Messages posted by : admin
Good man! 8) |
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Indeed. He has left the building... TVM for the heads-up; if any similar idiots appear then please let me know immediately. :thumbup: |
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Tignes (or elsewhere very high) if you want a chance of powder but anywhere still open will be fun. There's still going to be plenty of snow on the ground up high but you'll need to enjoy Spring skiing as it looks like warming up from mid-month. Skiing ankle-deep slush can be a right giggle when the sun's out and cold beer tastes even better with a warm sun on your face... :lol: |
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Thanks for your reports, as always, this season Tony (and everyone else!) - have a good summer...
:thumbup: The servers never sleep (or even get to lie on beaches) but we'll give the Marmottes the occasional day off.
Amen to that... We'll be keeping things going with a little more coverage of summer events and sports (including skiing!) this year; not forgetting, of course, that as our season ends it's just starting to cool down under and in South America. But if you can drop everything and get away this weekend, there's still snow in the forecast... :shock: ... go high though! :lol: |
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I just voted and it took less than 2 minutes... 8)
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M&G ski charity donation
One of our favourite ski charities, Snow Camp - who do great things for youngsters facing big challenges - is in the running for a grant from M&G.
If you're not familiar with the fantastic work Snow Camp do...
So please give them a hand and go vote for them... http://www.mandgski.com/ They are currently in 2nd place and just need 2 minutes of your time! Thank you. |
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Week Ending April 6th, 2013
* Free to re-publish in whole or part so long as clearly credited to www.J2ski.com with the words "J2Ski Snow Report" linked to https://www.j2ski.com/snow_forecast/ Still... it looks like staying cool in The Alps for a few more days, before easing toward seasonal temperatures next week. A little more fresh in some locations is in the forecast but mostly we expect fine Spring skiing on the substantial base until the end of the season... ...and there are some cracking deals available if you can get away at short notice... E.g. Late Package Deals (from the UK) to France and Late Swiss Chalet Deals. Get out there... This Week's Headlines - Sierra Nevada, Spain, claims a 20 foot/6m base; the first resort in the world to reach that this season! - Over 70cm of fresh snow in 7 days at some French resorts. - Austrian ski areas start closing for season. Europe Austria The snow is still falling in Austria in reasonably healthy volumes, but ski areas there including St Johann in Tirol, which have some of the lowest altitude ski areas in the Alps, have already begun ending their seasons. Most others will close by the end of next week. There are exceptions however that do stay open to the end of April or in to May and several of these have reported 20-30cm of new snow on top of already healthy bases as winter maintains its grip. Among these were Obertauern and Kaprun. Pitztal, which has Austria's highest lifts and stays open to early May, has not had much new snow but still has the country's deepest base at 3.8mk (nearly 13 feet) so that's not much of a problem. France French resorts have seen the biggest snowfalls in the world over the past week, the largest 77cm – or more than 2.5 feet, at Avoriaz. But other areas have been reporting big accumulations too, including Flaine, Argentiere, and Alpe d'Huez – each with 50-60cm (up to 2 feet) total. Base ain among the best in years with most areas having at least a metre still at base level and many more than 3m (10 feet) lying on upper slopes, so with the snow still falling it has been a consistently good winter on French slopes. Although depths are still above 5m down in the French Pyrenees at Cauterets, the snow in the Alps is at 4.4m (nearly 15 feet) at Alpe d'Huez, 3.9m (13 feet) at Flaine and 3.75m (12.5 feet) at Val Thorens. Italy Italy has had good falls of snow too, with the Dolomites in the East doing slightly better than the Alps this week – Cortina and Arabba both reporting more than 50cm (20 inches) of new snow against 30cm (a foot) at Cervinia and Sauze d'Oulx. Most of the snow in the Alps feel over the last few days of March, up to Saturday, while snow in the Dolomites arrived a little later with big snow over the weekend. Snow depths are under 50cm at many Italian resorts down at village level, but still 1.5 – 2.5m on upper runs so the rest of the season seems secure, and in any case more snow is expected. Passo Tonale, usually open to June, has the deepest base in the country at 4m. Switzerland Gstaad in Switzerland remains the Alps' only ski area claiming a 5m+ base – 510cm (17 feet) in fact, and there's more than a month of the season remaining there on the Diablerets glacier. It, like resorts in most of the rest of the country, has not reported any fresh snow in the past seven days however, but there were some accumulations., including an impressive 45cm (18 inches) more for Verbier where the snow is still 75cm (2.5 feet) deep at resort level and 275cm (9 feet) on upper slopes as its great 12-13 season continues. Other sizable snowfalls this week in Switzerland include 13cm/5 inches at Murren (2.8m base) and another 20cm (8 inches) at year-round Zermatt which currently has a 2.5m base. Pyrenees