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Just been catching up with the latest forecast model outputs and it's definitely looking wintry into the start of next week. For the northern French Alps, average temperatures should drop around 10C Sunday into Monday and there's likely to be some heavy precipitation at the same time - so could be some heavy snow fall, but possibly quite localized, potentially to low levels.
Temperatures may vary around the middle of the week, but with more precipitation queuing. Going higher than Morzine's slopes will get you the best of what's coming; Avoriaz should be good but as you've got a car then I'd suggest keeping an eye on Flaine and La Clusaz - both of which can pick up more snow than nearby areas, depending on timing... If you check out this page -> Snow forecasts for the Rhone Alpes resorts, and scroll down, there's a table showing you what's expected where and when. Likely to change a lot, and it'll be all about the freezing level / snow line, but you'll be able to find some snow! |
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It's wet down low right now (see Morzine Webcams ).
However... the weather is forecast to cool significantly from the weekend and there's snow coming. Doesn't look like a huge dump soon, but it's a start and may get revised up. ( Morzine forecast ) From reports on Facebook it looks like Avoriaz is ok but should be much improved by next week. HTH. |
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J2Ski Snow Report 29th December 2022
Big White, BC, Canada after a 30C temperature change... Snow in Europe, but more in America. The Snow Headlines - 29th December - Snowfall at high altitudes in the Alps, but unfortunately rain at high levels too. - Mega Storm Elliott freezes North America and brings more snowfall to many. - High avalanche danger in the Alps as warm, windy and wet impacts snow cover. - Bulgaria continues to struggle to open much terrain. - More snow in Scotland. 
Japan's just showing off now...
World Overview The winter weather is certainly keeping us on our toes this week with lots of different extremes to report. In Europe, unfortunately, warm temperatures continue to impact lower slopes, with rain, strong winds and mild air also leading to high avalanche danger. Above 2,000m conditions remain pretty good though, as they do up in Scandinavia. By contrast, though there's almost no snow down in Bulgaria. North America has seen a really dynamic weather mix as has been widely reported in mainstream media with very low temperatures and some significant snowstorms. This time the East of the continent has ended up with some of the best accumulations so it is an improving picture there. More storms are now hitting the West. Europe Austria A very mixed picture for Austria with altitude a key factor as to whether you'll find good skiing or not. The northern Alps have, unfortunately, not seen much of the December snowfalls and it has also been warmer than the seasonal average in valleys. The result of this unhappy combination was a green Christmas in valleys and wet snow on higher runs for many of the Austrian areas topping out below 2000m altitudes. On the other hand, those with runs up towards 3000m are in good shape. Solden is the real stand out with almost twice as much snow lying as almost any other Austrian resort and virtually all of its 150km of slopes open. France French resorts continue to post the deepest snow depths in Europe, although they've lost their dominance of the top 10 with some Swiss resorts moving in there. But Alpe d'Huez, Puy St Vincent, Tignes, Val d'Isere and Serre Chevalier all remain in the top 10 for snow depth with 1.5 – 2.1 metres lying each. It's been a challenging week with rain up to high elevations for Christmas weekend and the thin snow cover lying on valley slopes melting/washed away in some cases, but there's also been more snow up above 2000m, so it's very mixed and there's still some good skiing up high. The off-piste avalanche danger is high with the mild temperatures, rain and strong winds thrown into the mix. Italy Italy seems to have fared slightly better than some other leading ski nations during the warm weather. Ski areas have been opening more runs and some are now fully open. The Milky Way (Via Lattea) including the skiing at Sestriere, Sauze d'Oulx and Montgenèvre over the French border is reporting the most terrain open, over 250km of slopes. The cross-border Zermatt-Cervinia region has over 200km of runs open too. In the Dolomites, most terrain is now open with Val Gardena leading the pack with all 80 lifts running and all 180km of slopes open despite just a 1-2 foot base reported. Switzerland Swiss centres have the same scenario as those in the rest of the Alps – good conditions and fresh snow above 2,000m altitude at most resorts. At lower altitudes though rain and warm temperatures have thawed the limited cover. As most Swiss resorts have plenty of high-altitude terrains the conditions aren't too big a problem. But the issue has proved difficult for some resorts to avoid. Laax, for example, despite having slopes up to 3000m, has warned of narrow stretches of snow in places. Scandinavia Powder skiers looking for fresh snowfall would be best to turn their eyes north (or make it easier by just clicking on the applicable webcams) as Scandinavia is the place where the snow has been falling in abundance over the last week. Some centres have reported over half a metre of fresh snowfall. Norway has reported