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J2Ski Snow Report - April 18th 2024
Started by Admin in Snow Forecasts and Snow Reports, discussing Avoriaz and Morzine |
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Nendaz, Four Valleys, Switzerland, open for a few more days - with great snow! Snow! Say what? Briefly down to the valleys this week in the European Alps, and pre-season snowfalls in the southern hemisphere. The Snow Headlines - April 18th - Copper Mountain extends season into May, the fifth Colorado ski area to do so. - Fresh snowfall in the Alps on still-open slopes. - More pre-season snow for New Zealand and South America. - Ski season over in much of Eastern Europe, Scotland and the Pyrenees. - Zermatt announces more summer ski terrain for all in 2024. 
Yes, that's some heavy snow forecast for the Aosta Valley and a few other spots... catch it while you can!
World Overview We're into the latter half of April, and past halfway in 2024's meteorological springtime for the northern hemisphere, so it's no surprise that ski areas are closing en masse and that temperatures are generally rising and snowpacks thawing... albeit with a last blast of winter for much of the Alps... As usual at this point in the year we are seeing periods and places where temperatures dip below the average and in some cases well below freezing with late-season snowfalls. That's been the case over the last few days, first in the US Rockies and then in the European Alps where some ski areas have posted over a foot of fresh mid-April snowfall. There are also still about 200 ski areas, give or take, that are opening at least some of their terrain for die-hard skiers. Most of these are in the Alps, Scandinavia, Western North America and Japan with a few others in other ski regions around the world. It's also getting colder in the southern hemisphere with more snowfall reported in Argentina, Chile and on New Zealand's ski slopes over the past week. Europe Austria Many of Austria's big ski regions like the Skiwelt, Kitzbuhel and Saalbach which top out around 2,000m have ended their 23-24 seasons now but over a dozen areas with higher slopes, about half of them boasting glaciers too, are still open and most will now make it into May, some until June and beyond. After a warm and sunny end to last week, it's turned cooler and dropped well below freezing up high with some wintery weather including snow showers leading to the cancellation of planned 'spring sun' events. The country's largest ski area, Lech and St Anton's Arlberg, is still open, but this coming weekend will be its final one this season with Obergurgl also due to close on Sunday. The Ischgl-Samnaun ski area, open to May 1st, has already overtaken it in terms of terrain open, with 170km or more than 100 miles of runs still available, the most still open in the country. France France has the greatest number of ski areas still open and the most terrain in total available in Europe for the latter half of April, as well as, still, more than half of the resorts in the world's current top 10 deepest upper-slope snow depths, most with 4 metres or more lying up top. Here too it has been a mixed week of some sunny days but now colder, wintery weather with up to 30cm of fresh snow reported on higher slopes. Some big ski areas are closing after this weekend though including Le Grand Massif around Flaine, the Portes du Soleil including Avoriaz, Les Gets, Chatel and Morzine as well as Alpe d'Huez and La Rosiere. Italy Italy is down to just half-a-dozen or so centres left open after more areas closed at the weekend. It has also had a big change from a very warm and sunny week last week to much more wintery weather over the past seven days, and it's expected to continue to be cool into the start of next week - with snow too. Among the areas closing this weekend are Italy's largest single ski region (if we exclude the already closed unofficial one around the Sellaronda), the Via Lattea (Milky Way) including the slopes of Sestriere and Sauze d'Oulx, as well as the resort that has been posting the country's deepest snowpack for much of the season, La Thuile ...although it has recently been overtaken by the Presena Glacier above Passo Tonale which has hit 4 metres and is open into the first week of May! Switzerland Swiss ski centres have the same pattern of centres closing and have also had the wintery weather that other ski areas across the Alps have seen after the warm weeks earlier this month. Verbier has posted 23cm of fresh snow in total over the last few days. About a dozen ski areas remain open, with Zermatt posting the most terrain still groomed and ready – around 240km (150 miles) of their high-altitude slopes. Saas Fee, which closes this weekend, has the deepest snow in the country at 480cm. Other areas closing at the end of this coming weekend include Verbier and Mürren. Scandinavia Scandinavian centres are unique in the world right now in having more than half of their main centres still open. Ski areas in Norway, Finland and Sweden are closing, but they're usually a fortnight later than their colleagues in the Alps with a sizable chunk staying open to the last weekend of the month, or into May. Conditions are also among the best in the world right now. The thaw is underway to quite northerly latitudes but with mostly lower temperatures than in the Alps the snow is staying in better shape, for longer each day. Most centres are at least 80% open still, with ski areas in western Norway, particularly around coastal Voss, posting the region's deepest snowpacks at over 2 metres. There will be more snow/sleet/rain showers to end the week then a sunny weekend for most. Pyrenees and Sierra Nevada The season is largely over in the Pyrenees with most of the few areas that stayed open after Easter week closing on Sunday. Cauterets on the French side of the border still has some terrain open this week although all in Andorra and on the Spanish side are reported closed. Europe's most southerly resort, Sierra Nevada, does remain about half-open though with more than a metre of snow lying on its upper mountain. It reports mostly sunny weather, temperatures between +2 and +15C with more of the same forecast. Scotland Scotland's season appears to be over, but there were fresh blizzards to start the week and Glencoe has their access chair open for tourers with the gear and inclination for some off-piste skiing, so some turns could still be made! Eastern Europe Most of Eastern Europe's ski areas have now closed for the 23-24 season including the last of Bulgaria's still-open areas, Bansko, which closed on Sunday having kept about half of its slopes open despite a fortnight of sunny weather with temperatures peaking at around +25C! Still open though, at least the high slopes, is Slovakia's Jasna (weekends only). They've actually seen colder weather over the past few days than for the first half of April and that should continue through into next week. Kanin on the Slovenian/Italian border used to be a good option for late April and May skiing and has lots of snow lying but is currently out of action due to financial difficulties. North America Canada Canada has seen the biggest drop in open ski areas this week, with just half-a-dozen still open. The East saw warm and wet weather with a bit of snowfall mixed in this week. Mont-Sainte-Anne will re-open this weekend, all being well, and Sommet St Sauveur is the only other area open. In the West, it's Whistler Blackcomb (with Blackcomb Mountain now closed for the season), the three Banff areas (Norquay, Sunshine and Lake Louise) and Jasper's Marmot Basin still operating and reporting a little fresh snowfall despite rising temperatures overall. The East Coast areas only have small amounts of high terrain still open, but most of the Albertan and BC areas are almost fully open still. The forecast is for mostly sunny weather, with temperatures ranging from -2C on high slopes overnight to +15C at resort level in the afternoons. USA Whilst the season winds down in the US too, of course, more ski areas have been announcing extended seasons so more than a dozen now plan to stay open into May. There's also been some fresh snowfall on West Coast mountains, the Rockies and even East Coast peaks earlier this week, against a trend of ever-warmer, mostly sunny weather. Copper Mountain in Colorado is the latest to say it'll stay open for as long as conditions allow into next month. It was one of the areas reporting nearly a foot of fresh snowfall and a powder day on Tuesday. But as with everywhere across the northern hemisphere, more areas have closed and are closing this weekend with most of the 40 or so US areas still open located in Colorado, Utah and California. Most East Coast resorts are closed. The weekend ahead looks increasingly warm and sunny in the west with the potential for snow on high slopes, and rain on lower, in the east, where a handful of areas including Killington and Sunday River soldier on. |
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J2Ski Snow Report - April 11th 2024
Started by Admin in Snow Forecasts and Snow Reports, discussing Tignes and Val Thorens |
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Meribel, France, looking pretty good this week, with lifts open for 10 more days. Hot in the valleys, and fresh snow up high, in Europe and North America. The Snow Headlines - April 11th - Heavy snowfall in the Alps, sunshine returns and some valleys see +25C. - A snowy end to the season and an eclipse for many areas in North America's Northeast. - Most Pyrenean ski areas end their 23-24 seasons, but a few soldier on a few more weeks. - Colorado's Eldora extends season to April 21st for longest-ever season in its 62-year history. - Japan's Gassan summer ski area opens for its 2024 season. - Scotland's season about over. - Heavy snowfall in Australia and the Andes ahead of their 2024 ski seasons. 
