Baqueira Beret, Spain, looking cool...
Snow in Europe, but more in America.
The Snow Headlines - 15th December
- Good snowfalls for Western Europe – up to 65cm in the Alps.
- Scotland's 22-23 ski season starts as UK hit by low temperatures and snow.
- More huge snowfalls for Western US, up to 6 feet in 48 hours.
- 3 Vallees opens for 50th season and has most terrain open in the world already.
- Mammoth Mountain in California first to post 3m/10 feet+ base this season.
Ok Japan, you win (this week)...
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World Overview
North America's Pacific Coast once again takes the world snow news headlines this week with further huge storms slamming into the mountains along the West Coast, bringing several feet more snowfall to the region which is already leading the world by some distance for early snowfall this season to date.
In the Alps, there was a decent snowfall over last weekend, and it is starting to snow again now. Ski areas in the west, particularly the French Alps, saw the most snowfall. More and more ski areas opened and larger and larger amounts of terrain are opening at the centres already operational for 22-23.
Elsewhere in the ski world, Japan's ski season is gathering pace, particularly on the northern powder island Hokkaido, which is living up to its reputation with more than a metre of snowfall at Niseko in the last seven days. Not doing quite so well in Nagano to the south but there are signs of improvements here too.
Europe
Austria
Not quite so much snowfall in Austria as further west over the past week as the heaviest snowfall has been in the southern and western Alps, but nonetheless, there have been some light falls and low temperatures for more snowmaking.
Ischgl, Sölden, Mayrhofen and Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis are each reporting more than 100km of slopes open already.
There's still only about a third of Austrian areas open so far but most of the rest plan to join over the next two weekends.
France
France seems to have done about the best from last weekend's snowstorms with most ski areas in the French Alps reporting at least 30cm (a foot) of fresh snow cover and some much more – 65cm (over two feet) for Chatel and 50cm for Montgenevre for example.
The snow arrived as more ski areas opened for the season, including Les Menuires and Meribel to complete the 3 Vallees opening for the 22-23 season, its 50th. The world's largest ski area had 155 runs open for its first weekend, and almost 300km of slopes, nearly half its maximum possible. This took it straight to the 'most open in the world' position overtaking recent leaders Ischgl/Sanaun and Val Gardena.
Tignes and Val d'Isere also now have quite a large part of their terrain open. The snowfall was most welcome down at lower elevations, making it possible to open ever bigger vertical descents.
Italy
Italy sees the World Cup tour rolling in for its annual stops in Val Gardena, Alta Badia and others over the next few weekends.
Conditions are looking pretty good here with most ski areas now open and quite a lot of fresh snowfall in the last week, as well as cold temperatures for snowmaking. Sella Neva over in the far east on the border with Slovenia has the deepest reported snowpack so far in Italy with 135cm lying up top.
Val Gardena and Cervinia each have about 140km of slopes open, the most in the country at this early point in the season.
Switzerland
It's beginning to look a lot like ski season at Swiss resorts too, about a third of which are now open.
Many in the west of the country have posted 20-40cm of snowfall in the last week.
Ischgl/Samnaun's Silvretta Arena, the Portes du Soleil, Zermatt/Cervinia and 4 Vallées areas each already have at least 100km of slopes open. It should be a snowy end to the week with temperatures staying low as the sun returns at the weekend.
Scandinavia
It's mid-December and Scandinavian ski areas are living up to their cold and dark midwinter reputation with the shortest day of the year only a week away and some more northerly centres now hardly seeing daylight.
Temperatures have been in the -10C to -30C range for many and there have been frequent snow showers. Most of the region's leading ski areas are now open including Hemsedal, Trysil, Geilo and the largest, Sweden's Are-Duved, many of them opening for 22-23 in the past week.
Pyrenees
About 80% of ski areas are now open in the Pyrenees including almost all centres in Spain and Andorra.
There's been fresh snowfall this week and that, along with extensive snowmaking efforts, Has allowed centres to open a lot of terrain already.
Andorra's Grandvalira (Soldeu, Pas de la Casa etc) and Spain's Baqueira Beret both already have over 100km of slopes open despite snow depths of less than 50cm.
Scotland
Scotland's season started on Monday with Glenshee opening several runs with a mix of machine-made and natural snowfall as temperatures in the Scottish highlands dipped as low as -18C.
The Lecht saw access roads closed by snow but hasn't attempted to open yet. However, it as well as Glencoe and Nevis Range are expected to open this weekend, to some extent, Cairngorm next week.
Although it has been very cold there's not yet been a lot of natural snowfall so it will be limited terrain initially.
Eastern Europe
It's a rather mixed picture in Eastern Europe.
Bulgarian resorts have been reporting warm and windy weather which led several to delay planned openings for the season last weekend. However the largest, Bansko, wasn't due to open until this coming weekend anyway and although conditions are not yet brilliant (still a bit warm), they're improving.
Further north though things do look better, Jasna, Slovakia's largest centre, opened its southern slopes at the weekend, although promptly had to close them again on Sunday as strong winds blew through.
North America
Canada
Western Canada – particularly central and eastern BC and Alberta – has been posting great conditions for more than six weeks now.
There's been still more snowfall, it has been very cold (as it should be mid-December) and Sun Peaks, Silver Star and most recently opened Fernie are all posting more than 100km of slopes open each already.
North America's biggest resort, Whistler Blackcomb, only has about a quarter of its slopes open so far.
Mount Seymour over on the BC coast is posting the country's deepest base to date at 1.5 metres. More challenging time in the east but the warm and wet weather has now eased off and it's very cold, great for snowmaking, with natural snowfall forecast too.
USA
The ski areas of the US are markedly divided in terms of conditions from west to east coast to extremes rarely seen.
In the West, essentially, it's a remarkably good start to the season. Storm after storm has moved in off the Pacific leaving the snow metres deep, the deepest in the world right now in fact and snowfall totals way above average for mid-December. The whole region looks set for the rest of the ski season almost before it has begun.
In the East it's almost the opposite, frequently warm and wet and ski areas struggling in snowmaking windows to make enough snow to open much.
Resorts on both sides have been closed for periods in the past week – in the west due to more intense snow storms bringing avalanche danger and burying roads and lifts, in the East as it's too warm and wet to open some centres some days.