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J2Ski Snow Report April 13th 2023
This was Les Arcs, France, this morning... just saying... Northern hemisphere season slowing, but the snow's still falling... The Snow Headlines - 13th April - Access road to Alta and Snowbird closed for much of the past week due to avalanche danger. - Snow base depths begin to drop in Europe and North America. - Fresh spring snow both sides of the Atlantic. - Japan's Gassan summer ski area opens for the 2023 season. - Fresh snow reported on Australian ski slopes two months ahead of 2023 season. 
Yep, still snowing...
World Overview About 90% of ski areas across the northern hemisphere have either closed in the past few days, following the Easter weekend, or will do so this coming weekend, but it's still possible to ski at hundreds of locations across Europe, North America and Asia, which are remaining open to the end of April or even into May. In Europe, it was a cold and (up high) sometimes snowy Easter weekend, but things have warmed up since, although weak fronts moving across the continent have brought more light snowfall to high slopes. The thaw is finally starting to win through with the deepest snowpack down 30cm (a foot) compared to a week ago. It's a similar story across in North America where again there was weekend snowfall but now the thaw is marked and the deepest snowpack (in the continent and the world), at Mammoth in California, has dropped back down below 8 metres. Europe Austria It's been quite cool and there has been more fresh snowfall on higher slopes in Austria over the last few days. That's slightly ironic given that the 22-23 season is rapidly ending in the country with many areas closing after the Easter weekend and plenty more closing this coming weekend. However those that open later into April and the few continuing into May or even June are the ones reporting the snowfall, including 20cm for Solden, 12cm on the Kaunertal glacier and 10cm at St Anton, so it's looking fairly good for the next week or two here. In the short term, more cold and snowy weather is forecast through the weekend. France As with most parts of the skiing world, with Easter behind us and the latter half of April nearly beginning, most of France's ski areas have either closed down or will be doing so soon (this coming weekend or next) and those that are still open have, in most cases, shut down large chunks of their terrain with a focus on higher runs. Ski areas open up to May include Chamonix, Tignes, Val d'Isere and Val Thorens, and the good news is that it has been decidedly wintery on those higher slopes above 2,000m altitude with repeat snowfalls through the last week. Base depths, even up high, appear to have finally peaked though with Europe's deepest at Tignes dropping from a season-high point of 4.5 metres (15 feet) for the past few weeks to 4.2 metres now. Italy Most of Italy's ski areas closed for the season on Monday or Tuesday this week but a good many remain open including Val di Fiemme open until this weekend on the 16th, an extra week at Kronplatz (until 23 April) and Arabba (until 25 April) with more than a fortnight of the season left to run at Cortina d'Ampezzo until 1 May and three weeks for Cervinia to May 7th. The past week has seen a mix of all weathers with plenty of sunshine - and valley temperatures rising to double figures. There have been showers too, with a few centimetres of fresh snowfall above 2,000m, and rain lower down. Switzerland Swiss ski areas have begun closing and most of those still open will be closing after Sunday's skiing; but several dozen areas will be open later in the month. As with other Alpine nations, it's these higher centres that have been reporting snowfall with low temperatures over the last few days and more snowfall forecast for the rest of this week and through the weekend. Several centres reported 25cm of snowfall in the last 24 hours with Zermatt (hoping to stay open year-round again if summer heat allows after being forced to close last August-September) one of the big winners and decent dumps too at Samnaun (Open to May 1st) and Saas-Fee. Scandinavia Scandinavian ski areas have been reporting some good fresh snowfalls over the past few days after a sunny Easter weekend. 5-20cm accumulations have been reported and with temperatures only just beginning to climb a few degrees above freezing so the snow quality is also still good. Unlike further south, most ski areas in the region remain largely fully open, thanks to their northerly latitude, and will remain so into early May in the case of big players like Are, Hemsedal, Levi and Ruka. Pyrenees The season is all but over really in the Pyrenees with most of the ski areas in the region now closed for 22-23 and almost all of those remaining planning to close at the end of this coming Sunday. The Easter weekend here was very warm and sunny although it has cooled in the last few days with snowfall on the very highest peaks but rain lower down. The largest area Grandvalira has just a foot or so of snow left up high and about a quarter of its terrain open until Sunday, having closed Soldeu-El-Tarter on Tuesday. Scotland Scotland's season is more or less over. There was some hill snow to start the week which Glencoe described as potentially the last chance for ski tourers who can use the centre's chairlift to ease access to the touring terrain. The only lift-accessed skiing still just about open at the time of writing is at Cairngorm which reports soft snow conditions and the runs in the Ptarmigan Bowl becoming thin in some sections, "...but still good snowsports to be had." Eastern Europe Most of the well-known ski areas are still open in Eastern Europe and it has been a cool and snowy week for many with fresh accumulations on higher ground. Daytime highs of +15C were reported at the resort level in Bulgaria in the last few days and most areas are expected to close there after a final ski day on Sunday. Bulgarian ski areas are now running at 30-60% of their slopes open for the last few days of 22-23. Jasna in Slovakia has the most terrain open. North America Canada Springlike conditions were reported in eastern Canada but much more wintery weather in the west, where Whistler was largely shut down by gales at the weekend and Fernie by heavy rain over the last few days. Fellow BC ski area Revelstoke, though, posted 25cm of fresh snowfall in 48 hours and a snowy final few days to the season there. USA Last week saw more huge snowfalls in the Rockies with the resulting avalanche danger so great in parts of Utah that some ski areas including Alta and Snowbird have been cut off for most of the past week for road safety reasons. There was snowfall in other areas too, but not with quite such dramatic volumes (another five feet/1.5m) or consequences. Spring has now though finally sprung and most US resorts are seeing sunshine, warm temperatures and a fast thaw. Lots have also ended their season on schedule, including Jackson Hole after declaring a record 595" seasonal snowfall total. However, dozens more have extended their seasons into May, or beyond, including Breckenridge, Heavenly, Mammoth, The Palisades, Snowbird, Winter Park and most recently the country's biggest ski area, Park City. |
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J2Ski Snow Report April 6th 2023
Still looking like winter in Banff Sunshine Village, Alberta, Canada... Snow and cold, and warm and sun, and more snow... it's that time of year! The Snow Headlines - 6th April - Alta and Snowbird pass 800" (20.3m) total season snowfall to date. - Tignes reaches 4.5m base – Europe's deepest. - Ski areas in Japan close early due to warm weather and poor March snows. - More pre-season snowfall in New Zealand. - Big-name ski resorts including Sun Peaks and Telluride close for season. 
