First resort in The Alps opens
Sunday September 12, 2010 - Email this article to a friend

In Solden four lifts have started up and the runs are open from 09.30 to 15.30.

They include the Schwarze Schneidbahn and Kaleskogl lifts up on the resort's Rettenbach glacier.

For a one day pass it costs €22 for an adult, €17 for a youth, €12 for a child and a senior citizen will have to part with €17.

A mountain restaurant is also be open, so it is possible to argue that the resort has opened for the winter.

But, is it really "open"?

30 lifts in the resort are shut and only a tiny fraction of the 148km of pistes are open.

The resort is no stranger to early season skiing and hosts the first FIS skiing race of the season.  This year it is being held 22nd - 24th of October.

For further details on the race see here.

Some other resorts are already open - mainly because they never shut.

Always snow in, and above, ZermattZermatt boasts of being open 365 days a year and only closes when the weather closes in.

Tignes in France has just closed for summer skiing but re-opens within the next two weeks.

Some other resorts claim year round skiing and a handful only closes for a few weeks.

For a full feature on this see our PlanetSKI story written by the respected ski journalist, and good friend of PlanetSKI, Patrick Thorne.

Which resorts open first?

Meanwhile an American resort has seen some skiing after firing up its cannons in the middle of the night when the temperature dropped below zero.

Snow Valley Mountain resort in Calfornia can lay claim to be the first US resort to have skiing. Just.

It was testing its snow cannons this week and with the snow on the ground it seemed silly not get a pair of skis out.

Snow Valley's Vice President of Marketing Kevin Somes was the first person to ski in Southern California for the 2010-2011 season.

"While it is unusual to ski in Southern California so early, it was great just to get out on the snow since the winter season is around the corner," enthused Somes after his short run.

Laying it down

"

Skiing down - just

"Our records indicate that this is the earliest we have made snow and this proves that our system is prepared to make plenty of snow for the upcoming winter season," says the snow surfaces manager, Nick Chatterton.

3am at Snow Valley Mountain resort

Whatever the arguments, claims and splitting of hairs about when a resort opens it is a fact that Solden is open and someone has been out skiing in the USA.

It means winter is on its way.

See the vidoe below of the snowmaking this week in Snow Valley.

We will have a report later, with some photos, on what the opening day was like in Solden.

Meanwhile, if you want to get the winter feeling, see the promotional video below from Solden. 

Bring it on!

For the spirit of the mountains

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