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J2Ski Snow Report - September 19th 2024
Started by Admin in Snow Forecasts and Snow Reports, discussing Breuil-Cervinia and Lech |
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Stubai Glacier, Austria, opening tomorrow(Friday!) after last week's heavy early snow. Heavy snow (and flooding) arrives for parts of Europe, while New Zealand and South America get late season boosts with snow falling in the final weeks of their seasons. The Snow Headlines - September 19th - Stubai announces early opening - this Friday! - First snowfall ahead of 24-25 season in the Pyrenees. - Heavy September snowfall in the Alps, down to low levels in places. - Heavy snowfall in New Zealand. - Only two centres still open in Australia. - More Alpine glaciers are preparing to open. - Forest fires threaten ski areas on the US West Coast. 
Decent late-season snow forecast for New Zealand, Argentina and Chile
World Overview The big news in the ski world this past week was the amount and extent of snowfall in Europe in the latter half of last week. Along with sizable falls up above 2,500m, which isn't unusual for late summer/early autumn, there was heavy, wet snow down to low levels, disrupting summer operations, particularly in the Austrian Alps. That's allowed at least one Austrian glacier ski area to start their season early, this coming weekend. The European snow fell over a very wide area too including Slovenia in the east and the Pyrenees to the west. In North America, the ski news was unfortunately more of forest fires threatening resorts than fresh snowfall, but high-altitude resorts in the Rockies are prepping their snowmakers to begin operations. The season continues to wind down in the southern hemisphere with Australia the most 'wound-down' having now only the largest resort Perisher, and one of the smallest Tasmania's Mount Mawson, left open. New Zealand areas by contrast have had a boost with a good fall of snow over the last week and most centres in the Andes remain open. Southern Hemisphere Australia With Charlotte Pass, Falls Creek and Thredbo closing early last weekend, only Australia's largest area Perisher remains open of the big players, albeit with thin cover left and less than 10% of its slopes still skiable. Temperatures did actually dip a little this last week and there were some light snowfalls. Ben Lomond in Tasmania even reported that it was re-opening for weekend sledging, if not skiing as a result, but the other Tasmanian ski centre, Mt Mawson, has a tow still running for skiers. Perisher hopes to stay open to the start of September but with afternoon temperatures continuing to be warm that remains to be seen. Overnight lows are still dipping below freezing. New Zealand It was one of the better weeks of the past month in New Zealand despite the fast-approaching end of the season. The main boost was a 20-40cm snowfall in the final days of last week which really transformed conditions after the spells of warm weather, rain and gales in recent weeks. The past week has seen several blue sky powder days after the snowfall. Coronet Peak, Cardrona and Mount Hutt appear to be in the best shape, with bases up to 2 metres up high and 100% of their terrain still open. Some smaller resorts are struggling with thin cover, and strong winds continue to cause closures. Mount Ruapehu's Turoa and Whakapapa ski areas remain hard hit with very little open so it is not looking good for their usual October operations. Argentina Most of Argentina's ski areas remain open although it's the final week or two for many. It's been a mostly dry week, frequently sunny and although overnight lows continue to dip just below freezing, daytime highs have reached +10C to +15C which is of course impacting snow cover. Most centres still have most of their slopes open, if down a little on a week ago. Catedral near Bariloche still has the most open in the world, down a little from 100km to 94km of slopes. Chapelco also still has the world's deepest reported snowpack, also down slightly on a week ago, at 3.2m. Chile A definite end-of-the-season feel in Chile with temperatures reaching the high double digits above freezing (Celsius) in the afternoons at some resorts. However, overnight lows on high runs continue to dip below freezing for freeze-thaw conditions so it's not a non-stop meltdown. It has been largely dry and frequently sunny over the last week, although rain/snowfall is expected for the remainder of this week. Base depths are dropping a little with the warmth but most centres remain fully open, Valle Nevado for example posting a 1-2.5m base depth and 100% of its lifts turning and runs open. Portillo has a 70-140cm base, down from double that at the height of winter, but also reports its slopes 100% open. Europe European ski areas had an exciting end to last week with over a foot of fresh snowfall above 2,500m and snow right down to valley floors, particularly noted in Austria where ski resorts like Lech posted PR pics and videos of impatient skiers looking optimistically at the snow on the resort's streets. Stubai Glacier announced on Monday that, after half-a-metre of late summer snowfall, it's starting its season weeks earlier than expected, this coming Friday 20th September. The snowfall covered a wide area including resorts in the Dolomites, as far east as Slovenia's Julian Alps and there was a dusting in the southwest too in the Pyrenees. It has since warmed up in valleys so the interruption to late summer mountain biking and hiking operations is about gone now, but temperatures remain in the -5C to +5C range up above 2,500m with more snow showers, albeit lighter ones, forecast for glaciers. Currently, it remains Saas-Fee and Zermatt open in Switzerland with the link to Zermatt's glacier from Cervinia currently closed, perhaps a little cruelly to Cervinian skiers given the fresh snow at Zermatt! However Italy's Passo Stelvio is open and Val Senales is scheduled to open for its 24-25 season this weekend, although possibly only for race team training initially. Austria's Hintertux had not yet re-opened at the time of writing despite getting a foot of fresh snow at the weekend, but that could change at any time. Two more Austrian areas, Pitztal and Solden, plan to start their 24-25 seasons in a week's time. Scandinavia saw snowfall too, in its case from the same Arctic air that moved down over the UK. Many centres there posted images of light snow coverings. Currently, the only area that should be open, the Galdhopiggen glacier, remains on hold. The two major Finnish ski areas Levi and Ruka plan to start their 24-325 seasons in a fortnight's time thanks to their snow farming efforts. North America In North America, ski areas in Colorado have continued preparing snowmaking systems as cold temperatures overnight have been more consistently dipping below freezing. There remains nowhere open across the continent at present with the first named opening date at Mount Norquay, Banff, Canada still six weeks away on November 1st. There has been more snow dusting high peaks over the last few days, with a second coating for Californian peaks and a first for Utah this autumn/fall. Unfortunately, ski areas have also been in the news for the wrong reasons this week with Oregon's Mount Bachelor and Mountain High and Mount Rose in California all threatened by forest fires. |
