The snow: It's the very beginning of the season, but the clouds don't know that. Already they're giving it some welly, with many resorts ready for action. France, Italy, Switzerland and Canada are turning whitest this week.

Serre Chevalier is top of the snow pops in France after a heavy drop, with 40cm on the lower slopes, 160cm on upper slopes. Piste conditions are good, with 16 out of 76 lifts open.

There are fantastic conditions in Tignes (22/120cm), especially on the Grande Motte glacier,but some lifts have shut due to high winds. Les Deux Alpes (0/260cm) has reopened after a temporary closure due to winds. There's deep snow on the glacier .

Switzerland is keeping up with its neighbours with some heavy snowfall this week. Zermatt (50/90cm), Klosters (5/110cm) and Saas-Fee (49/125cm) have decent coverage at the top. In the Italian Alps, Cervinia (110/220cm) has piles of sweet white powder.

America's weather has been unusually stingy with the cold stuff this week, but in Canada, Big White (90/130cm) was living up to its name with considerable snowfall echoed by Silver Star (65/110cm), Fernie (105/145cm) and Whistler-Blackcomb (80/120cm). Let the season commence!

Deal of the week: Direct Ski (0800 587 0945) has availability for a week's self catering in Méribel from 10 January for £169pp. The price includes flights, transfers, and is based on four sharing an apartment.