Spring snow for many places...
World Overview There's been more snowfall in the Alps over the past week, heaviest in the north and west, on higher slopes last weekend. Temperatures have also been around or below freezing at altitude leading skiers at some big resorts like La Clusaz to report "mid-winter conditions". It's set up many of the well-known resorts with plenty of terrain above 1800m in a strong position for Easter and for those remaining open right through into May. However smaller, lower centres are realising the end of the season is nigh and have been closing down already, with many more set to follow them after the Easter weekend. It's a similar story, although rather snowier, across the Atlantic. Still more heavy snowfall has been reported in the Rockies even as we start April and yet more snowfall records have been set. But at the same time more and more ski areas have ended their seasons, many even as they have snow lying deep on the ground. Elsewhere ski areas in the Pyrenees have had a good fresh snowfall but continue to battle warm weather on thin cover. It's perhaps slightly better in the Balkans, where Borovets reported a half-metre snowfall earlier this week, but less good in the Scottish Highlands where there's very little left open. Scandinavia arguably has the best of the snow in Europe with cool temperatures keeping it fresh and most centres will be fully open until the start of May. Europe Austria About half of Austria's ski areas have now closed for the season, including some of the lower-lying big-name destinations. Most of the well-known resorts are still open for Easter weekend and some higher centres, including glacier destinations like Solden (posting the country's deepest snowpack), will open beyond that. There has been some fresh snowfall and colder temperatures than recently, with St Anton posting 10cm at the start of this week. It's been dry and sunny for most Austrian ski areas since Monday though. France French ski areas have seen the best of the snowfall for a second week with the heaviest falls last weekend, but snow beginning to fall again now after a sunny period midweek. It's also fairly cold, staying close to freezing to quite low levels. Higher altitude resorts like Val d'Isere, one of those open until May, were among the big winners from the current conditions. Nearby Tignes also got more snowfall on its higher slopes and is posting Europe's deepest base still at 4.5 metres on the Grande Motte glacier. So it too is looking good for French skiing into May. Italy North-western Italy saw the best of the fresh snowfall at the start of this week with some good accumulations on higher slopes at ski areas along the western border with France and northern Switzerland. Cervinia got a good refresh and La Thuile, linked to La Rosiere, has the deepest base in Italy, now over 3 metres thanks to all the fresh snowfall. Many Italian areas will close after the Easter weekend but several dozen will continue to the latter half of the month and a few into May. Switzerland Swiss ski areas also got their share of fresh snowfall, particularly in the west of the country. Here too though resorts have begun closing for the season with more due to follow suit after Easter Sunday. It has been dry while staying fairly cool most of this week but snow is just beginning to start falling again, particularly on higher slopes in the north and west. Verbier got over a foot of fresh snowfall and most of the 4 Valleys are still open. Saas Fee, posting the deepest snow in the country now at over 3 metres, has had more than 50cm of fresh snowfall. Scandinavia Scandinavia continues to be the area where most centres are fully open and with fairly fresh snow cover too – although there's not been a great deal of new snow to report this week. Temperatures have been creeping up a little bit too but remain close to freezing, so there's not much thawing yet. The region's largest resort, Sweden's Are, remains 90% open, as does the second largest, Trysil in Norway and indeed most others. Pyrenees There's less and less terrain open in the Pyrenees, despite cooler temperatures and even the best snowfall for several weeks at the start of this week. Most of the bigger resorts in the region remain open but they're down to around half of their full areas available to ski, mostly the upper mountain and with fairly thin cover. So a definite end-of-the-season feeling here. Scotland Sadly, although there has been more cold weather and snow flurries at times, there's been a further deterioration in Scotland's snow cover and there's very little open for the Easter weekend. There's just a handful of runs left at Cairngorm, Glencoe providing lift access to touring terrain and Glenshee possibly offering nursery slopes for the holidays but not certain if they'll be able to (they don't have any ski runs open at the time of writing). The Lecht had also hoped to use their all-weather snowmaking to do the same but in the end, decided it was too warm even for that over the Easter weekend. Eastern Europe There was some fresh snowfall in Bulgaria at the start of the week, giving a refresh for higher slopes, but springtime is inevitably marching on, with more smaller centres ending their seasons and less terrain open at bigger resorts. That said, Slovakia's largest ski area, Jasna, still has almost all its runs open for the Easter holidays and about 70% of the terrain at Bansko is open too. North America Canada Conditions remain good across Canadian ski slopes but here too ski areas have begun closing down even with deep snow lying and fresh snow falling and most will have closed after the Easter weekend. Some though, including Sunshine and Norquay at Banff, Whistler in BC and Lake Louise in Alberta will stay open to the end of this month or into May. East Coast resorts have been