Messages posted by : admin
|
J2Ski Snow Report October 5th 2023
Ruka, Finland, about to start the season with snow from last winter... A little snow in North America, and inbound for Scandinavia. The Snow Headlines - October 5th - Increasingly heavy snowfall at altitude and northerly latitudes in North America. - Final few weeks of southern hemisphere's season; Portillo and Treble Cone close for 2023. - Glacier season in the Alps stalls after more warm weather, three areas delay opening. - First snowfall on high slopes in California. - Snowfall in Australia after the season ends. - Les 2 Alpes cancels plans to offer skiing in October. - First snowfall in Japan. 
Snow for Scandinavia! But not much elsewhere, yet...
World Overview Autumn/fall coming in for the northern hemisphere, springtime in the southern. Probably the most noticeable change this week has been in North America where there have been more snowfalls right down to California and New Mexico. There's nowhere open there yet but skiers have hiked up to record first turns on the thin cover and the snowmaking guns have fired up two miles high in Colorado as the race to be the earliest opener for 23-24 gets underway. It's a different story in the Alps alas where mostly warm, dry conditions continue, eventually leading all the glacier areas that had planned to open last weekend to postpone and Les 2 Alpes, which had been due to be first in France to open later this month, to announce that it won't now be opening until December. It's cold and snowy up in Scandinavia though where Finland's first centres are just opening this weekend thanks to recycling last season's stored snow. It's not a lot better in Asia but a dusting of snow has been spotted (a few weeks later than usual) on Mt Fuji and the Yeti centre on its lower slopes will open this weekend, in its case thanks to an all-weather snowmaking system that has seen it open first in the country every season for almost three decades. Last weekend saw most ski areas in the Andes and New Zealand end their seasons or switch to weekends only for a few more weeks, but there are about a dozen areas still open, in most cases either to this coming weekend or the one after. A few in New Zealand hope to make it to the latter half of the month. Ironically Australia, where the season ended early in late September after an often warm winter, saw fresh snowfall on Thursday morning, although not enough to have changed things. Europe Alps Unfortunately, much of the past week has not been good news for the early-season openers with more above-freezing temperatures on glaciers and lots of sunshine. So it was that the three Austrian areas that had planned to join already open Hintertux and Pitztal decided to postpone. At the time of writing, Solden and Kaunertal plan to open this coming weekend, while the Kitzsteinhorn had delayed to the 14th when the Molltal and Stubai glaciers also plan to open. It has been getting cooler, so they may still do it, but there's not been much snowfall to report, and Hintertux and Pitztal are making do with just 10-25cm (4-76 inch) bases! The numbers are much better in Switzerland were Saas Fee and Zermatt have 1-2 metres lying. For Italy, Passo Stelvio is the only place open still, having re-opened a second time after warm weather closure. It has snow lying a foot deep and about a third of its terrain open. For France, there remains nowhere currently open, and Les 2 Alpes announced on Thursday that its plan to open in just over a fortnight, for a fortnight of skiing, has been axed as the forecast isn't looking overly promising. It's still expected to be predominantly sunny for the coming week – so it also remains to be seen if Kaunertal and Solden will still open on Saturday as (at the time of writing) they say they will. Scandinavia Finland's Levi and Ruka ski areas are opening for their 23-24 seven-month ski seasons this Friday 6th October. Both stockpiled more than 100,000 cubic metres from last season under covers through the autumn and have spent the last week spreading it back out on the slopes to create a few kilometres of runs. Meanwhile, the Galdhopiggen glacier, Scandinavia's highest ski area, has re-opened for the final month of its 2023 season and there was fresh snow falling on skiers or boarders there last weekend. North America It has been a more promising week in North America than much of Europe with ski resorts across the Western side of the continent reporting increasingly frequent and heavier 'dustings'. At Mammoth Mountain first tracks were spotted on a thin layer of fresh snow on top of a surviving snow patch from last season on Monday, then on Tuesday ski patrollers at Silverton Mountain in Colorado posted pictures of their first runs on what appeared more substantial cover. In Utah, several resorts reported snow from top to bottom and ski areas across the Rockies posted images of snow and fall colours on their slopes. Temperatures dropped to -5C overnight on high slopes in Colorado and resorts including Arapahoe Basin and Loveland turned snowmaking systems on with the official aim of creating bases for the first runs of the season. Clear skies are forecast for the coming week in the Rockies with overnight lows of -2 to -6C, daytime highs around +12C Southern Hemisphere The 2023 season is over in Australia (as of late September) and we're down to single figures for the number of ski areas still open in the Andes and New Zealand as spring continues to take its hold. A dozen or so more did make it to Sunday, October 1st, but some big-name areas including Chile's Portillo and Treble Cone in New Zealand both ended their seasons then. Some New Zealand centres plan to stay open until the final week of October and half a dozen ski areas in the Andes plan to be open through this coming weekend or next. They've been helped in Chile by continuing low temperatures and in Argentina by some fresh snow flurries. New Zealand's ski areas have had it all meanwhile, with gale closures, warm temperatures, but then freezing weather and light snowfalls too. The week ahead appears to be more of the same as the underlying temperatures inexorably rise. So where's still open? In Chile, Corralco is open until Sunday and Valle Nevado next Monday, with some reports suggesting Antillanca and La Parva will continue until the 15th. For Argentina, the southern hemisphere's biggest ski area Catedral, near the ski town of Bariloche, plans to stay open to the 15th and is offering locals free skiing for the final fortnight of the season. For New Zealand Cardrona, Mt Hutt and The Remarkables are open to the 15th too, then the final areas left open in the southern hemisphere will be on Mount Ruapehu on the country's north island. Whakapapa is aiming for the 22nd, Turoa the 24th. |
|
|
Henry's Avalanche Talk launches new webinars and 2023 UK tour including Kendal Mountain Festival
Supported by Ellis Brigham, ORTOVOX and the Ski Club of Great Britain 
- NEW webinars launched, free of charge - Live talks in 3 cities presented by Henry Schniewind - Henry speaks at The Kendal Mountain Festival - Emphasis on the risk of skiing or snowboarding off-piste - How will climate change affect snow conditions in the Alps Henry's Avalanche Talk (HAT), the organisation that helps off-piste skiers with essential training and advice, has launched its new 2023 UK autumn tour as well as a series of new online free webinars. During the webinars, Henry Schniewind, founder of HAT, will help to answer the question about what the risk of skiing or snowboarding in off-piste terrain actually is. The aim of HAT is to educate skiers and snowboarders so that when heading into off-piste terrain, the risk is no more than driving a vehicle on UK roads, which are some of the safest statistically in the world. The key to HAT's message is in the application of knowledge, something that initially sounds obvious but is what is often missing in many avalanche incidents that often involve highly experienced skiers and snowboarders, including mountain guides. The four online webinars precede the UK tour which includes HAT's Essentials Talk (for anyone considering heading off-piste) and In-Depth Talk (for those that have already attended at least one Essentials Talk). The tour also includes a number of Avalanche Transceiver Training sessions where participants can learn and practice the rescue techniques used with a search beacon in the event of a victim burial – something which HAT strives to prevent in the first place. There's also a scheduled slot for Henry at the Kendal Mountain Festival on Saturday November 18, 2.45pm. This is titled: SAFETY IS FREEDOM presented by ORTOVOX & Henry's Avalanche Talk and takes place on the Basecamp Stage and designed to give festival goers a framework to help them benefit most from their time off-piste and when ski touring.