A quieter week for snow in Japan, but more high altitude snow for Europe and America
World Overview The heavy snowfall in the Alps that was just coming to an end as we published last week's report has rapidly disappeared as temperatures have shot up to the 20s in Alpine valleys and skiers and boarders have been enjoying full spring conditions. But then there's been more snowfall, especially on higher slopes, to end the week. It's been much the same in most other parts of the ski world, although Canada and Scandinavia have remained a little more wintery with snow showers and cooler temperatures continuing in most areas, if not exactly 'cold' very often. This coming weekend will be the third successive one to see mass season-end closures and by Monday we'll be down to about 10% of ski areas still operating – most of them, of course, the larger, higher and/or more northerly located centres. Meanwhile, there are more reports of pre-season snowfalls in the southern hemisphere where it's now only about 6-7 weeks until the first centres are expected to open for the 2024 season there. Europe Austria Many of Austria's ski areas have now ended their 23-24 seasons. The country's second biggest area, Saalbach Hinterglemm, closed last weekend and more big names including Bad Gastein, Kitzbuhel and Mayrhofen will run their lifts for the last time this season this coming weekend. In fact, we are down to about 30 areas still open representing 10% or so of Austria's many mid-large sized ski areas. More than a dozen Austrian areas with higher altitude slopes, half of them glacier resorts, will stay open into the latter half of April with some continuing into May, even June or beyond in a few cases. It's been warm over the past week and predominantly sunny with a few rain/sleet/snow showers, but some valleys have seen +25C earlier this week and the freezing point moving above mountain tops too. Then, since Wednesday, up to 25cm of snow has been reported on higher slopes! France Most of the big French ski areas are staying open into the latter half of April with Chamonix, Tignes, Val d'Isere and Val Thorens set to make it into the first week of May. They also continue to post the areas with the most still-open terrain in the world - more than half of the centres posting the top 20 deepest snow depths in the world are French! That's more than any other country and topped by Flaine with 4.6 metres lying on its highest runs. All that being said some of the big French areas including Serre Chevalier and Flaine's Grand Massif do close for the season this coming weekend. As to the weather, the past week has been mostly dry and sunny and got very warm at the weekend, there's been some mid-week snowfall on Wednesday and a brief return to winter but drier, warmer weather is returning now. Italy Some of Italy's biggest ski regions including Val Gardena and Alta Badia closed for the season last weekend and more are of course set to join them this coming weekend too, but as with the other big alpine nations, there are dozens more centres open into the latter half of the month, with several including Cervinia, Cortina and Passo Tonale staying open into May. The weather this week has been similar to the rest of the Alps, with predominantly warm, dry weather, so warm in fact that the upper 20s (C) were reached in some lower Italian mountain valleys at the weekend. There was a mid-week temperature dip with snow showers on some higher slopes, but it's warming up again now. Switzerland The heavy snowfall around the Easter weekend which saw some Swiss centres post over two-metre totals in seven days, ended about a week ago and whilst there have been some snow showers, especially on higher slopes, Swiss ski areas have also seen some very warm temperatures this last week and plenty of sunshine. It has been a little cooler in recent days with Andermatt among the areas posting a full return to winter on Wednesday but we've got classic springtime freeze-thaw conditions, with more thawing than refreezing at this point. The numbers are dropping but Laax and Saas-Fee have been posting the world's deepest snowpacks after that Easter snowfall and are still at around the 5-metre mark. Scandinavia Although Scandinavian ski areas are of course generally colder than further south in the Alps and Pyrenees, the region is not immune to Spring temperature rises. Ski areas in the southern half of Scandinavia, including areas close to Lillehammer and Oslo in Norway will be ending their seasons this coming weekend, with temperatures reaching +8C at bases in the afternoons. Most of the larger destination resorts like Are and Hemsedal, as well as centres up in Finnish Lapland where temperatures remain below zero, will continue on to the end of the month or to early May. Pyrenees and Spain Most ski areas have now closed for the 23-24 season in the Pyrenees but Andorra's Arcalis ski area, famed for its freeriding, has added an extra week (to this Sunday) to make the most of the big March snowfalls in the region. Over the French border Cauterets say they'll keep some high runs open a further week through to Sunday 21st. Southerly Sierra Nevada also remains open. Spain's Baqueira Beret and Formigal were among the areas closing last Sunday with warm, sunny weather now dominating after the snowy March and the start of April. The warmer temperatures and thaw are set to continue into next week. Scotland Highland weather conditions continue to keep everyone on their toes. We've had the familiar mix of rain, sleet and snow (depending on elevation and time of day), hill fog, strong winds and those elusive periods of beautiful blue sky, still weather over the last 7 days. Storm Kathleen brought everything to a standstill over the weekend with violent gales and valley temperatures briefly climbing to +15C. At the time of writing The Lecht, Glenshee and Nevis Range are closed for the season, Cairngorm has not operated since last Friday due to the weather but has not said its definitely closed, Glencoe's own terrain is closed for the season but its running its access chair to allow tourers to reach fresh snow on slopes above its inbounds area. Eastern Europe Most of Eastern Europe's ski areas are now closed for 23-24 but a few are soldiering on. Bulgaria's Bansko's high slopes are open despite very warm weather over the past week - it closes this weekend though. It's the only Bulgarian area still open. You can also ski at Serbia's Kopaonik still or at Kanin in Slovenia, which usually opens at weekends into May. Slovakia's Jasna also plans to keep its high runs open into the first week of May, all being well. It's been colder in the Northeast and there's precipitation forecast but it looks more likely to be rain than snowfall. Still very warm in the