the heaviest snowfalls with several resorts including Geilo and Voss now posting snow depths of over a metre on their highest runs. Pyrenees Ski areas in the Pyrenees have been battling warm temperatures too and the amount of terrain open here has dropped a little compared to Christmas weekend. It's the same issue as further north in the Alps – too warm and too dry when it comes to fresh snowfall. The deepest reported snowpack, on the French side, is only 70cm but Baqueira Beret and Grandvalira both still report over 100km of slopes open. Scotland Scotland's season is improving again after the warm weather last week. It's been back below freezing and snowing again. The Lecht, Glenshee and Cairngorm all re-opened some slopes on Boxing Day and snowfall continuing through this week led Glencoe to aim to join them on Wednesday. Alas, it was thwarted by rain late on Tuesday evening rather than the snow forecast. Eastern Europe Unfortunately, the warm weather in Europe's southeast continues to severely limit what ski areas can offer. Most Bulgarian ski areas have opened now but with just a few short runs created during snowmaking windows overnight and Sarajevo's ski slopes in Bosnia remain closed. It's a brighter picture further north where larger Czech and Slovak ski areas like Spindleruv Mlyn and Jasna have been opening more terrain despite the warmer-than-ideal temperatures here too, very much like the Alps. North America Canada Western Canada's period of super-low temperatures largely eased over Christmas weekend and it got up to the mere minus 5-10s (Centigrade) in Alberta and Eastern BC. However fresh storms arrived earlier this week, hitting coastal resorts like Whistler Blackcomb hard - which had to largely close as gale force winds hit along with rain and snow. It has largely reopened now though. Further inland there were reports of 10-30cm of fresh snowfall after the cold but dry weather and Big White noted problems with ice build-up on lift machinery as temperatures fluctuated through 30 degrees below freezing. Eastern Canada has seen a dramatic improvement in what had been poor early-season conditions with many areas receiving half a metre or more of fresh snowfall from Storm Elliot. USA The big weather story this past week was Storm Elliot which passed right across the US from west to east bringing bitterly cold weather, gale-force winds and, most markedly in the Midwest and northeast – plenty of snowfall. In the East that transformed the previously lacklustre conditions into powder skiing. There was snowfall for the Rockies too and now a fresh series of storms, with the most optimistic forecasts pointing to another "up to eight feet" of snowfall by the start of the New Year, moving into the west. The problem with storms though is that while the snow accumulations are great news for the long term, in the short term gales, buried roads and lifts and high avalanche danger can all cause ski areas to shut down for a day or two. |
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J2Ski Snow Report 22nd December 2022
So this was Alta, Utah, USA this week... Snow in Europe, but more in America. The Snow Headlines - 22nd December - Several Utah Ski Areas Report of 60" (1.5 metres) of snowfall in 7 days - Warmer weather in the Alps and much of western Europe. - Snowfall at last in Eastern North America – up to 3 Feet (90cm) reported. - Bulgaria's Bansko opens for 22-23 season, initially with no runs complete. - Very cold weather closes ski resorts in Western Canada, US Midwest. - Scottish ski areas open, close and open again. - "Weather bomb" forecast for eastern North America. 
Japan and USA in the firing line...
World Overview We have passed the shortest day of the year and the days are getting longer (in the northern hemisphere). Up in Lapland it means the sun will reappear above the horizon at resorts like Levi in just a week's time. It also means we've entered winter by both the meteorological and now the astronomical measures of the seasons. One of the main themes in this week's report is temperature. In Europe it appears Mother Nature has not got the memo that we're in winter proper now and the freezing point in the Alps has been rising up towards 3000m. Not good news when lower slopes are in need of snowfall. Instead they've had rain although above 1800m the pistes are still in pretty good shape. In Northern Canada and Scandinavia it's the other extreme with -30C Celsius leading to lift closures and lots of 'stay safe' advice. The big snowfall news of the week comes from Eastern North America which has had a warm autumn and been unable to produce a lot of snow by machine for which the region is famous. However plummeting temperatures and up to three feet of snowfall over last weekend there has greatly improved things, and there's more on the way now. Europe Austria There's not been a huge change in conditions in Austria for three weeks or so now. There have been small to moderate snowfalls and spells of low temperatures for snowmaking but nothing too dramatic and unfortunately temperatures are a little high this week which isn't improving matters. Lower altitude runs are suffering the most and about a third of the country's centres - mostly the smaller, lower centres, are yet to open for the season. But most of the big ski areas have about half or more of their terrain open and good on-piste conditions. Ischgl, the Skiwelt (Soll, Westendorf, Ellmau etc) and Saalbach Hinterglemm Fieberbrunn all have about 160km (100 miles) of