During the webinars, Henry will also touch on the impact of climate change on snow conditions and how this might affect decision making in the future. Henry said: "It's obviously hard to predict what kind of winter we will have in advance but the obvious thing for people to think is that with climate change, we might get less snow and therefore less avalanches. But this is not necessarily the case, it's more complex and in certain conditions, a warmer climate could cause a number of things, including more precipitation, which during the winter would be snowfall, at higher altitudes". Henry will be presenting the live webinars and all of the talks in person – participants can register on the HAT website. ORTOVOX Off Piste Awareness Tour 2023 schedule 
WEBINAR EVENTS – start times all 6pm, webinars run for approximately 45 minutes including Q&A's and discussions. Cost, free of charge - October Thursday 5th, Tuesday 10th, Monday 16th and Monday 23rd Register: henrysavalanchetalk.com/uk-events/safety-is-freedom-webinar-programme ESSENTIALS TALK – talks are held in Ellis Brigham stores. Cost, £19.50 per person, with reductions for buying 2 or more tickets. This includes a copy of the HAT Pocket Guide and NEW Safety Rescue Card. - Covent Garden, London – Monday 30th October, 8pm - St Pauls, London – Wednesday 1st November, 7.15pm - Manchester – Monday 13th November, 6.30pm - Glasgow – Monday 20th November, 8.15pm Register: henrysavalanchetalk.com/uk-events/essential-talks IN-DEPTH TALK – talks are held in Ellis Brigham stores. Cost, £19.50 per person, with reductions for buying 2 or more tickets. This includes a copy of the HAT Pocket Guide and NEW Safety Rescue Card. - Covent Garden, London – Tuesday 31st October, 8pm - St Pauls, London – Thursday 2nd November, 7.15pm - Manchester – Tuesday 14th November, 6.30pm - Glasgow – Tuesday 21st November, 8.15pm Register: henrysavalanchetalk.com/uk-events/in-depth-talks KENDAL MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL – the UK's biggest adventure festival. November 16-19, Kendal, Lake District. SAFETY IS FREEDOM presented by ORTOVOX & Henry's Avalanche Talk, Saturday November 18, 2.45pm, Basecamp Stand. Register here: kendalmountainfestival.com AVALANCHE TRANSCEIVER TRAINING – these are outdoor events and all start at 11.30am and run for 3 hours. Cost, £75 per person, including transceiver hire if required. Also includes Henry's Accident Reduction card plus the NEW Safety Rescue card and the ORTOVOX Academy Safety booklet. - Wimbledon, London – 7th October - Wimbledon, London – 4th November - Wimbledon, London – 12th November - Wimbledon, London – 26th November - Wimbledon, London – 30th December - Manchester – 18th November - Manchester – 19th November - Sandbanks, Poole – 5th November - Sandbanks, Poole – 25th November - Sandbanks, Poole – 29th December Register: henrysavalanchetalk.com/uk-events/transceivertraining  |
|
|
J2Ski's Where to Ski in October 2023
Mount Ruapehu, NZ, set to enjoy a couple more weeks of Spring skiing... We're at that point in the year when anticipation for the start of the 2023-24 ski season is growing by the day in the northern hemisphere, while in the south skiers and boarders are hoping for late-season snowfalls and season extensions. In fact, the 23-24 season is already underway in Europe and with some centres open through the summer, a couple of them carrying on into 2024, it is difficult to say exactly when it did begin. After Saas-Fee opened for its 23-24 season in mid-July not a lot changed until the last week of September when three Austrian glacier areas opened. This month should see that rate of opening gradually accelerate with more countries seeing their first lifts turning, so it definitely feels like about now. It's much too early to draw any conclusions but between spells of warmer, drier weather than we'd like, there have been snowfalls reported up high in the Alps, Dolomites, Pyrenees and Scandinavia in Europe and across Western North American mountains. In the southern hemisphere the number of areas open after Sunday, October 1st, will probably be countable on two hands. All of Australia's centres have closed, earlier than expected, due to warm weather there, but a handful of centres in Argentina and New Zealand, plus perhaps one in Chile, are expected to stay open for one or two weeks into October, with the last on Mt Ruapehu in New Zealand targeting the 24th for its closing day.