southeast. North America Canada The snow has kept falling across Canada's ski slopes as resorts on the East and West coasts close for the season. Lake Louise posted over 50cm of fresh cover at the start of the week, with Whistler posting 30cm on higher slopes with rain at the resort level. There was snow on the East Coast in Quebec too ahead of the solar eclipse last Monday, for which the skies cleared for an amazing display. Mont Sutton, in the path of totality, posted 15cm of fresh to welcome eclipse skiers! Most of Canada's big-name resorts including Fernie, Kicking Horse, Mont Tremblant, Panorama and Revelstoke are expected to end their seasons this coming weekend but half-a-dozen including all three Banff ski areas, Jasper's Marmot Basin and Whistler of course, will continue to the end of the month or into May. USA We've lost a few big-name US ski areas to the dreaded season end at the weekend, including Beaver Creek, Taos, Keystone and Telluride and another swathe will join them this coming Sunday, including Big Sky, Jackson Hole and Vail. At least 50 US areas will stay open into the latter half of the month, however. Most of the snowfall of the last week has been on the Eastern side of the country, with some ski areas in New England posting a metre of snowfall in total over the five days up to Monday. There's been some snowfall in the Rockies too but it has been predominantly sunny and dry with temperatures rising and that is the ongoing forecast for most US ski regions into the weekend and next week. |
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J2Ski Snow Report - April 4th 2024
Started by Admin in Snow Forecasts and Snow Reports, discussing Alpe d'Huez and Saalbach Hinte... |
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Stubai, Austria, snow nearly 5 metres deep and open until 20th May Warmer weather, and sunnier skies in the Alps but there's still a lot of snow on the ground. The Snow Headlines - April 4th - 5 metre+ snow depths reached by Alpe d'Huez, Laax and Saas Fee. - Mammoth reports 3 feet of snowfall in 3 days. - Cervinia, Kitzbuhel, Verbier and others part-closed by strong winds over Easter. - Scotland's Lecht ski area closes on Easter Monday. - Bulgarian resorts except Bansko announce early closing due to warmth. 
A quieter week for snow in Japan, but more high altitude snow for Europe and America
World Overview Winter had what may have been its final hurrah for this season in the Alps as we went into the Easter weekend with huge snowfalls reported in the southwestern Alps, particularly southern France. Unfortunately, that sent the avalanche danger up to "high" and gale-force winds driving the storm on led to many areas in the region having to close all or most of their lifts slopes at times through the Easter weekend. Besides the big snowfalls in the southwestern Alps, the past week saw snowfall in the Pyrenees, Dolomites, Scandinavia, Scotland, the rest of the Alps and mountains across Western North America. Indeed the other big 1m+ (three feet) snowfalls of the last 7 days were reported in California, with a good late-season dump in The Rockies too. This being April we're seeing more ski areas ending their season, some just after the Easter weekend with most of the rest due to follow over the next few weekends. But hundreds more do plan to stay open into the latter half of this month, some into May and a select group later than that, through to the start of the southern hemisphere's 2024 season in June. Europe Austria After a cooler start to the week, at least on high slopes, with some snow showers reported, temperatures have been rising in Austria, reaching 20C in the afternoons in mountain valleys, and +10C on higher slopes. So no surprise that the season has ended at one of the country's three largest ski areas, the Skiwelt, around Westendorf and Soll, with another Saalbach-Hinterglemm, due to close this weekend. The biggest Austrian region, the Arlberg, is one of those staying open to the end of the month, as are resorts like Ischgl and Obertauern, with access to higher altitude terrain, and most of the country's half-dozen or so glacier areas. One of these, the Stubai, currently has the country's deepest reported base at 4.5 metres. France The snowfalls that were just getting started as we published last week's report carried on into the weekend and turned out to be some of the heaviest in the season in the southern French Alps. Isola 2000 and Risoul were among resorts posting 2m+ accumulations in 72 hours whilst Alpe d'Huez posted for 24 hours that its upper base had hit 5 metres – a number only it had previously reached anywhere in the world, briefly, earlier in the winter. It's since dropped back to a "mere" 4.5 metres. There was snowfall, with showers continuing into the start of this week, for most other French areas further north, just not so much. Most of France's big ski areas remain open into the latter half of the month and currently say their slopes are still 80-98% open, including the biggest domain, the 3 Valleys. Some smaller and/or lower areas including the slopes around Megeve and the Risoul-Vars area that had the huge Easter snowfall, are due to close for the season at the end of this coming weekend. Italy Snowfall and gale-force winds have been factors on Italian slopes this week, with Cervinia being one of the big scorers on both – receiving a metre of snowfall over the Easter weekend but also having large parts of its ski area shut down at the time by the gales. A bouncing chairlift there, buffeted by the winds in the process of being shut down as the last skiers were disembarking went viral on world mainstream media. Rain was also an issue at times with Madonna di Campiglio giving it as the reason its slopes were closed on Monday. It's been calmer and drier, and a little warmer, over the last few days. As with the rest of the northern hemisphere, large swathes of Italian areas will shut down at the end of this coming weekend or the one after, but dozens more will continue into the latter half of the month. Switzerland Swiss centres had a rather mixed time through the Easter weekend with heavy snowfall (which began in the middle of last week) continuing to fall with gale-force winds thrown into the mix at times. That led to Verbier and the 4 Valleys announcing all slopes were closed at the start of Easter Saturday, although they began to part-open after only a few hours. Verbier wasn't the only one; Saas Fee had only 5% of its slopes open on Saturday, and Laax 30%. Those two resorts are now posting 5m+ bases, the deepest in the world, on upper runs. Switzerland has also suffered multiple ski tragedies this week, with three dying in an off-piste avalanche at Zermatt and three more in a heliski incident near