Kitzsteinhorn, Kaprun, Austria, still open, still snowy...
Northern hemisphere gets more snow, and it starts in the Andes.
The Snow Headlines - 27th April
- Alta passes 900 inches of snowfall this season - two days after closing.
- Still 10 Austrian ski areas open for the start of May.
- State of emergency in Utah as huge snowpack starts to melt, still snowing up high.
- The season is over in the Balkans and the Pyrenees.
- More than two dozen North American ski centres extend seasons into May.
- Fresh snowfall in the Andes ahead of the 2023 season.
A little more snow forecast for the end of the season...
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World Overview
The snow continues to fall on high slopes in the Alps. Glaciers started this week by posting pictures of 20-30cm overnight accumulations. That's a much brighter picture (for those of us who like the snow) than this time last year when plus temperatures were reaching 4,000m altitudes and there was fast thawing of snow cover in the Alps.
It's coming (very) late in the season but we've now had six weeks of predominantly cold and snowy weather up high, with no real sign of a major change.
Across the northern hemisphere, more than 100 ski centres in over 15 countries now plan to stay open until at least May 1st. The biggest number - about 20 – are in the USA where many have extended seasons due to the huge snowpacks lying on Western mountain slopes. There's been more fresh snowfall here too this week.
Elsewhere, the season is pretty much over in the Pyrenees, Eastern Europe, Scotland and the North American East Coast has had warm weather too.
Fresh snowfall has been reported in the South American Andes this week, above 2500m, where the 2023 season starts in just over a month.
Europe
Austria
Although more big-name ski areas including Innsbruck and St Anton closed for the season last weekend, there are still 10 Austrian areas aiming to stay open into May, the most of any European nation.
We're into the final week of the season unless there's a last-minute extension, at Obergurgl, Obertauern, the Stubai Glacier and Ischgl, all due to close at the end of the ski day on Monday, May 1st, the latter after their big end-of-season mountain concert.
The Pitztal and Solden glaciers will close a week later, with Solden currently posting Austria's deepest base at 3.3m (11 feet). Then the Kaunertal, Kitzsteinhorn and Mölltal glaciers are aiming to stay open right through to the end of the month with, of course, Hintertux aiming to stay open year-round. It currently has almost all of its 60km of slopes still open.
This week has seen more significant snowfalls on glaciers which have led to some closures for fog and blizzard conditions, but also great fresh snow.
France
Half a dozen ski areas are still open in France with Tignes (still with Europe's deepest base up on the Grande Motte, now at 428cm) and Val d'Isère, along with Val Thorens the three resorts planning to continue for a final week after the coming weekend.
Unusually though a fourth option, Les 2 Alpes, which closed last weekend for the main ski season plans to re-open through May from next weekend, for glacier skiing, having brought its summer ski season forward by a couple of months.
French ski areas have not had as much high-altitude snowfall as glaciers further east, and thawing has diminished snowpacks by about 30cm compared to a week ago, but there have been cold temperatures and more fresh snow up high.
Switzerland
Very similar conditions in Switzerland where more snowfall was reported on higher slopes this week too.
A dozen or so ski areas remain open with Adelboden, Andermatt and Samnaun among those ending their season this coming weekend. Those carrying on into May include the Titlis glacier above Engelberg, the Diavolezza Glacier in the Engadin Valley that's officially part of the St Moritz ski area and Glacier 3000 near Les Diablerets and Gstaad. Europe's highest slopes above Zermatt aim to stay open year-round.
Scandinavia
Scandinavia has had some of the best conditions through April and the last week has brought a fresh drop in temperatures and more snowfall in many areas.
Here too, however, the season is winding down with well-known areas like Voss in Norway closing last weekend and most other big-name centres like Sweden's Are and Hemsedal in Norway closing after the May weekend.
Next week Levi and Ruka will complete their seven-month ski seasons by operating for a week into May, and we'll be approaching the period of 24-hour daylight up in the Arctic Circle so Riksgransen will offer midnight-sun skiing again for a few weeks.
Norway's three summer ski areas are also near to opening from 6th May on.
Pyrenees
The ski season in the Pyrenees ended at the weekend. All centres in Andorra and Spain are believed to have closed by mid-April, but Cauterets in France carried on to last Sunday.
Scotland
The ski season is really over in Scotland now. There has been fresh snowfall and low temperatures this week after very warm weather last week, with new hill snow on peaks for the most determined ski tourers, but what little lift-served skiing there was left at Cairngorm ended after the Easter school holidays.
Eastern Europe
There's little still open in Eastern Europe now. All centres in Bulgaria have closed for example.
However, the largest in the north of the region, Slovakia's Jasna, is aiming to stay open until Monday, May 1st and even reports a little fresh snow up high. Further south, Kanin, on the Italian border above the Adriatic, is famed for its late spring skiing and was one of the first ski areas in the world to re-open after the pandemic lockdown. It is likely to stay open later into May but is only open at weekends.
North America
Canada
Conditions remain fairly good in western Canada with more snowfall reported on higher slopes at still-open centres.
Open ski areas are diminishing in number with Mount Norquay and Marmot Basin due to end their seasons this weekend. Lake Louise will carry on for a further week with Blackcomb Mountain at Whistler and Sunshine near Banff carrying on through to May 22nd.
The season is pretty well over in the East of the country with just Sommet St Sauveur planning to open a short terrain-park-type trail at weekends through May so long as the snow lasts.
USA
There are still several dozen US ski areas open, with most planning to remain so into May, and while Utah has declared a state of emergency over flooding fears, remarkably there's been still more heavy snowfall reported in the west.
The largest centre in the US, Park City in Utah, is planning to close after skiing on Monday, May 1st but dozens more centres, mostly in California, Colorado and Utah with a few in Oregon and Wyoming, are planning to continue later into May, some into June or July. Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Crystal, Solitude (which passed the 800 inch season snowfall to date mark in the last few days), The Palisades and Winter Park are among them.
Most skiing has now ended in the eastern US where the weather recently has been warm and wet, so what's left is very much the thawing snowpack. Maine's Sugarloaf expects to close after May 1st skiing but Jay Peak, Killington and Sugarbush were soldiering on at the last report.