The ski season in the French Pyrenees gets underway Saturday with mountain resorts taking advantage of heavy early winter snowfalls to get their lifts operating.

The Alpine ski centres of Les Angles and Font-Romeu Pyrenees 2000 and the Nistos Nordic ski area will all be in action from this weekend, the region's tourist office said Friday.

Most other resorts will open in the middle of next week ahead of a long holiday weekend in neighbouring Spain.

Ski enthusiasts are already enjoying early-season skiing in the French Alps with top resorts Val Thorens and Tignes having opened for business earlier this month.