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J2Ski Snow Report - September 12th 2024
Started by Admin in Snow Forecasts and Snow Reports, discussing Breuil-Cervinia and Zermatt |
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Early snow for the Kitzsteinhorn, Austria, opening 12th October! Heavy snow (and rain) forecast for the eastern Alps, though it may not last, while the southern hemisphere winds down into spring. The Snow Headlines - September 12th - 30cm accumulation reported on Zermatt's summer ski slopes. - Fresh snow in New Zealand, along with more gale-force winds. - First fresh snowfall of autumn Scottish and Scandinavian slopes. - All but one of remaining Australian resorts to close by Sunday. - Scottish ski instructor killed in avalanche in Argentina. - More snowfall on high slopes in the Alps, reaching Dolomites too. - First flakes reported in Eastern North America. 
Heavy early snow forecast for the Alps
World Overview The change in seasons is becoming more apparent in both the northern and southern hemispheres as we move further into September and are now just a week away from the start of astronomical spring or autumn, depending on where you are. The change in the meteorological measure of the seasons already happened a fortnight back! In the northern hemisphere the prolonged heat is finally beginning to lose its grip, with cooler temperatures and snowfall on high slopes in the Alps and the Colorado Rockies. There has also been snow on high peaks in Scandinavia, Scotland, North-eastern North America and the Dolomites over the past few days. In the southern hemisphere it is ever warmer afternoon temperatures that are hitting snow cover. Australia hardest, where only one area looks set to remain open next week. To a lesser extent New Zealand where the first centres have announced they're shutting down snow operations until 2025 too. The most terrain and deepest snow remains in South America but daytime highs are getting warmer in the Andes as well and though everywhere remains open for now, there's a definite end-of-season feeling. Southern Hemisphere Australia Australia's 2024 season meltdown has continued with three more centres – Charlotte Pass, Falls Creek and Thredbo all announcing an early season end, either this coming Friday (13th) or Sunday 15th of September. With other centres having already ended their seasons, from Monday only Perisher will still be operating, and it reports that about 90% of its slopes are closed due to the warm sunny temperatures. It's been almost relentlessly sunny with overnight lows still dipping 4C to 8C degrees below freezing but daytime highs topping +10C continuing to thaw the remaining snow fast. New Zealand New Zealand ski areas have had yet another roller-coaster week of gales, rain, warm spells but also snowfall at times. At the time of writing things are on a high as there's been 10-20cm of fresh snowfall in the past 48 hours and Thursday was a blue sky day with sub-zero temperatures and only a small problem with the gales, so most centres reported superb conditions. Wet and windy weather on other days has led to one centre, Temple Basin, saying they can't keep going and are ending their 2024 season. On the North Island Whakapapa and Turoa continue to struggle with their season-long issue of not enough snow and they have only very limited terrain open. However, on the South Island Mount Hutt is still 95% open with the snow over 2m deep. Argentina It has been a largely dry week in Argentina with fairly typical spring freeze-thaw conditions as temperatures yoyo between -10C up high under clear skies overnight to +10Cs at resort bases. There's a definite 'end of the season' feeling from that, but at the same time base depths are holding up, particularly at Corralco (with the world's deepest base of 3.3m up high). Most centres have 70-100% of their slopes open with the 95km at Catedral near Bariloche remaining the most in the world for a single resort of currently open areas. Chile Daytime temperatures are starting to regularly hit double figures above freezing at the mountain bases in Chile, although overnight lows are well below freezing up high, so that's freeze-thaw conditions and very much spring underway, with some centres likely to announce season ends over the next few weeks. Base depths are reported to be holding up though and bigger resorts like Portillo and Valle Nevado remain fully open. Europe There's been a definite shift in the seasons this week in Europe with an Arctic front moving down from the north bringing snowfall to mountain peaks in Norway, Finland, Sweden and Scotland. Colder weather in the Alps has also brought substantial snowfalls to glaciers and high slopes in the Alps, and that's extended further south and East into the Dolomites too. There has also been snowfall down to lower levels, with ski areas like Kitzbuhel reporting a covering of snow. Three of the four glacier areas that are trying to stay open are currently reported to be operating although one of them, Saas-Fee, was cut off by a landslip for much of the past week and the only access in and out was an expensive helicopter taxi. The road has now re-opened however. In nearby Zermatt, the plan to have year-round access from Cervinia also appears to have been quietly shelved with the link currently closed until late October. Skiers on the Swiss side can still access about 11km of slopes open there with fresh snow cover. Skiers in Italy can still ski Passo Stelvio which reports more slopes open. The glacier at Val Senales, which was closed last autumn as a cable car was renewed, reports it will open from next weekend, although possibly only for race team training. Austria's formerly year-round Hintertux glacier has now been closed for more than a month but is reviewing its closure daily and will re-open whenever conditions are good enough. That's a similar position to Norway's Galdhopiggen glacier centre and it's now only three weeks until Levi and Ruka in Finland are due to open for their 7-month 24-25 seasons, using snow stored through last summer and spread back out on their slopes. North America The first snow – kind of – was reported on east coast mountains in New York State at the weekend, an almost unnoticeable dusting, but skiers noticed! That followed the more significant whitening of higher mountains in the Colorado Rockies. Here, temperatures are regularly dipping a degree or two below freezing each night, although the weather is back to predominantly sunny. High resorts hoping to open next month like Arapahoe Basin and Keystone have been busy testing their snow-making equipment. Nowhere is currently open in North America however. |
