A number of countries have announced that their major ski resorts are opening for business.
As winter begins to take hold in the UK, skiing destinations across the globe are announcing that their resorts are beginning to open for business.
The Austrian tourist board recently confirmed that a number of its resorts will be opening early following heavy snowfall and today both Canada and Norway have issued similar statements.
Canada's tourism commission said that an "intense" storm system had passed over the country and dropped over 80cm of snow on Whistler Blackcomb Mountain this week, meaning that the location will be open to skiers nearly a week earlier than the planned date of November 22nd.
Doug MacFarlane, manager of the mountain resort, said: "We have a great leg up on the season.
"Natural snowfall and our snowmaking efforts have allowed for the early opening on Whistler Mountain that skiers and riders have been hoping for."
In Norway, the country's largest resort, Trysil, opened on November 15th, while Hemsedal will open the following day and Hafjell, near Lillehammer, will welcome visitors on November 17th.
Catherine Foster of tourism group Innovation Norway said: "With some great snowfall already in our main resorts it looks set to be a fantastic year for skiing in Norway."
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