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Snow above the clouds in Whistler, Canada... Many more northern hemisphere ski areas to open tomorrow (Friday 24th), some earlier than planned, most with good early snow. The Snow Headlines - November 23rd - French 23-24 season is underway. - US East Coast resorts open, joining previously solo Killington. - Ischgl opens with 122km of slopes open, most in the world at present. - US West Coast resorts Heavenly and Northstar delay opening, awaiting snowfall. - Italy's Livigno and Madonna di Campiglio open their seasons early. - Most leading Scandinavian ski centres now open, temperatures drop to -25C. - Fresh snowfall in Pyrenees, Baqueira Beret will open (early) this weekend. - Japan's ski season getting underway this weekend. - Argentina's Las Lenas announces upcoming summer ski season to celebrate its 40th year. 
More early-season snow forecast for Europe, America and Japan
World Overview It remains a fast-changing picture as we close in on the start of the 23-24 main season across the northern hemisphere. We are quickly approaching 100 centres open with plenty of early-openers in the Alps after the big snowfalls in early November. These have slowed a little and there's been thawing and even rain reported at times, but also more snow, with Austrian areas seeing heavy snow down to valley floors at the weekend. There's also been fresh snowfall in the Pyrenees with Spain's Baqueira Beret opening early. It's a different picture in North America where they still wait for a good pre-season snowfall, although most have had low temperatures and parts of Colorado and Utah saw a foot of snow to start the week. Those with snowmaking arsenals, including many big-name resorts on the East Coast, have opened, as have the continent's two biggest areas, Whistler and Park City in the west, but some other major resorts like Telluride currently have their season starts on hold while they await the snow. Europe Austria A mostly cold and frequently snowy seven days in the Austrian Alps with the freezing point / snowline moving between 1000 and 2000m altitude. Occasional spells of rain and sleet during warmer periods at lower levels but most ski areas saw snow, heavy at times down to village level such as at Lech last weekend. More and more big-name resorts are opening including Obergurgl last weekend with more than 50km of slopes open from day one (70km now) and hosting World Cup Slalom races on Saturday. Nearby Solden became the first to reach 100km of slopes open this season but was overtaken by Ischgl, opening for the season on Thursday with 112km of slopes open from day one. All three areas with the most terrain open so far are in Tirol. Actually 4th placed Hintertux is too but with "only" 42km. Austria has been overtaken for the number of areas open by Switzerland and the US but still has the three resorts with the most terrain open anywhere this weekend by some distance. France The French 23-24 ski season got underway a week earlier than planned at the weekend with Tignes and Val Thorens both bringing forward their opening dates. That said, November 18th is thought to be the latest start date of a French ski season for more than 50 years. Both areas were capitalising on heavy snowfall across the French Alps in the first half of the month. It's been a little more unsettled since with some more snowfall but also rain and fast thawing at times below about 1800m leading to some avalanche concerns. The big picture remains positive though. Both open areas report more than a metre of snow lying with Tignes saying they've opened with 1300m of vertical but Val Thorens posting more terrain open on day one with 10km of slopes. Most other French ski areas won't open until the start of December. Italy The number of centres already open for the 23-24 season in Italy doubled last weekend with Livigno, Madonna di Campiglio and the Presena Glacier above Passo Tonale all opening early thanks to the big snowfalls at the start of this month. They join Cervinia (which now has some runs open on the Italian side of the border, not just the Swiss) and a couple of others. It has been a mostly sunny week with the snowline yoyoing between 1000m or less overnight, so good for snowmaking, but climbing above 2,000m in the afternoons on warmer days causing thawing on lower runs. Switzerland Switzerland topped the table in Europe for the number of ski areas it had open last weekend, with 15 to choose from, overtaking Austria. Andermatt, Crans Montana, Grindelwald and Laax were among those starting their 23-24 seasons last Saturday, Andermatt reporting it had had 80cm of fresh snowfall on its Gemsstock freeride mountain. Conditions have been mixed, but mostly good for mid-November with more snowfall, some sunny days and temperatures remaining below freezing above about 2,000m. Strong winds up high have caused some issues though including the failure to launch of the Zermatt-Cervinia planned season opening World Cup downhills for the second successive year. Many Swiss ski areas are only open weekends until December but Davos, Saas Fee and Zermatt are open daily. Pyrenees It was a largely dry and sunny weekend in the Pyrenees but with temperatures fairly promising, remaining below freezing in the mountains and only reaching +5C or so in valleys in the afternoons. Snowfall arrived on Tuesday and snowmaking has been able to fire up so an improving picture. The season is expected to get underway the weekend after this. Scotland More Scottish ski centres are giving provisional opening dates, which are now more precise than they once were, thanks to all having all-weather snowmaking systems which means at least some snow can be guaranteed from day one. Glencoe says they'll run their access chairlift, which can help tourers up the mountain to access high-altitude snow, from 2nd December. How much snow there'll be remains unknown at this point but it has been cold and Scottish mountain tops have turned white again this week with snow down to 800m. Glencoe's all-weather snowmaking will also get underway in early-December but initially just for a base area sledging slope. Cairngorm says they'll open for Christmas week. Scandinavia It's been another good week in the build-up to the Scandinavian main ski season with many of the region's leading resorts opening for the first time this year, joining the dozen or so smaller resorts, as well as two of Finland's biggest (Levi and Ruka) that had already opened. Sweden's Are, the largest in the region, as well as Norway's Trysil, were open last weekend. Temperatures have remained subzero day and night at most of the main centres and there have been light snow showers as well as great snowmaking conditions. The only thing some skiers might not like is the rapidly diminishing daylight, with some areas in the north just getting an hour or so a day now before the sun dips below the horizon for a few weeks next month, and the bitter cold up in Lapland, where temperatures have been