Verbier. Post-Easter, as elsewhere, open terrain is starting to drop and ski centres are starting to close, although plenty of Swiss areas plan to stay open to the latter half of April or into May. Centres closing after this weekend include sectors of Adelboden, Andermatt, Davos and St Moritz and all/most of the ski areas at Leysin and Villars among others. Scandinavia Conditions continue to be among the best in Europe up in Norway, Sweden and Finland, as is usual for this point in the year. Temperatures have remained low, particularly in the north of the region, and there have been more snow showers reported. Finland's ski areas remain open into May, and have reported temperatures in the -5C to -20C range this week, with light snowfalls refreshing cover with a few centimetres of fresh snow most days. It's warmer further south in Norway and Sweden but still close to freezing and seeing rain rather than snow. Big resorts like Hemsedal, Are and Trysil are open through April and currently have most runs open. Pyrenees It was rather a white Easter in the Pyrenees after the rather green Christmas, on lower slopes at least. The wintry conditions that began in early March continued with 25cm of fresh snowfall for the Easter weekend in the region's largest area, Grandvalira. Other centres on the French and Spanish sides of the border posted 10-15cm. Most centres not already closed will be closing this coming weekend, including much of Grandvalira and one of the biggest on the Spanish side, Baqueira Beret. Some, including Arcalis in Andorra, plan to stay open one more week having extended their season. Scotland Scottish ski areas saw the usual mix of glorious sunny days and days of snowfall, gales, sleet, hill fog and rain. Mountain temperatures have stayed close to freezing, valleys climbing towards +10C in the afternoons. We're down to three areas still open at the time of writing. Glencoe and Cairngorm have the most terrain on offer on their higher slopes, best suited to advanced skiers, with Cairngorm's requiring a hike up with the funicular out of action. Glenshee has three short runs open maintained by their all-weather snowmaking machines. The Lecht joined Nevis Range when it ended its ski season with a sudden Easter Day announcement that it was closing at the end of Monday. Eastern Europe Most Eastern European ski areas have now closed or will do this coming weekend or next. Temperatures have been rising and snowsports are on the upper mountain at most areas that are still open. Bulgaria's Bansko has announced a lift ticket price drop for the final fortnight of its season through to the 14th which it says it will stick to despite temperatures leaping into the 20s(C). Borovets announced on Monday that it would end its 23-24 season on Wednesday due to warm weather, and Pamporovo and Vitosha joined it, so all are now closed until next season. Some centres elsewhere, including Slovenia's Kanin and Slovakia's Jasna, are aiming to keep some high runs open into May. North America Canada Many of Canada's ski areas will call it a day on their 23-24 seasons this coming weekend or the one after, but Banff's three ski areas will continue on into May, as will Jasper's Marmot Basin and of course Whistler Blackcomb. The good news for these centres has been midwinter-like conditions for parts of the past week with temperatures down to -10C and accumulations of up to 30cm in 24 hours reported. So there's plenty of snow lying for the final 4-7 weeks of the season, at least on higher slopes. USA After seeing coast-to-coast snowfall across the US in the penultimate week of March, the last seven days have seen a West/East divide with warm temperatures on the Atlantic coast but heavy snowfall on the Pacific side. The Palisades passed 13 feet (nearly 4 metres) of March snowfall whilst at the height of the storm through the Easter weekend, Mammoth Mountain reported it had received three feet of snowfall in 2 days. There was also significant snowfall across the Rockies. Most US resorts will close this weekend or next but dozens will continue to the latter half of April or later into spring. |
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J2Ski's Where to Ski in April 2024
Started by Admin in Snow Forecasts and Snow Reports, discussing La Plagne and Les Arcs |
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Heavy snow continues to fall at altitude, on both sides of the Atlantic. There's been some fierce wind, some wild temperature variation at times - and even some Saharan sand - in the Alps. But it's Spring, and high slopes are in great condition for April skiing.
Even the Easter Bunny got some Powder in Alta, Utah, this week. Where to Ski in April 2024 It's April 2024 and for most of the northern hemisphere's ski areas, the next few weekends will mark the end of the season. But hundreds, including many of the world's best-known resorts, will make it to the latter half of the month, some into May or beyond. The good news is that as in 2023, we're seeing colder weather and heavier snows in spring than we did for much of March and base depths are actually increasing after some heavy late-March snowfalls on higher slopes, so it's looking like a good April for skiers and its to be expected that more resorts will announce extended seasons. In the wider world about a dozen Japanese ski areas including big names like Niseko aim to stay open into May and the country's only summer ski area, Gassan, is due to open for their 2024 season on April 12th, which runs to July if there's enough snow. We're also just two months away from the start of the southern hemisphere's 2024 ski season and we've already seen early autumn March snowfalls on ski slopes in Australia, New Zealand and the South American Andes. Europe Austria Austria offers the two extremes of Spring snow - the vast majority of its ski areas are quite low-lying and have been hard hit by the warm winter with wet snow the norm for much of 2023-24 around Kitzbuhel, the Skiwelt and Saalbach and many more big areas. Most of these will close on the first weekend of the month or in the Skiwelts's case, what is still open (about 35%) closes April 1st! But Austria also has high areas like Obertauern and Ischgl which plan to stay open to May 1st and more glacier ski areas than any other, with the Stubai posting the world's deepest snowpack with nearly 5m lying through much of March, so by mid-April more Austrian areas will be open than any other European nation. France France was posting some of the world's deepest snow depths and saw some of the biggest snowfalls in the final few days of March, so is looking good for the start of April. Isola 2000 got nearly five feet (1.5m) of snowfall in 48 hours into the Easter weekend. Many of the country's ski