Northern Hemisphere The Alps The Alps will be the focus of ski area openings in Europe and perhaps the whole northern hemisphere as October progresses. Fewer glacier areas are expected to open than previous years for various reasons, the main one being climate change, and many of those that are, are opening later into autumn than before for that same reason. October 2023 arrives after another predominantly warm and mostly dry summer in the Alps. Glaciers which were once reliably sub-zero for much of the year, have seen continuing double-digit daytime temperatures even at 3000-4000m so the big picture isn't good. The final two days of September were supposed to see three Austrian glaciers start their seasons, but all three have now delayed with no real sign of cold or snow at the start of October so far. Looking for the positive though, spring 2023 was colder and snowier than recent years and some glaciers like Saas Fee and Zermatt built up snow cover that has not yet melted. Temperatures are cooling too and there have been several periods of snowfall between the prolonged warm spells. Besides the two Swiss centres, due to be joined by Engelberg's Titlis glacier originally on October 7th, but now rescheduled to the 21st, Italy's Passo Stelvio summer ski area is due to be open all month, and Cervinia should re-open its lift service to the Matterhorn Glacier paradise area it shares with Zermatt from the middle of the month. However, Val Senales (Schnalstal) which would normally open in September, plans not to open until December this winter due to cable car renovation work. Austria looks set to have more ski centres open than any other country for much of October 2023, starting this week, with two glaciers to choose from (both in Tirol). Two of the three glaciers that postponed opening at the end of September, Kaunertal and Solden, to the 7th October (hopefully) are also in Tirol, which could mean that by next weekend, 4 of 9 ski areas open in the northern hemisphere are in that one Austrian province. Of the two already open, Hintertux has just about scraped through the warm summer with a 10cm base claimed and about 10km of slopes open, while recently opened Pitztal starts October with a 15cm base and 3km of slopes. Solden is due to stage the opening World Cup Alpine ski racing events of the season on its glacier, as usual, later this month. More Austrian areas will open in the middle of the month, all being well, with three more glaciers aiming to open from the 14th – the Kitzsteinhorn (the third of those postponing from September), Molltal and Stubai. The former earlier season starter of Dachstein has given up on downhill skiing however and is having its lifts dismantled. Kitzbuhel also seems to have given up on its aim of October opening, saying it won't open until well into November this year. Finally, France currently has nowhere open but Les 2 Alpes hopes to offer glacier skiing for a 2 week opening from the 21st, if conditions are right. Tignes, which formerly opened in late September then early October has now given up on autumn opening, aiming for late November instead. The warm September temperatures for glaciers seem to have particularly impacted France so this looks like a wise move this autumn at least. Scandinavia Spirits rose in Scandinavia in the last few weeks when late summer snowfall in Lapland made it down to the valley floor, and further south in Norway and Sweden turned peaks white. As we start October only the Galdhopiggen glacier in Norway, Scandinavia's highest lift-accessed ski slopes, is officially open, although September saw a lot of closure days. It is due to remain open all month, however. Next up are expected to be the Finnish resorts of Levi and Ruka, both due to begin their 7-month seasons on the 6th. They use snow from last season, stockpiled under cover through the summer and began to spread back over 100,000 cubic metres back out on the slopes to make runs a few kilometres long. After these ski centres start opening across Scandinavia from early next month. North America There have been high-altitude snowfalls on ski slopes across Canada and the USA through September. Some in states and provinces like Alberta, Colorado and Utah have seen multiple snowfalls. Most have melted away but it's now getting cold enough for the snow to last in some places and for high resorts in Colorado like Arapahoe Basin, Keystone and Loveland, to get snowmaking started. There's always a battle to be first in the US to open and that can happen before mid-October in a good year. Consistent cold temperatures are key and it's usually one of the two-mile-high centres in Colorado that's first with a full opening, although some resorts in the Midwest have managed to open limited terrain with snowmaking first some years recently. Banff is looking particularly good with Sunshine seeing multiple September snowfalls, the last leaving about a 4" depth. So overall at this point the signs are good but exactly which way it will go (some years nowhere opens until the last days of October or even the start of November) remains unknown at this point. The only snow skiing currently open on the continent is indoors at Big Snow in New Jersey. North of the border, unless there's a shock early snowfall, nowhere is expected to open until the ski areas around Banff set the lifts moving around November 10th this year. Southern Hemisphere As we start October 2023 there are more areas open in the southern hemisphere than northern – just, but by the first full weekend it seems likely that position will be reversed and by the end of the month there'll be nowhere left open in the southern hem. The current position is that all of Australia's areas had closed by 25th September – including several that had planned to stay open into October, but all were beaten by warm, temperatures. We're left with South America and New Zealand, both of which saw cold temperatures and considerable snowfall in September. However most ski centres there will be closing on October 1st, if they have not already, including some big names like Las Lenas and Portillo. We're likely to be down to single figures across Argentina, Chile and New Zealand for the number of areas open with the last target opening date anywhere currently 24th October, but all but one centre having closed by the 15th.. New Zealand New Zealand perhaps has the strongest hand of the southern hemisphere's still-open-for-2023 ski nations. It saw some great snowfalls in the final weeks of September and low temperatures too ...albeit against the inevitable springtime rise in temperatures and some gale force winds thrown into the mix too. Although most Kiwi ski areas have now closed for the season (or will on the 1st), Cardrona, Mt Hutt and The Remarkables are aiming to continue for another fortnight to the 15th. Then over on Mt Ruapehu on the North Island, Whakapapa and Turoa are expected to be the last two centres open in the country (and the southern hemisphere), aiming for the 22nd and 24th of October respectively, if there are no season extensions. The snow is still 2 metres deep at Turoa and Mt Hutt so anything is possible. Argentina Most of Argentina's ski areas are expected to close after October 1st, however, the largest centre, Catedral, near Bariloche, plans to stay open until the 15th, having announced a week's season extension. The country had a fairly cold and snowy September so conditions are pretty good with the snow still a metre deep up high and more terrain open here than anywhere else in the world at present, about 50km of slopes. Chile Chile has three or four centres planning to stay open to the first or second weekend of October (the 8th or 15th), although Portillo, which reported a 1.6m (over 5 feet) snow accumulation in the latter half of last month and is one of the few resorts posting a 2m+ base depth worldwide, isn't one of them, but like most of the country's centres plans to close on the 1st. Corralco is aiming to stay open to the 8th though and La Parva and Antillanca to the 15th. |
|
|
J2Ski Snow Report September 28th 2023
The sun rises on late-season snow at Mount Hutt, New Zealand. Snow in New Zealand, and more early promise for Europe. The Snow Headlines - September 28th - Up to half a metre of late-season snowfall in New Zealand. - Snowfall on high slopes in the Alps and Dolomites. - Many southern hemisphere ski areas including Portillo end seasons this week. - Solden opening for 23-24 season this weekend. - More pre-season snowfall for high slopes across Western North America. - Passo Stelvio re-opens for summer skiing, again. - Tirol set to have as many centres open from Monday as rest of northern hem combined. 