in the -15C to -25C range this week. Eastern Europe Still no centres open in Eastern Europe, but that's normal with most targeting the first half of December, and a few the final days of this month. Pre-season conditions are looking good at one of the biggest, Slovakia's Jasna, while another, Bulgaria's Bansko, has reported more snowfall. North America Canada Canada's season start has not really got into full gear in terms of snowfall, although the country's ski regions are now predominantly finding themselves in round-the-clock subzero temperatures, so there are great snowmaking conditions, even if they're still waiting for a decent dump of natural snowfall. British Columbia's season got underway last weekend at Sun Peaks and as we publish this week's report the biggest centres in the East (Tremblant) and West, Whistler Blackcomb (also the country and continent's largest of course – when fully open), are scheduled to open. But what's open so far is not much and bases aren't very deep anywhere yet either, mostly in the 10-30cm bracket. USA A mixed picture across the US, caused mostly by a continuing shortage of natural snowfall in most areas. In the East they're managing to open anyway thanks to snowmaking, in the West a number of big-name resorts including Telluride, Heavenly and Northstar have delayed opening, although the latter two have now opened over the past few days. Other ski areas managed to open as planned including America's biggest, Park City Mountain Resort, which kicked off Utah's 23-24 season last weekend. Things have improved somewhat in the Rockies at least with Snowbird among areas posting over a foot of snowfall as a storm moved through at the start of this week. On the East Coast, it has been a battle with the elements for resorts to open, with warm temperatures at times and not much snowfall. Overnight lows have permitted snowmaking and Maine's two biggest areas, Sugarloaf and Sunday River have both opened with top-to-bottom skiing, despite a lack of natural snow cover. Other big-name areas opening include Stowe. |
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Livigno, Italy, is opening 2 weeks earlier than planned thanks to the recent snow. Early ski area openings in Europe, more snow up high, and more on the way. The Snow Headlines - November 16th - Arosa, Breckenridge, Davos, Kitzbuhel, Mammoth, Verbier all open for ski seasons. - French ski season starting this weekend as Tignes and Val Thorens open early. - Amount of terrain available at individual Alps resorts as much as 60km already. - Ski travel agency boss claims season start may be "best I can remember". - Colorado and Tirol go head to head for most areas open in a state/province. - Davos switches from weekend to daily operation. - Men's downhill speed opening weekend races cancelled for second straight year. - Italy's Livigno and Madonna di Campiglio join Cortina d'Ampezzo in opening early. 
Yes, there is more snow forecast for Europe, America and Japan!
World Overview The Alps continue to see quite amazing conditions, particularly above 2,000m where pictures have emerged of centres like Arc 1950 buried in snow, and many ski areas now past the one metre (3 feet) mark and a growing number opening early; with several including Crans Montana, Livigno, Tignes, Madonna di Campiglio and Val Thorens going for this coming weekend. Lower slopes below 1,800m have seen some rain and thawing during a warmer spell in the weather cycle over the last few days, but cooler weather is now forecast again. "Storms have been piling into the Alps for the last two weeks, with snow accumulations of more than 100cm quite widespread now on the upper slopes. This will ensure a solid base for the winter ahead, and with a lot more snow in the forecast, it's shaping up to be one of the best starts to the winter ski season that I can remember," said Ian McIlrath, Managing Director of travel agency Ski Solutions. But despite all the snow in the Alps and more resorts opening in Scandinavia, North America is set to overtake Europe for the number of centres open this weekend as resorts open across the continent ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday week. There has not been so much snowfall here and what is open at all centres is limited, but there has been some snow in most areas, with resorts in Alberta, Canada, posting the most this week – about 30cm. Europe Austria Austria is just about hanging onto its position as having the most ski areas open in Europe with two more – Kitzbuhel and Schladming, the first non-glacier areas to open, in their cases thanks to snowfarming – taking the tally to nine. Double figures will be reached this weekend with Obergurgl opening and also staging World Cup Men's slalom racing. There's been more snowfall, if not so much as further west, but the snow is getting deeper on glaciers and the four ski areas in the world with the most terrain open are all in Austria, led by Solden with 60km of slopes skiable already. One of the big hitters, Ischgl, opens this coming Thursday. It often opens with more than 100km of slopes from, day one, even when it has to make all that with machines, but pics of the resort preparing show a lot of natural snow lying this year. France We now have two French ski areas opening early this coming weekend after Val Thorens announced on Friday (and just after we'd published last week's report) that they were going to join Tignes in opening a week early. Tignes says they'll have quite a large area open from day one with 1300m of skiable vertical down from the glacier. Val Thorens plans to initially run their Funitel Péclet, Cascade chairlift and all the magic carpets in the centre of the resort daily from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. with a discounted daily lift pass rate of just €20 for week one! Conditions continue to be very promising for pre-season with more snow falling and cold weather in the French Alps and still more forecast too. Italy The first ski area in the Dolomites opened at the weekend with a small high area above Cortina d'Ampezzo opening, joining Sulden in Trentino, which already has 15km of slopes open and is benefitting from all the November snowfall. Livigno, Madonna di Campiglio and the Presena Glacier have all announced they'll be joining them, opening early this coming weekend. There are now also lifts and runs open on the Italian side of the border above Cervinia, meaning altogether at least five Italian areas will open this weekend. The cold temperatures have largely continued this week, although it has been just a little warmer and with less snowfall than the first fortnight of November. Switzerland Swiss ski areas that have already opened for 23-24 are reporting great early skiing terrain. So much so that Davos, which opened last weekend, announced that the Eastern slopes of its Parsenn mountain would be left ungroomed for freeriding, something you don't normally hear promoted in November. There are 15km of groomed runs also