posting some of the fresh snowfall this week, up to 30cm, but some ski areas here also saw rain as temperatures rose briefly midweek. USA There have been still more big snowfalls reported in the Western US with heavy snowfall and high avalanche danger temporarily closing some resorts in Utah at the start of April. Two of these, Alta and Snowbird, are continuing to break snowfall records, passing the 800 inches (20.3 metres) mark at the end of last week. A growing number of areas have extended their seasons in response to all the snowfall but many more have started closing for the season anyway. Mammoth, with the snow lying more than 8.5 metres deep up top, continues to post the deepest base in the country (and the world). East Coast resorts have had some fresh snowfall too, particularly on higher slopes to the north, but have also seen a few warm days to give the full springtime effect. |
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J2Ski Snow Report March 30th 2023
Alta, Utah, USA, where it's been deep... It hasn't stopped snowing in America! The Snow Headlines - 30th March - The Palisades is latest Californian ski area to announce it's staying open into July. - Some ski areas in the Pyrenees still 100% open as region battles early spring thaw. - World's deepest base passes 8 metres for first time in several years. - The deepest snow in the Rockies passes 5 metres. - Mammoth passes most ever snowfall total in its history - 695 inches. - St Johann in Tirol ends season early due to conditions. - Tremblant extends season by a week after posting record season snowfall total. - Winter Park extends season indefinitely - so long as the snow lasts on Mary Jane. 
See where it's going to snow...
World Overview It's been a surprisingly wintery week in the Alps as we near the start of April and the Easter holidays. At the big resorts with higher slopes things are looking better than we might have hoped during the warm weeks of March, thanks to a dip in temperatures and plenty of snowfall. They are posting the most fresh snow and best conditions with most of those posting the biggest numbers located in the North-western Alps. The past week has also seen some big-name lower-elevation ski areas further east call it a day on their 22-23 seasons - earlier than expected as they can no longer sustain enough snow cover. Elsewhere in Europe, Scandinavian slopes remain in good shape – cool and snowy there, but Scottish centres have very little left open. The Pyrenees are also suffering, not getting the cold and snow of further north, but warm sunny weather instead and it is a mixed picture for Eastern Europe with some cold and snow at times mixed with warm temperature spikes. Over in North America, the huge amount of snowfall all season in the west continues with more records set (Mammoth and Tremblant among areas saying they've had more snowfall this winter than any other) and more areas extending their seasons later into spring or even summer. Europe Austria A growing number of lower-lying Austrian ski areas are already closed for the season or are closing this weekend. After the weekend snowfalls on higher slopes, however, the focus is now on the country's higher altitude resorts with a reputation for spring snow quality and quantity like Obergurgl, Obertauern and Ischgl as well as the glacier centres. In that latter category, Solden continues to post Austria's deepest snowpack and the Molltal glacier has announced it will stay open at least to the end of May. Among the lower areas, St Johann in Tirol announced suddenly on Saturday that it was forced to end its season early, last Sunday, due to the deteriorating conditions of rain and warmth. It's one of the biggest name casualties so far. France It began snowing in the French Alps at the start of the weekend after around 10 days of mostly dry weather. The snow initially fell as rain below around 2000m, which was bad news for already thin snow cover at lower levels. The snowfall intensified and got heavier on Sunday however, giving a much-improved picture as temperatures dropped down to the valley floor. The snow has continued falling and temperatures have stayed cool all week. Tignes became the first ski area in Europe to reach a 4m base at the weekend and other big French areas like Avoriaz, La Plagne, Flaine and Les Arcs have reached 3m bases, putting them in the top 10 deepest in Europe too. Italy Italian ski areas have seen snowfall right across the country, but with the heavier falls along the French and Swiss borders in the west, which is also the region with the deepest snowpack. The same issues with thawing and rain at low elevations have been factors here, but against that there's been a good top-up for high-altitude slopes and resorts like Cervinia and Sestriere which still have most of their terrain open. So the Easter advice for Italy, as in most of Europe, is to aim high. Switzerland Temperatures dropped in the Swiss Alps down to freezing at the valley floor at the start of this week, with rain at low levels turning to snowfall. Up high it has been snowing, on and off, for several days, further improving conditions. Big winners included Saas Fee, now posting one of the deepest bases in Europe at over three metres, as well as Crans Montana, Murren and Laax which all have snow lying more than two metres deep. The 4 Valleys currently report 75% of the region still open, the largest single area currently skiable in Switzerland. Scandinavia Conditions remain good across Scandinavia where most of the major ski centres have another month of the season left, report temperatures still close to freezing, have all or most of their slopes open and even have some fresh snowfall to ski or board on. Base depths have reached three metres in western Norway. Sweden's Åre, with the most terrain in the region, unsurprisingly has