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J2Ski Snow Report - September 5th 2024
Started by Admin in Snow Forecasts and Snow Reports, 1 Reply, discussing Breckenridge and Val Cenis |
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An early dusting for Breckenridge, Colorado, USA We're getting that autumn feeling; first snows high in the Alps and the Rockies, as spring arrives and the ski season winds down in the southern hemisphere. The Snow Headlines - September 5th - Fresh snow falls on high slopes in the Alps. - Meltdown for Australia's 2024 season, most resorts close early. - August snowfall in Arizona. - More heavy snowfall in Argentina. - September snowfall in the Rockies as Colorado resorts ready snowmaking equipment. - South Africa's season ends on schedule at Afriski in Lesotho. 
Early autumn snow forecast for Europe, and late season top-ups for New Zealand
World Overview The start of meteorological springtime in the southern hemisphere has seen more snowfall across the region's ski nations, but severe gale force winds and mild temperatures bringing torrential rain before the snow have also been factors for New Zealand and Australian ski areas. In the latter's case, it led to more Aussie areas announcing they'd be closing at short notice so now more than half have closed - up to a month earlier than planned. It's a better picture in the Andes where there's been heavy fresh snowfall; and base depths as well as open terrain are all holding up. In southern Africa, the 2024 season ended on Sunday at the only open ski area, Afriski in Lesotho. In the northern hemisphere, Sunday saw the start of meteorological autumn/fall (and of September) which should see the number of ski areas open, (currently, officially, four) more than double by the end of the month. The four glacier areas currently open in the Alps have continued to battle warm temperatures, but there was good news – kind of – as we complete this weeks report with the first snows of September spotted above 3,000m in the western Alps. 'Kind of' because it's the cold end of a torrential rainstorm that's brought flooding to some valleys. Across in North America nowhere is open at present but there's been fresh snow up high as far south as Arizona and anticipation continues to build for the start of the 24-25 season, hopefully next month. Again, as we complete this week's report Colorado ski areas are posting images of fresh snowfall there. Southern Hemisphere Australia Sadly, the warm August weather has led to more than half of Australian ski areas closing early over the past week. Mounts Baw Baw and Buller closed on Sunday, whilst Selwyn Resort said it's likely to abandon it's hoped-for re-opening. Hotham closed on Wednesday leaving just Perisher, Falls Creek and Thredbo still open of the country's bigger resorts. There were a couple of breaks in the heat over the past week, with light snowfall on Friday followed by an Antarctic blast to start the week which brought a 10-degree dip in temperatures and more snowfall. Base depths have almost halved in a week, however, and the open areas – most of which are trying to hang on until October, now have only fractions of their terrain left open. New Zealand New Zealand has had frequently wild weather all season and this past week has been little different with torrential rain at times with mild temperatures and 100mph gales an even bigger issue. That led to the opening of the Park & Pipe 24-25 World Cup Tour at Cardrona needing to be repeatedly delayed through the weekend. Against all these setbacks there have also been periods of heavy snowfall and even some fresh powder days, it's just hard to know what's going to hit from one day to the next. The big picture is that the country's main ski areas including Treble Cone, Mount Hutt, Coronet Peak and others remain 70-100% open with fairly decent depths for the final month of the season. The exception, unfortunately, is Mt Ruapehu on the North Island where Whakapapa and Turoa continue to struggle with very little open. Argentina It's been a good week for Argentina's ski areas with temperatures staying low and some good fresh snowfalls to start September, with accumulations of up to 50cm reported. It's getting warmer now that meteorological springtime is here but is still dipping way below freezing overnight right down to base levels. Catedral, near ski town Bariloche, continues to post the most terrain open anywhere in the world at present with about 100km of slopes and Corralco has the world's deepest snowpack with 3.3m lying up top. It's looking drier and warmer for the coming weekend. Chile Conditions remain good on the whole in Chile with most areas seeing fresh snow this week and reporting their slopes still fully open, even with the end of their 2024 seasons only a fortnight away in some cases. The Tre Valles area east of Portillo which links the slopes of La Parva, Valle Nevado and El Colorado reports nearly 100km (90%) of the area open and base depths just under 3 metres on upper slopes. The base depth numbers are good at Nevados de Chillan to the south too whilst Portillo reports all slopes still open. Europe It's been another difficult week for the four glacier areas in the Alps that are trying to offer summer skiing. It has been a degree or two cooler and there have even been light snow flurries reported above 3,000m, but overall temperatures are getting 5-10 degrees (Centigrade) above freezing even at that altitude, so the snow is wet and then icy where it does get back below freezing overnight. Thursday afternoon did see more promising, widespread accumulations with Italy's Bardonecchia and Val d'Isere in France posting images of fresh snow above 3000m. However in the next valley there were flooding problems and road closures around Val Cenis. As for the ski areas aiming to be open, Austria's Hintertux remains closed but Italy's Passo Stelvio has re-opened and Saas Fee and Zermatt have each managed to open 8-11km of slopes each, albeit with diminished snow levels. Two more alpine glaciers, Pitztal and Solden, are due to open in three weeks and Levi and Ruka in Finland are also scheduled to open in less than a month, in their cases using snow 'farmed' (stockpiled under cover) from last season spread back out on the slopes, so more consistent lower temperatures will help them all make that happen. North America There's nowhere currently open in North America with the first centres expected to start their seasons from mid-October, if conditions allow. There have now been several late summer snowfalls, between warm spells, on high slopes across the western side of the continent. Ski areas in Alberta have now had multiple early season falls and one novelty last week was a snow shower up high in Arizona on the last day of August. This snow quickly melted again but cheered up skiers looking for signs of winter. Overnight lows in the Rockies are now regularly getting down close to freezing and Wednesday night saw dustings of snow on high slopes in Colorado with Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge and Keystone amongst those posting images of their mountain tops turning white. |