areas will close by April 14th but some of the biggest and most famous areas continue through to the end of the month, or even to early May. The Paradiski area (Les Arcs and La Plagne) is aiming for the 27th (April) with Chamonix, Les 2 Alpes, Tignes, Val d'Isere and Val Thorens aiming to stay open into May. Italy Italy saw some good snowfalls in the latter half of March, with the mountains across the north seeing a good late-season top-up. As a result most of the vast Domoliti Superski with its 1,200km of slopes, and most of the country's other leading ski regions, start the month 95-100% open. Like the rest of the northern hemisphere, about 90% of them will be ending their seasons in the first half of April. If you want to carry on later it'll have to be at one of the stalwarts carrying on to the final weekends of the month, or into May. Among them are Cervinia, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Livigno, Macugnaga, Passo Tonale (Presena Glacier), Sella Nevea on the Slovenian border and Sulden in the Ortler Alps. Switzerland Several Swiss centres were posting both big snowfalls and some of the world's deepest snow depths as we approached the start of April. Glacier 3000 near Gstaad, which is open right through April, was closed for much of the last week of March as a massive storm raged. Saas-Fee meanwhile posted over 150cm (5 feet) of fresh snowfall on its glacier and was for a time posting the world's deepest snowpack up there, nearing 5 metres. So, as with the rest of Europe, most Swiss centres close over the next few weekends, with snow depths healthy and snow still falling up high, and some remaining open to late April or beyond. The late-openers include Murren, Saas Fee and Verbier (to April 21st), Grindelwald and Glacier 3000 to the end of the month with Adelboden, Engelberg and the Diuavolezza glacier near St Moritz open into May, along with year-round Zermatt of course. Pyrenees The Pyrenees were having a really bad season until heavy snowfall arrived in late February and continued through the first half of March. The past fortnight has seen the best conditions of the season, at least at the big, higher resorts (many smaller lower ones have closed already). Most will focus on keeping everything open through the Easter week and the first seven days of April, even though temperatures are back up to double figures. Most still-open areas will be closing on either the weekend of the 6th/7th or 13th/14th with perhaps just one or two soldiering on into the latter half of the month. Scandinavia Scandinavian ski destinations tend to come into their own in April as their northerly latitude means temperatures stay lower and the snow stays in better shape longer, usually, than down in the Alps or Pyrenees. The daylight hours also tend to extend later than further south as the north rapidly approaches 24-hour daylight (a point reached about a third of the way into May up at Riksgransen). The good news is that 2024 is very much up to par with temperatures low, snow falling and all the major areas fully open and planning to stay open at least to the end of the month and in some cases into May. Finland's Ylläs, Pyhä, Levi and Ruka are open through to May, as are Norway's Hemsedal and Sweden's Åre, Hemavan, Tärnaby and Kåbdalis, as well as, of course, Riksgransen. Eastern Europe We're into the final weeks of the season for most ski areas that are still open in Eastern Europe; around 90% are already closed in fact, but most of the bigger centres are still going, at least their higher slopes. The Spring thaw, as elsewhere in Europe, has impacted the snow cover at lower elevations and bigger resorts like Bulgaria's Bansko and Slovakia's Jasna have about two-thirds of their terrain still open for the Easter holidays but are likely to see open runs drop away dramatically after the 6th/7th weekend. Jasna plans to keep some runs open into May, as does Slovenia's Kanin. Scotland Scottish centres have seen some cold periods with snowfall in the final week of March, but it looks like there won't be much open into April. Three centres, Glenshee, Cairngorm and The Lecht currently have slopes open for Easter Holiday beginner lessons on all-weather snowmaking machine-maintained snow but not a whole lot more than that. Glencoe and Cairngorm have had the most terrain open using natural snow cover otherwise and there's the hope that a good early April snowfall and cold temperatures will allow them to stay open longer into the month, if there's enough demand to justify keeping the lifts running. North America Canada Canada has had a mixed winter 23-24 with generally below-average snow depth/open terrain and above-average temperatures. Coastal resorts on both the East and West Coasts have suffered the most but bases have been down across the country. Against that, the final week of March (and a period in mid-March before it) saw substantial snowfalls delivering a real late-season boost to conditions which should continue into April. Many Canadian ski areas will end their seasons anyway on the first or second weekends of the month, but some, including the three Banff ski areas, Jasper's Marmot Basin and of course Whistler Blackcomb will be staying open into May. USA It has not been an epic season really, for much of the US, although the latter half has been much better than the first, with plenty of snowfall in March, and most of the country's resorts start April with their slopes fully open. The majority will close on the upcoming first or second weekends of April (i.e. the 7th or the 14th). A few dozen will stay open to the end of April though and the biggest, Utah's Park City, has extended its season towards the end of the month. Mammoth and The Palisades in California will be open into May and so, most likely, will be Colorado's Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge, Loveland and Winter Park. It will be interesting to see what Killington in Vermont does as it normally aims to stay open to late May but this winter has battled through on very thin cover. |
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Chamrousse, France, with 30cm of fresh yesterday. Late season snow keeps coming; Spring skiing is looking pretty good from here! The Snow Headlines - March 28th - Great late-March snowfalls across many North American ski areas. - Cold temperatures and fresh snowfall return to the Alps, Pyrenees, Eastern Europe. - Huge snowfalls in southwestern Alps send Avalanche Risk Levels up to 4(High). - Scottish ski centres struggle to open terrain beyond beginner slopes for Easter. - Swiss, Austrian and US areas overtake French for deepest snowpack in the world. - New Zealand ski areas see early-autumn snowfalls. 
More heavy falls of Spring snow forecast, at altitude...