open. The resort is also switching to daily operations from this weekend. Most of the nine Swiss ski centres open so far – including Arosa, Verbier, St Moritz (Diavolezza glacier), Gstaad (Glacier 3000) and Murren, as well as cross country terrain at Adelboden – are only open for weekends in November. The past week has seen plenty more snowfall and low temperatures with the snowline at around 1500m. However there's been strong winds too at time which unfortunately led to the attempt to run the first downhill races from Switzerland into Italy between Zermatt and Cervinia having to be cancelled, for the third time, over the weekend, after some great training days earlier in the week. Fingers crossed the women's races can happen this coming weekend. Crans Montana is the latest to announce an early opening, weekends through November from this Saturday 18th. Scandinavia Anyone watching the World Cup racing from Levi in Lapland last weekend will have seen pristine winter conditions, although it is a bit nippy – with temperatures -10C to -20C this past week. Northern Scandinavia is the place to ski at the moment with about 10 areas open now in Norway, Sweden and Finland. Other than Levi and Ruka most ski areas open are small centres so far but bigger names including the region's biggest Are in Sweden, Finland's Pyha and Trysil in Norway are set to start their lifts running from this weekend. North America Canada There's not a great deal of difference from a week ago in Canada with just one more centre opening; Sunshine, to complete the season start hat-trick for all three Banff areas as it joins Norquay and Lake Louise which opened a fortnight ago now. They have all had some snowfall earlier this week, but so far bases remain fairly thin. This weekend should see Marmot Basin open, a week later than planned, after it saw 42cm of fresh snowfall earlier this week. The first resorts in British Columbia, including Sun Peaks, are also scheduled to open. However, it has been warmer in the east of the country so it is unclear if anywhere else will be opening there just yet. USA More US ski areas have been opening ahead of Thanksgiving, but there has not been much new snowfall in November, and daytime temperatures have been warm in many areas too, so in most cases each is opening with just a mile or two of runs. Some, including Telluride, have announced delayed opening as a result. Colorado, however, will hit double figures for the number of areas it has open this weekend (that's more than most countries) and California's season is underway with big players Heavenly and The Palisades opening this weekend. Utah's season is also due to get started with America's biggest ski area at Park City set to open. Conditions are most marginal in the East where only Killington has managed to open so far but with just a small amount of hike-to terrain. Maine's Sunday River is opening now though with some runs at its Jordan area. There is snow in the forecast, across the northern hemisphere, and we'll have more on that next week... |
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Ischgl, Austria, has plenty of snow for the piste bashers to play in already, and will open in 2 weeks time. Heavy snow at altitude in the Alps, with lots more forecast for the week ahead. The Snow Headlines - November 9th - Number of northern hemisphere areas open doubles in a week to over 40. - US overtakes Austria and now has most ski areas open in the world. - Arosa, Grindelwald, Kitzbuhel, Schladming and Verbier opening this weekend. - Heavy snowfall in the Alps, up to 60cm in 48 hours up high. - More glacier ski areas open in Austria and Switzerland. - Nowhere open in France; Tignes brings opening day forward a week to 18 Nov. - Snowfall to valley floors for first time this autumn in the Alps. 
Snow is forecast for Europe, America and Japan!
World Overview There was a significant change for the better in the Alps over last weekend with big snowfalls down to low levels. Several resorts reported two feet (60cm) or more of snowfall in 48 hours on high slopes up towards 3,000m altitude, but the snow fell right down to valley floors at 1,000m too. Totals have now passed the metre mark in the last 7 days for some ski areas. It was also widespread, with the Pyrenees, Tatras and other mountain ranges seeing decent dumps as well. Across the Atlantic, it was a quieter week for snowfall but resorts have been opening in both Canada and the US from the handful we had open a week ago to more than a dozen now and 20+ by the end of the weekend. So it feels like momentum for the start of the 23-24 season is gathering pace, we just need it to be maintained through November now. Europe Austria All seven of Austria's glacier areas are now open with the first in Salzburgerland (the Kitzsteinhorn above Kaprun) and the first in Carinthia (Molltal) starting their seasons at the weekend - joining the five already open in the Austrian Tirol. There's been lots of snowfall across Austria with snow down to valley floors below 1000m altitude and things looking good at centres like Ischgl, Obergurgl and Obertauern which plan to open later this month. The Hintertux, Solden and Stubai glaciers are currently in the world's top three slots for most terrain open at present, the most with 27km. Solden though says that will double to 60km for them this weekend, moving on to non-glacier terrain. The Stubai also posted the biggest snowfall accumulation in the country with 60cm in 36 hours last weekend. Kitzbuhel and Schladming are opening for their seasons this weekend. France There have been some great snowfalls in the French Alps over the past week, heavy to higher slopes and continuing down to valley floors for the first time this autumn. There remains nowhere open in France as yet, however Tignes announced on Wednesday that it will be opening a week earlier than planned, on November 18th, with 1300m of vertical from day one. Val Thorens is still sticking to opening the last weekend of the month. Resorts with slopes up high have posted up to a metre of snowfall and villages as low as 1000m altitude reported a decent dump on their streets at the weekend. France is also in line for much more snowfall with temperatures staying low over the next few days. Italy Italy had a brief period at the weekend when there wasn't really anywhere open in the country. You could still take the lifts over from Cervinia to ski above Zermatt but Passo Stelvio has ended its five-month summer ski season as the road closed due to heavy snowfall (the irony...) and Sulden, the usual early opener, delayed its opening until Monday 6th because of the stormy, snowy weather (more irony). The other Italian area usually open, Val Senales, is closed this autumn due to lift upgrade works. Sulden is now open and benefitting from the great snowfalls across Italy over the past week. Madonna di Campiglio and the Pragelato glacier have both brought their opening date forward to 18th November after big falls here too. Livigno posted 