J2Ski Snow Report - December 20th 2012

The J2Ski Snow Report - Week Ending December 21st, 2012
(* Free to re-publish in whole or part so long as credited to www.J2ski.com with hyperlink to http://www.j2ski.com/snow_forecast )

And still it comes... more big snowfalls reported from across The Alps and North America, with many Alpine resorts reporting 2 metres of fresh snow over the past week.

After further widespread snow tomorrow (Friday), temperatures are set to climb briefly over the weekend with Monday in the Northern Alps likely to be 10C above the seasonal average! Sunday will see a fair amount of precipitation and this may fall as rain as high as 2,000 metres in places - affecting low-lying areas.

The lift in temperatures will be later and less severe to the East, but the mild spell will be brief and much cooler weather should be back in place by this time next week.

It does look as if the last week of December will be, again, cold and snowy.

Avalanche!

We do need to, again, highlight the avalanche risk. There have been a number of fatalities already this week, with a lot of new snow. The mild temperatures forecast for the coming weekend will make the off-piste extremely dangerous and we expect to see some huge avalanches triggered in places. Please take all usual precautions and follow local advice.

This Week's Headlines

- Some French and Swiss ski resorts pass 3m (10 feet) snow depth mark.
- Significant snowfalls in Colorado and Utah.
- Austrian snow depths pass 2m at snowiest resorts.
- Heavy snow in Western Canada, again.
- Mt Baker, world's snowiest resort, first to pass 4m snow depth this season.

Please remember that all early season opening is subject to last-minute change and may consist of partial or weekend opening depending on snow conditions. Check with the local Tourist Office for the latest information.

Europe
Austria
Despite milder conditions than last week, conditions remain good on most Austrian ski slopes.  The snow depth on some Austrian glaciers has passed two metres for the first time, with Kaprun up at 210cm following 10cm of fresh snow in the past 24 hours.

Obergurgl, the highest 'non-glacier' resort, is only six inches behind on 195cm.  In The SkiWelt another 10cm of fresh snow was reported yesterday and more snow is expected in the coming days, base depths there range from an average 30cm at resort level to 95cm (over three feet) on upper runs.  St Anton has had 15cm (six inches) of snow in the past week and has a 135cm base on upper runs, describing conditions as 'powder.'

France
There's excellent snow conditions across France with one of the best starts to the ski season for many years – a constant build up of snow rather than last year's November drought followed by December deluge – making for much more consistent, reliable snowfall which has now passed 3m snow depth on upper slopes at a number of resorts including Les Arcs and Peisey Nancroix.  Snow depth at Flaine, which opened last weekend, is already at 2.4m (8 feet).  Most other major resorts have 1.5-2.5m bases. 

Many ski areas have received at least another 30-68cm snowfall in the past week including Alpe d'Huez (60cm), Avoriaz (55cm), La Plagne (65cm), Meribel (32cm), Val d'Isere (65cm) and Val Thorens (68cm).

Italy
It has been quite a quiet week in Italy with little fresh snow, although most resorts have reported 10-20cm of snow to freshen up slope cover.  Cervinia has the most snow in the country with a 2.55m base and the deeper snow bases are on the western side of the country – where most areas have 1-2m on upper slopes.

In the Dolomites to the east conditions are continuing to improve and  Arabba reports the biggest snowfall in the country of the past 7 days with a 41cm accumulation.  Snow depth in Val Gardena is at 20-70cm although at Cortina to the south there's now 1.1m (nearly 4 feet) lying on upper slopes.

Switzerland
If you don't count 'cult' resorts like Mt Baker in Washington State you could claim that Andermatt in Switzerland with 3.3m (11 feet) of snow lying on upper slopes is the world's deepest snow pack for a 'major' ski area.  Also very snowy are Gstaad (320cm), Engelberg (275cm), Saas Fee (250cm), Zermatt (220cm) and Crans Montana 2m – all are set up right through to next spring now. 

The healthy snowfall is continuing too.  Verbier received just over 50cm of fresh snow in the past week and a similar amount again is expected next, for example, and it's a similar story for Zermatt.