World Overview As Easter arrives, the ski season is starting to wind down with the first of the big ski regions, including Austria's Skiwelt, closing as early as Easter Monday and most others over the following two weekends. But Mother Nature hasn't quite got the memo with lots of snowfall reported this week across Europe and North America, albeit with temperatures more typical of Spring than Winter. Base depths on higher runs continue to grow and are close to the 5-metre mark in places; the deepest bases since early January. The Northern Alps and Eastern Europe, as well as the US East and West coasts, reported some good snowfalls over the weekend, but the past few days have seen huge falls in the south-eastern Alps with French, Swiss and Italian areas posting up to 80cm in 24 hours and 140cm in 48 hours, sending the avalanche danger leaping from a moderate '2' to a high '4' on the scale to 5 in the region. So all in all, in terms of fresh snow and open terrain, things are looking pretty good across European and North American slopes, albeit with the caveat that it's nearly April so expect conditions to get heavy by lunchtime, even where there's fresh snow, the best at high altitude and northerly latitudes. Ski areas in the southern hemisphere have been reporting some early pre-season snowfall, with the 2024 season still 10 weeks or more away. Ski areas in New Zealand had snowfall down to resort level on Wednesday. Europe Austria Austria has had a snowy week since the final Men's World Cup Downhill race of the 23-24 World Cup season in Saalbach was cancelled on Sunday with 15cm of snow on the upper half of the track. There have been snow showers through the week but the heavy snowfall forecast at the start of the week which was expected to peak around Wednesday/Thursday did not really materialise. The country's lower-lying ski areas continue to suffer with the warm temperatures and the end of the season is here really, with the Skiwelt due to close after the Easter weekend and many others next weekend (8th April). However, Austria does have more glacier ski areas than any other country, where the snow is lying up to 4.7 metres deep. High areas like Ischgl and Obertauern will be open to the start of May. France The Southern French Alps have seen some big snowfalls over the past 48 hours, with some fresh snow for the Northern Alps too. Most of the country's ski regions are between 85-100% open for the Easter holidays, although some lower centres like La Clusaz have announced they'll be shutting sectors down soon after Easter Sunday. The biggest falls (several feet/60cm in 24-36 hours, then up to 140cm in 48 hours to Thursday) were reported in more southerly areas in Serre Chevalier, Risoul-Vars, Les 2 Alpes, Alpe d'Huez and Isola 2000. Here the avalanche danger has shot up to a 'high' 4. The forecast is for more snow showers, but lighter, through the Easter weekend and gradually warming temperatures. Italy Italian ski centres have seen a big mix of weather over the past week, with valley temperatures touching +20C at the weekend, but much colder weather and for some, heavy snowfall, over the past few days, which will continue into the Easter weekend. Some ski areas in the western Alps, including the country's largest, the Milky Way (Via Lattea) with Sestriere and Sauze d'Oulx linked to Montgenevre in France, saw some of the biggest midweek falls. Pila in the Aosta Valley posted a 45cm accumulation on Thursday. The snow is expected to keep coming, in showers, through the Easter weekend but with valley temperatures gradually rising as we enter April – so rain to increasingly higher levels. Switzerland The (in)famous Foehn wind was back bringing snowfall to Swiss areas, particularly in the south and west of the country and especially on higher slopes this week. However, it was the common scenario of the snow being welcome, the wind not so much and Glacier 3000 near Gstaad was among the areas closed by the weather for several days. Davos Klosters posted one of the biggest accumulations, with 40cm in 48 hours at the start of the week. Switzerland now has two areas in the world's top 5 for deepest snow, the only country with more than one; Saas Fee with 4.7m up high (another area getting a big fall this week) and Laax with 4.75m, the most in the world at the time of writing. Scandinavia Conditions, in terms of fresh snowfall and low temperatures, remain good across much of Scandinavia. Most of the region's big resorts have reported 10-20cm snowfalls in the past few days with Norway's Geilo posting a 30cm fall on Tuesday. Most ski areas remain fully open with many planning to be open to the start of May. Pyrenees Winter has been back in the Pyrenees again with plenty of snowfall down to low levels. There have been periods of warm weather in the valleys, so the thaw continues at low levels, despite the snow sticking around higher up. Thus the amount of terrain open has dropped, Grandvalira (Soldeu, Pas de la Casa), is back down to about 70%/150km of its slopes open, still the most in the region but down about a quarter on a week or so ago. Freeride centre Arcalis posted 15cm of fresh snow on Wednesday. Scotland The usual weeks of ups and downs on Scottish slopes with Cairngorm and Glencoe managing to open the most terrain, mostly on their upper mountains, mostly only suited to good skiers and in Cairngorm's case still requiring a hike up due to the funicular being out of action. Both areas, along with The Lecht and Glenshee, also have beginner slopes available, maintained with all-weather snowmaking systems. Glenshee has a little more terrain open. Nevis Range is unable to offer snowsports at present. It was cold with fresh snowfalls in the first half of the week, but now temperatures are rising a little as we go into the Easter weekend. Eastern Europe For the last full week of March, it's been a good one for the bigger, higher ski areas still open in Eastern Europe. Ski areas like Spindleruv Mlyn in Czechia and Jasna over the border in Slovakia both reported sub-zero temperatures and fresh snowfall to start the week, and Bansko in Bulgaria got snow up high from Monday. It is the final week or two of the season for most areas in the region. Even with the new snow, it's very much spring conditions with the best up high and not much left on lower runs. Bansko's long run back to base is now closed. North America Canada Definitely one of the better weeks of the season for Canada with low temperatures and snowfall from coast to coast. Ski areas in Eastern Canada claimed the weekend was THE best of the season, despite arriving close to the end of it, with every slope open for some for the first time this often-challenging season, and a foot or more of powder snow on top. A similar story on the West Coast where the snow fell too, also delivering powder days through this week. Whistler Blackcomb and the ski areas around Banff, several of which still have nearly two months of season left, reported every run open for the Easter holidays. USA It has been a very snowy week from coast to coast in the US. Among totals claimed were 55cm in 72 hours by Aspen in the Colorado Rockies, 80cm in 48 hours by the Palisades in California and then over on the East coast multiple ski areas posted up to a metre of fresh snow through the last seven days. So, it's a case of powder at almost every open centre in the country and some of the best conditions we've seen all winter, particularly for the East Coast. That said, temperatures have warmed up over the past 48 hours so it's freeze-thaw time for most US slopes for Easter although another big snowfall is just coming in off the pacific coast and is expected to last all through the weekend. |
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Spring skiing is pretty snowy in Breckenridge, Colorado... Spring in the valleys, but plenty of snow at altitude - with more fresh arriving on both sides of the Atlantic. The Snow Headlines - March 21st - Heavy snowfall in the Rockies brings a powdery start to the week. - Warm weather, wet snow and rain for World Cup Finals on low slopes in Austria. - Fresh snowfall and colder weather in Eastern North America. - More low-lying Austrian terrain closes early due to warm weather. 
More snow forecast, mainly at altitude, across the northern hemisphere...
