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J2Ski Snow Report 13th October 2022
Kitzsteinhorn, Austria, now open... Finland gets going, more skiing on Austrian glaciers, and France waits... The Snow Headlines - 13th October - Ski season is underway in Finland. - Snowfall and snowmaking in East and West US. - French 22-23 ski season start delayed. - The last three areas open in The Andes expected to end their seasons this Sunday. - Fresh snowfall in Australia where all areas are closed now with 22 season over. 
See where it's going to snow next week...
World Overview The gradual change of the seasons means that the number of ski areas open in the southern hemisphere is expected to drop to two after this week, whereas we now have more than a dozen areas open in Europe. Finland was the latest to join the party with two centres opening there thanks to snow-farming last weekend. In the Alps, temperatures have stayed close to freezing up at glacier level and we're into double figures for the number of areas open with Saas Fee and the Kitzsteinhorn near Kaprun the latest to open to the public. There have been more light snowfalls but so far nothing significant. That seems to be why Les 2 Alpes and Tignes - which had hoped to open this coming weekend - have delayed. Les 2 Alpes had hoped to open a week later than planned on the 22nd October but has now postponed until late November. In North America, more and more centres have announced snow-making underway, now in the east as well as Colorado, but we're yet to have anywhere confirm an opening date before early November. Several of the "snowmakers" still hope to open in October if they can though. In the southern hemisphere the 2022 winter wind-down continues with just three areas left open in the Andes with its final weekend coming up, and four in New Zealand, two of them closing on Sunday too. That's not stopped the snow from falling though with Australia's ski slopes receiving a decent dump nearly a fortnight after all the resorts there closed for the season! Northern Hemisphere Europe Finland is the latest ski nation to open for the 22-23 season, with the leading areas of Levi and Ruka getting their lifts spinning on runs made of snow piled up last winter and stockpiled through last summer then spread back out on the slopes. A sixth Austrian glacier, the Kitzsteinhorn, has also opened for the season there and in Switzerland Saas Fee, which had opened back in July but only allowed access to race teams training due to limited snow cover, is now open to all. So we're into double figures for the first time since last May in terms of what's open. France, where at least one area had been expected to open this weekend, is currently on hold though as Les 2 Alpes and Tignes wait for more snow. The good news is it has remained cold up at glacier level, across the Alps and there's been more light snowfall as well as snow on high slopes in the Pyrenees, Scandinavia and on eastern European peaks. Austria Austria continues to lead the way with more than half of Europe's currently open ski areas operational here. There are six glaciers open for downhill skilling and a seventh (the Dachstein) offering cross-country slopes only at present. Although snow cover is thin and terrain open so far limited, conditions are generally fairly good with light snowfalls topping up cover over the past week and temperatures at glacier height sticking close to freezing. Solden, which hosts the World cup Alpine 22-23 ski racing season opener later this month has the most terrain open with 27km of slopes, a little more than Hintertux. Smaller areas are available at Kaunertal, the Pitztal the Stubai and most recently opened Kitzsteinhorn. France It had been hoped that Les 2 Alpes and Tignes would start the French 22-23 season this coming weekend, but Les 2 Alpes has now announced it won't open until the main season start in late November while Tignes has not yet named a date. Tignes issued a statement effectively saying the hot summer following a below-average snow season last winter meant that "although the glacier is still there," the autumn operations had been "compromised" and that it would potentially open if it got a good autumn snowfall. It has been around freezing and there have been some snowshowers but so far not enough. Les 2 Alpes had put pressure on itself to open by hosting the opening stages of the World Cup Snowboard Cross tour at the end of this month and the skiing equivalent at the start of November but the skiing event has now been cancelled, the snowboarding one set back to early December. Italy Italy's Val Senales and Passo Stelvio glacier ski areas remain open and, as with other already open resorts in the Alps, report thin cover but cold weather and light snowfall refreshing the surface over the past week. Cervinia continues to provide access to the glacier slopes above Zermatt. Switzerland Saas Fee is now open to all after being only available to professional race teams training for the past three months. The centre says that thanks to recent cold weather and snowfall it now has about 20km of slopes open, about five times as much as before. It joins Zermatt where anticipation is building for the first cross-border downhill ski races ever staged, opening the 22-23 World Cup speed racing circuit a month earlier than before. Scandinavia Ruka and Levi have both opened for their 2022-23 seasons, which run for seven months through to May 2023. They use snowfarming techniques to create runs a few kilometres long initially. They join the Galdhopiggen glacier summer ski area in Norway which is in its final month of 2023 operations. The weather in the region has been cold and snowy with resorts like Voss in Norway reporting