Skiers in the Alps are left without snow

Skiers and snowboarders are abandoning the Alps in their thousands after one of the worst starts to the winter sports season.

Across Europe, a lack of snow and unseasonably warm weather have forced them to negotiate bare rocks as pistes wear dangerously thin.

At the same time, the weakness of the dollar and record snowfalls in America have tempted many across the Atlantic for the first time.

Yesterday The Ski Club of Great Britain advised enthusiastsheading for the Alps not to take new equipment because of the high risk of damage.

A spokesman said: "You could be forgiven for thinking it is spring rather than midwinter. There is a distinct lack of new snow and the lower slopes are getting rather too colourful.

"Many pistes need far more white stuff to bury the rocks, ice and bare patches."

Most resorts have seen little fresh snow since Christmas with forecasters saying that the dry weather is set to continue.

The shortage is particularly acute in Austria, where an unusual combination of mild temperatures and sunshine have stripped the lower slopes bare. The picture is little better in Italy and Switzerland where few resorts have been able to open all their lifts.

Even in France, where Europe's best conditions are often found, many runs have only patchy cover. There is also barely any off-piste powder, the main attraction for many experienced skiers.

Tour companies were already braced for a weak season this year. As both Christmas Day and New Year's Day fell on a Saturday, the usual changeover day for resorts, many skiers stayed at home.

A spokesman for the Association of British Travel Agents said: "There is clearly a shortage of decent snow in the European resorts but there is still time for it to come before the busiest part of the season in February and March."

Another poor season, after a string of short, mild winters, threatens disaster for ski companies. French resorts have invested almost a billion euros (?700million) in new lifts and cable cars over the past three years. In Austria, resorts spent 500 million euros in one season alone.

And the 20 per cent fall in the value of the dollar against the euro has brought the Rockies and New England within the budget of thousands of British skiers for the first time.

The US resorts have also been blessed with the heaviest snowfalls since 1916.

But however bad the conditions in Europe, they cannot match the misery in Scotland.

The lifts there are all closed because of the storms.