runs open each. France France has had the best of the December snowfalls overall, particularly the southern French alps with Alpe d'Huez and Puy St Vincent the only two resorts in Europe posting more than a 2 metre base up top. Not much fresh this week and warmer temperatures than we'd like but good on-piste conditions above 1600-1800 metres. Less to see off-piste and the avalanche danger has been quite high, Level 3 on the scale to 5, at a number of resorts. The 3 Valleys (Courchevel, les Menuires, Meribel, Val Thorens) have the most terrain open in the world at present, over 300km of runs. Italy About 80% of Italy's ski areas have now opened for the season and many are actually posting some of the best conditions in Europe, having been beneficiaries of the snow from the south earlier this month. Unfortunately they're now getting warm air from the south too. But most open resorts have a sizable swathe of terrain skiable. Dolomiti Superski offer the most but there's over 200km open on the Milky Way (Via Lattea) pass on the French border and 160km from Cervinia on the Swiss border too. Switzerland A similar mixed picture in Switzerland with most ski areas open now, those that are open offering ever more terrain available, but still issues for low slopes and rain reported up to about 2000m, although things are heading in a more wintery direction. The Portes du Soleil around Champery and the 4 Valleys around Verbier are posting the most terrain open, both now having more than 250km of slopes available. Saas Fee is posting the country's deepest snowpack at 1.6 metres. Scandinavia Midwinter in Scandinavia means little or no daylight with the sun below the horizon in a number of more northerly ski areas, including Levi and Ruka in Finnish Lapland, until the start of January. Temperatures have been reaching the -20s (Celsius) too. A real weather mix with some areas seeing lots of light snowfalls, others sunshine. The region's largest resort, Sweden's Are, has the most terrain open so far – about 30km of slopes – but that's still only about a third of its potential terrain. Pyrenees The Pyrenees are unfortunately seeing some very warm temperatures this week, getting into double digits at resort bases with lots of sunshine. This could be a problem for smaller, lower areas but not so much for the big destination resorts with higher slopes which are just seeing classic freeze-thaw conditions up high. Andorra's Grandvalira and Baqueira Beret in Spain both have the most terrain open in the region, about 130km (80 miles) of slopes skiable a piece. Scotland Scotland's ski season start was looking promising a week ago with constant sub-zero temperatures, if not a lot of natural snowfall to build a base. But after Glenshee opened half a dozen runs, the Lecht and Cairngorm had runs open at the weekend while Glencoe and Nevis Range had sledging. Alas the usual Scottish problem of a temperature spike bringing gales and torrential rain set these promising early signs back and closed slopes to start this week. But winter has returned and Cairngorm and Glenshee had limited slopes available again by Wednesday but with plenty of snow forecast for Christmas weekend. Eastern Europe The challenging start to the season in the south east looks set to continue past Christmas unfortunately with sunny, comparatively warm weather in Bulgaria, Serbia and elsewhere making it difficult to open much (any) terrain. Bansko officially declared itself open last weekend but without any complete runs unfortunately. North America Canada Western Canada has seen some very cold weather over the past week, particularly in the region where British Columbia borders Alberta. Most ski areas shut their more exposed lifts due to fear of mechanical failure and some areas including Jasper's Marmot Basin have been closed completely for several days. For those on the slopes the advice is to wear a lot of layers and cover exposed skin if you can as temperatures reach the -30s, then watch skiing buddies for signs of frostbite. USA After the heavy snowfall in the West of the continent a week ago it was finally the turn of the East to see big snowfalls over last weekend and the start of this week with most ski areas in New England and the wider area receiving at least a foot of snowfall, some parts as much as three feet. Big winners included New York state's Whiteface with big areas like Killington and Sunday River opening much more terrain. Things settled down on Tuesday but it has been very cold since. Drier in the West earlier this week but Mammoth is posting the world's deepest base and the only resort with over 3 metres (10 feet) of snow lying. A major storm system has now moved into the Pacific Northwest bringing more snow and forecasted very low temperatures and blizzard conditions into the Christmas weekend right across America. Ski areas in the Midwest in particular have announced 2-4 day closures because of the forecast extreme weather. |
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J2Ski Snow Report 15th December 2022
Baqueira Beret, Spain, looking cool... Snow in Europe, but more in America. The Snow Headlines - 15th December - Good snowfalls for Western Europe – up to 65cm in the Alps. - Scotland's 22-23 ski season starts as UK hit by low temperatures and snow. - More huge snowfalls for Western US, up to 6 feet in 48 hours. - 3 Vallees opens for 50th season and has most terrain open in the world already. - Mammoth Mountain in California first to post 3m/10 feet+ base this season. 