snowfall down to quite low elevations. North America It's been a predominantly dry and sunny week across North America but overnight lows below freezing have allowed snow-making systems to fire up and there's still hope of an October opening somewhere on the continent. Among those with snow-making underway are the high-altitude centres of Keystone, Loveland and Arapahoe Basin in Colorado and Killington, Vermont, in the East. The two resorts to have named early opening days – both targeting November 4th – are Mount Rose by Tahoe in California USA and Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada. But usually, someone beats them to it. Southern Hemisphere As mentioned in our introduction, there are currently seven areas left open for the 2022 season in the southern hemisphere, most in New Zealand and more than half are due to close after operations this Sunday. It is the midway point in spring by the meteorological measure of the seasons. Chile's La Parva has remained open daily, the only resort in the Andes that still is, but Catedral near Bariloche and Antillanca in Argentina both plan to open for a final weekend of 2022 this coming weekend. The weather has been largely sunny but with overnight lows still getting below freezing – daytime highs in double digits above though. In New Zealand, it's the final weekend coming up at Cardrona and The Remarkables, while Mount Hutt plans to continue another week then keep its terrain park open into November. Whakapapa on the North Island is also aiming to stay open at least to the 23rd but snow cover is thin there and the centre's operators have also gone into voluntary administration after a tough winter. |
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J2Ski Snow Report 6th October 2022
The view from the Kaunertal Glacier, Austria, today... Southern hemisphere season just about done, northern is waking up. The Snow Headlines - 6th October - Four more Austrian glacier resorts open, taking the total to six. - Australia ends its 2022 ski season. - The first snow in Japan reported on the peak of Mt Fuji and at Niseko. - Snowfall in the Pyrenees and at Europe's most southerly ski area. - Finland starts its 22-23 ski season. - Most ski areas are now closed in the Andes and New Zealand. - Snowfall reported at Gulmarg in India. 
Light snows for now, but next week looks cooler...
World Overview There's been snow reported on every continent over the last seven days and with ski resorts continuing to open in Europe, but most centres, including all in Australia, now having ended their 2022 seasons in the southern hemisphere, we are just about at the tipping point when more ski areas are open north of the equator than south. We are back into double figures for the numbers open in Europe for the first time since May, but the world total is back down to just a few dozen resorts currently open. Northern Hemisphere Europe Sunshine has returned this week in Europe after a predominantly snowy one last week which saw snowfall on mountains right across the continent including the first in the Spanish Pyrenees and down as far as the peaks of Sierra Nevada, the continent's most southerly resort. It has also stayed cold up high which is good news for the seven or eight glacier areas now open and those due to join them over the coming October weekends. Austria Austria usually has the most ski areas open in Europe in the first half of the autumn and after a shaky start, 2022 is no different with five areas open now and a sixth, the Kitzsteinhorn above Kaprun, due to join them this week. The weather has been largely sunny this week so it has been quite glorious after the fresh snowfall last week, with temperatures remaining below zero on glaciers. Kaunertal, The Stubai and The Pitztal glaciers joined already open Solden and Hintertux at the weekend. France The French ski season edges closer and the fresh snowfall up high last week certainly helped bolster anticipation. Images of the Aiguille du Midi above Chamonix with several feet of snow lying on it last weekend were particularly highly rated on social media. There was snow across the French Alps and, for the first time this Autumn, down in the French Pyrenees too. Tignes and Les 2 Alpes are aiming to open their glacier slopes the weekend after this from 15th October. Italy Cervinia re-opened its access to the glacier skiing above Zermatt at the weekend, with less than a month to go until the two resorts are due to host the first cross-border world Cup Alpine Downhill ski races to kick off the 22-23 season. The Val Senales and Passo Stelvio centres are also open. Cortina d'Ampezzo announced it hopes to open from the end of October and the Dolomites did get more snowfall at the end of last week so it just needs to keep cold and resume snowing over the next three weeks there. Switzerland A mostly dry and mostly sunny week in Switzerland too after last week's snowfall with Zermatt the only centre open to the public at present. Engelberg's Titlis glacier is expected to open the weekend after this and the Diavolezza near St Moritz the following weekend. Saas Fee also has slopes open but continues to restrict access to race teams training at present. Andermatt says they hope to open for the final weekend of the month. Scandinavia Finland is due to kick off its 22-23 season this Friday 7th with Ruka and Levi ski areas both due to open 1-2km of runs a piece using snow saved from last winter by snow farming, spread back out on the slopes now temperatures have cooled for autumn. Both plan to stay open through next May for a seven-month season. Meanwhile, the Galdhopiggen summer ski centre in Norway remains open and reported 40cm of fresh snowfall in the past week. North America There was