the most runs open, about 80km or 90% of its slopes. Norway's Trysil has 70km but that's 100% of its area. Pyrenees The areas in the Pyrenees continue to battle the spring thaw which has closed many small to mid-sized areas in the region already and is cutting the amount of terrain still open at bigger resorts like Baqueira Beret and Grandvalira (Pas de la Casa and Soldeu). Spain's Masella reports it is still 100% open, crediting its north-facing slopes as particularly good news in warm spring conditions. Skiing is still possible over the resort's full vertical from the summit of the Tosa to the Pla de Masella, albeit with the best up high. Scotland Another week of good news and bad for Highland ski centres. Unfortunately, there's no real sign of any being able to open properly but temperatures did drop, overnight especially, at the weekend and start of this week bringing more snow up high. Cairngorm continues to offer some natural terrain and Glencoe also provides chairlift access to small areas, up high, but really it's ski touring stuff. Glenshee is still maintaining several short runs thanks to its all-weather snowmaking machine. The Lecht plans to reopen nursery slopes over the coming Easter holiday weeks using its all-weather snowmaking machines. So in summary, some easy slopes at the base of the centres for beginners and then some more challenging stuff up high at a few centres. Eastern Europe The big-name ski areas of Eastern Europe are all still in business and at the southern end in the Balkans have actually had cooler weather, on the whole, than the southwestern side of the continent. Bulgarian areas have seen some snow up high and have around 50-60% of their slopes still open. Slovakia's Jasna is posting the most impressive numbers for the start of April with a base of nearly 2 metres up high and 100% of its slopes still reported open. North America Canada Conditions remain pretty good across Canada with plenty more fresh snowfall reported in Alberta and BC over the past few days. The season is winding down in many areas with resorts due to close over the next three weekends, although some spring ski centres like Marmot Basin, Sunshine and Whistler are looking good for their usual season into May. On the East Coast, there have been more temperature fluctuations with rain at lower levels but the bigger centres like Tremblant still have 50-60% of their slopes open. Tremblant reports it has now had more snowfall in a season than ever before, extending its season by a week to April 23rd as a result. USA There doesn't seem to be an end to winter in sight in Western North America, even though many ski areas there will be ending their seasons over the coming three weekends. More areas are announcing they'll stay open longer into spring or even summer with The Palisades joining Mammoth in California in saying they'll stay open into July. Mammoth say they've now had nearly 700" of snowfall this season, more than any other before. There were more huge snowfalls this week on the West Coast and in the Rockies where the Utah resorts of Alta and Snowbird unusually called an 'Interlodge' during the skiing day. This requires everyone to get off the ski slopes and into a building with roads in and out also closed. The emergency state ended about 7 pm by which time several feet more snow had fallen in 12 hours. Things are more springlike in the East though with ski areas in New England reporting some snowfall but also rising temperatures and periods of rain for some lower slopes, so there's more of a "final weeks of the season" feel here. |
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J2Ski Snow Report March 23rd 2023
Mount Rose, Lake Tahoe, has no shortage of snow... A touch of Spring in Europe, yet more snow in America. The Snow Headlines - 23rd March - Mammoth, with a 25 foot (7.5m) base, says ski season will continue "at least" through July. - Tignes nears 4m base up high with 1m of snowfall forecast. - Heavenly extends season by three weeks to May 7th. - Fresh snowfall reported in New Zealand. 
See where it's going to snow...
World Overview It's been back to very warm and mostly sunny weather in the Alps this week after the heavy snowfall at the start of last. As we're now well into spring and fast approaching April and Easter it should be no surprise that the remaining snow cover, below 1800m in particular, is fast thawing away. Higher slopes though are in pretty good shape. Some have reported light snowfall and there's a bigger dump expected this coming weekend. Most of the bigger, better-known resorts have the majority of their terrain on high slopes and remain 70-90% open. Across the Atlantic, it is just a case of snowfall records being broken by the day in the west where more resorts are talking about extending seasons later into May, and even July. Elsewhere conditions remain good with fresh snowfall reported in Scandinavia and down in south-eastern Europe there's been some fresh snowfall in Bulgaria. However, ski resorts in the Pyrenees are having to really battle the thaw and in Scotland, that battle seems to be largely lost with just a few slopes left skiable in a couple of areas. Europe Austria Austrian ski areas have been hit by the warm weather this week seeing their snowpacks decrease in depth by up to a third. This is most marked, of course, at lower elevations, and there are a growing number of areas that are posting 0cm for lower slope base depths, including Ischgl, Mayrhofen and Zell am See. That's normal for the time of year, of course, and in any case, many Austrian areas will be closing at the end of next week or the week after. But there's more snow expected over the weekend and start of next week on higher slopes and the country does have more glacier ski areas to choose from than any other nation. France French ski resorts are