Record snowfall is causing havoc in the Alps and disrupting the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The risk of avalanche is now so high that US President Donald Trump may not be allowed to land his fleet of helicopters when he arrives in the Swiss town on Friday.
Last night some pre-summit meetings were canceled or delayed as the first waves of delegates waded through snow-blanketed streets with luggage, looking for their hotels, or had to wait for road crews to dig their limousines out of drifts.
Record snowfall is causing havoc in the Alps and disrupting the World Economic Forum in Davos (pictured)
An armed Swiss police officer stands guard on the roof of a hotel near the congress center
The landslide on the A2 highway between the Wilerplanggen and the Ripplistal gallery, Switzerland
The road leading to the Gotthard tunnel toward Italy was temporarily closed in both directions
A police officer cleans the roof of a hotel from snow near the congress center where the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum take place in Davos
Businessmen slipped over on icy patches as snow plows roamed the streets, with the snow returning as fast as the machines could clear it.
World Economic Forum communications chief Adrian Monck said it appeared to be the heaviest snowfall for the four-decades-old summit since 1999-2000, though he described it as more of an inconvenience than a real threat to attendance for the 3,000 delegates.
Part of the main train line into Davos had been buried in snow over the weekend, forcing people on to buses, and helicopters were disrupted by poor visibility.
Today the chaos continued across the Alps as a major Swiss motorway was closed by a mudslide.
The road leading to the Gotthard tunnel toward Italy was temporarily closed in both directions.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, meets with Ulrich Spiesshofer, president and CEO of the ABB Group in Davos
A man shovels snow outside a church on the eve of the 48th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum
An armed Swiss police officer stands guard on the roof of a hotel near the congress center where the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum take place in Davos
Meanwhile four helicopters were evacuating some 100 tourists and hotel workers from a four-star mountainside hotel and a nearby guesthouse in northern Italy after an avalanche overnight, civil protection authorities have said.
The Langtauferer Hotel, located near the Austrian border at 1,870 metres (6,135 feet) above sea level and some 60 miles north west of Bolzano, was not directly hit, but was in an area of extremely high risk for further avalanches, said Katia Squeo of the civil protection agency in Bolzano.
‘The electricity was restored and the guests didn’t want to go, so the mayor ordered the evacuation,’ Ms Squeo said. ‘The avalanche risk is still present.’
The evacuation was taking place under clear conditions, with each helicopter ferrying seven people at a time to a school gymnasium in nearby San Valentino, where they were being fed and looked after.
Heavy machinery was brought in to remove the debris after the mudslide in Switzerland
The road was closed to traffic in both directions while the mud and debris was removed
A worker passes the spilled A2 highway between the Wilerplanggen and the Ripplistal gallery, Switzerland
An avalanche hit Gurtnellen, Switzerland in the canton of Uri on Tuesday
A nearby guesthouse was also evacuated, and the whole village was cut off from the nearest major road, some 12 miles away, by the heavy snowfall and avalanche risk.
The whole northern crest of the Alps bordering Austria was under the highest avalanche risk following an extraordinary snowfall of up to two metres, beating record levels dating to the early 1980s in some places, officials said.
The Langtauferer hotel boasts views of a 3,700-metre summit and advertises itself as being ideal for skiers, who can start their runs right outside the hotel door. Martina Doene, the hotel’s manager, said the evacuees remained calm.
The civil protection agency said teams also were working to open roads to Val Senales, where thousands of tourists and residents had been isolated since Monday above Merano. The town itself was protected by avalanche barriers and they were at no immediate risk, Ms Squeo said.
Heavy snow has created dangerous conditions and disrupted transport across the Alps.
In France, the Chamonix ski area at the foot of Mont Blanc was closed due to what officials said was the highest avalanche risk. Several major roads and tunnels in the area were shut down.
Armed Swiss police officers stand guard on the roof of a hotel near the congress center