95cm of fresh snowfall. Switzerland The number of Swiss ski centres open is quickly catching up with Austria although many are only open at weekends at present. Zermatt is gearing up to host the world's first cross-border World Cup downhill ski races over the next few weekends, first the men this Saturday and Sunday, all being well, then the women's races the weekend after. There's been plenty of snowfall on Swiss slopes so there should be no repeat of last year's cancellation due to snow shortages. Besides already open Zermatt, Saas Fee and St Moritz's Diavolezza glacier, newly opened this week is Murren with Glacier 3000 near Gstaad. This weekend will see Arosa, Grindelwald, the Parsenn slopes at Davos and Verbier opening for the season. So it's looking like at least eight Swiss areas will be open this weekend. Pyrenees Although the focus was on the Alps for 'big snowfall news' from Europe this week, the Pyrenees also saw some good snowfalls and low temperatures down to the valley floor and resorts have begun snowmaking and base building ahead of the season start, expected at the end of the month. If the snowfall keeps up it's possible somewhere will open early, but a lot more snow is needed. Scandinavia Summer and winter operations overlapped in Norway at the weekend with Kvitfjell opening for its winter season but the Galdhøpiggen summer ski area still open. Both just have a kilometre or so of terrain open. Up in Finland Levi and Ruka have both clocked up the first month of their 7-month 23-24 ski seasons now and are progressively opening more terrain. Sweden is up to three centres open with Idre Fjall and Tarnaby joining Kabdalis up in Swedish Lapland. Temperatures remain cold and there's been more fresh snowfall across the region. Eastern Europe There's nowhere expected to open in Eastern Europe before the end of this month or the start of December but it has been snowing on higher slopes across the region with Spindleruv Mlyn in the Czech Republic and Jasna in Slovakia both reporting new snow up high. North America Canada Canada's 23-24 season was just getting started as we completed last week's report. Mont Ste Sauveur in Quebec was the first to open thanks to snowmaking as temperatures dropped and there was a little natural snowfall there. The camera there still shows a ribbon of white on a green/brown hillside. It's more like winter in Alberta where Norquay, Lake Louise (opening a week early) and Nakiska are all open. The first major snowfall of the season blanketed the Canadian Rockies just last week, dropping an impressive 29 cm in just 48 hours. In addition, cooler temperatures settled in, creating ideal conditions for snow-making to supplement the natural snow base. The third Banff area, Sunshine, will open this weekend but Jasper's Marmot Basin have delayed a week. USA The US season was just starting last week with one of the world's highest ski areas at Arapahoe Basin opening a few miles of runs. Since then, Keystone and Eldora resorts have joined A Basin to give three Colorado areas open and two big names, Breckenridge and Vail, are expected to open in the next day or two. Loveland says it will do too, taking the total up to six. The snowfall has returned in the Rockies in the past few days after a dry and sunny period for much of the last seven days before that. A few ski areas have opened in The Midwest along with Killington in Vermont, the first in the East, thanks to snowmaking. There's not much terrain open yet though and a need to hike from the access lift to the ski run at Killington, so good skiers only. Mammoth and Mount Rose in California are expected to be the first US West Coast ski areas to open in the next few days. |
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Breckenridge, one of many US ski resorts to turn white this week... Snow in the US and Canada, and falling lower in the European Alps, as more ski areas open. The Snow Headlines - November 2nd - The US 23-24 season gets started. - More Swiss glaciers open (or plan to) this weekend as snow falls on higher slopes. - Number of ski areas open in the Alps to hit double figures this coming weekend. - Canada's 23-24 season gets underway early with east pipping west. - World's deepest reported snow depth jumps to 2.2m at Saas Fee after fresh snow. - 23-24 Alpine World Cup season starts at Solden in Austria. 
More snow forecast for Europe, USA, Canada...
World Overview It's November, so skiers and boarders across the northern hemisphere are keeping a keen eye on developing snow conditions and early resort opening. The good news is that after a warm spell for some mountain areas in mid-October it has stayed cold in the Alps over the last week, with plenty of snowfall too. Cold temperatures are also back in western North America, with snow falling on higher slopes on both sides of the Atlantic. As a result, more glacier areas have opened in the Alps, those already open have added more terrain and snow depths have started to grow again for the first time in six months. In North America, fears that the ski season might not start in October were laid to rest late on Friday when Colorado's Arapahoe Basin, one of the continent's and the world's highest altitude ski areas, announced it would open from Sunday. Keystone has now joined it and more are expected to follow suit in the coming days and weeks. North of the border, Banff's local ski hill brought its opening day forward a day to the Friday, only to be joined by Lake Louise bringing theirs forward a week to Friday as well, then both beaten by a Quebec area opening on Thursday! Elsewhere in Europe it has been snowing again in the Scottish highlands with the access road to Cairngorm ski area closed by snowfall on Thursday morning. The first winter resort has opened in Norway for 23-24 too. Europe Austria Austria continues to have more ski areas open than any other country at this early point in the season - with five glaciers open, all of them in the province of Tirol. The ski world's eyes were on one of them, Solden, at the weekend as the 23-24 World Cup tour got underway on the glacier with seemingly perfect conditions, on the Saturday at least, with blue skies and sunshine after a 20cm snowfall over the last few days of last week followed by another 30-50cm fall on Monday this week up high. Unfortunately, strong winds developed on Sunday leading to the cancellation of the second run in the Men's Giant Slalom race. Stormy weather also closed centres on Thursday. Along with fresh snow, the glaciers have been opening up more terrain with Solden and Hintertux now posting more than 20km of slopes open. You can also currently ski at the Kauntertal, Pitztal and Stubai glaciers with Salzburgerland's Kitzsteinhorn opening on Friday 3rd November and Carinthia's Molltal hoping to open for their season too thanks to the cold temperatures and fresh snowfall having delayed October openings. France French ski centres have posted increasingly wintery images with the snowline shown dropping