Ok Japan, you win (this week)...
World Overview North America's Pacific Coast once again takes the world snow news headlines this week with further huge storms slamming into the mountains along the West Coast, bringing several feet more snowfall to the region which is already leading the world by some distance for early snowfall this season to date. In the Alps, there was a decent snowfall over last weekend, and it is starting to snow again now. Ski areas in the west, particularly the French Alps, saw the most snowfall. More and more ski areas opened and larger and larger amounts of terrain are opening at the centres already operational for 22-23. Elsewhere in the ski world, Japan's ski season is gathering pace, particularly on the northern powder island Hokkaido, which is living up to its reputation with more than a metre of snowfall at Niseko in the last seven days. Not doing quite so well in Nagano to the south but there are signs of improvements here too. Europe Austria Not quite so much snowfall in Austria as further west over the past week as the heaviest snowfall has been in the southern and western Alps, but nonetheless, there have been some light falls and low temperatures for more snowmaking. Ischgl, Sölden, Mayrhofen and Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis are each reporting more than 100km of slopes open already. There's still only about a third of Austrian areas open so far but most of the rest plan to join over the next two weekends. France France seems to have done about the best from last weekend's snowstorms with most ski areas in the French Alps reporting at least 30cm (a foot) of fresh snow cover and some much more – 65cm (over two feet) for Chatel and 50cm for Montgenevre for example. The snow arrived as more ski areas opened for the season, including Les Menuires and Meribel to complete the 3 Vallees opening for the 22-23 season, its 50th. The world's largest ski area had 155 runs open for its first weekend, and almost 300km of slopes, nearly half its maximum possible. This took it straight to the 'most open in the world' position overtaking recent leaders Ischgl/Sanaun and Val Gardena. Tignes and Val d'Isere also now have quite a large part of their terrain open. The snowfall was most welcome down at lower elevations, making it possible to open ever bigger vertical descents. Italy Italy sees the World Cup tour rolling in for its annual stops in Val Gardena, Alta Badia and others over the next few weekends. Conditions are looking pretty good here with most ski areas now open and quite a lot of fresh snowfall in the last week, as well as cold temperatures for snowmaking. Sella Neva over in the far east on the border with Slovenia has the deepest reported snowpack so far in Italy with 135cm lying up top. Val Gardena and Cervinia each have about 140km of slopes open, the most in the country at this early point in the season. Switzerland It's beginning to look a lot like ski season at Swiss resorts too, about a third of which are now open. Many in the west of the country have posted 20-40cm of snowfall in the last week. Ischgl/Samnaun's Silvretta Arena, the Portes du Soleil, Zermatt/Cervinia and 4 Vallées areas each already have at least 100km of slopes open. It should be a snowy end to the week with temperatures staying low as the sun returns at the weekend. Scandinavia It's mid-December and Scandinavian ski areas are living up to their cold and dark midwinter reputation with the shortest day of the year only a week away and some more northerly centres now hardly seeing daylight. Temperatures have been in the -10C to -30C range for many and there have been frequent snow showers. Most of the region's leading ski areas are now open including Hemsedal, Trysil, Geilo and the largest, Sweden's Are-Duved, many of them opening for 22-23 in the past week. Pyrenees About 80% of ski areas are now open in the Pyrenees including almost all centres in Spain and Andorra. There's been fresh snowfall this week and that, along with extensive snowmaking efforts, Has allowed centres to open a lot of terrain already. Andorra's Grandvalira (Soldeu, Pas de la Casa etc) and Spain's Baqueira Beret both already have over 100km of slopes open despite snow depths of less than 50cm. Scotland Scotland's season started on Monday with Glenshee opening several runs with a mix of machine-made and natural snowfall as temperatures in the Scottish highlands dipped as low as -18C. The Lecht saw access roads closed by snow but hasn't attempted to open yet. However, it as well as Glencoe and Nevis Range are expected to open this weekend, to some extent, Cairngorm next week. Although it has been very cold there's not yet been a lot of natural snowfall so it will be limited terrain initially. Eastern Europe It's a rather mixed picture in Eastern Europe. Bulgarian resorts have been reporting warm and windy weather which led several to delay planned openings for the season last weekend. However the largest, Bansko, wasn't due to open until this coming weekend anyway and although conditions are not yet brilliant (still a bit warm), they're improving. Further north though things do look better, Jasna, Slovakia's largest centre, opened its southern slopes at the weekend, although promptly had to close them again on Sunday as strong winds blew through. North America Canada Western Canada – particularly central and eastern BC and Alberta – has been posting