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J2Ski Snow Report - November 12th 2015
This Week's Snow Headlines In Europe we wait; in America it snows... this week! 
Snow Piles up at Jackson Hole - courtesy JH Tourist Office - US now has more ski areas open than any other country. - Resorts open early in Canada and US. - Snow, snow and more snow in Western North America. - Opening weekend coming up for Obergurgl, Sunshine, Big White, Heavenly, Breckenridge. - Heavy snow forecast for Scottish hills. The two extremes of sunny dry weather in the Alps and large snowfalls in Western North America that we reported a week ago have, if anything, widened over the past week. Snow tallies of as much as five feet (1.5m) have now been reported at some resorts in Canada and the US (Revelstoke and Jackson Hole being particularly deluged). But whilst an ever growing number of areas open early on the western side of the Atlantic, the first sign of nerves are beginning to show in Europe where Crans Montana, which had planned to open this weekend, has postponed doing so. There are positive signs on the horizon, however; Verbier is amongst those saying it expects colder temperatures next week - hopefully bringing some natural snowfall and allowing more snowmaking. More and more ski areas have been opening in California and Colorado, many of them opening early. In Colorado, Copper and Breckenridge join the 15-16 party this weekend and there are now half a dozen areas open in Colorado (Tirol, 11 to choose from, is the only region with more), In California the list gets longer every day with Squaw Valley, Heavenly, Northstar and Alpine Meadows among those which either have opened earlier than planned or are about to, with more ski areas joining already-open Mammoth, Mt Rose and Boreal. So Colorado may overtake Tirol by the weekend. Elsewhere there's been fresh snow reported in parts of Lapland, snow forecast for Scotland and (ironically) large snowfalls around Beijing in China where resorts have opened early in the area some have criticised as the 2022 Winter Olympic destination due to its poor snowfall record. In The Forecast The mild Alpine Autumn is set to continue through the weekend, although the forecast models are now fairly insistent that the weather's going to break around the middle of next week. Distinctly un-settled weather (that'll mean precipitation!) looks highly likely, with temperatures cooling toward seasonal averages. Keep watching your favorite forecast; change is afoot! The Alps Austria There's been little change in Austrian ski conditions over the past seven days with sunshine dominating leading to mostly great skiing on the groomed pistes at the eight glacier areas that are open, along with Kitzbuhel. Obergurgl opened for what they say was a highly successful 'preview weekend' last weekend and will open permanently for the season from this weekend, it will be joined by Obertauern next Wednesday taking the number of open Austrian areas to 11. The Solden, Stubai and Tux glaciers continue to claim the biggest open areas with about 30km/20 miles of runs to enjoy each. Kitzbuhel has revealed in German media that its early opening last month was in part down to stockpiling snow under cover from the previous winter. France It's another week with only Tignes open in France. Five runs are open there and the snow depth still reported at 50cm. Temperatures on the glacier are hovering around the zero mark. More French resorts are scheduled to start opening the weekend after next with Val Thorens first up, although web cams there are currently showing zero snow at resort level and daytime temperatures of +5. Sunny skies are due to end at the weekend and temperatures drop. Italy It's a similar picture in Italy with blue skies, warm valleys and the same three ski areas to choose from as last week – Cervinia, Val Senales and Sulden. Again there's been no fresh snow but conditions on glacier pistes, where temperatures are staying around zero in the middle of the day, remain excellent. Snow depths are 50-110cm with limited terrain open. Livigno has posted pictures of mostly snowy slopes and has hinted it may open imminently. Switzerland Switzerland has had the same conditions as the rest of the Alps this past week with sunshine the dominant factor. Saass Fee and Zermatt continue to offer the largest open areas at the moment with around 30km of slopes open each. Areas also open include Davos, Glacier 3000 at Diablerets, Laax and the Diavolezza glacier near St Moritz, however any new areas opening look set to be delayed until the hoped for colder temperatures and fresh snow next week with both Crans Montana and Verbier which might have opened this weekend saying they won't be doing so yet. Scandinavia There has been snow in parts of Scandinavia and more light snowfall is forecast over the coming days. Ruka in Finland, which has nearly been open a month already, is looking in the best shape with fresh natural snow on top of its machine made base. Levi, which was due to hold World Cup events this weekend but was ruled out due to poor snow cover, has had another few centimetres, as has already-open (one run anyway) Geilo in Norway. Pyrenees Higher slopes at some resorts in the Pyrenees still look snowy from falls in late October but again have not reported much fresh stuff since the start of November. Most hope to open in just over a fortnight but they'll need a rapid drop from the current double digit daytime temperatures for that to happen – which it still may. Scotland Scottish slopes remain fairly brown at present but that looks likely to change at the weekend when heavy precipitation and sub zero temperatures are forecast for Scottish mountains – a combination which ought to mean a lot of snow. Unfortunately gale force winds are also in the forecast. It's much too early to say when snow accumulation might add up to enough for one or more area to open, but things can change quickly. North America Canada Canada's season got started a week ago with Mt. Norquay near Banff beginning its 80th season on 5th November, then Lake Louise opening the day after. The third Banff resort, Sunshine, says it will open this weekend, completing the set.