down the brown mountainsides and reports of 20-40cm of fresh snowfall up high. There remains nowhere open in France and nowhere planning to open until Chamonix, Tignes and Val Thorens - among others - start their lifts at the end of the month. Italy We're rather between two seasons in Italy with the summer ski area Passo Stelvio ending its five-month 2023 opening this weekend, probably, and nowhere really open for winter 23-24 yet, other than Cervinia providing access to Zermatt's glacier. The Sulden ski area in Trentino may open this weekend as, like other Italian areas, it has seen low temperatures and snowfall up high over the last week, with more forecast. The usual autumn opening of the Schnalstal (Val Senales) glacier hasn't happened this year as the main cable car is being upgraded with a planned Christmas unveiling. It reported 40cm of fresh snowfall on Thursday though. Switzerland Switzerland should have at least five, possibly six, ski areas open from this coming weekend with the Diavolezza Glacier opening last weekend and at least two more – the Titlis Glacier above Engelberg and Glacier 3000 near Gstaad, which both delayed October opening plans – saying they'll open this weekend. Murren also looks set to open, in its case partly thanks to a snow-farming operation to make an early base using last season's snow, stored through summer and spread back out on the slopes. They'll join Saas Fee and Zermatt which have both been open all autumn and enjoying fresh snowfall over the last week. Glacier 3000 says they've had more than half-a-metre of new snow in recent days. Verbier has ruled out opening this weekend but says it will open soon (and say when early next week). Zermatt is building up to hopefully hosting the FIS World Cup Tour opening speed skiing events of 23-24 with the first-ever cross-border race course over to Cervinia in Italy. Scandinavia Wintery weather continues in Scandinavia where temperatures have been dipping as low as -20C in Lapland and more snow has been falling on higher slopes, turning them ever whiter. There are a limited number of centres open with no change on a week ago. They include Levi and Ruka in Lapland, Kabdalis in Sweden and the Galdhopiggen summer ski centre in Norway which is coming to the end of its 2023 season. However another Norwegian centre, Kvitfjell, will open for its 23-24 season on Friday, so there should be somewhere open in Norway through the coming week and month. North America Canada It has been a snowy week in western Canada with some ski areas posting over half-a-metre of snowfall in the past seven days and images of current conditions in the Canadian Rockies showing full winter mode. That's good news for Albertan ski areas that plan to open over the next few weekends. Banff's local hill, Mount Norquay was set to be first in the country from this Saturday and moved opening day forward to Friday 3rd, but was then matched by Lake Louise bringing their planned opening date forward by a week to the 3rd too. However both have been pipped by Sommet St Sauveur which has opened over in Quebec in the east after a dip in temperatures, a little natural snowfall and a lot of snowmaking there. With Calgary's closest ski area Nakiska opening this weekend back west too, it looks like there's at least four Canadian areas open this weekend. Banff's third area, Sunshine, and Marmot Basin up in Jasper are expecting to open in a weeks' time. There's not a lot of snowfall in the forecast at present but it's staying cold and looking good. USA The ski season in the US got underway on Sunday with Arapahoe Basin, one of America and the world's highest ski areas, managing to open before the end of October (just). It reported 12" of fresh snowfall on the Saturday night before opening, bringing great conditions to its upper runs for the season start. Terrain open so far is best suited to intermediate and advanced-level skiers. The snowfall at A-Basin followed widespread snowfalls across the western US, in some cases like Crested Butte down to resort level. A number of resorts in Colorado as well as other states like Idaho reported more than a foot of snow up to last weekend when skies cleared although temperatures remain low. Keystone joined A Basin on November 1st and it has also turned colder and snowy at last in the Eastern US too allowing a couple of small Midwestern ski areas (Wild Mountain and Trollhaugen in Minesota and Wisconsin respectively) to open too. Some of the country's biggest resorts including Breckenridge, Mammoth and Vail plan to start opening from the end of next week. |
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Seasonal temperatures and snow arrive in Europe, and the first ski resort opens for the season in North America, joining those already open in the Alps and Scandinavia.
Winter arrives, Lac des Vaux, Verbier, Switzerland... November is usually a make-or-break month for the start of the season and also when resorts start to open in most of the northern hemisphere's ski nations. The good news is that after slightly unnerving warm temperatures in both Europe and North America in October, the final weeks of October did see temperatures drop to seasonal averages, some snowfall and the opening of the first resort in North America, joining those already open in the Alps and Scandinavia. We start November therefore with about a dozen areas open, the most in Austria, but also in Italy, Switzerland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Japan and the US. By the end of the month, we'll hopefully be counting open areas in the hundreds with the first in the Pyrenees and eastern Europe likely to open. We just need it to keep getting colder and snowier over the coming weeks as it should.
Europe Austria Austria starts November with not only more ski centres open than any other country in the world, but it actually has about half of them - with five glacier areas to choose from, all of them in Tirol. There's Solden, already having hosted the first World Cup races of the 23-24 campaign on the last weekend of October, year-round Hintertux, then Kaunertal down on the Italian border as well as the country's highest slopes at Pitztal. You can also ski on Innsbruck's 'local' glacier Pitztal. Carinthia's Molltal glacier was due to be the sixth option open but has delayed to the start of November – so any day. But those five are more than half the areas open in the Alps for November 1st. More look set to open in the coming weeks with the Kitzsteinhorn glacier having delayed opening for a month due to the warm first half of autumn hoping to go asap, and the first non-glacier areas like Obergurgl and Obertauern aiming for the middle of the month. Big players like Ischgl and Scladming will launch their seasons on the final weekend of the month with some big music concerts, one bagging Demi Lovato, and the other Robbie Williams. France Hopes of skiing in France in late October and early November evaporated when Les 2 Alpes decided it couldn't offer glacier