Re-publication :- our Snow Report Summary, being the text up to "The Alps", is free to re-publish, but must be clearly credited to www.J2ski.com with text including "J2Ski Snow Report" linked to this page - thank you.
The Snow This Week
A pause for Europe, but it's snowing elsewhere...
Courchevel today - courtesy Courch. Tourist Office
This Week's Snow Headlines
- After a snowy cold 10 days, temperatures climb again in the Alps.
- More big name resorts opening this weekend including St Anton, La Clusaz, Are, Val Gardena and Courchevel.
- Ski areas in the Pyrenees reporting good conditions after a second wave of heavy snowfall.
- Some Scandinavian resorts seeing warmer temperatures and some rain, others open for season.
It's that time of year again when, for the first time since last April, we stop trying to count how many ski areas are open, as we're back in to the hundreds with many more planning to open over the next fortnight, the season is truly upon us!
It seems to be a nervous week ahead in the Alps as temperatures are set to rise back up after the past 10 days of sub-zero temps, with the freezing point moving above 3,000m in the daytime in many areas. Hopefully the clear skies and cold nights mean that this won't cause serious problems for the snowpacks accumulated over the past fortnight, but there'll be relief when temperatures fall back once again. On the upside, anyone already in the Alps looks set to see some glorious sunny days on the slopes.
In North America the snowy deluge in the west has slowed a little although lots of areas have still managed to clock up another foot of snow in the past week. Snow making conditions remain rather marginal in the East although there is now significant snow forecast by the weekend.
Elsewhere Scandinavian ski areas have also been struggling at lower latitudes with rain and warm temperatures but ski areas in much of eastern Europe as well as the Pyrenees are mostly looking good.
In The Forecast
Alpine temperatures should take a bit of a dip by the weekend, when light snowfall is expected in many areas.
Thereafter, temperatures look set to remain above seasonal averages for a little while yet, although the forecast models are indicating a break to the current weather patterns toward the end of next week; with a decline in temperatures and a good chance of precipitation. Fingers crossed...
The Alps
Austria
The last wave of snowfall in the Alps before the start of the current 'warm spell' passed through Austria on Monday and Tuesday this week, adding another 20cm of snow to the base at Kaprun. Although the glacier resorts no longer dominate the numbers as they did all autumn, they still have the deepest snow bases and will be amongst the best places to be over the coming week. Solden, with a 1.4m base and top-to-bottom skiing with most of its lifts and much of its terrain open, has the deepest snow reported but the Stubai, Tux, Pitztal and Kaunertal glaciers are all over the metre mark for snow depth too. Good news in warm weather.
France
After a one week delay in starting up for the season, Val Thorens has, arguably, the best conditions in the alps right now with 85cm (nearly three feet) of snow on lower slopes – that's better than anywhere else, and 135cm on upper runs – so it's looking a good bet for the early month of the season. Elsewhere Chamonix, which partially opened last weekend, has the deepest base at 1.6m. More ski resorts including Courchevel (1.32m base) and la Clusaz will open this weekend, joining the half dozen that opened for the last weekend in November, before the mass French resorts opening scheduled for the following two weekends.
Italy
Western Italy has benefitted from the snowstorms of late November, but they seem to have largely bypassed the Eastern side of the country and the Dolomites where all the terrain that has opened is largely thanks to snowmaking efforts. Thus the snow depth at Cervinia, the best in the country is 20-120cm, whilst at Cortina on the opposite side of the Italian mountains, it's only 10-15cm of mostly machine made snow. None-the-less more resorts are opening in the Dolomites this weekend including Val Gardena ahead of hoped for World Cup races now only a few weeks away – unfortunately there's no snow in the forecast here for the coming week either.
Switzerland
Higher Swiss slopes are posting some of the biggest snow depths in the world at present, with the 1.6m at Engelberg up on the glacier the greatest depth anywhere. Zermatt isn't far behind although it only has 5cm down in town at the base of its giant vertical. In common with the rest of the Alps warmer temperatures and no snow are forecast over the coming week – it should be very nice on higher slopes. Among the areas already open, resorts like Andermatt and Saas Fee also have good bases up top of a metre plus. It's looking a little more marginal in Davos and Verbier, both reporting little or no snow at resort level and 35-40cm up top.
Scandinavia
It's a mixed picture up north with many areas struggling to open, or stay open, due to warm temperatures and rain, whilst at others base depths are beginning to build. The good news is that unlike much of the rest of Europe, significant snow is expected over the coming week at many Scandinavian areas. Are, the region's biggest resort, will open this weekend. In Norway most resorts have limited cover but Voss is, as usual, already looking snowiest with a 30-70cm base. Geilo, which has had a run open since late September, has 50cm on upper slopes. Up in Lapland all the major areas are open now with 20-40cm bases.
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees are in pretty good shape after all the snow of late November and resorts on both the Spanish side (Baqueira Beret) and French side (Cauterets) are now reporting up to a metre of snow on upper runs. In Andorra the figures are smaller, more commonly 20-50cm. With the dry spell here too like the Alps its fingers crossed the conditions can be maintained until the next cold snap.
Eastern Europe
Eastern European ski centres are boasting impressive conditions for this early in the season. Although most aren't open yet and snow depth stats are thus hard to come by, many like Bansko and Borovets in Bulgaria have been posting some very naturally snowy pics. Kranjska Gora in Slovenia has a 30-50cm base.
Scotland
People have been hiking up to ski down on Scottish snow, but none of the five Highland areas have opened yet, several saying their lifts are in annual maintenance for another week anyway, others that the base is not good enough yet. Warm temperatures mid-week this week have caused a thaw but cold temperatures and more snow are expected by the end of the week.
North America
Canada
The massive November snowfalls in Western Canada seem to have slowed at last and ski areas have been able to sit back and take stock with a fairly dry week just passed, however the next round of big snowfalls are now in the forecast and several feet more are expected at most Western Canadian areas by this time next week. Revelstoke, which had the most snow of anywhere in the northern hemisphere last month leads the base depths tables with 1.2m lying, Whistler is on 77cm. Ski areas in Eastern Canada have also been opening, just about, but have had no natural snow and warm temperatures for most of the past month so bases are very meagre at Tremblant and Mont Sainte Anne. Sad.ly there's not much snow forecast there either.
USA
As with Canada, so with the US – big snow in the West, little or nothing for a month now in the East – although most of the major resorts over there including Killington, Sunday river, Stowe and and Mount Snow have managed to open and are reporting 10-30cm bases of machine made snow. But out west the snow keeps falling and Mammoth is reporting the deepest base in the country at 1.2m (four feet). Most resorts have posted another 15-30cm of fresh in the past week and similar falls are expected at most next week. Alyeska in Alaska is leading the way on the snowfall tally for the past seven days with two feet of new cover.