The heavy snow in the last week of April that has led to ski areas on both sides of the Atlantic re-opening for snowsports this weekend looks set to continue in to the first week of May.
Up to 90cm/three feet of fresh snow has fallen in the Alps and Rockies over the last seven days and similar snowfalls are expected over the next week which takes us in to May.
In the Alps Chamonix is expecting a foot of snow before the end of the weekends on top of 75cmin the last week and at year round Zermatt up to 75cm is expected. Tignes, open to the 9th May, is also expecting another foot of snow after 50cm this week.
The snow follows heavy snow on almost all still-open Alpine glacier ski areas and right down to lower levels in the past week which has seen Engelberg report 85cm (nearly three feet) of new snow on its glacier since Monday – it is open for another three weeks.
In Scotland still more snow is forecast as we enter May. The Lecht is re-opening and Glencoe and Cairngorm are both still open although Glencoe says Monday, May 2nd will be the last day of its season.
There's been up to a foot of snow in Scandinavia too where it's the last weekend of the season for many leading areas. Hemsedal (pictured top) reported 15cm of fresh snow overnight on top of 15cm on Wednesday and announced a powder weekend ahead.
Across the Atlantic Wolf Creek in Colorado has announced it is re-opening this weekend whilst still-open Arapahoe Basin and Loveland have been pointing to the latest big storm front moving in which they expect will bring much more snow for the start of May.
Other American areas still open and enjoying the powder include Snowbird in Utah (65cm fresh), and Squaw Valley (45cm fresh) and Mammoth ( 20cm fresh – 457cm base) in California.