Sunrise at Alpe d'Huez this morning
Hello again,
This week has seen a mix of weather, with mild temperatures at times, a pesky Fohn wind in some parts of The Alps melting snow below 2000m... but more snow elsewhere - and more cold and snow to come.
This Week's Snow Headlines
- More huge snowfalls expected for the coming week in the Alps.
- Zermatt opens more than 100km of piste.
- 16-17 Season due to start in Pyrenees this weekend.
- Mass opening of US resorts as cold weather arrives in time for Thanksgiving.
- Most ski areas are now open in Scandinavia.
- World's deepest reported snow base reaches 2.5m (and it's still November).
The run in to the 2016-17 ski season continues to excite with more significant snowfalls forecast for the Alps after considerable snow already during the first three weeks of this month.
The snow is also falling in the Pyrenees, Scandinavia, Scotland and now, at last, across North America where dozens of ski areas have been opening across the US (and a few in Canada) ahead of the Thanksgiving Day long-weekend there.
In the Forecast
Temperatures, currently a little above seasonal averages, look set to drop - sharply in the East - through the next week.
It's currently snowing in The Pyrenees, and heavy falls are expected in parts of the Northern Alps and the Aosta Valley this weekend, with further outbreaks of snow following.
After a few relatively clear, but cold, days it's beginning to look like December is going to start with a very wintry couple of weeks. The forecast models have been very dynamic this week and have been throwing out a range of potential weather outcomes in the medium term... with the vast majority being snowy, and some being very snowy indeed!
Going Skiiing? Send us your Pictures!
If you're in the mountains, please show us your snow! We've recently added an easy-to-use way to quickly send us a photo and a snow report, so please visit Snow Reports from Ski Resorts for more.
Early Season Caveats Apply :- Some early-opening resorts are opening only for the weekends at present; so check before travelling! Also, as usual at this time of year, official snow reports are somewhat sporadic; most resorts are not yet fully-staffed and only a few are reliably reporting snow depths.
And finally, please take care; lots of new snow (on a young base) will mean high Avalanche Risk in places; take local advice, and conservative lines! But enjoy.
Re-publication :- our Snow Report Summary, being the text above this line, 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 Alps
Austria
After leading the world for two months, the opening rate of Austrian resorts slows as many don't traditionally open until mid-December or even the weekend before Christmas. However conditions on the slopes across the country continue to look great with around a dozen areas now open, and Ischgl due to join the list with its big opening this weekend, marking the start of its five month long season.
On the glaciers snow depths are now up to 1.2m (4 feet) at resorts including Pitztal and Solden and the Kitzsteinhorn Glacier above Kaprun reported 10cm of fresh snow on Tuesday and has announced that it has opened its superpipe. Of the non-glacier ski areas Schladming says it already has a 1m base, and Kitzbuhel 60cm.
France
The snow has kept falling in the French Alps and it's looking like there's only more ahead, much more. Last weekend Chamonix reported another 60cm (two feet) of snow at altitude, 15cm in the village, which has a very mid-winter look to it now. The big opening this weekend is Val Thorens, with over 10,000 expected to attend the festivities following its 'early preview' opening last weekend. So far there's no news of any other areas expecting to open early but Alpe d'Huez, La Clusaz and Chamonix will all be open again and Tignes will be approaching the start of the third month of its 16-17 season. Bases are looking much healthier than three weeks ago and Chamonix claims the deepest in the world so far at 2.5m up top.
Italy
In Italy the coming weekend is a big one for the country's ski business and happily it's looking the best for three years with some natural snow cover and cold enough weather through most of November for snow cannons to cover the slopes. Many of the country's best known resorts – Cervinia, Cortina, Livigno, Madonna di Campiglio, Val Gardena amongst them – have already opened, at least at weekends, but this Saturday sees the mass opening of most areas in Dolomiti Superski and at many other areas. Livigno, by the way, is currently running its gondola to its open ski slopes free of change in a 'Black Friday week' special. Cervinia, with a 130cm base, has the deepest snow cover reported in the country a present and reported fresh snow earlier this week.
Cervinia and the surrounds should see around half a metre of snow in the next two days.
Switzerland
Conditions look good on Swiss slopes too with almost all of the country's leading resorts now open or opening soon. At Samnaun in the East it's the annual Santa Claus World championships coming up this weekend to mark the start of the season and of cross-border skiing to Ischgl. Zermatt's 100km of cross-border skiing to Cervinia in Italy is one of the bigger ski areas open in the world at present and its 1m base is among the country's deepest although Crans Montana, Glacier 300 and Zermatt's neighbour Saas Fee are all reporting about a metre more. Large snowfalls are expected in the Swiss Alps over the next 48 hours which could add close to a metre of fresh snow by the end of the weekend.
Pyrenees
It's officially the start of the ski season in the Pyrenees on Saturday and Grandvalira in Andorra looks like it should open some terrain, although cover looks thin in places, being augmented by snow cannons. There have been plenty of natural snow storms in the region through November and further south Sierra Nevada down by the med has turned white once again thanks to a big snowstorm down there.
Scandinavia
It has warmed up a bit in the past few days but overall things are good in Scandinavia with the majority of ski areas now open, including almost all of the big names. There's been fresh snow (5-15cm) across the area in the past few days and Geilo in Norway is posting the biggest base so far at 80cm, with most other resorts reporting 30-60cm bases – not bad for November.
Scotland
It's looking very promising for the ski season to start in Scotland very soon. It's difficult to know which area will be first as all five of the Highland ski centres are in fairly good shape with white slopes and more snow and low temperatures forecast. As we compile this there's just not quite enough. Cairngorm have also said their snowmaking system is working away whilst Glencoe and Glenshee have both noted people hiking up (and in Glencoe's case using the access chair) to get up then ski down on slopes not yet officially open.
North America
Canada
Things are looking up in Canada as the country's four largest ski areas of Whistler, Lake Louise, Sunshine and Sun Peaks are all now open and resorts in Quebec are also reported to be close to opening – with Tremblant confirming it's opening on the 24th. Whistler decided to open a day early and the FIS have allowed Lake Louise to stage its second weekend of world cup racing, for the ladies, when they were still cancelling the men's event to the south in Colorado.
It remains slightly complicated though as whilst BC resorts like Kicking Horse and Revelstoke both report more than 2.5m of snowfall pre-season-to-date, most of that fell in October and lower slopes at some areas are only now getting a snowy covering – hence the delayed openings to date at some resorts despite big snowfall stats. But hopefully the large snowfalls in recent days mark an end to the mixed messages.
USA
It's a big opening week ahead of the Thanksgiving Holiday in the USA and thankfully there have been colder temperatures, fresh snow and some good snowmaking conditions across the country allowing about 50 ski areas to open since last weekend, with several dozen more opening over the next few days. There have been some significant snowfalls, the biggest claimed by Boreal at Tahoe in California with two feet in two days over the weekend, but there's been some snow from west to east coasts and ski areas have been opening across the country. It's not all good news though, cover remains fairly marginal in Colorado for example and the FIS cancelled planned World Cup racing from Beaver Creek and Vail delayed opening due to poor snow cover there.