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The Snow This Week
What a difference a weekend makes!
Les Arcs this morning - courtesy Les Arcs Tourist Office
This Week's Snow Headlines
- Big snowfalls in the Alps.
- Number of ski areas open in Europe and North America moves from double to triple figures.
- More than 60 US ski areas are already open - far more than any other country.
- First resorts in Pyrenees set to open at weekend, including ski areas in Andorra.
- Val d'Isere and Val Thorens among those opening on Saturday, Courchevel opened for a day midweek.
- Numerous resorts in Alps, Pyrenees, Rockies, Scandinavia etc Prepare to Open.
- Month of near non-stop November snow in Western North America,
- Further snowfall in the Alps.
- Marginal conditions in Eastern North America.
- Good covering, but not yet quite enough, on Scottish hills.
Last Friday/Saturday gave parts of the Alps a near 30C temperature drop from mid-teens above freezing to mid-teens below in less than 24 hours. The results were gale force winds (Tignes reported up to 150km/h gusts) and heavy snow. That snow was not quite at the excessive levels forecast by some but still some areas got nearly a metre through the weekend on upper runs and the 20-40cm forecast for most proved correct.
More important than the snow volume really though has been the ongoing dramatic change from summer-like to mid-winter weather since the big snowfalls, with temperatures remaining double digits below at many areas, allowing Europe's snowmaking arsenal to fire up.
The snow hasn't just been in the Alps too; with up to 50cm of snow reported in the Pyrenees. It wasn't just last weekend either, with snowfall continuing, and set to continue, albeit probably with smaller accumulations. So, without wishing to tempt fate, it's all looking much better than a year ago.
Elsewhere in the world there's been snow on Scottish hills although Yad Moss in the English Pennines was the first outdoor snow centre in the UK to open for the season, last Sunday. Cold weather has allowed snowmaking in Scandinavia. There's been snow in Eastern Europe and the Dolomites and still more snow across the Atlantic in Western North America.
Things remain more challenging on the East Coast however with ski areas battling to open with snowmaking for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
In The Forecast
The cold temperatures are set to continue into next week, although they look likely to rise above seasonal averages as we head into December. There is more snow in the forecast for this weekend, and lighter precipitation for the following week. Even if we see a period of high pressure (as is possible), it's unlikely to trouble any but the very lowest resorts as just about everywhere has had enough snow and cold to start laying down good bases now.
The Alps
Austria
Austria's glaciers are finally losing their dominance of the autumn skiing market after more than 10 weeks, as more non-glacier ski areas finally start to open. That said, it's still about a dozen Austrian areas open and two thirds of them glacier centres until this weekends when Ischgl joins in and the rest begin to follow suit. Conditions are mostly good with many areas getting a foot of snow on higher slopes last weekend. Obergurgl currently has the biggest area open with more than 60km of runs and deepest base and the Kaunertal and Pitztal glaciers the deepest snow at around 1.2m (four feet). Solden may overtake its neighbour for terrain open however as it plans to open top-to-bottom on Saturday.
France
France got the best of the weekend snow and it was snowing again here by midweek, and continues to do so. Temperatures have stayed well below freezing too to help with snow-making. Up to a metre of fresh snow was reported by Sunday on the highest slopes at ski areas including Tignes and Val Thorens. Tignes has remained the only open French area this week (having closed over the weekend due to the stormy weather) but was joined on Wednesday by Courchevel which announced it would open 10 days early because of all the snow – running three lifts and opening three runs. At least five more French areas are expected to open this weekend including Montgenevre, Val d'Isere, Val Thorens (postponed from last weekend because of the stormy weather) and several areas in the Pyrenees including Cauterets.
Italy
Italy too got a good share of the fresh snow with 30-60cm accumulating across the country's ski slopes over the weekend. Cervinia is in particularly good shape and now has a 145cm base with the link open over to Zermatt. Although there's only Val Senales and Solda open besides Cervinia at present everything will change on Saturday when many of the leading areas in the Dolomites, including Cortina's slopes, are scheduled to open and more Italian areas in the Western Alps too.
Switzerland
Nendaz in the 4 Valleys currently reports the deepest snowbase anywhere at 235cm (nearly eight feet) on upper slopes following the big snowfalls in the region at the weekend. It's among the dozen or so already-open areas in the country which includes Laax, which has reopened, along with Davos. Several areas have also announced they'll open this weekend including Andermatt, Grimentz and Arosa.
Scandinavia
Scandinavian conditions have remained cold but not especially snowy with most of the snow on the slopes machine made so far. Things are looking best in Lapland where Levi and Ruka both report 45cm of fresh snow and Ruka is currently hosting the FIS Nordic World Cup season opener after the disappointment of Levi having to cancel World Cup races a fortnight ago for lack of snow. Few centres in Norway and Sweden are open yet but most main areas do intend to open this weekend, if only with limited terrain and 5-20cm bases. More substantial snowfalls are forecast for the coming week.
Scotland
Scotland has already got in to its usual ski season pattern of roller coaster temperatures with subzero at the weekend followed by touching double digits down at resort level by Thursday. However the snow on the mountains at the weekend is still looking white from below and more is forecast this weekend maintaining hopes that some areas may be able to open imminently.
Pyrenees
Things are looking good in the Pyrenees after up to 50cm of snow fell last weekend and there have been more fresh snowfalls in recent days too. Much like the Alps this meant a transformation from summer to winter-like conditions almost overnight. Quite a few resorts in the region have announced they'll be opening this weekend thanks to the snow, amongst them La Molina on the Spanish side and Cauterets on the French and both Grandvalira and Vallnord in Andorra.
Eastern Europe
No areas are known to have opened so far in Eastern Europe but there was significant snowfall, particularly on higher slopes and temperatures have been low enough for snowmaking on lower runs too, so areas should be able to start opening imminently.
North America
Canada
Western Canada continues to post the biggest snowfall totals in the world to date. Revelstoke, which is now opening early for a preview weekend, is heading towards a remarkable 4m of snowfall during November, more than anywhere else in the world as far as we've heard. About a dozen ski areas are now open with others opening at weekends. Most are in the west but Mont Saint Sauveur in Quebec has opened with a 4-8cm base. Many areas now have 90-120cm bases (3-4 feet), Whistler is on 80cm with Big White boasting the biggest base at 145cm, or just under five feet. And it keeps snowing in the West!
USA
It continues to be a tale of two sides in the US after the East Coast won the race to be the first to open in late October, since the start of November temperatures have been too high in the East whilst it has been dumping down out west. The deepest snow depth so far reported is at the resort that usually scores the most snow of any area on the planet by the end of each season (although not last season). Mt Baker in Washington state already has 2m lying on upper slopes. However the biggest snowfalls in the past 48 hours have been in California where the latest storms have brought accumulations of up to 40cm in 24 hours to resorts including Kirkwood and Northstar and there have been similar falls at Squaw Valley. There's been plenty more snow around the rest of Western USA and some areas such as Okemo in Vermont and Wildcat in New Hampshire have managed to open with 6-18 inches of machine made snow. There's no end to the snow out West forecast, Aspen is expecting another foot in the next three days.