open their ski lifts for the first true skiing weekend of the season.
For now, the available resorts are those offering lifts at high altitudes, meaning the Alpine glaciers take center stage; here is a closer look at the open ski resorts:
Skiing in Italy
There are 5 Italian ski destinations open for the All Saints’ Day long weekend.
Presena Glacier
The Presena Glacier opened its doors on October 19, with snow cover guaranteed by its high altitude and the recent snowfalls that hit the Alpine glacier.
Stelvio
This will be the final opening weekend for the Stelvio: after a magnificent summer, the last Italian glacier still open throughout the summer is preparing for its long winter hibernation.
Snow conditions are fabulous, with over 100 cm of fresh snow on the slopes.
Val Senales
The Alto Adige glacier started its ski season somewhat quietly, partly due to the end of summer skiing, which had long made it a year-round summer ski destination.
For now, the upper part of the ski area is open.
Solda (possible opening)
The ski resort of Solda is aiming to open its lifts on Thursday, October 31; however, the opening depends heavily on how the weather evolves over the next few hours, so we recommend checking the official website www.seilbahnensulden.it
Plateau Rosà
While located on a Swiss glacier, it can also be reached from the Italian resort of Cervinia. Snow is never in short supply here, and weekend skiing has already been underway for several weeks.
Switzerland
The ski destinations that have already opened their lifts in Switzerland are Plateau Rosà (see above), the Saas-Fee glacier, the Diavolezza Glacier, the Titlis Glacier (Engelberg), and Gstaad.
The first two boast snow-covered slopes that remain open even in the middle of summer, whereas the Diavolezza glacier opened in mid-October, making it the first non-summer Swiss resort to kick off the 2013/14 season.
Engelberg and Gstaad also opened recently, and both resorts currently offer skiing exclusively on their respective glacier slopes.
Austria
Austria is the country offering the widest selection of open ski resorts for the early-season holiday weekend. Ski lifts are open on the following glaciers:
Kitzsteinhorn, Mölltaler, Dachstein, Kaunertal, Pitztal, Sölden, Stubai, Hintertux
5 Tyrolean glaciers, 1 glacier in Carinthia, 1 glacier in Salzburg, and 1 glacier in Styria.
For more info, visit the Austria lift openings page.
France
In France, skiing is available in Tignes and on the Les 2 Alpes glacier. While Tignes has officially kicked off its season, on the L2A glacier the lifts are open from October 26 to November 3.
Even without any early low-altitude openings, the Alpine arc offers nearly 20 different destinations for those looking to ski over the All Saints’ Day long weekend.
All that’s left to do is pick your resort and click back into your skis!
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