mmmmm
It's the largest September snowfall in living memory in parts of the Alps. Most will melt but some won't, with some superb autumn conditions. People are already skiing, but there have been several avalanches with caution urged.

Some eastern parts of the Alps saw the the biggest September snowfalls in living memory.

At altitude there was over 2m in places, with snow down to 700m.

It has made a difference to the glacier ski areas in Austria that are already open and ones opening shortly.

"The higher parts of the central and eastern Austrian Alps (e.g. Dachstein glacier, Kitzsteinhorn glacier, Obertauern) have seen 1.5m to 2m of snow in the last few days, with perhaps close to 2.5m in some favoured spots like the Hรถhe Tauern, though in most cases this snow has been very wind-blown and therefore difficult to measure," said the alpine weather expert, Fraser Wilkin, from weathertoski.co.uk



The Austrian ski area of Hochkonig near Salzburg decided to seize the moment and opened one of its lifts.

The Arthurhaus T-bar ferried dozens of skiers and snowboarders up the hill to make their first turns of the approaching season.

The area is hoping to keep the lift running until the weekend.

Many people are hiking up to enjoy the September snow, but it has come with tragedy and people are urged to be cautious by the authorities.

A 54-year-old backcountry skier from Slovenia died in Obertauren in Austria.

The area has seen some of the largest amounts of snow.

His disappearance triggered a search operation.

"The conditions were very bad. There was a lot of fresh snow with wind, and there was poor visibility with a high avalanche risk," said the emergency services of Obertauern.

There are no indications of an avalanche, and it is believed that the 54-year-old man fell during a climb.

An avalanche struck in Hรผttschlag in the state of Salzburg on Tuesday.

One person was rescued with very serious injuries and two others with minor injuries, according to the Salzburg Mountain Rescue Service.

The accident happened at around 1,300m.

The three were in a group of six on a hiking trail.

According to the mountain rescue service, there is an increased risk of avalanches in the high Alps due to the recent snowfall.

The snow is only very poorly bonded to the ground due to the heat phase of the summer that prevailed until recently.

The rising temperatures can trigger sliding snowfalls.

"Some of the fresh snow has been blown away by the wind," said the Provincial Director of the Salzburg Mountain Rescue Service, Balthasar Laireiter.

"It has no binding on the ground and the wind has caused a lot of snow to be blown around.

"We therefore advise caution and restraint."