Most other Western Canadian resorts have been posting big snowfall totals but few others have opened yet. Revelstoke has said 1.5 metres/5 feet have fallen. Sun Peaks has opened for international team training ahead of the Lake Louise World Cup races and Big White has announced it will open early this weekend thanks to all the snow. USA Things are moving so fast in the US it's hard to keep track and during the few hours' gap between this being written and you reading it it's likely things will have changed again. But, for the Western US at least, the news is all good. Basically it just keeps snowing, and snowing, so more and more resorts are opening early – particularly, as mentioned in the intro, in California and Colorado. Californian ski areas are especially excited to get the season off to an early and great start after four successive lacklustre season with last winter seeing the worst of the bunch and a dramatic drop in visitor numbers. This season the much talked about 'Godzilla el Nino' seems to be coming true, even if it's too early to be sure. So at time of writing Jackson Hole (which hasn't yet announced an early opening) has had the most snow since the start of November at four feet/1.2m, but most Western areas have had significant falls of 2-3 feet. Snow is right down to resort level in most cases. Resorts opening early include Breckenridge, Heavenly, Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley. Powder alarms of a foot or so in 24 hours have been flying in from already open areas like Arapahoe Basin, Keystone and Loveland in Colorado as well as Mt Rose and mammoth in California. There's no real downside to Godzilla El Nino except that resorts in the Midwest and on the East Coast have been rather warm compared to usual and reports are starting to appear indicating that the fear is that cold and snowy in the West means warm and dry in the east. But again it's too early to tell. |
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Our friends at SnowTrex are staying up late and lashing prices again this evening.
1 week accommodation from £118 INCLUDING Lift Pass! 
- Reduced offers for Christmas & New Year's - Reductions up to £318 - Only available during mentioned offer period - As long as supplies last - Incl. Nice-Price Guarantee They have some spectacular deals in Austrian ski resorts (including Saalbach, Hochkönig, etc.) and French areas (Chamrousse, SuperDévoluy, etc.). SnowTrex Crazy Booking Night (from 5p.m. to 11p.m.) |
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Enjoy...
:lol: |
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J2Ski Snow Report - November 5th 2015
This Week's Snow Headlines - Up to a metre of snow falls in seven days in Western Canada. - Early opening for Davos. - FIS World Cup races Cancelled in Finland despite some snow. - Big name resorts opening this weekend including Keystone, Lake Louise and Mammoth. - Obergurgl opening early for pre-opening weekend. - East Coast US ski areas close again. After the latest wave of snowfall across the Alps a week ago attention has switched to Western North America where most resorts have had more good snowfalls in the last seven days. The scale of the snowfall has varied but where it has been snowiest in the North West, it has been very snowy indeed - Revelstoke (not due to open for another three weeks) claimed a metre of powder in the last week and posted pictures to prove it. In Europe it has been a mostly sunny week after the snowfall last week with glaciers in great condition and perfect skiing at most. The first non-glacier ski areas are scheduled to open at the end of next week. Fresh snow has been reported in some parts of Europe however, most notably the Pyrenees and up in Scandinavia where resorts in Lapland now look very white after opening with snowmaking only last month. However World Cup races in the region planned for the weekend after next have been cancelled as its too warm and not snowy enough apparently. In The Forecast Mild weather will persist across much of The Alps for the next week or so, with the models indicating cooling and a return to un-settled weather by the middle of November. The Alps Austria Austria will be the first country to get in to double-digits for number of ski areas open this weekend when Obergurgl joins Kitzbuhel as the second non-glacier ski area to open in the country, joining its eight glacier opens. Obergurgl doesn't officially open for another week, but has announced a 'pre-opening' with around 10 lifts and runs operating. Across the country, as across the Alps, it's been mostly dry, sunny and cold with great conditions after the snowfall a week ago. The biggest areas currently open are at Solden, Hintertux and the Stubai where there's around 30km of runs open at each. Snow depths are typically 50 -110cm. France After Les 2 Alpes ended its one week October run there's only Tignes open with lift-served skiing in France again now until Val Thorens opens in a little over a fortnight – conditions permitting. It currently has a 60cm base with five runs open. There's been no fresh snow for a week and none in the forecast but temperatures have stayed cold at altitude so conditions remain good – as is the case for most Alpine glaciers at present. Italy A similar position to last week with three Italian areas open and similar to the rest of the Alps with mostly cold sunny days and no fresh snow since the falls a week ago. There are some changes however. The country's Passo Stelvio ski area which was its lone operator for parts of the summer