A quiet week for snow, worldwide, but see what's forecast next...
World Overview There's been plenty of snowfall on higher slopes in Europe and North America to mark the first week of autumn/fall by the astronomical measure of the seasons. In Europe, the snowfall has mostly been above about 1500m altitude in the Alps and Dolomites but reached lower elevations further north in Scandinavia. More glacier ski areas have begun opening for their seasons in the Alps with Finland's first centres due to join them at the end of next week. In the southern hemisphere, the start of springtime coincided with an unexpectedly generous snowfall in New Zealand, with some centres reporting half-a-metre of fresh snowfall. However, it was less good news for Australia where the last centre that had soldiered on, Perisher, closed early for the season on Monday. The only countries where ski areas are still open for 2023, in the southern hemisphere are Argentina, Chile and New Zealand. Most of the centres that are still open in these three countries will close on October 1st, this coming Sunday, although some will continue to at least the middle of next month, conditions permitting. Southern Hemisphere New Zealand It's been another weather roller coaster for New Zealand's ski areas with heavy rain for some as a major storm system moved in at the end of last week, but that turned into a serious springtime snow dump with several resorts posting half a metre of snowfall. That snow came too late for Coronet Peak though which had already announced it was closing early, but for resorts like Mount Hutt brought great powder conditions for the weekend. Things have been drier after the storms a week ago, but gale-force winds continue to plague some centres. Temperatures continue to get below freezing overnight but climb to +6C to +8C in the afternoons. More than half of the country's centres will be closed for 2023 by the end of the ski day on Sunday, but there'll also be more centres open later into October than anywhere else south of the equator. Cardrona, Mt Hutt, and The Remarkables are aiming for the 15th and Whakapapa and Turoa on Mt Ruapehu on the North island hope to make it to the 22nd and 24th of next month respectively, making them last to close, as usual, in the southern hemisphere. Argentina A largely dry week for Argentina after the heavy snowfall of mid-September. Most of the country's centres report good conditions but despite this, the majority expect to close at the end of Sunday. The only centre that has confirmed plans to stay open for a further fortnight is South America's largest, Catedral, near Bariloche, which continues to post the most terrain open in the world at present – about 60km of slopes/half its full terrain – and the snow still lying over a metre deep up high. Chile After the big snowfalls of recent weeks, it has been a mostly dry and sunny seven days for Chile's ski areas. The season is in full wind-down now with the country's best-known centre Portillo, also posting the country's deepest snowpack at over 2 metres, announcing it will close at the end of Sunday, October 1st. Several others have similar plans but at least three plan to continue later into October with Corralco open to the 8th and La Parva aiming to keep operating until the middle of the month. For now, it should continue dry and although daytime temperatures are rising, overnight lows are still getting below freezing. Europe Alps The Alps had a welcome dump of snow at the end of last week, bringing to an end a fortnight or so of warm, sunny weather, following which it's been mixed but temperatures are getting back below freezing overnight on glaciers. The Pitztal glacier, in Tirol, started its season with fresh snow on Saturday, joining Hintertux to give Austria two open centres, equalling Switzerland where Saas Fee and Zermatt both remain open. Solden is due to join them this weekend, and Kaunertal a week later. In Italy, Passo Stelvio announced its re-opening on Sunday following around a 10 day closure, its second of its 2023 season, due to warm weather in the first half of this month. Temperatures have been particularly dry and sunny on French glaciers since the weekend making it look like Tignes decision not to try to open for autumn glacier skiing any more was a good one. Scandinavia After the snowfall down to village level in Lapland, and snow crowning the fells of northern Norway and Sweden too, it has remained cold with snow flurries up high in Scandinavia's ski regions. The Galdhopiggen glacier in Norway should be re-opening imminently for its final month of 2023, but otherwise, the two leading Finnish ski centres of Levi and Ruka are scheduled to open in just a week's time using snow stockpiled from last winter, stored undercover through the summer, then spread back out on the slopes over the past few weeks to create runs about 2km long each. North America More promising signs for ski centres in western Canada and the USA with plenty more areas posting images of snowfall on their higher slopes. For some like Big Sky in Montana and The Palisades in California, this was the first time of this autumn/fall, for others like Sunshine in Alberta it is the third or fourth time already and the snow cover is looking more serious – the start of the season is 6 weeks away here. Meanwhile several of the world's highest ski areas in Colorado, and candidates for being the first in North America to open for the 23-24 season - next month if conditions are good - began rolling out and testing snowmaking machines. Arapahoe Basin made some snow at the weekend but the issue for now is that although sub-zero overnight two miles up in the Rockies, it's still warm in the daytime so any snow made goes. But it is getting cooler. There's nowhere open in North America yet though, other than New Jersey's Big Snow indoor centre. |
|
|
J2Ski Snow Report September 21st 2023
Portillo, Chile, has had yet more snow this week... Snow in South America, and some early snow showers in Europe. The Snow Headlines - September 21st - Austria's Pitztal Glacier expected to open for the season this weekend. - Chile's Portillo reports 1.6m of snowfall from storm, and access road reopens. - Fresh snowfall on high slopes in Colorado. - All but one Australian ski area close early for the season. - Italy's Passo Stelvio glacier closes (again) due to warm temperatures. - Mt Ruapehu announces season will last to October 24th - latest in southern hem. 
