Snows cut off Austrian resorts amid avalanche risk

Ski resorts were cut off and avalanche warning levels raised in western Austria Saturday as heavy snowfall also disrupted World Cup ski races and Winter Youth Olympics competitions. The resorts of Lech, Zuers and Stuben in the westernmost province of Vorarlberg, and the popular ski destination of Ischgl in Tirol, were inaccessible after roads were blocked. Experts also spoke of a "critical" avalanche situation and advised skiers to avoid going off-piste. In Vorarlberg, the avalanche risk was raised to level four -- the second highest. Overnight, over 7,000 households in Tirol were also without power. More than half a metre (one and a half feet) of snow had been dumped on western Austria since Friday, experts said, with further snowfall and strong winds expected for the weekend. The men's World Cup downhill race in Kitzbuehel had to be altered as a result on Saturday, while freestyle skiing at the Winter Youth Olympics in Innsbruck was postponed.