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J2Ski's Where to Ski in September 2024
Started by Admin in Snow Forecasts and Snow Reports, discussing Breuil-Cervinia and Zermatt |
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A reducing number of ski areas in Australia and New Zealand will be open through September, whilst those in Argentina and Chile are mostly in good (if not excellent) shape as they start the month.
Kids ski free in Portillo, Chile, in September so if you needed an excuse... there you go! Where to Ski in September 2024 We're into meteorological springtime in the southern hemisphere as September starts, and meteorological autumn/fall in the northern. Spring and autumn/fall by the astronomical season measure will be here soon too, three weeks into the month - so in other words it is all change. The first country/continent to close its skiing for 2024, Lesotho and southern Africa have already closed and most resorts in Australia, New Zealand and South America will join them by the end of this month, although a few will continue into early October. But September is definitely season wind down month for the south. In the northern hemisphere, snowfalls on the highest slopes at the end of August in western North America and in Europe remind us that, yes, winter is coming! Southern Hemisphere Australia It definitely feels like the final weeks of the season in Australia after a slightly lacklustre season was saved from being a bad one by metre snowfalls in mid-July. Since then there have been more light snowfalls but warm August temperatures have led to bases dropping and terrain available dramatically decreasing too. Several centres including Mount Baw Baw, Mount Buller and Selwyn, have closed altogether due to snow shortages. There is cold forecast for early September but it looks like it will be short lived and after that things are only moving in one direction. Some remaining centres will close three weeks into the month as planned, others like the largest Perisher, which has 25km of slopes open at the start of the month, the second most in the world, will hope to stay open until the start of October. New Zealand New Zealand hasn't had the best of seasons, with warmer temperatures than they'd like, and gales a frequent problem as well. That said as we start September for some of the bigger commercial centres like Mount Hutt and Cardrona conditions are about the best they've been with base depths above 2 metres on higher runs and everything open. Most ski areas will hopefully remain like that through September. Unfortunately, ski centres on Mount Ruapehu, particularly Whakapapa, which is often the last in the southern hemisphere to close each season in late October or even early November, have had a very poor season to date and very little is still open, so it is not looking great, without a big improvement over the coming month, for a late season end there. South America Ski areas in Argentina and Chile are into their final month of what has been one of the best seasons for many years. B Beginning early back in May after the biggest autumn snowfalls in 20+ years, it has stayed consistently cold and snowy for much of the past three months and resorts like Argentina's Las Lenas are posting the world's deepest snowpack at present, at over 3m, whilst Catedral to the north has the most terrain open of any centre on the planet, around 100km of slopes. Chilean areas like Valle Nevado and Portillo are also posting very healthy stats. Most South American ski areas will probably close (unless seasons are extended) about three weeks into September as is traditional, with just a few making it into October. Southern Africa Southern Africa's 2024 season at Afriski in Lesotho ended at the close of August so there's nowhere open there now until 2025. Europe Alps September begins with four glacier areas open, or intending to be; Austria's Hintertux – although it has been closed for much of August due to warm weather; Switzerland's Saas Fee and Zermatt (also accessible from Italy's Cervinia) and Passo Stelvio in Italy. All being well, all will remain open through the month and they'll be joined on the final weekend by Austria's Solden on the 27th and the Pitztal Glacier on the 28th. That does depend on conditions improving though and currently, there's not too much to get excited about with temperatures above freezing most days on the glaciers. There have though been some signs of winter creeping in at the highest altitudes so we just need them to creep lower and do so more consistently over the next few weeks! Scandinavia There's nowhere expected to be open in Scandinavia in September although Norway's Galdhopiggen summer ski area, with the region's highest lifts, is on a temporary closure through the hottest months and plans to reopen when cold enough, which could potentially be towards the end of this month. In Finland, Levi and Ruka ski areas plan to open at the start of October for their 7-month 24-25 seasons using snow saved ('farmed') in huge stockpiles from last winter spread back out on the slopes, that process will begin towards the end of September. North America September is the only month when there's nowhere expected to be open in North America. That may still be the case in October but several resorts including Colorado's Arapahoe Basin and Keystone hope to open before the end of that month. There were light snowfalls high in the Rockies and California's Sierras at the end of August but that doesn't always translate to continuing cold weather through the month. |
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J2Ski Snow Report - August 29th 2024
Started by Admin in Snow Forecasts and Snow Reports, discussing Breuil-Cervinia and Lake Tahoe |
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August snow at Lake Louise, Canada, this week - although it didn't last long! Warm weather closes slopes in Austria and Australia, Spring and mixed conditions in South America and New Zealand. Oh, and some summer snow in Canada! The Snow Headlines - August 29th - Two Australian ski areas shut down as snow thaws away. - 4 glaciers officially "open" in the Alps, but several closed by warm weather. - 5 weeks to start of 24-25 season in Finland, thanks to snow farming. - Norway's Fonna summer ski area closes for 2024 (and won't reopen as hoped). - South Africa's 2024 season ending this week. - Nowhere currently open in North America but brief snowfall on high slopes in Western US. - Countdown to snowmaking appears on Colorado's Loveland's website. 