great conditions for more than six weeks now. There's been still more snowfall, it has been very cold (as it should be mid-December) and Sun Peaks, Silver Star and most recently opened Fernie are all posting more than 100km of slopes open each already. North America's biggest resort, Whistler Blackcomb, only has about a quarter of its slopes open so far. Mount Seymour over on the BC coast is posting the country's deepest base to date at 1.5 metres. More challenging time in the east but the warm and wet weather has now eased off and it's very cold, great for snowmaking, with natural snowfall forecast too. USA The ski areas of the US are markedly divided in terms of conditions from west to east coast to extremes rarely seen. In the West, essentially, it's a remarkably good start to the season. Storm after storm has moved in off the Pacific leaving the snow metres deep, the deepest in the world right now in fact and snowfall totals way above average for mid-December. The whole region looks set for the rest of the ski season almost before it has begun. In the East it's almost the opposite, frequently warm and wet and ski areas struggling in snowmaking windows to make enough snow to open much. Resorts on both sides have been closed for periods in the past week – in the west due to more intense snow storms bringing avalanche danger and burying roads and lifts, in the East as it's too warm and wet to open some centres some days. |
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J2Ski Snow Report 8th December 2022
Saalbach, Austria, now open... Heavy snow in the US and Japan, cold and snow coming in for Europe. The Snow Headlines - 8th December - Austria's largest ski areas including Saalbach and Lech-Zurs open for 22-23 seasons. - Avalanche warnings in Colorado, California, Idaho and Montana after more heavy snowfall. - Dolomiti Superski open 400km of slopes including the Sellaronda. - Japanese ski season is off to a slow start but snow falling. 
There's snow coming... find out where...
World Overview The biggest snowfalls of the past week have come, once more, in the Western US, where up to 1.5 metres (60") of fresh snow has been reported and snow depths are up above two metres (7 feet) now at several areas, the deepest in the world at present. The great snowfalls were accompanied by gale-force winds however and led to high avalanche danger warnings. In Europe, there's been more fresh snowfall with the Southern Alps and Pyrenees actually seeing some of the best snowfalls of the past week. The Pyrenees also had the resort with the most terrain open in Europe last weekend – with Spain's Baqueira Beret the first to hit 150km of slopes open. Europe Austria Around 50 Austrian ski areas have opened for the season now, still the most of any country in Europe, with that number set to double this coming weekend. Ischgl / Samnaun's Silvretta Arena and Sölden both now have more than 100km of slopes open and some of the country's biggest ski regions around the Arlberg, and Saalbach Hinterglemm, have opened for the season. Fresh snowfall has also been reported across the country with snow depths on glaciers finally beginning to recover after the long hot summer. Sölden is posting the country's deepest snowpack at 1.7 metres (nearly six feet). France The French ski season is starting to gather pace with a dozen resorts opening last weekend including big names like Alpe d'Huez, Les 2 Alpes (immediately hosting World Cup cross races), Courchevel and (a week later than planned) Val d'Isere, opening up the connection to Tignes. There was snowfall in the southern Alps at the weekend moving progressively north earlier this week meaning most areas got a nice slope refresh. Italy Perhaps the biggest news from Italy this week was the opening of the famous Sellaronda circuit which links together half-a-dozen ski valleys to create one of the world's largest linked ski regions with around 500km of slopes. Dolomiti Superski said it had 400km of slopes open this week, about a third of its full area. That's been achieved, as is often the case there, without a huge amount of snow cover, and much of it machine-made. That said there was fresh snowfall at the weekend and the start of the week as snow-bearing clouds moved north from the Mediterranean so things are now looking more wintery. Switzerland Swiss ski areas have seen low temperatures and fresh snowfall this week, improving conditions there. Andermatt and Engelberg were among the resorts reporting great snowfalls on Monday and Tuesday. More than two dozen Swiss areas are now open and that number will go past the 50 mark from Saturday. Saas Fee continues to post the deepest snow in the region at more than five feet while Zermatt and Cervinia and Samnaun and Ischgl both now offer more than 100km of open slopes. Pyrenees Spain's Baqueira Beret has been posting the most terrain open in Europe for the past week, leaping ahead of Austria's Ischgl to report over 150km of slopes open last weekend, despite having only a 30-40cm base. It managed to stay ahead of Grandvalira, the region's biggest ski area when fully open, in Andorra. It was one of the vast majority of Andorran and Spanish ski areas opening for the season last weekend along with half a dozen French areas. All have seen some good fresh snowfalls over the past week, keeping snow conditions fresh. Scotland After warmer weather at the end of last week, it has turned