In Verbier, Kitzbühel and Klosters, global warming is, like, so last year. After suffering a delayed and, in some cases, virtually snowless season in 2006-07, European resorts are enjoying record November snowfalls.

Switzerland and Austria have had the best of the early snow, with even lowlying resorts that had been drawing up plans to become “winter hiking” destinations cranking up the chairlifts.

France is expecting significant snowfalls this weekend, as are parts of Germany; some Italian resorts are already open and Sweden and Norway are also hoping to join the party. Zurich has had its heaviest snowfall since 1955 and the white stuff is settling all the way down to the beaches.

Travel companies are reporting a rush from winter sports enthusiasts keen to bag an Alp before Christmas as more and more destinations open up, if only for the weekend, much earlier than they dared hope. “Verbier has had 40cm [16in] in town and up on the slopes it is 60cm,” said James Cove, of the Ski Club of Great Britain, after visiting the Swiss resort.

“It opened in mid-November and locals who have been coming for years say it was the best opening day they have ever known,” he said. “Of course, snow in November does not mean snow in December but it is not a bad start.” It was not like this last year, or the year before.

Kitzbühel, in Austria, which has opened six weeks earlier than planned, suffered last year from the warmest November on record and had to cancel the celebrated Hahnenkamn World Cup downhill race in January.

Last winter in St Anton, Austria, the snow cannon in which it invested £12 million to provide artificial playgrounds for skiers and snowboarders were rendered useless by the wet ground that refused to freeze. This year it has already got a covering of natural snow and is due to open on November 30.

The climate change doomsayers said that we had better get used to shorter, later ski seasons in Europe but a couple of heavy snowfalls and forecasts of more to come seem to have turned back the clock all the way to the last century. Does it mean the return of proper winters? “Last season we now believe was just a blip,” said Lisa Holm, of the Austrian Tourist Office. “A second year running for Austria would have been disastrous as people would think it would not snow again. All the recent snow is so fantastic, we are beside ourselves.”

Unfortunately, while the skiers are eager to take advantage, the experts are saying that not only does it not signify the resumption of normal service but it does not even guarantee a great ski season this winter. Global warming has gone too far for that, they say. The Austrian Central Institute for Meteorology and Geo-dynamics has not changed its view that the Alps have entered their warmest period for 1,300 years, threatening the viability of hundreds of resorts and thousands of livelihoods.

The Ski Club of Great Britain cautioned: “It has been the best start for well over a decade but there is a long winter ahead. In the same way it was wrong to overreact to the lack of snow in some resorts last winter, it would be wrong to overreact to the early season snowfalls this year.”