Summer snow on the peaks in Europe, more forecast for New Zealand, and South America
World Overview We're just a few days away from the start of meteorological springtime in the southern hemisphere and warm weather has been an issue for some centres, particularly in Australia where one area closed this week as cover was no longer adequate, although it has started snowing again since. New Zealand has had a mix of gales, snowfalls and rain this week to keep resort operators there on their toes. In South America though resorts continue to post the world's deepest snows and largest areas of terrain open. In southern Africa they're on to the final weekend of winter in Lesotho. In the northern hemisphere, the start of autumn/fall is nearly here and there have been a few signs of the winter to come in North America with a dusting of snow on peaks along the West Coast following similar light coverings in the Canadian Rockies. In the European Alps, the few glaciers still open are struggling to remain so with warm temperatures at high altitudes continuing to be the issue. Southern Hemisphere Australia We're approaching the final 3-5 weeks of the season in Australia, with conditions to match. Temperatures have been getting into double figures on the slopes in the afternoons, rarely below freezing overnight, and as a result base depths are dropping - as is the amount of terrain open. Mount Buller has struggled to open all of its terrain all season and is now back below 20%. Selwyn announced on Monday it was forced to close as its snow cover had melted away, but says it hopes to reopen if adequate snowfall arrives. Mount Baw Baw announced on Thursday that its season would end on Sunday, September 1st due to the conditions. Most other Aussie centres still have 50-75% of their slopes open, with Perisher still posting an upper slope base of over a metre. Thredbo is the only other ski area in the country with similar depths - and has about 50km of slopes open. It also posted a 2cm dusting of fresh snowfall on Thursday morning. The weather has been improving in recent days with colder temperatures and snow showers slowing the thaw. New Zealand New Zealand has had a mixed run of conditions this past week with resorts initially celebrating and enjoying big snowfalls in the first half of last week, before warming temperatures, rain and wind forced a number of smaller centres to close. A major snowstorm is currently underway, just as the 24-25 World Cup Park & Pipe tour is due to get underway at Cardrona. The big picture is pretty good at most South Island resorts. Mount Hutt remains above 2m for its upper slope base depth, the best outside of South America and it is one of several posting its slopes 100% open with all lifts turning. Unfortunately not such good news still from the North Island with Whakapapa and Turoa both still needing fresh cover on Mount Ruapehu - unfortunately little is open there still as a result. Argentina It's starting to feel a little more springlike in Argentina too, particularly in the north of the country where it has been a mostly sunny week and base level temperatures have topped +10C in the afternoons. There have still been snow showers though and sub-zero overnight lows with colder and snowier conditions at more southerly centres. Catedral near Bariloche continues to post the most terrain open in the world at present with nearly 100km of slopes available whilst Chapelco has the deepest reported snow anywhere right now with 3.3m (11 feet) up top. Chile A similar situation in Chile to Argentina with a mostly dry week with some snow showers and more forecast. Slightly warmer daytime highs here, but overnight lows are still getting down to double digits (Centigrade) below zero at altitude. Base depths have actually been growing with resorts including Valle Nevado and Nevados de Chillan reporting close to 3m/10 feet up top. Most centres, including Portillo, have all or almost all of their slopes open still. Southern Africa It's the final weekend of the 2024 ski season coming up at Lesotho's Afriski. Temperatures have been getting up to double figures above freezing and not getting below freezing anymore at night so the main run has begun breaking up. The season ends with a 'Winterfest' final weekend celebration to see in the start of spring. Europe Four glacier ski areas remain open in Europe, officially, but continuing warm weather at altitude means that most have had closure days. In the case of 'year-round' Hintertux, the only Austrian centre open, that closure has continued for several weeks now. Saas-Fee in Switzerland, which has been posting the deepest snow at over 2.5 metres on its slopes, was closed due to wet snow but has now reopened. Zermatt, with Europe's highest glacier slopes also accessible from Cervinia in Italy, has remained open throughout. Passo Stelvio, the only area currently open on Italian soil, is the latest to temporarily close due to the conditions - with webcam images showing the snow gone from its glacial ice. In the north, Norway's Fonna glacier, only open to ski race teams for the last month, has announced it has closed for 2024 and won't re-open in autumn as hoped. Fellow Scandinavian centre Galdhopiggen, is also currently closed but will re-open, it hopes, in October. Temperatures remain warm for the start of September in the Alps although dropping a degree or two to give more freeze-thaw conditions up high. North America Less than a week after the final ski area still operating its 23-24 season (Oregon's Timberline) ended its run, snowfall was reported on high slopes in Canada and the US. The most recent falls were reported right along North America's Pacific Coast from Mammoth Mountain in the south via Lake Tahoe resorts including Mount Rose and Northstar to Oregon's Mt Bachelor in the north. Nowhere is currently open in North America but it will hopefully be cold enough for snowmaking to begin on high slopes by the end of next month and for resorts to start opening in the latter half of October. Colorado's Loveland ski area has started its "days-to-start-of-snowmaking" website countdown clock. |
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J2Ski Snow Report - August 22nd 2024
Started by Admin in Snow Forecasts and Snow Reports, discussing Breuil-Cervinia and St. Anton ... |
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Blue Moon at sunset, Hotham, Australia (they have snow too!) Decent snowfall in New Zealand, lighter and warmer in Australia, with fresh snow again for some South American ski resorts. The Snow Headlines - August 22nd - New Zealand receives more weekend snowfall than expected, around 50cm. - Southern Africa's Lesotho enters final week of 2024 season from Sunday. - Mount Hutt first in Australia or New Zealand to pass 2 metres base depth in 2024. - North America's 23-24 Season ends but 24-25 likely less than 3 months away. - St. Anton, Austria damaged by flash floods. - First snowfall of 24-25 on Canadian slopes. - Two more glaciers in the Alps close due to snow conditions. 
