Alpine Classics Davos & Kitzbühel Starting 25-26 Seasons This Weekend

Classic ski resorts Kitzbühel in the Austrian Tirol and Davos Klosters in the Swiss Alps have announced they’re starting their 25-26 seasons this weekend. Kitzbühel are going as planned, using farmed snow, but Davos is opening a week earlier than planned after good autumn snowfalls. They follow Verbier which opened nearly a month over last weekend.

More than 20 ski areas are set to open now in the Austrian, Italian and Swiss Alps this weekend, but the start of the French season is still a fortnight away. Tignes and Val Thorens are expected to open on 22 November.

The iconic Parsenn ski area in Davos is turning its lifts on this Friday, 7 November 2025, a full week earlier than planned. Thanks to a timely cold snap and early snowfall, the resort is seizing the opportunity to welcome skiers and snowboarders eager to carve their first turns of the season.

The early opening includes weekend operations on sections 1 and 2 of the Parsenn funicular and the Totalp chairlift, offering access to well-prepared pistes and panoramic alpine views. Mountain restaurants Totalp and Parsennhütte will be open from Friday to Sunday, while the Mungga Hütte will serve guests on Saturday and Sunday, setting the stage for the first après-ski gatherings of the season.

This early launch is part of a staggered rollout across the Davos Klosters region. After this weekend, Parsenn Davos will reopen 14-16 November before transitioning to daily operations from 21 November. Other areas, including Parsenn Klosters and Jakobshorn, are set to follow later in the month, with full regional operations expected by mid-December.

Meanwhile over the border in Austria, Kitzbühel is also set to welcome skiers from Friday 7 November, becoming Austria’s first non-glacier resort to open for the 2025/26 season. Thanks to strategic snow farming and a touch of natural snowfall, the resort’s Resterkogel sector will offer groomed terrain to both professional athletes and recreational skiers over the weekend.

The early opening is made possible by KitzSki’s long-standing snow preservation strategy: snow collected last spring was stored under thermal covers throughout the summer and redistributed across high-altitude slopes as temperatures dropped. Combined with fresh snow in late October, conditions have allowed for a limited but high-quality launch.

While professional race teams have already been training on the prepared pistes this week, the public will gain access from Friday through Sunday (7-9 November), marking one of the earliest opportunities for non-glacier skiing in the Alps this season.

Kitzbühel joins Switzerland’s Mürren as one of the few resorts opening via snow farming rather than glacier access.