skiing and boarding due to the warm first half of autumn. So currently there are no known French ski resort opening plans until the final few days of November. As with the rest of the Alps, and Pyrenees, temperatures have been dropping over the past 10 days in the latter half of October and it is starting to look as if winter is arriving. Indeed the final 48 hours of October saw a plethora of snowy images posted by French resorts across the Alps. There's always a chance, if we get a really good snowfall soon, that somewhere will open earlier than planned. Italy We start November with one Italian area open – Passo Stelvio, which is coming to the end of its 2023 summer ski season (probably on the 5th, unless extended). Sulden is likely to be the first area open in the Dolomites for the 23-24 season and is expected to open from November 4th. Otherwise, you can also take a lift from Cervinia up to the glacier skiing above Zermatt, just over the border. This is also where skiers will race, all being well, on weekends at the start of the month when the first cross-border World Cup speed ski races are due to take place at the second attempt, having been cancelled last year. This time they've stockpiled snow to ensure there's enough. Otherwise, most Italian areas will open at the end of the month or early December. The usual autumn opener Val Senales is closed until Christmas week this year due to a major lift upgrade work. As with other nations in the region, recent weeks have been colder with snow up high on Italian slopes. Switzerland Three Swiss resorts are open for the start of November, the most after Austria. However, in some autumns there have been up to 10 Swiss areas open for November 1st, so that reflects the warm autumn up to mid-October again. Among the areas delaying opening are Glacier 3000 near Gstaad and the Titlis Glacier above Engelberg, their latest revised opening date is this coming Saturday, November 4th. Glacier 3000 reported 50cm (20") of snowfall last week. H The Diavolezza Glacier near St Moritz in the Engadin did open after delays on the last weekend of October, joining Saas Fee and Zermatt. Pyrenees There are no ski areas in the Pyrenees planning to open before the final weekend of November, with most targeting one of the first two weekends in December, but some will open as soon as there's enough snowfall and that has been early November, even October some years. This October saw several snowfalls on high slopes but the bigger picture is that as yet a lot more snowfall and consistent cold temperatures for snowmaking are needed before the first centres in Spain or Andorra can open. Scandinavia Scandinavian ski areas have led the way in the early weeks of autumn 2023, at least in terms of promising pre-season weather which has been cold and snowy. So much so up in Iceland that Blafjoll ski centre groomed a slope for tourers in the middle of last month while resorts in Finland, Norway and Sweden have posted images of ever deeper snow cover on their runs. In terms of centres open already, Levi and Ruka up in Lapland began with a couple of kilometres of slopes open each made with snow saved through the summer and recycled back onto the slopes but have since opened more thanks to natural snowfall and the cold weather allowing plenty of snowmaking. Scandinavia's highest slopes at Galdhopiggen are open still in Norway at the end of its 2023 summer ski season but will close until 2024 early this month. Northern Sweden's Kabdalis has also opened for the season. The latter half of November should see many resorts across the region begin to open for 23-24. Eastern Europe Eastern European ski nations including the Czech and Slovak Republics as well as Poland, then further south in Bulgaria and even Croatia, have all reported October snowfalls before temperatures warmed again. Few, if any, are expected to open before December. But if heavy early falls do occur, several are set up to go as soon as conditions are good enough. Scotland Storm Babet in late October brought gales and terrible flooding to the Eastern Highlands, but as it cleared things turned colder and Cairngorm posted over a foot of snow at its summit. That's fairly normal for autumn in the Highlands and ski areas have managed to open some years in November, the Lecht even on Halloween on one memorable occasion, but here too it's more likely it'll be December before any lifts are running, although earlier remains a possibility if we end up with a particularly cold and snowy November North America Canada Canada has been reporting some of the coldest and snowiest weather during October and they also had the earliest named target date for a resort opening on the continent too – Saturday, November 4th 2023 for Banff's local ski hill, Mount Norquay. It has now moved that day forward to the Friday, 3rd November, having reporting cold and snowy weather to the end of October. Fellow Banff-pass resorts Lake Louise and Sunshine are due to open a week later on the 10th, the same as Calgary's nearest resort Nakiska. Marmot Basin near Jasper is currently targeting the 9th (brought forward a couple of days) then Sun Peaks probably the first in BC a week later on the 18th. The continent's biggest ski area, Whistler Blackcomb, hopes to open on the 25th. There's been some early snow in the East and the El Nino winter typically brings cold and snowy weather there. Resorts like Tremblant have snowmaking underway. Most resorts across Canada will be open before the end of the month. USA The ski season got underway in the US on the final Sunday of the month at Arapahoe Basin in Colorado with limited terrain open thanks to snowmaking. A second area, Keystone, announced on October 30th it would be opening a couple of miles of runs from 1st November after 11" of snowfall. At this point in 2022 about a dozen areas were already open. Other resorts like Loveland and, over on the east, Killington, will be aiming to open as early in November as they can and then the first of the target opening dates for big-hitters like Breckenridge, Mammoth and Vail is coming up fast, on November 10th. After that, most of the rest of America's leading ski areas will aim to open by the final week of November ahead of the Thanksgiving long holiday weekend. |
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J2Ski Snow Report October 26th 2023
Banff Sunshine Village, Alberta, Canada, looking like it's winter now... More early snows for the northern hemisphere. The Snow Headlines - October 26th - Heavy snowfall in Alberta with the start of Canada's season just a week away. - More snowfall in the Alps and Pyrenees following temperature drop. - Final areas close at end of southern hemisphere's 2023 season. - Still awaiting the first US ski area opening of 23-24 after temperatures rise in the west. - Up to a foot of snow on high slopes in Scotland at the end of storm Babet. - US East Coast ski areas see snowfall. - First resort opens for 23-24 season in Sweden. 
snow in the forecast...