posting some of the best high-altitude snow conditions in the alps now with a number of the big names including la Plagne, Avoriaz and Les Arcs reporting over 300cm of snow lying at 3,000m. Tignes is nearly at 4 metres, the most in Europe and looks like it will get there this weekend with a good snowfall expected up high. The colder, snowier weekend does follow another warm sunny week which saw temperatures reach double digits at 2,000m and +4C up at 3500m on glaciers, and it's still March. So it is noticeable that base depths have dropped at the resort level, particularly at the traditional valley resorts like Megeve and Morzine. Italy Italy has had, if anything, even warmer weather than the French Alps, with afternoon valley temperatures reaching the high teens at lower resorts, with an obvious major impact on the remaining snowpack. It is due to get a little cooler over the weekend and precipitation is expected across the country's ski areas here too, but it will most likely be rain at times below 1800m or so. The message is therefore very much 'aim high' – always the advice in the run-up to Easter of course but even more so this year. Cervinia is posting some of the deepest snow in the country and reports that more than 80% of its terrain shared with Zermatt is still open. Switzerland Swiss centres have faced the same warm weather issues, particularly at low elevations, as the rest of the Alps. A growing number of Swiss centres including Crans Montana and Wengen are now also posting a zero figure for lower slope base depth, indicating that a lift up and back may now be required at the start and end of the ski day. Above 1800m conditions are better the higher you climb and the country's big areas like the 4 Valleys remain 80-90% open, thanks to the fact that most of their terrain is on those higher slopes. Cooler temperatures and snowfall is forecast across Switzerland this weekend, the heaviest in the west. Scandinavia Scandinavia continues to be the place to aim for if you're looking for colder temperatures and fresh snow at lower levels. Norway's Hemsedal was among areas posting 20-40cm of fresh snowfall this week and it's among the areas expecting to stay open into May. Most resorts in Finland, Norway and Sweden are currently fully open and looking good for the Easter holidays. Pyrenees While there's snow forecast in the Alps, it looks like it will stay sunny across the Pyrenees with daytime temperatures in the range of +15C in valleys and up to +8C on higher slopes. It is still dropping below zero at all levels overnight, however, giving freeze-thaw conditions. The warm weather has made low-level slopes difficult to maintain and smaller, lower centres have closed and larger centres are, in some cases, operating only about half their terrain now as the season winds down. Scotland Sadly, warm weather and gales have plagued Scottish slopes over the past few days so there's now even less open at Cairngorm and The Lecht says its season is pretty much over unless there's a very big late snowfall. Nevis Range and Glencoe have no lift-served skiing at present either, but Glenshee is maintaining its all-weather snowmaking served slopes. Colder weather is forecast at the weekend and The Lecht says it hopes to at least open all-weather SnowFactory-maintained slopes for the Easter holidays. Eastern Europe The warm weather in the Alps at present generally gets cooler the further north and east you go so ski resorts like Spindleruv Mlyn in the Czech Republic and Jasna in Slovakia, both on the northern side of the alps, are that bit cooler and the snow that bit better still than further south. Jasna reports snow lying up to six feet (1.8m) deep and its slopes are still 100% open. Down in Bulgaria, it has been warm but there have also been some snow showers up high and at the time of writing Bansko still reports its long run back from the ski slopes to the resort is just about open. North America Canada Conditions remain good across Canada with more snow showers reported on both the western and eastern sides of the country. The biggest resorts on both sides (Whistler in BC and Tremblant in Quebec) also report their slopes continue to be 100% open. The forecast is for more of the same really with temperatures creeping a few degrees into positive numbers in the daytime, but remaining well below freezing overnight. USA Resorts continue to post more and more "best season totals for years/ever" reports with the first resorts passing 700 inches (17.5 metres) season-to-date totals in California. As a result, more and more are announcing seriously extended seasons, Heavenly into May, Mammoth into July ("at least"). In some cases, this is just to allow people to ski after so many storm closure days this winter. Further east, it has kept snowing in the Rockies with Crested Butte posting their 300-inch season-to-date total is already one of their five best of the past 45 years. Conditions have been a bit more hit-and-miss in the east with a return to rain showers with warmer temperatures at the time but Jay Peak has announced it's aiming to stay open until May. |
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J2Ski Snow Report March 16th 2023
Snoworks Backcountry Course, La Plagne, France, getting the goods! Picture courtesy of Snoworks Ski Courses - check them out! Well what a week that was? Snow came! The Snow Headlines - 16th March - Tignes upper base depth jumps 1.1m in 7 days staying deepest in Europe, now up to 3.8m. - 'Atmospheric River' from the Pacific brings a lot more snow to western US resorts. - Resorts in western Alps report up to 1.5m (5 feet) of fresh snowfall. - Considerable or High Avalanche Risk (levels 3 or 4) in the Western Alps. - Seasonal snowfall totals pass 660" (16.5m) at some ski areas in Western US. 
Top ups for Scandinavia, incoming for USA...