The Pyrenees have had their best ski season in 10 years with regular snowfalls topping up bases still around the 3-5m mark following huge snowfalls in late January and early February. As a result, many areas have extended their seasons to late April or early May. The snow is still falling with centres across the region reporting 10-20cm of new snow. In Andorra bases are 2-3m (7-10 feet) on upper runs and in Spain there's still 3.9m (13 feet) on upper runs at Baqueira Beret which will be open to May 5th. On The French side the snow is deeper still – at 5.4m in Cauterets. Scotland Ski areas in Scotland are finding it hard to believe what a great season they've been having with a rare combination of consistently low temperatures allowing them to maintain and build bases rather than facing thaws and needing to rebuild bases as so often is the case. After extreme weather (gales and heavy snow blocking roads) at the start of last week, the five areas have seen a week of near perfect conditions with blue skies, little wind and fresh snow on top-to-bottom cover. The only problem this can cause in the Easter holidays is a fully stretched operational infrastructure as the areas struggle to cope with the crowds. Eastern Europe Base depths are slowly thawing away in Eastern Europe as 2012-13 draws to a close in the region. But in Bulgaria Pamporovo, Bansko and Borovets all report 1.5m (5 feet) or more still on upper slopes so there's plenty to last the remaining weeks of the season. The only fresh snow reported in the area was an inch (2.5cm) at Kranjska Gora in Slovenia. Scandinavia Scandinavian ski areas have had a fairly dry month now with little fresh snow but at the same time bases have endured due to generally low temperatures – ranging from about 80cm (2.7 feet) at resorts like Ruka in Finland or Geilo in Norway to a maximum of 1.6m at Voss on the Norwegian Coast. However the vast majority are in a narrow 1 to 1.2m base (3.3-4 feet) band and most will be open to the start of May. A small fresh snow falls was reported at Sweden's Are (7cm/3 inches). North America Canada Many Canadian resorts are due to close in the next 10 days and so it's time for pond skimming and charity fund raising fun races. However there are exceptions with more than a month of winter to go at Marmot Basin, Lake Louise and Banff Mt Norquay and longer still for Whistler Blackcomb. There's not been a lot of new snow reported anywhere in the country over ther past 7 days – Ferbie still has the deepest base at 2.7m (9 feet). What new snow there has been (less than 5cm/2 inches) has fallen in the East of the country where Mont ainte anne has a good 1.8m (six foot) base on upper slopes. USA The snow is still falling in east and west USA with media reports of a late burst for resorts, particularly on the east coast where there was 'a return' to winter' last weekend with up to 20cm (8 inches) of fresh snow falling. Although resorts in the West will mostly be closing in the next 10 days too, led by Jackson Hole this Sunday, there are still some significant snowfalls being reported, including a foot (30cm) in 48 hours over recent days at ski areas around Park City in Utah. Base depths are above 4m (13 feet) still at resorts famed for staying open later in to spring including Timberline in Oregon and Mammoth in California so the May – July snowsports period looks reasonably secure too. |
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Week Ending March 30th, 2013
* Free to re-publish in whole or part so long as clearly credited to www.J2ski.com with the words "J2Ski Snow Report" linked to http://www.j2ski.com/snow_forecast/ As March draws to a close, the season that keeps on giving, er, keeps on giving. There have been good falls of snow in many Alpine areas in the past week, and heavy snow has been reported in the past 24 hours. The overall outlook is for temperatures to drop in the East, to around 5C below their March averages, with seasonal - but varying - temperatures elsewhere. There is more snow forecast for the next few days over a wide area and, though very low slopes may see some rain, it's still cool enough for snow at most levels. This Week's Headlines - Up to 50cm of new snow in Quebec. - More heavy snow at Scottish areas, access road temporarily blocked by snow. - Niseko, Japan, has now had more than 15m of snow fall this season. - Resorts in France, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the US report 5m+ bases. Europe Austria The period of heavy snowfall in Austria 7-10 days ago eased off towards the latter half of last week and over the weekend when temperatures went above freezing and a minor thaw set in. Most Austrian ski areas are due to close over the next 2-3 weeks so the thinning base depths are not a huge issue in most places, but lower slope base depths are near 30cm now at many Austrian areas. Temperatures have cooled again this week and fresh snow – albeit 3-8cm falls, have been reported in the past 48 hours at resorts including Ischgl (30-150cm) which still has a month of the season to go; Kitzbuhel (60-160cm) and Obergurgl (70-200cm) – also open for another month. Ischgl has had the most overall snow in Austria over the past 7 days at 22cm whole Pitztal still has the deepest snowbase at 3m, it's open in to May. France In a similar set of circumstance to Austria, as indeed is the case across the Alps this past week, heavy snowfall which ended a week ago in France was followed by a few days of warmer temperatures right up to the highest altitudes over the weekend, but it is now getting colder again with more pre-Easter holiday snow. If not huge amounts so