Snow fair! Disappointed skiers hoping for a White Christmas in the Alps face bare slopes for the FOURTH year running

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Skiers this festive season are bracing for yet another year of disappointing snowfall across the Alps.

Conditions are so poor in northern regions such as Switzerland and Austria that many slopes remain closed altogether, while in the French resort of Chamonix, only 25 of its 73 lifts are open today.

According to forecasters at Weather to Ski, 'there is much less snow than there should be in the Alps for the fourth year running' - a worrying statistic. 

Snowfall has been minimal in northern regions such as Switzerland and Austria, and the French resort of Chamonix, pictured on the 18th of December, is looking sparse too

Speaking to The Times, Weather to Ski's boss Fraser Wilkin said: 'Poor starts to the ski season are inevitable every now and again. But eyebrows start to rise when it keeps happening.' 

Thousands of families this year will have paid an average £800-£1,000 per person, with the most exclusive areas charging as much as £2,000 a week, including a costly ski pass. 

According to Ski Club Great Britain, conditions in the French resort of Chamrousse are 'particularly bad', with only one slope open. 

Others suffering from a severe lack of snow fall include Chatel and the rest of the Porte du Soleil; as well as Les Carroz and Vallorcine.

Meanwhile in Switzerland, a mere one or two centimetres of fresh snow is expected before the end of 2016, while Italy is expected to see none at all. 

Aside from poor slopes, shortage of snow in the Alps in recent years has also led to a dramatic rise in the number of accidents as more and more skiers cram onto narrow runs.

The resort of Grindelwald in Switzerland, pictured earlier this month, had not even a dusting

Things can at least improve quickly, as demonstrated by this photo of the Swiss ski resort of Verbier last year (left) which was covered in snow the following week (right)

More than 100 skiers died last year in the Alps when the snow was scarce, an increase on previous years.

Website welove2ski wrote today: 'We need a lot more of the white stuff in the Alps. 

'With the notable exception of the resorts of the south-western Alps and several of the high-altitude areas, everyone will be skiing snow-cannon snow over the Christmas weekend.'

The site did point out, however, that despite the grim conditions, resorts have done 'extraordinarily well' as a result of the cannons.

Overall, according to forecasters, resorts of the south-west currently have the best cover, but most of the Alps will have to wait for the New Year to roll in before the white stuff tumbles down again.