Pyrenees
There's been little fresh snow in the Pyrenees over the past week with conditions at their best on the Spanish side where resorts like Formigal and Baqueira report more than 1.3m (4 feet) snow depths and each more than 100km of terrain open.  In Andorra it's not bad on piste with slightly smaller 25-90cm bases.  A few more inches of fresh snow are expected in the days up to Christmas.

Scandinavia
Conditions are good across Scandinavia.  At most of the major resorts temperatures are in the -10 to -20 range allowing for snowmaking as required and typically bases are around 50cm.  t snowed all last week in Finnish Lapland but the fine snow did not amount to more than 10 or 15cm, taking bases to around 50-60cm.  Bases are 20-30cm deeper in Norway where Hemsedal and Geilo are both at around 80cm and have had larger falls from a storm at the weekend which brought around 20cm of new snow.

Eastern Europe
Snow cover in Eastern European resorts is slowly building and most resorts in Bulgaria, Slovakia,  Poland, Serbia, Slovenia, Romania and the rest are now operational for 12-13.  Bansko has the best snow depth at 70cm, Poiana Brasov in Romania and Borovets are both nearer 50cm.  There was about 5cm of new snow last week and a similar amount is expected up to Christmas.

Scotland
Scotland's above average start to the season continues in to its third week (also good going at this time of year) thanks to consistently low temperatures and continuing top ups of fresh snow.  The Lecht and Cairngorm in the Eastern Highlands, which have been open longest, have the best conditions and the most runs open (20 in Cairngorm's case).  Glenshee to the south has the most limited terrain with no fully complete runs and a max 200m skiable vertical – although that's changing (hopefully for the better) almost hourly.  Over on the west Nevis Range near Fort William, which had opened weekends earlier this month, now plans to open daily from today onwards, subject to conditions and Glencoe is also largely open.  
   
North America
Canada
Very snowy still in Western Canada.  Revelstoke Mountain Resort in British Columbia, operating the biggest lift-served vertical on the north American continent says it is on track for a record snow year with 570cm (19 feet) of snowfall to date - surpassing total snowfalls from mid-January last year.  Over 30cm of snow fell throughout the weekend, "…delivering excellent powder conditions and fantastic groomed runs all the way down to Mid-Mountain Lodge," said a resort statement.   Skiing and riding conditions are described as, "optimal" with 52 of 59 runs open with more snow in the forecast this week.  Another BC resort is also happy, "Rarely have the early Pacific storms aligned so nicely at Red as they have this winter," said a statement from the cult ski centre. "Last weekend continued to pump strong snowfall with 36 cm or 15 inches of fresh snow over our amazing 170cm Alpine base. These are mid-winter conditions for December and we could not be more pleased."  Another 20cm fell on Monday giving a  56cm total of new snow in 72 hours.

USA
Western US resorts in California and Washington State continue to have the best snow in the country, cover remains limited and conditions 'challenging in the east and the south, where resorts have continued to delay opening, but with Christmas less than a week away, can't delay much longer.

Conditions have improved somewhat in Colorado and Utah where resorts have received up to 50cm of snow, at last, in  the past week.  Breckenridge reports 30cm of snow in the past 24 hours and the snow is continuing to fall.  Resorts have provided some shots of the powder snow for which they're famous but snow depths remain a little muted, 48cm at Vail, 70cm at Aspen for example, and less than half of lifts and terrain are open, with off piste not recommended.

However further west Christmas has come early in California as Lake Tahoe and Mammoth continue to receive high levels of snowfall, with more feet expected by the end of the week.
At Lake Tahoe Northstar received another 20cm of snow in 24-hours, bringing the 7-day snowfall total to 85cm with even more on the way. That brings Northstar's 2012/2013 season total to 45cm, while Heavenly received another 13cm of new snow overnight, bringing the 7-day snowfall total to 85cm too. Further south Mammoth Mountain has received 45cm of snowfall in 24 hours, and is experiencing mid-season conditions. As of 20th December Mammoth Mountain still has the most skiing terrain open in the US – all 3,500 acres.

one word WOop :-)