Swiss winter sports fans take advantage of early snow 

Skiing and snowboarding fans are expected to flock to the Swiss Alps this weekend to take advantage of the early snow and cold temperatures.   Around a dozen mountain resorts out of 200 are reported open across Switzerland this weekend. Davos and Arosa in the south-east of the country will open their lifts, as well as Andermatt and Engelberg in central Switzerland, and Adelboden-Elsigenalp-Metsch and Grindelwald-Wengen in the Bernese Oberland, according to Switzerland Tourism.   They will join the Four Valleys (Verbier, Nendaz, Veysonnaz, Thyon, La Tsoumaz and Bruson), Saas-Fee and Zermatt in canton Valais, and Diavolezza-Lagalb in canton Graubünden, and the Glacier 3000 region (Les Diablerets-Gstaad) between cantons Bern and Vaud, which opened – or partially opened - last weekend.   “It’s an early start to the season, but not a record,” Andreas Keller, spokesperson for the Swiss Ski Lift Association, told Keystone-SDA.   Conditions vary considerably from resort to resort. In ...