World Overview We've reached the start of springtime by the Astronomical measure of the season now, joining meteorological springtime which kicked off three weeks ago. That's brought with it the usual mix of conditions we get as the seasons change across the northern hemisphere. So we've had some fresh snow showers on higher slopes providing some nice freeriding, but also very warm temperatures in Alpine Valleys, melting the remaining snow cover at lower levels and turning things sticky at mid-mountain by midday. Europe Austria Austria's larger, lower ski regions like the Skiwelt, Kitzbuhel and the Saalbach Hinterglemm domain that's currently hosting the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup Finals, are locked in a losing battle with nature. Despite still having 65-95% of slopes open (although the Skiwelt just dropped to 51%), it is heavy wet snow, white ribbons on green hillsides and definitely at its best first thing. Most of these ski areas close at, or soon after, the Easter weekend. Austria has more glacier resorts than any other country, however, and plenty of high-altitude terrain at resorts like Obertauern and Ischgl will open into May. Most report deep snow up high and freeze-thaw conditions. The past week has seen plenty of sunny weather with some mostly light showers, snow up high, and rain below - and that looks set to continue. France After a few final snow/sleet/rain showers earlier this week, we've seen some very warm temperatures in valleys, getting up as high as +15C with the freezing point climbing above 3,000m, so it definitely feels like Spring is here. Fortunately, most of the main ski areas have snow lying up to 4.8 metres (that's 16 feet) deep up high and as long as you're heading for slopes above 2,000m you should find most runs still open and in good shape for the start of the Easter fortnight. The 3 Valleys still reports about 580km of its slopes open and it's a similar 90% plus for most other big French regions. Chamonix announced on Thursday that higher runs in its Brevent sector would stay open an extra week, through to 21st April; it currently has snow lying almost 3m deep up top. Italy Warm, sunny weather has been dominating Italy's ski slopes since early in the week and those conditions will continue in most areas into the final week of March. Temperatures of up to +15C have reached 1500m altitudes in the afternoons so the end of the season definitely feels imminent. Some Italian areas plan to continue into late April; in the case of resorts like Cortina and Cervinia, into May. Conditions are certainly much better above 2,000m altitude although with the freezing point now getting above 3,000m it's freeze/thaw conditions even to high elevations. Most of the country's big-name resorts still have 80-100% of their slopes open for the Easter fortnight. Switzerland Swiss centres have a similar mix of Spring weather, with very warm temperatures (up to +16C) reported below 1000m in ski area valleys, with the freezing point up above 2,000m. There has been powder and freeriding above about 2,500m over the past few days, however, and lower temperature and heavier snow is currently forecast for the first few days of next week. Saas Fee, Laax and Lötschental are posting some of the deepest snow depths in the world right now - on their highest slopes - all over 4 metres deep. Scandinavia Scandinavia is coming into its own for Spring skiing as usual. Most of the region's larger areas are fully open (until well into April and in some cases, early May) and several have extended spring opening hours; in the case of Finland's Ruka, until 7 pm six days a week then 11 pm, on Fridays. Ruka just reported another 10cm accumulation. Temperatures have been colder than on 'mainland Europe' to the south as you'd expect and there have been some good snowfalls, Norway's Geilo among centres posting 25cm of fresh snow to start the week. Pyrenees Although temperatures have risen a little and the heavy snowfall has eased to showers with longer sunny spells, conditions remain the best of the season in The Pyrenees as we reach the final 3-4 weeks. Base depths are more than double (in some cases triple) what they were at this point last month and most of the region's bigger resorts have 90% or more of their slopes open. For Pas de la Casa – Soldeu El Tarter (aka Grandvalira) that's over 200km, the most of the season. Continuing mostly dry, but with snow/sleet/rain showers into the weekend. Scotland Scottish slopes have been battling to keep terrain open for the Easter holidays, not that there was much, alas, and have been helped by more snowfalls earlier in the week on high slopes, but against that temperatures were very warm earlier in the week leading to a net loss. Glencoe closed its main area this week and Cairngorm hasn't operated anything since Monday due to a weekly two day closure followed by two days of gales. It's not clear if anything beyond nursery slopes will be open there at the weekend, but temperatures are dropping. The gales have currently closed most areas. So it currently looks like there won't be much more than nursery slope areas maintained by all-weather snowmaking guns for the Easter fortnight. That's available at Cairngorm, Glenshee and The Lecht, all being well with a dry slope and an all-weather snow toboggan slope at Glencoe and Nevis Range unable to offer snow sports. Eastern Europe Spring weather continues to impact snow cover in Bulgaria with the thaw reducing lower slope cover. There have been a few snow showers up high though and temperatures have been dropping well below freezing, down to -10C up high on Bulgarian slopes so it's freeze-thaw. Smaller, lower centres have closed but the big names still have 50-70% of runs open on the upper mountain. Bansko, with about two-thirds of its runs still open, has both the deepest snow and most terrain open in the region, though its long run back to the base is getting very thin. North America Canada It's been a mostly good week in Canada, with cooler temperatures in the East and the best snow depth of the season and all trails open in the west. Against that temperatures have been rising again, particularly in western BC, with Whistler reporting +15C down at resort level in the afternoons and two feet lost from it's upper base depth, although that's still at 2.4 metres (8 feet). That said, the forecast is looking more promising, with snow showers and sub-zero temperatures around the clock on higher slopes and temperatures dipping back into single figures early next week on the Pacific coast, and North America's largest ski area continues to post almost every run open and lift operational for the Easter fortnight. USA The Rockies saw more snowfall through the weekend (it was already falling as we published last week's report) so storm totals ended up over several feet in many areas, with southern centres doing particularly well. The East Coast has also seen snow showers and colder temperatures this week, good news with the Easter period coming up and hopefully providing a final boost after a lacklustre Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Year at the start of the season. Most areas across the country are almost fully operational, although smaller, lower centres have already started closing and most US resorts will close just after Easter or on the first or second weekends of April. Several dozen ski areas will continue to late April or into May. Washington state's Crystal Mountain has now extended its season to the end of next month and Oregon's Timberline started running its spring/summer Palmer chairlift last weekend. |
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Feeder airports for France, Switzerland and Italy - queueing times
Started by SkiYetiMagic in Ski Chatter, 4 Replies, discussing Innsbruck |
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We hear you w.r.t. Geneva! Although avoiding Saturdays really helps...
