Kicking Horse, BC, Canada yesterday...
Heavy early-season snowfall has led to widespread ski-area openings across Europe, big snow hits Japan's Hokkaido, and improving but still uneven conditions in North America. The 3 Valleys leads global terrain availability and Pyrenean areas report strong starts.
The Snow Headlines - December 11th
- 3 Valleys opens with half its terrain from day one – 300 km/186 miles - most in the world right now
- Gstaad's Glacier 3000 posts 3.6 m/11.8 feet base after big snowfall, deepest in the world!
- Cold weather in Western North America leads to some improvement.
- Huge snowfalls in Japan's Hokkaido, up to a metre/3.3 feet of snowfall in 3 days.
- More healthy snowfalls in the Pyrenees, ski areas open up to 100 km/62 miles of slopes.
Snow in the forecast.
Re-publication :- the J2Ski 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.
World Overview
The main change in Europe this week has been the number of ski areas that have opened and the amount of terrain available. The biggest of them all, the 3 Valleys, opened at the weekend with around half of its terrain accessible, the most in the world so far.
Indeed, around 80-90% of the continent's larger ski areas are now open, with just a few big names like Les Arcs and La Plagne in Paradiski set to open this coming weekend and others the final weekend before Christmas. The snow has mostly fallen lightly on higher ground, with warmer temperatures affecting cover at lower levels a little.
The season also got going fully in the Pyrenees, with the largest area, Grandvalira in Andorra, opening and Spain's Baqueira Beret being the first to surpass 100 km/62 miles of slopes open. There are also more openings in Eastern Europe, most Scandinavian centres are open, and Scottish centres are battling stormy conditions to remain operational.
The big winner, snow-wise, this week is Japan's northern Hokkaido, where 7-day totals have exceeded 1.5 m/5 feet at several resorts, including Niseko.
The situation in the US remains mixed, with improved conditions in the South and East, some snow in the Rockies, but resorts on the West Coast now facing their latest ever opening dates in some cases.
Europe
Austria
Around half of Austria's ski areas are now open, including most of the larger resorts, with the remainder set to join them over the coming two weekends.
So far, Ischgl has managed to stay ahead of larger ski areas like the Skiwelt, Saalbach, and the Arlberg, as its cross-border area shared with Switzerland's Samnaun is already 80% open, despite reporting a thin base.
Snow depths are generally meagre across the country, with only a few glaciers (Pitztal, Hintertux, Kaunertal) reporting snow lying more than a metre/3.3 feet deep.
It has been a mostly dry, sunny week, with temperatures warming in the valleys and the freezing point climbing above 3000 m/9,843 feet at the start of the week, but it has been getting progressively cooler since.
France
The opening of the 3 Valleys connections last weekend led to a significant increase in open terrain in France, with 200 of the region's 356 slopes opening, somewhere between an estimated 300 km/186 miles and 400 km/248 miles of slopes, making it the most in the world so far.
There were periods of snowfall throughout last week, refreshing cover across the French Alps after its burial in deep snow the week before, but the start of this week saw the first hiccup in the good conditions for two or three weeks, with the freezing point climbing up to 3000 m/9,843 feet. It is expected to remain similar through the rest of this week, with mostly clear skies, the freezing point getting down to most valley floors overnight but climbing to 2000 m/6,562 feet or so in the afternoons again over the last few days.
Italy
A quieter week in Italy with plenty of sunshine and rather warm temperatures, although dropping enough below freezing overnight for snowmaking systems to operate on higher slopes.
More resorts have started their seasons, including Val Gardena, which, despite only having a 20-50 cm/8-20 inch base, has opened more than 90% of its runs, the largest area wholly in Italy that is open so far – more than 170 km/106 miles of slopes.
The week ahead looks to be more of the same, with wall-to-wall sunshine for most areas.
Switzerland
The Swiss Alps have enjoyed a snowy week, with 30-70 cm/12-28 inches of fresh accumulations over the past 7 days and cold temperatures keeping conditions wintry at higher altitudes.
