Alto del Padre Sneeuwverwachting

There's been snowfall in the Alps and Scandinavia as half-a-dozen more ski areas plan to open over the coming fortnight in Austria and Finland. Finland's largest ski area, Levi (pictured above), one of two aiming to start their 7-month long seasons on 6th October, reported snow falling down to village level on Wednesday morning. Levi and Ruka (library pic below) will use large amounts of snow, saved from last winter and stockpiled through the summer, to create runs several kilometres long in order to open. There has also been fresh snowfall above about 3,000m in the Alps, bringing to an end the latest period of very warm temperatures to high altitudes. Three resorts are currently open, Saas Fee and Zermatt