Worldwide — The northern hemisphere’s mountains have seen the season’s first significant snowfall this week — in several regions close to four weeks ahead of schedule — and the early falls have travel operators reporting a rush of winter bookings.
In Europe, high-altitude glaciers in Austria and Switzerland have picked up their first substantial dusting, with several Alpine resorts confirming earlier opening dates. In North America, Colorado and Alberta reported September snow on the high peaks, while Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido recorded its first flurries of the season.
Further south and east, the mountains of Central Asia and the Himalaya saw the most dramatic totals: the upper Swat Valley in Pakistan and the passes above Kashmir reported up to a foot of fresh snow, with hoteliers reporting fully booked weekends within hours of the first photographs circulating online.
“Usually we see this rush in late November. This year, winter decided not to wait for the calendar — and neither did the travellers.”— A hotel owner in Kalam Valley
Meteorologists attribute the early falls to a strong, moist weather system crossing the northern latitudes, and say another system is expected to reach both the Alps and the Himalaya by Thursday, bringing further snow to elevations above 2,500 metres.
If you go
- Travel midweek to beat the first-weekend wave up the mountain roads.
- Carry chains and warm layers — night temperatures are already below freezing at altitude.
- Book ahead — early-season occupancy is near-total on opening weekends.
- Travel in daylight only; road clearance teams work mornings.
Prefer your colour gold rather than white? Our guide to the world’s best autumn destinations has the other end of the season covered.