World Overview It's been quite a week in the Alps with the biggest jumps in base numbers of the 22-23 season on high slopes this year. Many spring skiing resorts have added about a third to their upper base depths and the deepest snowpack in Europe has gone up from 2.7m (which it had been for months) to 3.9m, a 1.2m (four feet) increase. The biggest reported snowfall was 1.5 metres (five feet), but many resorts posted a metre of snow falling. The news isn't all good though, the big jumps are above 3000m altitude and the best snow is above 2000m, with lower slopes seeing heavy wet snow or lower down rain at times; the avalanche danger has also shot up. Elsewhere it is very warm in the Pyrenees, but there's been more snowfall in Scandinavia. The Czech and Slovak republics have seen cold snowier weather but also gales and it's been mostly dry in Bulgaria. Scotland has had cold weather and snow but not enough to improve conditions much. Across the Atlantic there's been still more heavy snowfall in western North America, causing issues again with buried lifts and blocked access roads. More welcome snowfall in the northeast from a 'Nor'easter' off the Atlantic. Europe Austria Except for some big-name resorts like Lech and St Anton in the Arlberg, which reported several feet of fresh snowfall up high, most Austrian areas rather missed out on the big weekend snowfalls that impacted further west in the Alps. Kitzbuhel reported rain rather than snow, at the valley level at least. They were then struck another blow as valley temperatures reached +15C on Monday. But Tuesday was a better day – temperatures dropped right back and there was snowfall to low levels across the country. It's been drier since. France French ski resorts are in their best shape for a couple of months in most respects, following the big accumulations at the weekend and more fresh snowfall on Tuesday. In between, there was a warm weather spike with some resorts below 1500m seeing +14C. It's now turned drier and milder for the rest of this week, although not as warm as Monday, thankfully. Higher slopes are the big beneficiaries with most French areas seeing a 50-110cm jump in upper base depths although little change down below 1500m where there's been heavy wet snow falling or rain. Italy Italy had a bit of a divide last weekend with huge snowfalls reported in the far west (Cervinia said 1.5m), but then after a warm Monday, there was snowfall right across the country on Tuesday with Bormio getting a foot of snow and some flakes as far east as the Dolomites. Resorts in the west saw a second wave of snowfall and La Thuile totalled more than a metre from the two storms. It has been drier and sunnier since Wednesday though and that's expected to continue through the weekend. Switzerland Swiss centres have had the same big snowfalls in the west of the country as in France and western Italy, but with less to report further east. Big winners, reporting at least half a metre of snowfall, include Verbier and Zermatt, with less snow falling further east, but none-the-less the start of the week did finally bolster bases at resorts like Wengen, which has had thin cover all winter, and St Moritz reported 30cm up high. It's been warm at times though and that's how the weekend is looking, with highs of +15C at 1300m. That's probably why Zermatt has gone from a snowless village to a 50cm base at the weekend (when an avalanche blocked the rail line in/out for a time) and then back down to 15cm. Scandinavia Conditions remain among the best in Europe in Scandinavia. Centres including Hemsedal and Trysil have posted 15-30cm accumulations over the last few days and temperatures have stayed down close to freezing. Floodlighting is no longer needed in most areas in the region either as longer daylight hours mean most centres can operate in the sunshine once more, many like Are in Sweden and Levi in Finland aiming to stay open into May. Pyrenees Alas, the weather in the Pyrenees is increasingly 'springlike' – in other words, warm, sunny and with the snow thawing on lower slopes. That's not a huge problem at resorts like Soldeu, currently hosting the World cup Finals in Andorra, but for some low-lying areas has led to early season ends this week, France's Formigueres one of those calling it a day on the season earlier than expected. Scotland Very cold temperatures and some snowfall has left Scotland's five centres tantalisingly close to being able to re-open terrain ...but there's not quite been enough to instigate big changes. In the west, Nevis Range and Glencoe remain closed to skiers although the latter says it may have some high runs open at the weekend. In the east, there's a handful of runs open at each of Glenshee and The Lecht with Cairngorm ahead with about half of its 30+ runs currently operational. More snow but yoyo-ing temperatures are forecast. Eastern Europe Bulgaria has been cooler than the Alps over the last few days with clouds and light snow showers. Sunnier weather and warmer temperatures should be back for the weekend though. Further north strong winds have been a problem, with the largest area in the region, Jasna, completely closed midweek by gales. There have also been snow showers and low temperatures in the Czech and Slovak Republics and Poland. North America Canada Conditions continue to be good across Canada, with fresh snow falling still on both East and West coasts but without the road-blocking, lift-burying extremes of the western US this winter. The continent's largest resort, Whistler Blackcomb, has reached a 2.5m base and remains fully open, while resorts in the Rockies further inland say they've had 20-30cm in the last few days. Marmot Basin in northern Alberta reports "pow-fect" conditions with 21cm in the past 24 hours. Over in Quebec conditions remain good too with everything open and more snow falling. USA Yet more huge storms have moved in off the pacific into the US west, bringing feet more snow and burying lifts, buildings and roads once again. Ski areas have been digging out and making slopes safe to re-open, thankfully with a bit of a respite now after the latest huge dump of rather wet snow. Most centres are reporting huge bases and Alta has passed 660 inches of snowfall season to date (16.5 metres). Over in the east, where the early season was much more problematic with warm temperatures, limited snowfall and periods of rain, they're celebrating a "Nor'easter" off the Atlantic bringing over a foot of fresh snowfall to ski slopes there. |
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J2Ski Snow Report March 9th 2023
Mammoth Mountain, California, with a frankly ridiculous amount of snow! More snow, and very un-settled weather in Europe. The Snow Headlines - 9th March - Some big falls forecast for the Alps this weekend, but snowline will vary! - More massive snowfalls in western US take world's deepest base near 8m. - Cold and snowy weather in Scotland could finally lead to improvement in conditions. - Utah resorts edge closer to 600" (15m) seasonal snowfall total. - More summer snow up high in New Zealand. 