Snow forecasts; they are a changing...
World Overview The southern hemisphere's 2023 season is winding down with the usual mix of some resorts closing earlier than forecast due to warm weather, as has happened in Australia, and others announcing extended seasons to mid-October, as has happened in the Andes. For New Zealand, the main weather factor this past week has been strong winds closing slopes, but otherwise, it's still fairly wintery and most centres remain open. In the northern hemisphere, it is mostly about anticipation for the start of the 23-24 season with four more glacier resorts in the Alps due to open by the end of this month. Some glacier centres that are supposed to be open are now temporarily closed due to warmth at high altitudes earlier in September. It has got colder again with snow flurries up high. In North America, snowmaking is expected to start in a little over a week's time, with centres hoping to open as early as possible in Colorado. There's been more fresh natural snowfall there in the past week but lower daytime temperatures need to be seen. Southern Hemisphere Australia The battle against the warmer-than-average late season has been lost by four more areas; Falls Creek, Mount Buller, Hotham and Thredbo, joining already closed Mount Baw Baw and Selwyn Resort after the weekend. Closure was expected for Mt Buller but for the others, it comes two weeks earlier than planned. Falls Creek was the latest to close, on Wednesday, meaning Perisher is the only centre still open, albeit with reduced terrain and difficult conditions due to the warm spring temperatures. It announced on Thursday that its last day will be next Monday 25th, a week earlier than planned and the end of Australia's 2023 season. New Zealand Temperatures are warming in New Zealand but here most areas remain open, or trying to be, the major issue of the last seven days again being very strong winds which have led to lost ski days as lifts and runs have closed for safety reasons. Most centres are hoping to make it to October with Mount Hutt on the South Island and Mount Ruapehu on the North aiming to stay open to the 15th and 24th of next month respectively, meaning they'd be among the last in the southern hemisphere to close for the 2023 season. Wintery conditions are forecast for the next few days with snow showers and continuing very low overnight temperatures (-10C possible) and daytime highs only getting a few degrees above freezing. Argentina Winter is continuing in the Andes with some big snowfalls over the past week, particularly up to last weekend. Most of Argentina's areas are open for another week or two with the largest in South America, Catedral, announcing it will stay open to mid-October. It continues to offer the most terrain open in the world at present, with around 70km of slopes (60% of its terrain). Las Leñas in Patagonia to the south has a similar percentage of its terrain open and some of the deepest snow in the world at present, still around 2 metres deep on its upper runs. Conditions have been a little warmer and drier in recent days so it appears spring may finally be here. Chile Chile's ski areas continue to see some of the best conditions of the season in the final month of winter, with some big storm totals over the past few weeks. Portillo put a number on theirs up to last weekend – 1.6 metres or just over five feet. The past few days have been quieter in the north but snow is falling again at ski areas like Nevados de Chillan further south and conditions are expected to remain changeable with temperatures typically in the -5 to +5C range over the coming week too. Europe Alps We are at the point in the year when the number of ski areas open in the northern hemisphere starts to grow as high glacier resorts begin opening for their seasons. First up is due to be the Pitztal Glacier in Austria's Tirol this coming Saturday and three more areas (the Kitzsteinhorn above Kaprun, the Kaunertal glacier and Solden's glacier - ahead of it staging the first World Cup races of the 23-24 season in just a month's time) on the final weekend of the month. The good news is that after a fortnight of above-average temperatures which saw highs in double figures on glaciers in the afternoon and overnight lows remaining above freezing, things have cooled a good deal in recent days and snow flurries have returned to give fresh cover. It's a bit late for Italy's Passo Stelvio unfortunately, which has temporarily closed until there's a significant improvement. With Cervinia's access to the glacier skiing above it and Zermatt itself also closed at present, it means there's no skiing in Italy right now. What is open, just about, is the year-round Hintertux glacier – although it's reporting a super thin, icy base and just a few kilometres of slopes open. The picture at Saas Fee and Zermatt looks brighter, both with around 12km of slopes open and around 2 metre bases, although Saas Fee has noted their's dropping considerably over the past few weeks. Scandinavia Norway's Galdhøpiggen summer ski area, Scandinavia's highest, should be open but has been closed for a few weeks as more wintery weather is awaited. It's looking promising for reopening later this week. Meanwhile we're a fortnight off the start of the season in Finnish Lapland where Levi and Ruka are prepping their huge piles of snow saved through summer after stockpiling last winter. They'll be spread back out to create a few kilometres of runs at each from October 6th. North America There's been fresh snowfall on high slopes in the Colorado Rockies for the second time in a week, with Arapahoe Basin, Aspen, Keystone and Loveland among those posting images of white peaks again. Wednesday saw reports of widespread snowfall on high slopes in western Canada and the north western US. Overnight lows have been at or below freezing but daytime highs continue to get 5-10 degrees above so most snow that falls doesn't hang around. Things are getting cooler though and several of the aforementioned ski areas hope to begin snowmaking in a week or so with a view to start their 23-24 seasons in around a month's time. |
|
|
J2Ski Snow Report September 14th 2023
Mount Hutt, New Zealand, on a less-windy day this week... Yet more snow in South America, and a late season freshen-up for Oz. The Snow Headlines - September 14th - Australian ski areas see end-of-season snowfall. - Temperatures drop and snow falls high in the Alps after another warm spell. - More big snowfalls in the Andes as season end nears, up to 60cm in 48 hours. - New Zealand's ski areas have good spring snow, but issues with gales. - Argentina's largest ski area extends season to mid-October. - First snow on Colorado's high peaks for 23-24 pre-season. - Portillo in Chile's season-to-date snowfall total passes 6 metres (20 feet). 
