Ski season kicks off as Tyrolean cafe at 3,440m opens

Early snow has been reported at resorts across Europe and North America this week, from Ischgl in Austria to the Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard resort in Nevada. Most resorts will be open fully next month, and while it remains to be seen if Europe will see a repeat of last season's epic snowfalls, now is the time to start thinking about your winter holidays.

One of this week's most exciting scenes is of 3440, Austria's highest cafe on top of the Pitztal glacier in the Tyrol. The restaurant, which opened last week, is named after its height of 3,440m. The futuristic structure features a free-floating terrace and panoramic seats behind a wide glass frontage and has seating for more than 100 people. It is connected to the surrounding area by a series of ski lifts, six of which are currently open. The new restaurant has unparalleled views of Tyrol's highest mountain, the Wildspitze, and the 50 surrounding 3,000-metre peaks. Along with the ski-in/ski out branch of Starbucks, which opened in California's Sqaw Valley earlier this year, the retail potential of the slopes continues to grow.

Staying in Austria, the Kaunertal Glacier received 30cm of fresh snow this week and has five lifts open; the Stubai glacier also received snow - nine slopes, 34km of pistes and 10 lifts are open. Montjola, a new four-star chalet in St Anton, owned by VIP Chalets (www.vip-chalets.com), which offers chalet accommodation across resorts in Europe, has just opened; a four-night break at the beginning of December costs from £399 (Dh2,351) including meals.

In Italy, Cervinia had 125cm of snow and will open this weekend.

Mammoth, California welcomed its first dusting of snow this week and its opening is scheduled for November 8. In Vail, Colorado, Beaver Creek has seen up to 40cm of snow this week.

In Canada, a new train link between Quebec and Le Massif in Charlevoix, 140km away, and a new hotel, La Ferme at Baie-Saint-Paul, makes for an attractive new experience. The train (www.lemassif.com/ferme), which will run year-round between Quebec City and La Ferme and on to La Malbaie (stopping at Le Massif for those who want to get straight to the slopes) has been luxuriously remodelled, with enlarged windows, a Bose sound system and an iPad at every table. GPS activates the iPad to screen a short film or selection of stills of the places you're passing, with optional running commentary.

For a bigger adrenaline rush, try heli-skiing in Africa. The French ski school Evolution 2 has opened a base in Marrakech with Chamonix guides Herve Favre and Regis Martinez. A helicopter picks you up from base camp, just outside Marrakech, and drops you on a mountaintop 20 minutes later for a 4,000m descent.

Going grey? A stylist's advice

If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”

Salah in numbers

€39 million: Liverpool agreed a fee, including add-ons, in the region of €39m (nearly Dh176m) to sign Salah from Roma last year. The exchange rate at the time meant that cost the Reds £34.3m - a bargain given his performances since.

13: The 25-year-old player was not a complete stranger to the Premier League when he arrived at Liverpool this summer. However, during his previous stint at Chelsea, he made just 13 Premier League appearances, seven of which were off the bench, and scored only twice.

57: It was in the 57th minute of his Liverpool bow when Salah opened his account for the Reds in the 3-3 draw with Watford back in August. The Egyptian prodded the ball over the line from close range after latching onto Roberto Firmino's attempted lob.

7: Salah's best scoring streak of the season occurred between an FA Cup tie against West Brom on January 27 and a Premier League win over Newcastle on March 3. He scored for seven games running in all competitions and struck twice against Tottenham.

3: This season Salah became the first player in Premier League history to win the player of the month award three times during a term. He was voted as the division's best player in November, February and March.

40: Salah joined Roger Hunt and Ian Rush as the only players in Liverpool's history to have scored 40 times in a single season when he headed home against Bournemouth at Anfield earlier this month.

30: The goal against Bournemouth ensured the Egyptian achieved another milestone in becoming the first African player to score 30 times across one Premier League campaign.

8: As well as his fine form in England, Salah has also scored eight times in the tournament phase of this season's Champions League. Only Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo, with 15 to his credit, has found the net more often in the group stages and knockout rounds of Europe's premier club competition.