Snow forecast for New Zealand, and South America
World Overview The 2024 season is entering its final month for most ski centres south of the equator and for one, Lesotho's Afriski, its final week. Conditions are good to great almost everywhere though with most centres in Argentina, Australia, Chile and New Zealand fully open, or nearly so. Conditions have been more springlike in Australia, but there's been fresh snow here too. New Zealand has posted the heaviest snowfall this last week, some areas reporting over half-a-metre of snowfall up high, although some had rain early on. Ski areas in the Andes continue to report the world's deepest snow cover and the most terrain open anywhere right now. North of the equator, we're down to only 4 ski areas aiming to be open to the public, and skiing is now possible on just one continent and in total less than 30km of slopes, all the lowest stats of 2024 to date. In fact, two of the four centres have been closed by warm, weather this week. More glacier areas are due to open, conditions permitting, in around one months time. Actually, numbers could increase slightly sooner, potentially, as the two small glacier areas still operating in Scandinavia - but currently only for race teams - Fonna and Galdhopiggen, could re-open to the general skiing public. Timberline in Oregon, USA, the last area that had been open still for the 23-24 season in North America ended its season last Sunday, but Wednesday evening saw what could be considered the first snowfall of 24-25 on high slopes in the Canadian Rockies at resorts including Sunshine near Banff. More snowfall is forecast on high slopes in California and Colorado this weekend too. Southern Hemisphere Australia There was some light snowfall for Australian slopes this week, although temperatures have also been climbing so we're getting warm, springlike conditions in the afternoons. Conditions remain excellent overall and at the highpoint of the season to date really with most centres posting 80-100% of slopes open, including most big-name resorts including Falls Creek, Hotham, Thredbo and Perisher, which has the most terrain open in the region, around 60km of slopes. Upper slope depths are healthy by Aussie norms too, most with over a metre lying up top. New Zealand Another week of yoyoing temperatures and everything from hill fog, gales, rain and, yes, snow hitting Kiwi slopes. The best news was a larger-than-forecast snowfall at the weekend with some centres posting 50-60cm accumulations and snow down to low levels, so the week started well for most with plenty of powder to enjoy once slopes were made safe and access roads clear. Mount Hutt passed the 2 metre base depth mark with their new snow too, the deepest in the southern hemisphere away from South America. It and most other NZ centres are currently fully open. Skies have cleared for much of this week but its looking like more snowfall, expected to be light, at the weekend. Argentina There's been more light to moderate snowfalls across Argentinian ski slopes and they're forecast to continue for more southerly resorts through the weekend, drier up north. Catedral ski area near Bariloche continues to post the largest ski area open at one resort in the world at present with about 100km of slopes available there. Las Lenas, to the south, has what's currently the world's deepest snowpack at 3.3 metres, Chile Chilean centres saw snowfall at more northerly resorts this past week, with Portillo one of those still posting its slopes 100% open and one of the country's deepest snow depths at more than 2.2 metres. The snow-bearing front is now moving south so resorts in the southern half of the country will see more snow into next week. Valle Nevado and its neighbours La Parva and El Colorado are posting the deepest snowpacks in the world at 2.5 metres, as is Nevados de Chillan to the south. The three linked areas in the Tre Valles near Santiago have about 100km of slopes open between them. Southern Africa We are nearly into the final week of the season at Lesotho's Afriski, the only operational centre in the region. Temperatures have been rising and are now generally above freezing, but webcam images show the main run still fully intact, along with beginners area and terrain park ahead of the season-ending WinterFest in a week's time. Europe We are down to just four centres officially open in the whole northern hemisphere, all in the Austrian, Italian and Swiss Alps with the season-end of North America's only still operating areas at the weekend. As has been the case for the past month, the Alpine glaciers are struggling with the heat even at their altitudes with temperatures generally above freezing even at night and daytime highs touching +10C at times so snow depths are falling fast and open terrain likewise. Rain has also been reported on the snow. Officially Saas Fee and Zermatt in Switzerland remain open (Zermatt's glacier also accessible from Cervinia in Italy), along with Hintertux in Austria and Passo Stelvio in Italy. The first three have approximately 10km of slopes open each, Stelvio about half that, best conditions first thing in the morning, of course. The impact of the warm temperatures varies with heavy, slushy snow the main result, but Hintertux warns that their slopes are extremely icy at times. Both they and Saas Fee have been closed most days over the past week although both say opening decisions are being made daily, Saas Fee reporting the snow has been too soft in the mornings due to the warm temperatures. The decision at Hintertux may have been due to torrential rain in Austria this week which led to flash flooding damaging cars and buildings in St Anton among other places. |
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J2Ski Snow Report - August 15th 2024
Started by Admin in Snow Forecasts and Snow Reports, discussing Breuil-Cervinia and Zermatt |
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Perisher, Australia, bashing pistes under the glow of the Aurora Australis! Snow falls almost everywhere in the southern hemisphere, with great skiing in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and Chile. The Snow Headlines - August 15th - More snowfall in New Zealand - best conditions of season to date. - Most Australian centres fully open, or close to it. - Argentinian ski areas post most terrain open, and deepest snow, on planet. - US (and North American) 23-24 ski season finally ends this weekend. - High temps on Alpine glaciers leads to rapid thawing and diminishing cover. 