See where the snow is forecast to fall next...
World Overview We're in to 'autumn proper' next week in the northern hemisphere as the astronomical measure of the season catches up with the meteorological version. The signs that winter is on its way are fairly promising again with temperatures dropping in Europe and North America, albeit following warmer-than-average weather up high again in the Alps last week. Colorado saw its first covering of snow on high slopes on Monday. In Europe more glacier ski areas are due to start their 23-24 seasons from the weekend after next, so we're very close now. For the southern hemisphere, it is, of course, springtime that's here, but ironically it seems to be more wintery than it was for much of actual winter in the Andes and New Zealand. There's been another half metre of snow in Chile and even Australia, where centres have been battling above-average temperatures for months. The season end is still arriving fast though with most ski areas set to close over the next three weekends. Southern Hemisphere Australia There was good news for Australia's beleaguered ski centres in the final days of last week with up to 28cm of snowfall (that's almost a foot) reported, giving a great boost to cover for one of the final weekends of the season there. Mount Buller said that as a result, it will be staying open longer than planned, to this coming Sunday, September 17th. After that, it's joining Selwyn Resort and Mt Baw Baw in closing its 2023 season. It, like other Aussie areas, has greatly cut back on its open terrain. Perisher, which is one of the Australian areas aiming to stay open to the start of October and the only one reporting more than a metre of snow depth still on its upper slopes has about 24km/15 miles of runs available. Mount Hotham, also aiming to stay open to October 1st, notes it only really has beginner and intermediate runs still open. It could be a stretch as after the weekend cold snap it's now getting back well into double-digit plus temperatures by the afternoons although overnight lows continue to drop back below freezing. New Zealand New Zealand's ski areas are certainly enjoying a much better latter half of the season than the first half. Unlike ski areas in Australia or many in the Andes, almost all of its centres are not only still open but most have at least 90% of their terrain open, several 100% - the highest percentages anywhere of the 2023 season. But it has been warming a bit and the first smaller club field areas have announced their seasons are over or ending soon. Snow depths are generally pretty good with Mount Hutt on the south island and Turoa on the north posting the two deepest bases at present in the world at around 215cm and 245cm respectively. Much of the past week has been cold with snow showers, the only real negative has been strong winds at times closing centres temporarily. Temperatures staying low but looking drier into the weekend. Argentina It looks like a good final few weeks of the season in Argentina with base depths the best they've been all season and some centres reporting more terrain open now than they've had all winter. Catedral near Bariloche continues to post the most terrain open at present in the country/world with about 50 miles of runs skiable. On Thursday it announced it was extending its season to stay open for another month, to October 15th. Las Lenas has the country's deepest snow with nearly 2 metres lying on its higher runs and more in the mountains above, famed for their freeriding. Another metre was reported to have fallen on Sunday-Monday. Chile It has been a great week in Chile with plenty more snowfall, even as spring arrives. Portillo posted the most, more than half a metre going into the weekend and further snow showers since, only now is the sun returning. It's posting one of the three deepest snow depths in the world at present and says it has gone through the six-metre mark for snowfall so far this season, a pretty healthy number. Most Chilean ski areas remain open and have been reporting powder conditions over the last few days. Some, in fact, got too much snow too fast with La parva warning of high avalanche danger after 40cm fell in just a few hours on Monday, destabilising the snow pack. Europe Alps The same four ski areas remain open in the Alps, and thankfully conditions are getting colder again after a few weeks of warm, sunny weather, even at very high altitudes as was the case in July and August, following the end of summer temperature dip and snowfall now a fortnight back. Saas Fee and Zermatt in Switzerland appear to be in the best shape with about 12km of slopes open each and the snow lying two metres deep on their glaciers, the deepest by far in Europe. Temperatures have been dropping back below freezing overnight over the last few days and there have even been snow flurries. Access to Zermatt's glacier ski slopes from Cervinia, just over the Italian border, officially ended last weekend, but is due to recommence in mid-October and from then on remain open year-round. What's open is much more limited and bases much thinner (3-4km of runs and 20-30cm depths) at Italy's Passo Stelvio and Astria's Hintertux glaciers. Four more Austrian ski areas are still aiming to open the weekend after next or the final weekend of the month which will double the numbers open by the end of the month if conditions allow. The Pitztal Glacier is up next then Kaunertal, Kitzsteinhorn and Solden aim to join on the final Saturday of the month. Scandinavia Alas, warmer temperatures last weekend led the only area currently open in Scandinavia, the Galdhopiggen glacier in Norway, to temporarily close. It's cooler and even snowing there again now though. Its season lasts through to early November. We're less than three weeks away from opening day for Ruka and Levi in Lapland, Finland, which have begun preparations to roll out the vast piles of snow saved from last season back out to create new runs for the autumn from October 6th. North America After the dustings of snowfall on high slopes last week in Oregon and Utah in the US and in Alberta, Canada, around Banff, temperatures have stayed fairly cool in the mountains of the west, getting below freezing overnight above around 10,000 feet/3,000 meters in fact. Ski areas in Colorado posted images of their first snow coverings of the season on high slopes at the start of the week at Breckenridge, Copper, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin. Snowmaking is expected to get underway up high in Colorado in just over a fortnight's time with some of the same resorts that saw the snow this week aiming to open in the latter half of next month if conditions allow. Ski areas in the Midwest have similar target opening dates if temperatures drop low enough for early autumn/fall snowmaking. |
|
|
J2Ski Snow Report September 7th 2023
Mount Ruapehu, New Zealand, looking good... More snow in South America, some forecast for NZ, warming in Oz. The Snow Headlines - September 7th - Australian areas hit by warm weather with several closing... - Portillo announce powder alarm with 31cm of snowfall in 24 hours. - Zermatt opens year-round beginners' snow park on Italian border. - Snowfall in the Rockies for Utah, USA and Alberta, Canada. - Another big snowfall in the Andes. - Italy's Passo Tonale reopens for summer skiing after snowfall and temperature drop. - Hail like snow coats Portugal's ski slope. 