We used Innsbruck a couple of times last year, and were pretty much straight through on arrival and departure with nothing you'd describe as a queue. First time was February half-term (NOT Saturday though) and it was barely 15 minutes from getting off the plane to starting the hire car (no checked luggage, which also helps massively if you can make that work). |
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Someone having the perfect run, at Keystone, Colorado... Late season snow is looking great on both sides of the Atlantic, with a lot of fresh snow this last week. It's Spring, so go high! The Snow Headlines - March 14th - Record open terrain in Pyrenees for 23-24, several centres extend season. - In Canada Whistler gets 1m+ in 48 hours, Big White extends season. - Laax overtakes Alpe d'Huez to post world's deepest snow at nearly 4.9 metres. - Heavy snowfall across the Iberian peninsula buries Portugal's only ski centre. 
Nothing huge, but there's snow forecast across the northern hemisphere...
World Overview The snow has kept falling in the Alps, Dolomites and Pyrenees this week with up to a metre more reported in total. It means the snow is the deepest it has been all winter and that some of the continent's biggest areas now have the most terrain open they've had all season. 2023 had a similar pattern, but with less snowfall earlier on. The Pyrenees are the region that's really benefitted from the recent accumulation, with Andorra's slopes 95% open after struggling at 50-70% all winter until now. Across the Atlantic, conditions are also among the best they've been all season. No huge snowfalls this week, unlike last, but several feet of snow is currently falling in the Rockies and there's been very welcome heavy snowfall along the east coast, which has had a very mixed and often lacklustre snowfall season to date. Resorts on Canada's Pacific Coast are also fully open after more big snowfalls there, Whistler Blackcomb getting nearly 5 feet in the last 7 days. But against these falls on upper mountains, spring warmth in the valleys is eating away at lower base depths so some centres like Austria's Skiwelt have closed big chunks of their low-lying terrain for the final weeks of their season. Europe Austria There's an upper slopes / lower slopes divide in Austria with more snow dumping on higher slopes and glaciers, but low-lying terrain down below about 1500m increasingly closing as the end of the season nears. That said there has been snowfall down to lower levels with fresh snow for the streets of Kitzbuhel, Lech and St Anton earlier this week. Skies have cleared in the past 24 hours though and it is likely to stay largely dry with some snow/sleet/rain showers (depending on altitude) over the week ahead. Most of the big areas remain 80-90% open and glacier base depths are the best they've been all season, but low valley runs are probably now shut until 24-25. France There's been a third week of snowfall in the French Alps too with those at the more southerly end of the mountains including Les 2 Alpes, Puy St Vincent and Val d'Isere posting some of the larger accumulations. Southerly Isola 2000 down near Nice topped them all with a full metre in just three days. All the snowfall has meant more southerly areas are tending to post the highest avalanche danger – 3 on the scale to 5, more like 2 elsewhere. It also means the world's largest ski area, the 3 Valleys, has enough snow to open some of its more deep-snow-dependent terrain and that it has the most runs its had open all season, up from about 550 to 580km of its 600km – so almost everything. Italy Italy has also had another good week for snowfall with reports of up to 60cm (2 feet) on higher slopes over the past week in the Western Alps, and up to 80cm in the Dolomites. Conditions are generally good across the country and there's more terrain open now than there was in February, with Cortina d'Ampezzo among the areas moving back up to 100% of its slopes open after fresh snowfall there. As elsewhere though, afternoon valley highs are hitting +10C this week again so any precipitation is rain in valleys and we've got real spring conditions, continuing through the coming week with more sun, and less snow forecast now. Switzerland It's been a pretty good week for Swiss ski areas, particularly on high slopes which will stay open later into April and in some cases longer into spring or even summer. Laax saw its base jump to nearly 4.9 metres up on the glacier, the deepest snow reported anywhere in the world. But it only has six-inches of snow at its base, reflecting the reality of warming spring weather impacting low slopes just as bases continue to build up high. Zermatt posted the biggest base depth increase in the Alps adding 50cm to the total lying (now 2 metres deep) on its year-round glacier runs, now at two metres. The coming week will bring light snow showers up high, and rain below with sunny spells at all levels in between. Scandinavia Scandinavian centres saw temperatures drop and fresh snowfall arrive this week after the warm spell last week. Hemsedal in Norway was one of those posting a 20cm jump in its base this week after seeing rainfall last week. It, like most areas in the region, reports all of its slopes open and good conditions for spring skiing through to the start of May. Pyrenees The full season reset in the Pyrenees appears about complete with the region's big centres almost fully open for the first time this season – with just a month of it left to run! The biggest of them all, Andorra's Grandvalira (encompassing Soldeu el Tarter, pas de la Casa and others), posted 201km of slopes open this week, more than 50km more than it or any other area had managed this season to date, and representing more than 90% of its 215km of slopes. Its Arcalis freeride sector has also announced a one-week season extension thanks to all the snow that's landed there. It will now be open until April 14th. Scotland Sadly there's been no real change for Scottish slopes. The weather has been largely dry although with occasional snow/sleet/rain showers and the inevitable periods of very strong winds. Open terrain remains limited with the most at Cairngorm and Glencoe. Glenshee has a few short runs and The Lecht has its nursery slope, much of this thanks to the all-weather snowmaking machines creating white areas on a green/brown background. Nevis Range remains closed and has only operated a few runs for a few days this season. Eastern Europe Spring is making itself felt in Bulgaria and other eastern European nations but there's also been some fresh snowfalls to report on higher terrain where temperatures have kept it fresh this week. But there is a slight dip in what's open as warm temperatures impact lower runs. Most of the smaller, lower centres have closed for the season but the big-name destination resorts remain typically 60-80% open. More spring-like weather is forecast for the coming week. North America Canada It's been another good week in Canada as the country's ski areas seem to be ending the season on a high after the poor start and lacklustre mid-season. Although the big snow news comes from the West, with Whistler Blackcomb almost fully open again after posting a 102cm base depth increase in 48 hours and other areas reporting great powder conditions, it's worth mentioning that east cost centres have seen fresh snowfall too after a poor warm, wet few weeks there, with a welcome return to more wintery weather in Quebec. USA Snow is falling again in the Rockies as we complete this week's report, with up to two-foot forecast for Colorado peaks by the weekend. That comes after a mostly dry week in much of the west, although there have been some snow showers and heavier falls up north in Oregon and Washington State. Timberline, the centre with North America's longest season, is posting the continent's deepest base at 4.4 metres. There have also been some good snowfalls in the Eastern US this week, which has struggled with warm and wet weather spells all winter. This time though up to 30" (75cm) has been reported since the weekend, with Mad River taking the top spot while other areas have had 1-2 feet of fresh. |
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