World Overview The weather feels ever more wintery in the Alps now with some good snowfall reported on high slopes in recent days, including at the eight glacier areas that are already open for their 23-24 seasons. Temperatures have dropped as low as -10C and there's more snowfall forecast. Elsewhere in Europe, there's been more snowfall in the Pyrenees, down on Sierra Nevada and in Eastern Europe. Scottish slopes also saw some good fresh snow up high at the end of Storm Babet. The most wintery conditions continue to be in Scandinavia though where the first resort has opened for 23-24 in Sweden. In North America there's still no clear sign of anywhere being able to open imminently, so there's a risk that this could be the first October in a while with no ski lifts turning, although we still have a few days left and temperatures are dropping again with snow forecast in the west. There's been snowfall in the east, but just a first covering so far. Most promising at present is Alberta, Canada, where ski areas around Banff have had some good falls and the first expects to open for 23-24 a week on Saturday. All Ski areas in the southern hemisphere have now ended their 2023 season with the last few still open in Argentina and New Zealand closing at the start of this week. Europe Alps Things are looking more promising in the Alps, but it is still October. The colder weather that began a week or so back after the warm, first half of autumn has continued and after sunny times there's been some fresh snowfall, particularly on the highest slopes. It's particularly good news for already open glaciers that can now offer fresh snow to early arrivals. That's the case at Passo Stelvio in Italy, now approaching the last week of its 2023 summer ski season. It's due to be joined by a second Italian area, Sulden in Trentino, this weekend. Austria continues to be the country with the most areas open in the world. Sölden is gearing up to host the opening World Cup races of the 23-24 season this weekend, while Hintertux now has the most slopes open of anywhere in the world with 21km of piste open. You can also currently ski at the Kaunertal, Stubai or Pitztal glaciers, with a sixth option, Molltal, opening this weekend. In Switzerland, Saas Fee and Zermatt remain open, both with about 12km of slopes, with the Diavolezza glacier near St Moritz in Engadin expected to open this weekend, a fortnight later than originally planned. There's still nowhere open in France, with Tignes and Val Thorens currently expected to be the first to open there in a month's time, at the end of November. The forecast continues to look good with more snowfall expected with 5-10cm accumulations expected above 1500m on each of several days over the coming week. Scandinavia Scandinavian ski areas continue to have a wintry feel with some very cold temperatures (down to the minus teens in Lapland) and snowfall both arriving and forecast for the week ahead. Sweden's first ski opening of 23-24 happened at the weekend with Kabdalis up in Lapland opening a few runs. It joins Finland's Levi and Ruka which have seen more snowfall and look like midwinter now after starting their seasons with ribbons of white snow recycled from last winter on green/brown hillsides three weeks ago. You can also ski or board fresh snow on the still-open Galdhopiggen glacier in Norway, which is nearing the end of its six-month summer ski season. North America Canada It's looking good in Western Canada with ski areas there posting some of the biggest accumulations in the world this week, BC's Apex reporting over 30cm (a foot) of fresh snowfall with more than a month until its opening date. It's only a week though until Mount Norquay at Banff plans to open (on the 4th November) and it had a decent dump too so has the potential to be the first in North America - it's certainly the only one to name a target day for its 23-24 season opening. Lake Louise and Sunshine, also seeing snowfall, as well as Marmot Basin and Nakiska, are set to open a week later on the 10th or 11th, a fortnight away. There's been cold and a little new snow in the East, Mont Tremblant has its snow guns firing. USA An improving picture across the US over the last few days after a rather warm and sunny week slowed efforts to be the first to open. Snowmaking has restarted in Colorado where the battle continues among a few high areas (Arapahoe Basin, Loveland, Keystone among others) to be the first to open, but it's not yet certain if anyone will make it before November, the start of which is now only a few days away. With snow forecast it's still possible. Elsewhere there has been fresh snowfall, particularly in the northwest and there have also been some of the first falls of, well, Fall, in the northeast with resorts including Stowe posting pictures of slopes turning white and snow-making guns running. |
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J2Ski Snow Report October 20th 2023
Kicking Horse, BC, Canada, got a pre-season dusting this week... Winter's knocking on the door for the northern hemisphere! The Snow Headlines - October 20th - We are in the final days of the southern hemisphere's 2023 season. - Colorado ski area says it's "past halfway" with pre-season snowfall and snowmaking. - Icelandic ski area grooms run for ski tourers, after big autumn snowfall. - Colder temperatures in the Alps, some snow, but glaciers delay opening. - Scottish ski centres see first proper snow covering this autumn so far. - Fresh snow reported on ski slopes in the Czech and Slovak Republics. - Europe's most southerly major resort, Spain's Sierra Nevada, gets a little snow. - Snowfall in Bulgaria and other eastern European ski nations. 
We see snow in the forecast...
World Overview The long-awaited dip in temperatures in Europe has led to a tentative boost for those excited for the pre-season build-up. Things have continued to be the most wintry up in Scandinavia, but the start of this week also saw Austrian resorts posting pictures of fresh snow covering their higher slopes and Eastern European nations from the Czech Republic down to Bulgaria have seen their mountains turn white too. After snowfalls at the end of last week, it has been a quieter week for much of North America with lots of sunshine and warmer temperatures putting a halt to the new season build-up. But that's changing again with colder weather and fresh snowfall as we publish this week's report. Europe Alps There's finally a change for the better in the Alps and indeed across a wider area with snowfall reported on high slopes from as far south as Sierra Nevada in Spain to Spindleruv Mlyn in the Czech Republic. Temperatures finally began dropping at the weekend with Lech and Schladmng in Austria among the first to report sub-zero temperatures and snow falling by Sunday afternoon. It has stayed cold with more light snowfalls since. The snow has arrived a little too late for some of the glacier areas that have again delayed opening though, until they've had enough fresh snow to make it possible. Solden and Stubai glaciers delayed planned weekend openings while the Diavolezza glacier near St Moritz and the Titlis above Engelberg won't be opening this coming weekend as planned either, the latter rescheduling for November 4th. So far, two other Austrian areas, the Kitzsteinhorn above Kaprun and the Molltal in Carinthia both still say it's on for this weekend. There are otherwise the same six glacier areas open as a week ago. Three in Austria's Tirol – Hintertux, the Kitzsteinhorn and Pitztal; then Saas Fee and Zermatt in Switzerland and Passo Stelvio in Italy. Cervinia has also re-opened its access to the skiing above Zermatt and says it will now remain open year-round, without the spring and autumn closure periods of the past. Zermatt/Cervinia, Saas Fee and Hintertux each have 12-15km of slopes open, for the other three it's just a few miles of slopes each at present. No ski areas are expected to open in France until the final weekend of November with Les 2 Alpes earlier abandoning plans to open for a fortnight of glacier snow sports from this coming weekend. Scandinavia Northern European nations have continued to see snowfalls and low temperatures over the last week as the promising build-up to the new season continues there. Levi and Ruka in Finland have been operating for a fortnight now and they've had plenty of fresh snow on top of the slopes created using snow recycled from last winter. The Galdhopiggen glacier in Norway remains open too and even Blafjoll up in Iceland groomed a natural snow run on Saturday so that ski tourers and split-boarders had a run to ride down. Things should continue cold and snowy for the week ahead. North America Most of the good snow news in North America came just after we completed last week's report as cold weather and natural snowfall across the west of the continent continued. Up to a foot of snow fell in some high parts of the Rockies and ski areas as far south as California and New Mexico got a decent covering. Since then though things have rather warmed up, in the daytime at least, and there's been lots of sunshine across the region, so some of these early gains have been lost. But the resorts in the running to be first in Colorado, and maybe the US, to open have managed to make snowmaking progress and the likes of Arapahoe Basin and Keystone say they're now halfway to having enough snow to be able to start opening. So it's mostly a case of keeping everything crossed for another temperature drop and snow dump soon. That is already starting to happen with ski areas around Banff reporting heavy snowfall as we complete this week's report. Southern Hemisphere The southern hemisphere's 2023 season really is into its last few days now with just a few centres still operating, and all of them (at the time of writing) saying this coming weekend will be their last. Although Australian ski centres have had a second October snowfall in the past week, all have now been closed since September. However, resorts have operated into October in the Andes and New Zealand. South America's biggest ski centre, Catedral near Bariloche in Argentina, announced it would stay open another bonus week to the 22nd and the two centres on Mt Ruapehu on New Zealand's North Island, Turoa and Whakapapa, also plan to stay open until then. So it's these three areas still operating. Two other New Zealand centres, Mt Hutt and Cardrona, closed last weekend, reporting fresh snowfall on Saturday for their final days. |
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J2Ski Snow Report October 12th 2023
Cerro Catedral, Argentina, extending their season by one more week... Snow in North America, and more for Scandinavia. The Snow Headlines - October 12th - 23-24 Season underway in Scandinavia. - Final few ski centres still operating 2023 seasons in southern hemisphere. - Heaviest pre-season snowfalls yet in Western US. - Fresh snowfalls on slopes after Finnish resorts open using last winter's snow. - Japan's 23-24 ski season gets underway. - Third glacier area opens in Tirol, half of open areas are in Austrian region. - First snows of the autumn/fall in Quebec and New York State. - Argentina's Catedral extends season by a further week. 