Snow forecast for New Zealand, and South America
World Overview Conditions are some of the best of the season to date across the southern hemisphere's ski slopes, most of which are fully open, with at least some fresh snowfall reported in almost all areas, heaviest in the Andes and New Zealand. It is, at last, the final week of the 23-24 ski season in North America where the only centre still open from autumn last year says it will end its long season this Sunday. Across the Atlantic the hottest weeks of summer so far in the Alps have further impacted what's open at the few glacier centres currently open. Southern Hemisphere Australia Australian ski areas continue to report some of the best conditions of the season so far with most of the country's resorts now 90-100% open - and several posting 1m+ bases. There has not been much fresh snowfall this week but the resorts continue to reap the rewards of late July and early-August falls with overnight lows cold enough for snowmaking. The southern hemisphere's largest ski area outside South America, Perisher, is virtually fully open with more than 60km of slopes available. It's a similar scenario at Hotham, Falls Creek and Thredbo. Mount Buller, which only had 5% of its runs open this time last month, is now at nearly 70%. The weather looks like it will remain dry into the weekend with plenty of sunshine, and temperatures in the -3C to +9C range. New Zealand New Zealand has got into a nice pattern of snow dumps every few days with blue sky days in between. Some of the snow has been a little wet and heavy but the upside of that, ski areas say, is that it's good for run foundation. Snowfalls have been delivering lighter, fluffier snow towards the end of each dump, giving powder conditions the next day. The only downsides in the past week have been strong winds closing some slopes at times and (when the wind drops), hill fog impacting visibility. Mount Hutt has now got a 1.6m+ base, the deepest in the region and is one of half-a-dozen NZ resorts that are now fully open. Vhangeable weather will continue into the weekend with a mix of sunny spells and cloud with some showers possible. Temperatures pretty cold, in the -5C to +4C range. Argentina It has been a good week in Argentina with some good snowfalls in the north of the country, clear skies further south although temperatures here have been lower – mostly below freezing and getting as low as -12C, for some lovely crisp ski days. Most centres are 80-100% open. The snowfall has boosted bases once again and the only centres worldwide with snow lying more than 3 metres deep are to be found here with Las Leñas posting the world's deepest at 3.3m (11 feet). The southern hemisphere's largest ski area, Catedral, is posting 100km of slopes open, the most in the world at present. Chile It's been another mostly dry and frequently sunny week in Chile. Although the nights are still cold we are starting to see temperatures just edge up a degree or two. Base depths remain good and are indeed just a little behind those of Argentinian centres just a few kilometres away over the border. Similarly most Chilean areas are also 80-100% open with big names like Portillo and Valle Nevado fully open. The coming week looks like more of the same weather but with a chance of some light-moderate fresh snowfalls on southerly ski centre slopes like those of Nevados de Chillan, already posting the joint deepest base in the country at just under 3m (along with La Parva and Valle Nevado). Southern Africa Lesotho's Afriski remains fully open although temperatures have continued to rise a little and are now typically in the 0C to +10C range, limiting further snowmaking opportunities. However, the snowpack remains complete and the main run fully open. Another sunny week is forecast for the coming seven days. Europe Four glacier areas remain open to all in Austria, Italy and Switzerland. There are two more centres open, but currently only to race teams for training, up in Norway at Folgefonn and Galdhopiggen. It has been a very warm week in the Alps with temperatures getting well into double figures above freezing Celsius even at glacier level in the afternoon, with the result that open terrain continues to drop, and snow thickness on the glacial ice is diminishing fast. It has been mostly sunny but there have been rain showers on the snow too. Hintertux, Saas Fee, Zermatt (also accessible from Cervinia) and Passo Stelvio are each publishing between 4km and 10km of slopes open each. North America This coming Sunday 18th marks the end of North America's 23-34 season with the last area open, the Palmer snowfield on Mount Hood, above Timberline in Oregon, calling it a day on the continent's longest opening run – over nine months since last November. The past few weeks have seen temperatures in the 80s Fahrenheit and the open terrain there shrink to little more than a mile. Looking ahead, it's less than three months until the 24-25 season is expected to be underway on high slopes in Colorado and northerly slopes in Alberta, Canada. |
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J2Ski Snow Report - August 8th 2024
Started by Admin in Snow Forecasts and Snow Reports, discussing Breuil-Cervinia and Zermatt |
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Hotham, Victoria, Australia earlier today. Heavy snow in Argentina (again), as well as New Zealand, with top-ups for Chile and improving conditions in Australia. The Snow Headlines - August 8th - Perisher reports all lifts running for the first time in two years. - Heavy snow, and elevated avalanche risk, in Argentina. - Warm temperatures on Alpine glaciers see fast thawing of summer snow cover. - Best conditions of season so far in New Zealand. 