far – resorts in the 3 Valleys, Grand Massif and Espace Killy have reported 5-10cm of fresh snow in the past week. Snow cover is largely good across the French Alps however with at least a metre of snow on lower slopes at most areas and 2-3m on upper slopes at many resorts, the deepest Alpe d'Huez with over 4 metres lying following more than a metre of new snow in the first half of last week. Italy Italy has had the same pattern of heavy snow at the start of last week, a warm weekend and now a return to snowier conditions as elsewhere in central Europe. Sauze d'Oulx and Cervinia are among the resorts reporting limited fresh snowfall in the past 48 hours. Cervinia is one of Italy's resorts scheduled to remain open for more than a month more in to May so the fresh snow and its healthy base of nearly 3 metres (10 feet) at the top of the slopes are good news, although with little over a foot left lying at resort level it may get tricky to maintain runs right to the bottom in the latter half of April unless more substantial snowfalls arrive in the meantime. Passo Tonale with 3.6m (12 feet) now on the glacier gas the deepest snow in Italy still, which is good news again as it is likely to remain open for another two months to late June, upper runs at least. Switzerland The snow is back in Switzerland, perhaps more than any other Alpine country, in the last 48 hours following the warm spell at the end of last week and in to the weekend. Swiss resorts have some of the best bases in the Alps too, with Gstaad having the mountain range's deepest reported base at 5.1m, equalling Niseko and up there with Mt Baker in Washington state, in fact only beaten by one French resort in the Pyrenees. But the list of resorts with fresh snow – 8-15cm (3-6 inches) of it, includes Davos, Saas Fee, Verbier and Murren. Bases are generally good for the remainder of the season across Switzerland with typically 60-150cm (2-5 feet) on lower slopes and 1.5-3m (5-10 feet_ on upper slopes, although several have deeper bases still. Resorts including Engelberg, Saas Fee and Zermatt will be open in to May. Scotland Scotland is having its best season since 2010-11 and arguably one of the three best this century as although there have been the usual issues with centres being closed due to strong winds or inaccessible due to blocked roads at times over the past four months, almost all five centres have been able to stay open almost every day. As the Easter Holidays approach at the weekend the snow that has been making news headlines for the problems it has been causing in parts of the UK mean that Scottish ski slopes are in good shape with fresh cover on well established bases. In fact Scotland's five ski areas have had more snow that most other parts of Europe in the past seven days. East Coast resorts were inaccessible with blocked roads at the weekend and West coast resorts were stormbound by gales, but in the past 48 hours they've been re-opening as roads have been cleared and winds eased. Pyrenees It's been snowing again the Pyrenees, freshening up the big bases still lying from the huge January and February snowfalls. Andorran ski areas saw 5cm of fresh snow cover on Wednesday – bases in the country are still at 2.1-3.1m, although it's deeper still over in Spain where Baqueira Beret still has more than 4m and in France where Cauterets' still tops the world with a claimed 5.5m base – although it is finally declining. Eastern Europe There's been some fresh snow in Eastern Europe where upper slope bases are typically 80-160cm but getting rather thin ()20-50cm) at resort level in many areas. Bansko and Borovets in Bulgaria both say they've had 10cm ()4 inches) of new snow in the past few days. Scandinavia Very little new snowfall has been reported on Scandinavian ski slopes where cold weather has maintained bases. There remain at 80-160cm across the region as they have been most of the winter. Of the few snowfalls reported, Are in Sweden got just an inch of snow yesterday. North America Canada There's been snowfall in east and western Canada. The former is the slightly more unusual with resorts in Quebec proclaiming up top 50cm of new snow during a 72 period up to last weekend. Tremblant added more than a foot to its base aft5er a long largely dry spell and Mont Ste Anne, further East had a similar accumulation. In BC there have been falls of up to 50cm too (less unusual but still good to see!). Fernie's 51cm, the biggest reported accumulation in Canada over the past week, has also taken it past the 3m/10 foot base mark to 3.1m – the first major Canadian resort to do that this season. USA As with Canada, Eastern US resorts saw some serious snowfall last week, however as it largely arrived just as we were compiling last week's report and stopped again in most places by Thursday, it's now well skied out, although it has helped bases and local media in the region is full of reports on how this 'final blast' has revived the end of the 12-13 season in the area. Anyway 20-40cm falls were reported at many resorts in the area. In recent days the snow has been falling in Western states, particularly Colorado with Breckenridge, for example, reporting 55cm in the past week, 10cm (4 inches) of that in the past 24 hours. Many other Colorado ski areas including Arapahoe basin and winter park have added at least a foot of snow in the past week, as has Jackson Hole in Wyoming, which only has a week of the season left after the coming weekend, always one of the first of the world's major resorts to close each season, even though it has a 224cm/8 foot base. |
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