colder again in Scotland and Thursday saw widespread light snowfall. There's not really any sign of any centres being closer to opening much terrain at this point, but Glencoe is among the areas that have already fired up their all-weather snowmaking systems and is initially using the snow for tobogganing. Glenshee says they plan to open on the 17th. Scandinavia Scandinavia's biggest resorts are opening just as we complete this week's report. Hemsedal in Norway and Scandinavia's largest ski area Are in Sweden are both opening, joining most of the region's other large ski areas which have opened in the past week or so. Conditions have been mostly wintery, despite a bit of warmer weather at the weekend bringing rain to some more southerly centres for a short time. Mostly though it has been dry with temperatures in the range of -10 to -25C, so much colder and good weather for snowmaking. Eastern Europe Eastern Europe's ski season is underway with ski centres opening in the Czech and Slovak Republics, Poland, Romania and other countries in the region. The largest, Jasna, was among those opening last weekend. There's snow cover down to low elevations in Bulgaria too but no centres are open there yet. Bansko plans to open the week before Christmas. North America USA The start of western America's season continues to be one of the best in years with resorts in California posting over a metre, in some cases, of fresh snowfall over the last seven days. It's not all just floated down, however; there've been gales, blizzard conditions and high avalanche danger at times but the overall result is great snow cover for this early in the season and plenty of powder skiing when the weather and snowpack have been stable enough. Steamboat was among the resorts closed on Thursday by yet another storm having reached 100" of snowfall already this season. The conditions are similar across the West of the country with lots of snow in the Rockies and Pacific Northwest regions too. The Palisades in California reports nearly five feet of snowfall in the past 7 days. Canada Cold weather across Canada, coldest in the West where temperatures have consistently been double-digits below freezing. In the East, it remains rather marginal with some centres still seeing rain rather than snow, but Tremblant now reports the snow several feet deep on its higher runs and about 20km of slopes open - about a fifth of its maximum possible. There's more open in the West which continues to see heavy snowfall and powder snow conditions. There have been gales too though which impacted the Women's World Cup ski racing at the weekend with the start of the race course moved down the mountain as a result. |
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J2Ski Snow Report 1st December 2022
Snowbird, Utah, USA, where they've been riding pow for weeks, they say! Snow inbound for Japan, arriving in US, and it's cold in Europe. The Snow Headlines - 1st December - Dozens more ski areas set to open in the Alps, staying cold but more snow needed. - Further heavy snowfall for western North America as season start gets ever better. - Season to get underway in eastern Europe this weekend. - Japanese ski areas delay opening while awaiting adequate snow (which is now falling) - Most resorts in Andorra and Spain expected to open this weekend. 
Incoming snow for Japan
World Overview The world's ski areas are starting to open in their hundreds now as we reach December. North America has had more than 100 areas open since the start of the Thanksgiving Holiday a week ago, while Europe is set to reach it this weekend when many more resorts open in the Alps, the Pyrenees and Scandinavia as well as the first of the season in other mountain ranges in Eastern Europe. North America continues to see some of the best snow conditions for this early part of the season for some years with more heavy snowfall in the last few days, particularly in the Rockies. In Europe it's a more nuanced picture with the best snow conditions still at quite high levels leading some areas to delay openings planned this Saturday by a week, while others, with access to terrain above 2,000m, have decided to open early. Europe Austria Austria has continued to lead the way in Europe, in terms of the number of areas open, and to some extent the world, in terms of how much terrain they have open. Ischgl/Samnaun, which opened for the season last weekend, currently has the most runs open in Europe at over 100km, mostly thanks to a colossal snowmaking effort. There has been some fresh snowfall this week though and fairly low temperatures, well below freezing up high. It's been drier and often sunny the past few days but snowfall should resume early next week. About 15 ski areas have opened in the country so far but that may be nearer 50 by the weekend. France Early reports from those lucky enough to get on the slopes of Tignes and Val Thorens this week, the only two French resorts open so far, are positive. It's cold, there's been some fresh snowfall this week, and it's feeling good. The only real problem is that resorts are playing catch up after the often warm and dry autumn, so there's not a lot of terrain open, particularly below about 1800m. As a result, La Clusaz, which had planned weekend openings from this weekend, has announced a delay, but Avoriaz which hadn't been due to open, is opening its highest terrain for an unscheduled preview