Snow finally blankets Swiss ski resorts

By Published On: January 2nd, 2007Comments Off on Snow finally blankets Swiss ski resorts

ZURICH, Switzerland — Swiss ski resorts have received a long-awaited abundant snowfall after a shortage of natural snow led many to postpone their opening for at least a month, the weather agency MeteoSchweiz reported Tuesday.
ZURICH, Switzerland — Swiss ski resorts have received a long-awaited abundant snowfall after a shortage of natural snow led many to postpone their opening for at least a month, the weather agency MeteoSchweiz reported Tuesday.
    But the resorts now have to worry about the risks of avalanches from the fresh snow, which started falling Monday and had piled as high as 76 centimeters (2 1/2 feet) in the southern state of Valais by Tuesday.
    A 27-year-old man was killed in an avalanche in the Bernese Alps near Gstaad on Monday, and his hiking companion was injured, officials said.
    The Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research raised its avalanche alert to the second-highest level, Chris Pielmeier of the institute told the Swiss TV station SF1.
    Numerous avalanches were expected above 6,560 feet in the northern part of the Alps and western Valais on Wednesday, Pielmeier said, warning that skiing off the marked slopes is dangerous.
    The much-welcomed snowfall was accompanied by strong winds sweeping over the country at a speed of up to 90 mph, MeteoSchweiz reported.
    In December, unusually little snow fell in Switzerland and temperatures were well above seasonal average. Some resorts offered hiking and other recreation as an alternative, and those at higher elevation were able to open on schedule but had to create pistes of artificial snow on brown slopes and meadows.

— The Associated Press

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