Samnaun-Ischgl (190 km/118 miles) and Zermatt-Cervinia (170 km/106 miles) lead the country for open pistes, with Verbier's 4 Valleys is now offering over 100 km/62 miles of runs open.
Snow showers are forecast to continue, and freezing levels remain low, preserving cover even to valley floors. Avalanche danger is considerable to high, especially in western regions. Gstaad's Glacier 3000 boasts world-leading depths at 360 cm/11.8 feet, highlighting Switzerland's standout early-season conditions.
Scandinavia
There have been some good snowfalls in Western Norway this week, with Voss posting the most fresh snowfall in Europe over the past few days, a 60 cm/24 inch accumulation. Most other resorts have reported 10-40 cm/4-16 inches of fresh snow.
As of last weekend, nearly all of the major resorts in Finland, Sweden, and Norway have opened, but initially, most have just 5-15% of their runs open, perhaps due to limited demand in the cold, dark days of early December, when open slopes must be floodlit.
Scandinavia is looking colder and snowier over the coming week than the Alps and is a better bet for wintry weather.
Pyrenees
Things are looking pretty good in the Pyrenees compared to this point last winter. There have been good early snowfalls over the past few weeks, and most of the region's resorts are now open, with the largest, Andorra's Grandvalira, home to Soldeu, Pas de la Casa and others, starting operations at the weekend. It has not got the most open yet, with about a third of its runs open initially.
Baqueira Beret, over the border in Spain has more available, over 100 km/62 miles already.
Like the Alps, things have turned drier and milder in recent days, but cooler weather is forecast for next week.
Eastern Europe
About a third of Eastern European ski areas are now open, largely in the more northerly ranges like the Giant and Tatra mountains in Czechia, Slovakia, and Poland.
The past few days have seen mixed early December conditions, with mostly dry weather and freeze-thaw temperature cycles, with temperatures ranging from –2°C/28°F at night to +3°C/37°F in the afternoons at altitude, and light winds. In the Balkans, things have cooled, and there has even been a dusting of snow with freeze-thaw swings between –1°C/30°F and +4°C/39°F, and generally light winds.
Bulgaria's season is expected to get underway this weekend if conditions permit and snow can be made.
Scotland
Storm Bram hit Scotland on Tuesday and Wednesday, halting the lifts that were serving the little terrain that had managed to open already. Warm, wet, and windy weather has unfortunately impacted the snowbase, and teams are still assessing what, if anything, can reopen for now.
Only Cairngorm had much open, with a few runs up top, but it and three other centres (Glencoe, Glenshee, and The Lecht) also have their all-weather snowmaking systems operating. The forecast is looking better now, with colder temperatures expected.
North America
Canada
Western Canada continues to report some of North America's best conditions and has enjoyed an excellent week, with 30-70 cm/12-28 inches of fresh snow falling across resorts in Alberta and British Columbia.
Whistler Blackcomb has expanded its terrain from only 5% of runs to more than 20% as its base depth on higher terrain has topped the metre/3.3 feet mark. However, Banff areas Lake Louise and Sunshine continue to boast the most terrain and deepest early-season snowpacks in Canada, also surpassing most other areas in North America.
The outlook remains promising, with further snowfall expected and temperatures dipping below –10°C/14°F at times in the west. Conditions will be harsher in the east, where resorts such as Tremblant in Quebec are bracing for lows touching –20°C/–4°F.
USA
It is a very mixed picture across the US, with some very cold temperatures, powder snow, and fairly normal/good December conditions in New England, at least.
The Rockies still lag well behind average for snow cover but had a better week, while ski areas along the Pacific coast are looking at their worst ever December for early season cold and snow, with many resorts in California, Oregon, and Washington state still not open for the season.
Against that, a few centres along the southern fringes of American skiing, such as Wolf Creek in Colorado and the Arizona Snowbowl, report they are 100% open.
Resorts in Colorado and Utah finally saw 20-40 cm/8-16 inches of accumulations this week, but it is just not enough yet to change things much, with most still having few slopes open so far. There is little change in the forecast as yet.