weekend. At least a dozen other areas are due to open including some big names like Alpe d'Huez, Les 2 Alpes and (a week later than planned) Val d'Isere. The first openings of the new season in the French Pyrenees are also scheduled. Italy Italy's ski season is starting to get moving with eight ski areas now open (compared to two a week ago) and dozens more planning to join them this coming weekend. Dolomiti Superski was among the areas launching their 22-23 season this week (the 49th for the famous pass network) with Cortina d'Ampezzo opening there. Madonna di Campiglio has also opened and Cervinia now has slopes open on their side of the shared area with Zermatt. Courmayeur and Livigno are among the resorts opening this weekend. The weather is mostly cold at altitude, still a little warm in valleys by the afternoons, but snowmaking systems can fire up overnight and there has been some more fresh snowfall. Switzerland Around 15 Swiss ski areas have opened for the season already, although some of these only at weekends until now. In any case, the numbers will double to 30+ this weekend with more centres opening. Those already open will also be adding terrain with Zermatt-Cervinia announcing they'll have over 110km of slopes open this coming weekend. There's been some fresh snowfall though nothing huge at the weekend and earlier this week with mostly dry but cold weather at present, some areas in Valais and elsewhere seeing more snowfall at the weekend. Pyrenees Spain's largest ski centre, Baqueira Beret, became the first to open in the Pyrenees last weekend, reporting about 40km of slopes open and a 30-40cm base. Most other ski areas in Spain, as well as those in Andorra, are aiming to open this weekend. There are two public holidays in Spain next week so it is in their interests to be able to offer skiing then. Thankfully it has been cold and snowing, as with the Alps, at altitude. The first French Pyrenean ski areas are also due to open. Scotland It continues to be a fairly positive pre-season picture in Scotland. There's very little natural snowfall so far and the past week has seen a lot of dry, sunny weather but it has been cold – close to freezing and below and the centres have begun firing up snowmaking systems, particularly the all-weather machines. Glencoe says they'll be opening their snow sledging run soon. Scandinavia Scandinavia's season is starting to gather pace too, with some cold, snowy weather and of course very little daylight now with the winter solstice just three weeks away. The region's largest operator Skistar announced that its Vemdalen base opened last weekend on 26 November, Sälen and Trysil will open on 2 December and Åre and Hemsedal will be ready to open next week on 8 December. Eastern Europe We're still a week or so off the start of the season in Bulgaria, although Bansko reported snow down to low levels last weekend, so it's looking promising. Several ski areas in the Czech and Slovak Republics got the season started there at the weekend, including several of the larger operators. In fact, the biggest in the region Jasna, opened its first terrain for 22-23, with the best conditions at about 1500m. There's been some November snowfall but the past week has been largely dry and cloudy, with temperatures in the +2 to -5C range, so great for further snowmaking. North America USA The big news from North America continues to come from The Rockies where it has been dumping once again, with many areas reporting at least a foot more snowfall midweek. The overall picture appears very good with some beginning to say this is the best early-season snow for many years. Snowbird in Utah noted on Wednesday that that had been its planned season opening date but that it had instead been "skiing deep powder for weeks". There was also an unusually good snowfall for the Midwest over the middle of this week and there's a major (snow) storm warning for the US West in force as we complete this week's report. The East Coast and New England are lagging a little behind with warm temperatures thwarting some snowmaking efforts and bringing rain showers. Most areas are open nonetheless but with thin cover and limited terrain. Killington in Vermont, which hosted World Cup ski racing last weekend, has the most open. Canada It is a similar picture in Canada to that south of the border. The best snow is in Eastern BC and Alberta with deep powder reported at resorts like Big White and Silver Star in the past few days. Most resorts are now open here but the biggest, Whistler Blackcomb, has so far only opened a small fraction – less than 10% – of its terrain. Thus resorts like Sun Peaks, Sunshine and Lake Louise currently have more trails open. In the east, similar to New England to the south, what's open is limited so far and there's not been much natural snowfall. |
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J2Ski Snow Report 24th November 2022
Alta, Utah, USA ... now open! Over 100 resorts open in the US, snow in Europe. The Snow Headlines - 24th November - Snowfall down to low elevations in the Alps. - More than 100 ski areas open in North America ahead of US Thanksgiving. - Pyrenees ski season expected to start this weekend. - More unusually heavy snowfall in Australia as summertime nears. - Scottish ski hills turn white for first time this autumn. - French ski season gets underway 'earlier than expected'. 
Where will it snow this week?
