It has been a superb autumn in the Alps with many days of sunshine, interspersed with the odd cold spell. The high glaciated mountains are in good shape after all the summer snow, but it barely precipitated during October. We were lucky to have fantastic sunny days with crisp mornings giving way to balmy afternoons. The alpine valleys were not always so fortunate - as often happens during high pressure weather here the cold air sinks down into the valleys and stays there, often for much of the day. This gives a sea of cloud that is really attractive when viewed from 
above.... not so great when you're in it.Now everything has changed and it has been snowing lightly for two days, with more forecast. Temperatures are really low and there are strong winds - winter has arrived!
Time to think about those holidays in the snow.
There are still places available on many of my snowshoeing holidays and at the moment you can still get cheap flights for many dates. An alternative would be to take the train, and it seems there are some really good deals to be had from Britain to the Alps - Geneva, Turin, Chamonix. With the base it's putting down now we could well have good snowshoeing and skiing conditions before Christmas!