See where it's going to snow...
World Overview Until the last 24 hours it had been a quieter week than last in the 23-24 winter build-up. In North America, there had not been much fresh snowfall until Wednesday, when up to 6" was reported in Oregon with more forecast for the coming few days. The first snowfall was reported on the East Coast, in Quebec, Ontario and further south in New England as a cold front arrived from the Arctic. More snow is now in the forecast for the Rockies. The start of winter, or even autumn temperatures, continues to be on hold in the Alps and there have been more delays to glacier openings. However, there is now a third Tirol glacier operating its ski runs, meaning half of the six open centres in the Alps are in the province. Here too the warm temperatures have finally dropped and there's snow forecast. It's been a better week further north with lots of snowfall reported for Scandinavian ski areas and the first two areas opening for 23-24 in Finland. The 2023 season continues to wind down in the southern hemisphere as springtime progresses, so much so that only two ski areas, both on one mountain on New Zealand's North Island, had been expected to be left open after the coming weekend. The last few centres still going in Argentina and Chile had all said they'd close this weekend, until the biggest, Catedral, announced it would go another week to the 22nd too. Europe Alps After the reports of record-warm September temperatures, we're unfortunately still awaiting a big change in conditions in the Alps. It's continued in the 20s Celsius in alpine valleys and well above freezing in the daytime on glaciers. Despite this Austria's Kaunertal managed to open at the weekend, a week later than planned, while Solden, due to host the opening World Cup Alpine ski races of the season in just over a week's time, postponed again. So there are now six glacier ski areas open, half of them in Tirol (the other two Hintertux and Pitztal). Austrian bases are very thin though (20-50cm) and most have just a few kilometres of slopes open. Hintertux has opened its terrain park this week for autumn freestyle. Elsewhere Passo Stelvio in Italy remains open and access to Zermatt's glacier from Cervinia on the Italian side is also believed to have re-opened, this time with no spring closure planned in 2024. Zermatt and neighbouring Saas Fee have better, metre-plus bases, reported, compared to their Austrian neighbours, and both have about 12km of slopes open. This weekend should see temperatures drop and hopefully some snowfall up high. Scandinavia The early autumn conditions are looking much more promising in Scandinavia than the Alps with fresh October snowfalls reported this week turning the slopes white at resorts like Hemsedal in Norway and giving another fresh covering at the country's Galdhopiggen summer glacier ski area which remains open to the start of November. The fresh snowfall was particularly good news for Finland's Levi and Ruka resorts which began their seven-month 23-24 ski seasons on Friday last week using 'farmed' snow stockpiled from last winter and spread back out on the slopes. They then had fresh snowfall on top on Saturday morning with the surrounding land going from autumnal brown to white. North America It had been a drier and warmer week in western North America until Wednesday when a cold front brought a drop in temperature and fresh snowfall across the region. Mount Bachelor in Oregon reported a 6" accumulation by Wednesday evening. There's also been some fresh snow reported in California, Utah, Colorado and other ski states as well as up in Alberta and BC in Canada. There's now significant snowfall forecast for the US Rockies to end this week, potentially up to two feet on high slopes in Colorado, and there's good news from the East Coast where cold northerly winds have brought the first snow to higher slopes in Eastern Canada, including Quebec's Mont Tremblant, and further south in the US where a few centimetres dusted peaks at Whiteface mountain in New York state. Southern Hemisphere We're really into the final days of the season for most of the half-dozen ski areas still open in the southern hemisphere. Among those coming up to a final weekend are Chile's Antillanca and Argentina's Las Lenas. Cerro Catedral near Bariloche, also the southern hemisphere's largest ski area, which was due to close this Sunday, announced it will now stay open another week to the 22nd. It's kept 30km of slopes open. For New Zealand, it's the final weekend for Mt Hutt and Cardrona, although Mt Hutt now says it'll close two days earlier than planned, this Friday. For most still-open areas temperatures have been staying low overnight, still getting down around freezing, there have even been snow showers reported (unlike Europe's Alps) but daytime highs, particularly on lower runs, have been +5C to +10C meaning the end is nigh. The only two ski areas besides Catedral planning to stay open after this weekend are both in New Zealand, both on the North Island and both on the same Volcano, Ruapehu. Whakapapa is expecting to go one more week to Sunday 22nd then Turoa a couple of days later to the 24th, making it last to close in the southern hemisphere. |
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