More snow for South America, and a top-up for New Zealand on the way.
World Overview As the southern hemisphere's meteorological springtime and the northern hemisphere's autumn/fall begin to gather pace we're seeing all kinds of weather arriving on mountains right around the world. The Andes, for example, have seen more heavy snowfall up high, but as temperatures gradually warm, some areas have sadly seen heavy rain too. In the USA there's been more snowfall on high slopes as the 23-24 season starts gets nearer; just dustings so far but good for building anticipation levels before the snowmaking guns start firing in a few more weeks. In Australia there's a definite 'end of the season' feel with warm weather and wet snow forcing resorts to close large swathes of their terrain and some to close entirely. In the European Alps, the late summer snow a week ago has enabled one (temporarily) closed summer glacier area to reopen. For real novelty, Portugal's only ski area (Serra Estrela) posted white ski slopes on September 2nd, saying it was down to a huge hail storm, not snow though! Across in North America snowfall was reported earlier this week on high slopes in Utah and then in the past 24 hours at resorts around Banff in Alberta, Canada. It looks like the next few weeks are going to be bumpy for weather changes as the northern hemisphere's 23-24 season nears and the southern hemisphere's 23 season winds down. So buckle up! Southern Hemisphere Australia It's been another warm and sunny week in Australia with daytime temperatures reaching high single figures. This, combined with what showers there have been in recent weeks falling as rain rather than snow, is impacting snow cover in the final weeks of the season. The worst hit are Selwyn and Mount Baw Baw which both now say that their slopes are closed for the season with no sign of significant snowfall on the horizon. Others are conserving what terrain they have open, with Hotham shutting down a big part of its terrain and pushing the snow onto areas they're aiming to preserve around the base. Overnight lows have been down enough for fresh snowmaking and Hotham was a resort that reported natural snow flurries too, earlier this week. The largest resort, Perisher, still has the most terrain open but it's dropped a lot from a week ago to a little over half of its full area. Falls Creek and Thredbo are also at around 50% of terrain still open but Buller and Hotham are down to about a third. New Zealand New Zealand continues to report the best conditions of the season (the first half wasn't great), with a month now of predominantly cold, sometimes snowy weather after the warm June and July. Most resorts have had another week of clear skies, with strong winds again the main complaint. Mount Hutt has one of the deepest bases in the world at over 2 metres up top and reports its slopes 100% open – one of the very few resorts worldwide that can – all 40km of runs, the most in the country. Turoa goes one better on snow depth, up to 255cm now, the most in the world. Both centres should stay open until at least mid-October. Argentina Argentinian ski areas have reported a mostly cool and sometimes snowy week, although the dumps some ski areas on Chile's Pacific Coast posted don't seem to have materialled further east, although on the upside nor have the warmer temperatures and rain so much. All of the country's ski areas remain open although the published amounts of terrain accessible has begun to drop for the final weeks of winter 2023, with Catedral near Bariloche still posting the most in the world at present, but down from 100km to 70km of runs. Most Argentinian ski areas will end their 2023 seasons at the end of next week, or the weekend after. Chile Conditions appear to be either really good or really bad in Chile at present depending on whether your resort is seeing snow or rain from the latest big storm that has been impacting the country for much of this week. Portillo, for example, posted over 50cm of snowfall in 48 hours at the weekend but Lagunillas announced it was closed with heavy rain and temperatures in the afternoons at +10C. With only a few weeks of the planned season left for most resorts in the region, it's unclear if Lagunillas will reopen this year. Important to note though that most of the major resorts are still open and offering spring skiing conditions. Europe Alps After the excitement of last week's summer snowfall, the beginning of Autumn (on the meteorological scale!) has seen temperatures on glaciers creeping up a little again unfortunately. Not as warm as they were in August, but still getting back above freezing overnight and afternoon highs getting back to high single figures Celsius. Saas Fee and Zermatt in Switzerland as well as Hintertux in Austria, remain open. Passo Stelvio ended a week of being "on hold" and re-opened its slopes last weekend after deciding snowfall and lower temperatures were enough. Conditions remain fairly good on what slopes are open there and elsewhere in the Alps with mostly sunny skies since the weekend. Zermatt announced it had begun opening a new beginner's terrain park on the Italian border at the base of its new lift up to the Klein Matterhorn from Plateau Rosa. This will operate year-round and is due to have a new covered conveyor lift installed over the next few months. We're now just a fortnight from the first of the autumn glacier openings at Austria's Pitztal which should continue most weekends from then on. The slopes of Serra de Estrela, Portugal's only ski area, turn white at the weekend, but it was a build-up of hail from a big storm, not snow. It didn't last long. Scandinavia Scandinavia's highest slopes at Galdhøpiggen summer ski centre in Norway remain open, there's about a mile of slopes and a metre of snow still lying. The weather has turned sunnier over the last few days following an unsettled start to the week. Overnight lows around -2C afternoon highs +10C. The Finnish centres of Ruka and Levi are due to start their seasons in 4 weeks' time now thanks to snowfarming. North America There's only indoor snow skiing possible in North America right now, at Big SNOW in New Jersey, but anticipation is building for the start of the 23-24 season, hopefully next month. Dipping temperatures saw snowfall reported on the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the East and on Mount Hood in Oregon in the Western US last week and then more reported on slopes at Alta, Snowbird and Solitude in Utah at the start of this week. Most recently, Lake Louise and Sunshine near Banff in Alberta, Canada, both two months from the start of their 23-24 seasons, posted pictures of their slopes turning white on Wednesday. Snowmaking ahead of the season start is expected to begin on high slopes in Colorado later this month. |
|
|
J2Ski Snow Report September 1st 2023
El Colorado, Chile getting some of that South American goodness... More big snows in South America, and more late-summer snow in the Alps. The Snow Headlines - September 1st - South American super snowstorm totals up to 4 metres of snowfall in five days. - Italy's Passo Stelvio suspends summer skiing due to high temperatures in the Alps. - Argentina's largest ski area Catedral first in world to post 100km+ open since May. - Temperatures drop and summer snow falls on glaciers in the Alps. - More Australian ski areas close slopes in warm weather. - Pyrenees also report summer snowfall. 