and autumn has closed at the end of its 2015 summer season although Sulden am Ortler/Solda in the Ortler Alps has opened 15km of altitude runs. Val Senales remains open and Cervinia, which had been open for the last two weekends in October, is now open daily. It has the deepest snow base at 125cm and terrain open over to Zermatt. Switzerland Switzerland is closest to catching Austria for numbers-of-area-open with stalwarts Saas Fee and Zermatt now joined by up to six more Swiss ski areas although opening for most is weekends only. Now open are Glacier 3000 above Gstaad and Les Diablerets, the Diavolezza glacier near St Moritz. However Davos and Laax both opened last weekend and Engelberg has also been opening. Again there's no fresh snow after the big falls last week but good conditions on the pistes with bases up to 1.2m deep. Saas Fee and Zermatt still have the biggest glacier ski areas open with about 20km of runs open a piece. Scandinavia It seems to be a mixed picture in Scandinavia. Earlier in the week Ruka in Lapland, Finland, which had been open using snow making since mid-October, reported a healthy natural snowfall transforming everywhere to white. But this morning (Thursday 5th November) the FIS has announced that the next wave of early season World Cup races planned for Levi in 10 days' time have been cancelled as its too warm for adequate snowmaking. Levi is saying it will open tomorrow (6th November) anyway. Pyrenees No ski areas are due to open in the Pyrenees for at least another three weeks but there have been more pre-season snowfalls on the southerly mountain range raising hopes that the area will get off on time to a good winter 15-16, especially important to Andorran and Spanish areas which have a big public holiday in early December. Eastern Europe Eastern Europe got an unexpected snowy deluge in mid-October when a Siberian snowy blast brought early cover, but that's largely melted away now and ski areas are currently unlikely to start opening until December, as planned. Scotland Although Scottish centres can open any time when snow conditions are good, so far it has been a largely warm and uncharacteristically dry autumn in the Highlands (after the cool wet spring and summer!) so there's almost no hill snow to date. North America Canada Canada has been where all the snow is this past week with the one metre accumulation at Revelstoke the big news in world snow reports of the last seven days so it's hard to believe that no Canadian ski area is actually open yet. That all changes on Friday when Lake Louise opens . The Glacier Express Chair will start turning at 9am and three runs will be open; Bald Eagle, Wiwaxy and Easy Street. "The hype is real, the season is about to begin," said a resort spokesperson. Elsewhere most Canadian resorts received healthy snowfalls ahead of their season but mostly it was in the 20-40cm bracket not Revelstoke's metre. "Winter has firmly planted her cold, frosty kiss at Panorama," said a spokesperson there, " The mountain received 34 CM in the recent storm and the snow guns are pumping out fresh snow daily!" USA The US has been a country of two halves with fresh snow a plenty in the West and warm weather thawing cover at early-openers in the east. Killington and Sunday River which both opened early last month say they won't be able to open this weekend as it's now too warm. Whether or not it's the start of the much heralded 'El Nino' it's looking much better out west though with A-Basin and Loveland in to their second week open in Colorado, joined last weekend by Wolf Creek and to be joined this weekend by Keystone. Further West Mt Rose opened for the season on Wednesday at Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Mountain to the south will be the biggest player yet to open, this Friday. Will this turn out to be the epic season in California after four dry warm winters, that everyone hopes? |
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Just bumping this for anyone who may have missed it...
We still have three pairs of tickets up for grabs, so check the dates (see the original post above) and if you want to go then reply here... First three replies get the tickets! When they're gone they're gone... |
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Wait and see! 8) Neither the pre-Xmas week, nor the 1st/2nd week of January are ever busy so very unlikely to sell-out (I know, famous last words) so you can afford to hang on and see where the snow falls. |
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What make/model car would you choose to drive to ski resort?
Started by User in Ski Chatter, 32 Replies |
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All 4. Having grip both ends of your car will make for a much better day when the snow comes... 8) |
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We have 3 pairs of tickets to see Chasing Shadows (this winter's Warren Miller movie) in the UK; these will be valid for any showing except the London Premiere.
As a reminder, here's the trailer again... The tour dates are listed here - http://warrenmiller.co.uk/tickets As it's Halloween (tomorrow), all you have to do is... Login to this here Forum, Reply to this Post and say Boo! Anyone who replies without saying Boo! is disqualified and we'll pick 3 winners at random, from all replies made before 09:00 uk time on Monday morning... one entry per real person, no dogs allowed (except guide dogs trained by Dave Mac), no smoking and, er, Boo!. |
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