Austria – A snowstorm that dropped an unprecedented snowfall up to 18 feet deep blocked access to a number of Austrian ski resorts since the weekend, trapping tens of thousands of vacationers through today in numerous villages throughout the country’s Arlberg and Tirol regions.

Among the resorts affected was Ischgl, popular with Britons, along with Galtur and St. Anton. Some 13,000 vacationers were reportedly stuck in Ischgl, where one unnamed Russian tourist is said to have evacuated via helicopter while others were left behind. The storm total, which nearly equals that which fell all last season, came up just 50cm shy of the resort’s 6.5-meter single storm record set in 2009. Trees collapsed under the weight of the snow, further complicating efforts to clear roadways and rail lines.

Resorts encountered difficulty getting staff in to work, and as grocery shelves cleared many resorts scaled back on menu offerings. Firefighters cleared snow from hotel roofs and locals spent hours digging out their cars. In some cases, plow operators mistook cars for snow banks.

Many of those forced to extend their vacations were hardly disappointed, however, as ski areas continued to operate as usual, although the risk of avalanche in the area remains high. Two slides have struck Ischgl since Saturday.

“This is a type of snowfall the like of which we have not seen for years, said Rudi Mair, spokesman of the country’s avalanche warning service. “Combined with that there are very high winds which are making conditions especially dangerous.”

“The week before Christmas there were green fields in Ischgl,” one tour operator said. “People were praying for snow. Now they’re praying for it to stop.”

Officials on Wednesday managed to open route B 188, the road through Ischgl, in both directions, allowing those trapped in the resort to leave.