A freshen-up on the cards for Aussie ski areas, more powder for the Andes!
World Overview It's been a week of quite significant changes as springtime arrives in the southern hemisphere and autumn/fall in the northern, by the meteorological seasonal calendar at least! Most ski areas in the southern hemisphere are in their best shape of the season so far with Argentinian and Chilean ski areas now seeing the benefit of a massive multi-day snowstorm that ended last weekend after depositing, allegedly, up to 4 metres of snow on higher slopes. New Zealand may not have had quite such a big snowstorm but it has had weeks of mostly cool and sunny weather after a decent mid-August dump so here too most slopes are open and bases are also the best of the season to date. The only hiccup in the positive picture for the southern hemisphere is Australia where warm temperatures and rain have led to a second ski area calling it a day on the 2023 season. In the northern hemisphere, anticipation for the 23-24 season may be in its early stages but the good news is that cooler weather and even snowfall up high has arrived in the Alps and Pyrenees after record warm temperatures in recent weeks. Social media channels were busy in the first half of this week with images and videos of summer snowfalls. More glacier ski areas are due to start opening in just three weeks and snowmaking should be getting underway on the highest ski slopes in North America by late September too. Southern Hemisphere Australia Australia's ski areas continue to battle mixed conditions, the key issue is always overly warm weather. That, and associated rainfall rather than snowfall, has caused Selwyn ski area to shut its ski slopes once again after the respite of the snowfalls a fortnight ago. Mount Baw Baw has now joined them. Hotham says it is having to close a lot of terrain due to warm temperatures and rain. Conditions continue to be marginal with overnight lows sometimes allowing snowmaking to work, but then daytime highs causing an ongoing thaw. That said, most of the other main resorts – Falls Creek, Thredbo, Buller and Perisher, have enough snow lying from early season snow and the top-ups there have been – machine or natural – to have most of their terrain open still. New Zealand It's been one of the best weeks of the season in New Zealand with consistently cold and mostly sunny weather, with occasional snow flurries. Temperatures have dropped as low as -13C overnight and only got a few degrees above freezing in the daytime, keeping the snow in great shape. The only real negative has been strong to gale-force winds at times, occasionally closing centres. Turoa on the north Island is still posting the world's deepest snow at present at over 2.5 metres, while Coronet Peak on the south island has the most terrain open in the country, with 40km of slopes, as it is 100% open. Sunny weather continues to end the week but a front is expected to bring fresh snowfall imminently. Argentina The skies cleared after the almost week-long "snowstorm of the century" (we recall there have been a few called that) that hit the Andes and Patagonia. Official snow total stats were hard to find but we saw anything from 1 metre to an incredible 4 metres claimed for the five days. All the snowfall caused a lot of practical issues of course too though; access roads blocked, power lines down, lifts buried and high avalanche danger. So several centres closed until it was safe to open. Las Lenas saw the biggest reported snowfall (4 metres), although that seems to be an unofficial stat for the backcountry with official depths remaining more modest, but still the best they've been all season. The continent's largest resort, Catedral near Bariloche, has reported over 100km of slopes open for the first time this season, and the first time any ski area in the world has had over 100km of slopes open since May. Chile The huge snowstorm in the Andes last week impacted Chilean ski resorts as it did Argentinian, leading many of the country's ski areas to close temporarily due to high winds, avalanche danger, low visibility, blocked roads and buried lifts! At the end of the five-day storm last weekend reports of storm totals of up to 2.5 metres came in, with Portillo reporting the biggest dump and becoming the first area in South America to post a 2m+ base. Since the storm cleared ski areas have been digging out and re-opening terrain. El Colorado is posting the most open terrain in the country at present, with 40km – about 80% of its full area – open. Temperatures have remained cold and it's a mixture of sunshine and cloud with just the odd light snow shower forecast for the next few days. Europe Alps It's been an exciting week for snow fans in the Alps with a big change in conditions as storms moved in at the weekend after the record heat at altitude for much of the latter half of August. Up to 30cm (a foot) of snowfall was reported on high slopes across the region, extending as far north as Germany's Zugspitze and down to Grandvalira in the Pyrenees in the south. Skiers were even spotted on a webcam on the fresh snow at (closed) Les 2 Alpes. The snow fell to as low as 1500m in places but by Wednesday the snowline was at 2,000m and rising, as are the air temperatures although they remain much cooler than they have been. Currently, Saas fee and Zermatt are open for skiers in Switzerland, and Hintertux in Austria while Italy's Passo Stelvio, which decided on a 'temporary close' last Friday, is yet to reopen despite fresh snowfall there. Scandinavia Norway's Galdhopiggen summer ski areas look to have made it open through August. That's an achievement as more often than not in recent years it has been forced to close for a while by hot weather, but it's still reporting the snow over a metre deep and much cooler temperatures than further south have led to some fresh snowfalls in recent weeks. Overnight lows have also been below freezing. It's just over a month now until Finland's Ruka and Levi ski areas will use snow farming to open for their seven-month-long 23-24 seasons at the start of October. North America There's nowhere open in North America at present other than the indoor snow slope at Big SNOW in New Jersey, so it's really all about anticipation for the start of the 23-24 season, perhaps 6-8 weeks away. Snow has been spotted on high slopes in Utah and Idaho and temperatures have been dropping over a wide area. The first snowmaking cannons are expected to fire up on the highest slopes in Colorado in about a month at the end of September. |
|