World Overview It's been a week of worldwide snowfall – on mountains at least. The biggest difference is really being felt in Europe where nearly a week of snowfall (albeit generally light snow, but cold with it) in the Alps has dramatically improved conditions with snowfall down to lower valley floors. There's also been snow reported everywhere from Portugal to Croatia and up north in Scotland, in the Tatra mountains and more for Scandinavia. Dozens more European ski areas will open this weekend to join the 30 or so already open, and those open already are adding much more already skiable terrain. Things look good across North America too, with over 100 ski areas open for the Thanksgiving weekend across the continent, including most of the big name resorts now, as well as many smaller centres. Most areas are reporting a good season start with snow depths tracking about a month ahead of average for the time of year in the Rockies. Even Australia reported still more snow – bizarrely up to 30cm just a week before the start of summertime there and long after the ski season ended. Some light snowfall up high for New Zealand too and in the Andes. Europe Austria Austrian ski areas Obergurgl and neighbouring Solden are currently posting the top two biggest ski areas open in Europe so far, with about 40km of slopes open each. Solden say they plan to open much more from this coming weekend which should take the two Otztal areas past 100km between them. Other Austrian resorts including Ischgl and Obertauern plan to start their seasons this weekend, adding to the competition. It's been a good week for snowfall with snow down to the valley floor across the country and 30-60cm of fresh on higher slopes. France The French ski season has stuttered to a start at Tignes. Having previously delayed its planned October opening to the last weekend of November, it decided it had enough snow to open a red run on the glacier last weekend, saying it was now opening 'a week early'. Ironically it couldn't open on the first day planned as the resort was stormbound as a week of snowfall began. Val Thorens went the other way, postponing its planned opening, which is now this coming weekend. Overall it's a much improved picture for the season start than previously, with snow down to the valley floor at resorts like Chamonix and Megeve and much more at higher elevations. Italy At time of writing there remain just a handful of smaller ski areas open in Italy but things should change from this weekend with big hitters Courmayeur, Cortina and Madonna di Campiglio all due to open. Cervinia, too, is due to open terrain on its side of the border with Switzerland, having up to now just provided access to the Swiss side of the ski area. As with most of Europe there's been plenty of snowfall and low temperatures with snow to low levels in the Alps and Dolomites. Switzerland Swiss centres have kept up with Austria for early season resorts opening, although more than half have just been opening weekends, until this coming one after which most go daily. Plenty of fresh snowfall and cold weather here too. Samnaun is one of the latest to open with its cross border slopes to Ischgl now open, and between them the biggest area open from Switzerland at time of writing at least – about 40km. Laax, Arosa and Adelboden among areas due to start their season this weekend. Scandinavia Scandinavia's mountains are now seeing near constant sub-zero temperatures and frequent snow showers – if not yet really big accumulations. World Cup racing at Levi in Finland last weekend showed a fully winter picture with floodlit slopes as daylight hours fast reduce. Many of the region's biggest ski areas including Trysil, Hemsedal and Geilo in Norway are expected to open this weekend. Pyrenees Plenty of fresh snowfall reported in the Pyrenes this week. The ski areas intending to open this weekend has been dropping but, at time of writing, Spain's biggest Baqueira/Beret and Porté Puymorens on the French side are still aiming to start their 22-23 seasons this Saturday, most others a week later. Scotland Scottish mountains turned white at the weekend with snow down to about 200 metres altitude. Ski areas have also tested snowmaking systems but most don't plan to open until shortly before Christmas unless there's a very snowy December. Eastern Europe There's been snow across Eastern Europe this week and down to low elevations too. Most ski areas don't plan to open until into December, but some, including Slovakia's largest Jasna, are due to open their first terrain from this weekend. North America Canada Canada's ski season continues to gather pace with the biggest ski areas in the East (Tremblant) and West (Whistler) both opening in the last few days, tying in with the US Thanksgiving holiday weekend south of the border. Both have had some snowfall. In Quebec ski areas opening is more thanks to snowmaking in low temperature. Many other Canadian resorts are now open with the best of the deep snow so far in central and eastern BC and Alberta. BC's Silver Star is posting the deepest base in North America so far at just under two metres. USA The US has seen a huge leap in ski areas opening in time for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The snowfall has eased in most areas but late October/first-half of November bases built have allowed around three quarters of the bigger resorts (and many smaller ones) in the west to open now while in the east cold weather has enabled snowmaking systems to make enough snow at resorts like Killington, Stowe, Sugarloaf and Sunday River for them all to open. Some natural snowfall helped, nowhere more so than upstate New York where the lake-effect snowstorm that hit last weekend, particularly at Buffalo - where six feet of snow landed in 36 hours – made international news. Mammoth has the deepest base so far with just over six-feet lying on upper slopes. Alta in Utah has one of the largest areas of terrain open this early in the season – more than 50 miles of runs. |
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