Snow, at last, for the French Alps (and elsewhere)
World Overview It's a bit late in the day but as we publish this week's report, we appear to be finally seeing the big snowfalls the Alps could have done with three months ago. The forecasts have been pointing to some significant snowfall for weeks, but until now it hasn't materialised. Now though, the snow is already falling (after rain in many areas) and set to intensify from Friday through the weekend, with some high slopes potentially seeing a metre of snowfall in 48 hours and two metres by this time next week. That's about as much as all of the winter so far. The snow line will vary considerably late in the weekend, and on Monday could be up to around 2000m at times, although the latest forecasts indicate that mild spell will be very brief and significant snowfall (up to half a metre) should follow from Tuesday onward. Elsewhere in Europe the Pyrenees, which have had some of the best snowfalls of the past fortnight, have seen more snow, and there's also been snow in the Tatra mountains of northern Europe and powder alarms again, of up to 30cm in 24 hours, in Norway. Scotland still doesn't have much terrain open but it has got very cold and there's been some snowfall with more forecast so there are hopes of an improvement by next week. In the US and Canada, it's looking pretty good almost everywhere in terms of snow depth and fresh snow. The problem, if you can call it that, in the west continues to be too much snow. More huge storms have deposited feet more snow with accompanying gales giving more blizzard conditions, blocking roads and cutting power leading to short-term resort closures at times. Against that the world's deepest snowpack creeps closer to 8 metres in California and the greatest seasonal snowfall total is nearly at 15 metres in Utah. Europe Austria The snow is falling in Austria and temperatures are a little cooler, though we're still in a freeze-thaw range. The fresh snowfall is badly needed with snow cover 'tired' on many slopes and thin ribbons of white down to the valley floor in many areas, so the next few days will be crucial in seeing how much of a slope refresh we get and how much is a washout of those lower runs. Looking at the stats, St Anton, for example, has seen the base on its high runs jump 20cm in the last 24 hours, but drop 15cm on a week ago down in the valley and it's a similar picture across the country. France There has finally been some snowfall on slopes in the northern French Alps, some of which hadn't really seen a flake since about the 17th or 18th of January, so it is badly needed. Despite this, most areas still have 80-95% of their slopes open, but lower slopes cover is mostly pushed down the green hillsides to complete a white ribbon of snow, so more like mid-April than early March. 5-10cm of snowfall on Tuesday-Wednesday (20cm+ reported for Alpe d'Huez) appears to be the start of a snowy week, which as per our intro could see big accumulations by this time next week across the French Alps, at last. The concern remains for lower slopes though. It's worth noting that Avalanche Levels up to 3 (Considerable) are now being reported at some resorts, and we've seen reports today of small slides already where new snow is failing to bond with the old. Take care! Italy Things are looking promising in Italy too with snow starting to fall across the country, heaviest so far in the northwest with Cervinia posting 40cm of snowfall in 24 hours on Thursday morning and plenty more forecast. As with the rest of the Alps, there's concern about rain rather than snowfall at lower elevations but for most major resorts it's now looking promising. Switzerland Swiss ski centres are also seeing snowfall with Verbier and Zermatt both posting more than 20cm of fresh snow in the first 24 hours of the weather change, although here too there's the risk of rain at lower elevations. Most of the country's big regions like the 4 Valleys continue to have nearly all of their slopes open. Scandinavia There have been some good snowfalls this week with Norway's Roldal posting a 30cm snowfall in 24 hours midweek to give powder conditions there. Although things may finally change over the coming week if the Alps receive anything like the snowfalls forecast, the past few months have seen Scandinavian ski centres post far more fresh snowfall than centres further south. Along with the snowfall though many have been reporting strong winds at times, occasionally hampering operations. Pyrenees The Pyrenees have had some of the best snow conditions of the past few weeks with several fresh snowfalls in late February and early March, but things have slowed down a good deal now with mostly dry weather and temperatures getting a little warm in valleys. Grandvalira in Andorra, the region's biggest resort, reports 95% of its slopes open. Scotland Scottish ski centres currently have their most promising conditions and forecasts for several months. Temperatures have dropped as low as -15C and Cairngorm reported 35cm of snowfall on Wednesday morning. There are still just a few runs open across Cairngorm, The Lecht and Glenshee with the western resorts of Glencoe and Nevis Range currently closed for snow sports, but the forecast is for more snowfall raising hopes that runs could reopen for the final months of the season. Eastern Europe There have been some good snowfalls in northern parts of eastern Europe with the Czech Republic's Spindleruv Mlyn and Jasna in Slovakia both reporting 20-30cm accumulations earlier in the week. It's drier and getting warmer at lower levels further south but centres in Bulgaria are still reporting most of their terrain open. North America Canada A good week in Canada, on the whole, with more light to moderate snowfalls, heaviest in the west, and temperatures remaining mostly below freezing. Quebec and the east have stayed cool, but have been drier, although conditions there remain the best they've been all season. Continuing with similar conditions for the week ahead with temperatures mostly remaining sub-zero and more light to moderate snowfalls forecast in the west. USA The US has had another good week for snowfall. Although ski areas in the West continue to report still more phenomenal snowstorms, it's worth mentioning that conditions in the East, which has had a much more challenging season with warm weather issues all winter, continue to be greatly improved with plenty of fresh snowfall and particularly good conditions in the north. In the west, more massive storms have slammed in from the Pacific, two in the last week with a brief lull in between. Mammoth is now close to posting an 8-metre base on its higher slopes – the deepest in the world for quite a few years. Brighton in Utah tops the seasonal snowfall total, now nearly at 600 inches or 15 metres! All the snowfall has caused its usual complications though, burying access roads, buildings and even chairlifts, so a lot of digging out and avalanche mitigation work is needed to even open. Accompanying gales have brought blizzard conditions at times and brought down power lines, so sometimes too much snowfall is almost as bad as too little. Next week's looking interesting... |
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J2Ski Snow Report March 2nd 2023
Ax 3 Domaines, French Pyrenees, picked up some snow this week... Fresh snow across much of the northern hemisphere. The Snow Headlines - 2nd March - Further huge snowfalls in western North America - up to 12 feet in 7 days. - Snowfall across the Alps, but more in the Pyrenees. - Pyrenees 7-day snow totals pass 60cm (2 feet) - World's deepest snow passes 7 metre mark for the first time this season. - Resorts including Aspen announce extended ski seasons. - Ski areas in south-eastern USA end seasons early due to warm weather. 