Find out where there is snow forecast
World Overview The main snow news this week has been the heavy snowfall in New Zealand sending more resorts there through the 1m base depth mark and allowing them to open more terrain, with most commercial centres on the South Island now fully open - or nearly so - ...but some smaller club fields without snowmaking still not open at all. In Australia, cold weather for more snowmaking has allowed centres to consolidate their terrain opening after the big snowfalls of late July and a growing number of resorts are now fully open, or almost. Heavy snowfall in the Andes too has led to temporary closures while slopes are made safe and lifts dug out but the overall picture remains very positive. In the northern hemisphere, the ongoing battle is against warm summer temperatures impacting the remaining summer snow cover at the five centres currently open in Europe and North America. Despite that, the change in the seasons is getting nearer with another five glacier and northern latitude ski centres announcing that they plan to open for their 24-25 seasons in less than two months time. Southern Hemisphere Australia Australia's ski resorts are reporting some of the best conditions of the season thanks to more fresh snowfall and cold temperatures for snowmaking after the big snowfalls a fortnight ago. Perisher reported on Saturday that it had opened the 46th of its 46 lifts, The Olympic T Bar, for the first time since 2022 meaning all its lifts are running for the first time in two years. There's not been much snowfall but there has been more snow-making on Aussie slopes this week. Base depths are now through the metre mark with Thredbo and Perisher reaching around 125cm on their upper slopes. The mostly sunny skies and dry conditions continue to be forecast for the weekend too. Highs well into the high single figures in the afternoons but dipping to -7C overnight. New Zealand New Zealand's ski areas have enjoyed some fabulous conditions following big snowfalls last week, delivering the best conditions of the season to date. Most centres have been able to open more terrain and the majority of the commercial centres are now fully open (or close). There are exceptions to the good news though with several of the smaller club fields that are 100% reliant on natural snowfall saying they still don't have enough and on the North Island, Whakapapa on Mount Ruapehu continues to suffer with only a fraction of its terrain open. After sunshine last weekend, more clouds have rolled in with temperatures staying low and it looks like there'll be more snowfall over the next few days. Several areas posted 10-20cm accumulations as snow returned on Thursday and expected powder days through the weekend. Argentina Argentinian ski areas reported some more heavy snowfall in the past week, heaviest around last weekend before skies started to clear midweek. The snowfall, the most in a month or so following the very snowy May-June period, brought fresh powder but also increased avalanche risk, limiting open terrain for a while. The country continues to post the world's deepest snow, with over three metres lying on higher slopes at Chapelco and Las Leñas - and it seems likely the southern hemisphere's largest single ski area, Catedral near Bariloche, will return to having the most terrain open in the world once slopes are made safe to open again. Chile All of Chile's ski centres are 85-100% open thanks to the big snowfalls at the start of the season. There has been some snowfall this last week too, although it does not appear to have been so heavy as further east in Argentina, and conditions have turned clear and sunny again, although still cold, with lows below -10C and highs hardly reaching freezing. Nevados de Chillan has the country's deepest snow at 2.5m and the Tre Valles inter-connected area of Valle Nevado, La Parva and El Colorado is almost fully open delivering the largest ski area currently open in the world with over 100km of slopes. Southern Africa Lesotho's Afriski has had its usual sunny week, with temperatures in a wide range between -8 and +10C through the 24-hour cycle. Its main mile-long piste remains fully open with snowmaking used to top up cover overnight as required. The season ends here at the end of the month. Europe We're on four glacier ski areas still open in the Alps but temperatures have remained above freezing day and night, between around +2 and +10C at glacier level, so snowpack depths continue to fall and open terrain is diminishing too. There's no real sign of a temperature drop at present and the light showers there have been have fallen as rain rather than snow in most cases. Austrias's Hintertux and Switzerland's Saas Fee and Zermatt (also accessible from Cervinia), have about 10km of slopes open each. Italy's Passo Stelvio is also open with about 4km of runs there. Up in Norway the Fonna and Galdhopiggen glaciers have closed to the public for now but have race teams training and have been reporting great conditions for them. North America It's really just the Palmer Snowfield above Timberline on Mount Hood in Oregon that's still open in North America ...unless you count the Big Snow indoor snow hall in New Jersey or the hike-to terrain park at Colorado's Copper Mountain which is on its final weekend of summer 2024 this week. Temperatures at Timberline too have been very warm and well above freezing day and night so the snowpark and few miles of runs are best tackled in the early morning light. There's a fortnight left of the season to run there. |
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