Snow in the forecast for many regions...
World Overview March and springtime (by the meteorological measure of the seasons) are here and once again it's the Western side of North America that's reporting incredible snowfalls, with up to 12 feet (3.5 metres) reported in the last seven days by some resorts by Lake Tahoe. Meanwhile, Mammoth Mountain to the south has now gone through the 7 metres snow depth mark, the world's deepest. There's an improved picture for much of Europe too, with cooler temperatures and most areas seeing some snowfall after a warm, dry latter half of February. Although many areas just saw a few inches of snow, the biggest falls – of up to 50cm, were posted down in the Pyrenees as well as up in Scandinavia and some Austrian centres posted as much as 40cm from multiple snowfalls over the last seven days. Then parts of the southern French Alps and Western Italy got up to 20cm. Austria Austria has had a good week, on the whole, with up to 40cm of fresh snowfall reported over the last seven days, much of it falling in the first few days of this week, although conditions remain unsettled. The problem is that after a temperature drop to below freezing on Sunday-Monday, it is getting warmer again so low-lying valleys have seen some rain on the snow, although it has been snowfall for higher slopes. Conditions will be similar through the weekend with heavier snowfall expected next week. France Following a month with very little snow to report we've finally seen at least a few centimetres of snowfall across French ski slopes in the last week, heaviest along the Italian border where some centres saw as much as 10cm. It's not a lot but it was at least a bit of a refresh and was accompanied by falling temperatures on Sunday/Monday which saw the numbers get back below freezing. The weather has warmed a little now but remains cooler than it was with highs in the 4-8C range in valleys but staying below freezing and dropping to double digits below above 2000m. Most French ski slopes remain open and Tignes/Val d'Isere continue to post the continent's deepest snowpack, up 2cm this week to 272cm. Italy A mixed week of weather in Italy with pretty much the whole array thrown at the country's ski slopes - sunshine, cloud, snowfall, rain at lower elevations and strong winds at times. The good news, other than the fresh snow which has reached almost everywhere to a lesser or greater effect, is that the freezing point has dropped back down and most of the main areas continue to have everything open, despite some rather thin 20-40cm lower slope depths for many. The heaviest snowfalls were at the start of the week in the northwest with up to 30cm reported in the Aosta Valley, Cervinia was one of the big winners with 25cm in 24 hours on Monday/Tuesday. Elsewhere it was more like 5-10cm although ski areas in the Apennines reported double that. Switzerland Swiss ski centres have had their share of snowfall and some colder weather too. Europe's highest slopes above Zermatt have finally seen the base depth go in the right direction, up 10cm on a week ago after snowfall earlier this week, even though it (in common with bases across most of the Alps), remains well below average – especially for March when the depth stats would normally be peaking ahead of the start of the spring thaw. Despite this though, and with much of the snow cover down at resort level melting away, most of the main Swiss ski centres still have 85-95% of their slopes open thanks to judicious snow management. Scandinavia Western Norwegian ski centres again saw the most snowfall over the last seven days with Myrkdalen near Voss getting up to a 2.7m base, just a few centimetres off Europe's current deepest. In the north, it's been more about temperature than snowfall with lows in the -30s (Celsius) in Lapland to start March. The region's largest resort, Are in Sweden, has the most terrain open, with 75km of its 85km of runs currently skiable. Pyrenees It has been a good week in the Pyrenees with a return to lower temperatures and snowfall - in fact, more here than in any other part of Europe except perhaps Scandinavia. The snowfall started at the end of last week with 10-40cm accumulations going into the weekend, the heaviest reported on the French side. It was drier over the weekend but then snowfall returned for the final days of February meaning some areas have had several feet (60cm)in total, the most this year. It's obviously a great refresh ahead of the spring ski season. Scotland Scotland has seen some very cold nights over the past week, with -8C reported in Glenshee, but there have been no significant snow showers to replace the lost snow and afternoon highs of +8C have dealt with what thin falls there have been on lower slopes, so we are left with just nursery areas open at Glenshee, The Lecht and Cairngorm with some hike-to touring terrain open up high on Scottish hills. Eastern Europe Bansko started spring with a nice coating of fresh snowfall on Wednesday morning, reporting 20cm of fresh snowfall up high and giving powder conditions to begin the month. Although it is still battling back from the poor start of the season, nearly all runs are now open, including the long run back down to the village. Further north Jasna in Slovakia remains fully open. North America Canada Another good week across Canada with temperatures staying well below freezing. Ski areas from Quebec in the East to British Columbia in the West reported fresh snowfall and temperatures in the freezing to -20C range, a little warmer than last week. The Rockies saw some of the biggest accumulations, with several resorts reporting up to 40cm of fresh snowfall. Most Canadian resorts are 100% open. USA The US has had a remarkable week for snowfall with most of the country seeing more big accumulations, resorts on the Pacific Coast quite exceptional ones. Here the base at Mammoth Mountain has reached 7.6 metres while The Palisades reported over 12 feet of snowfall in the last week. At the peak of the storm earlier this week resorts were posting up to three-feet (90cm) of snowfall per 24 hours! It has now calmed down a bit, but there's still a lot of digging out to do and some smaller resorts say they won't re-open until the weekend. The Rockies have seen more good snowfalls too, with Jackson Hole posting five feet more in the last five days which would be more of a stand-out if it were not for the Californian stats. There's been snow on the East Coast too, with resorts in New England that were most troubled by warm and wet weather this winter getting a good refresh for the start of spring. |
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