excitement in the Colorado Rockies with snowfall last weekend, if not quite so much as forecast. Snow was also reported around Jackson Hole in Wyoming. And along with the damage it brought, Hurricane Ian was credited with an early snowfall in the Blue Ridge Mountains to the East. In the last few days, Quebec and Ontario in eastern Canada are the latest to see snowfall on the North American continent. There remain no ski areas open in Canada or the US yet but Keystone, Arapahoe Basin, Loveland and Wolf Creek in Colorado are all candidates to open before the end of this month if they can. Arapahoe basin posted pictures of snowmaking underway on Thursday 6th October. Lake Louise in Alberta has targeted November 4th for opening – four weeks away. Southern Hemisphere New Zealand Most of the centres that had still been open in New Zealand ended their seasons last Sunday, but a handful of centres are still open and are benefitting from a late-season snowstorm, one of the best in the country in early October for years, that's brought a little snow to the North Island and 15cm+ to the South Island. Mount Hutt is probably in the strongest position with more than a metre of snow lying on its upper slopes and the plan is to stay open for another fortnight, then keep its terrain park open into November. On the North Island Mount Ruapehu, home to Turoa and Whakapapa ski areas, which have had a tough winter for lack of snow, says this current boost will help see them keep Whakapapa open at least two more weeks but say the season is now over at Turoa. South America South America is also in the final weeks and days of its 2022 season. The weather continues to get warmer although overnight lows below freezing have still been reached, it's just daytime highs of +15C that trump any night-time cooling. Among the areas closing last weekend was Cerro Castor, the world's most southerly centre down near Tierra del Fuego in Argentina. The continent's biggest, Catedral, near Bariloche, is expected to close this weekend and is down to about a quarter of its maximum terrain extent open now with a thin snow layer remaining. A few smaller centres plan to stay open for another two weekends, closing midweek. |
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J2Ski Snow Report 29th September 2022
On the Aiguille Rouge, Les Arcs, France, today... More snowfall in the northern hemisphere, and cooling too... The Snow Headlines - 29th September - More snowfall in the Alps, with 10+ ski areas expected to be open this weekend. - More pre-season snowfall in Eastern and Western North America. - First ski areas due to open for season in Finland next week. - First snowfall of the autumn reported in the Pyrenees. - More southern ski areas end 2022 seasons, in the Andes and New Zealand. 
Last blast (maybe?) for New Zealand...
World Overview The impact of spring and autumn is being felt on either side of the world. In the north it's getting cooler and there have been early snowfalls up high; in the south it is getting warmer but there have still been more snowfalls reported in the Andes and New Zealand. In Europe several high-altitude glacier ski areas have opened for their 22-23 seasons this week and more plan to open over the coming weekend. There have also been snowfalls reported above 1500m in the Alps, Pyrenees and other mountain ranges. In South America, Australia and New Zealand more resorts have closed at the end of their 2022 seasons and more will close this coming weekend, most by the weekend after, but some plan to carry on into November. Southern Hemisphere Australia Most Australian ski areas remain open right now, but most will close for the season at the end of this first Sunday of October (coming up) and the rest the weekend after. The country has had a fairly cool week with snow and rain showers and some sunny spells. Thredbo and Perisher in New South Wales still report the snow lying nearly six feet deep on upper slopes and Perisher's 60km of slopes open is currently the most of anywhere in the world. New Zealand Most of New Zealand's smaller club fields have now closed for 2022 but the country's larger commercial centres are all open into October. Although most will close over the next few weekends, Ruapehu's Turoa and Whakapapa as well as Mount Hutt on the South Island plan to keep going to later in October, all being well, and Mt Hutt has announced plans to keep a terrain park open later in to spring – potentially mid-November. The weather has been a mixture of typical spring conditions, usually starting around freezing but warming through the day, with rain and snow showers as well as clear sunny conditions at times. South America The ski season in the Andes continues to wind down and more big name resorts have closed, with Chile's Nevados de Chillan ending its season last Sunday and Argentina's Las Lenas saying it will finish its 2022 run on Friday, 30th. The weather is typical for early spring, with the odd sub-zero temperatures overnight and the occasional snow shower still too, but both of these getting less common as temperatures inch upwards and the thaw gathers pace. Most resorts still open here will close over the next two weekends. Northern Hemisphere Europe There's been plenty of early-Autumn snowfall reported across Europe's mountains including the first reported falls in the Pyrenees and more for the Alps. Another glacier resort has opened there and four more are due to join them this coming weekend when we should see the number of areas open back in double figures for the first time since early May. Up in Norway the one ski area open in Scandinavia reports 40cm of fresh snowfall. Austria Austria usually offers a far bigger selection of ski areas than any other European nation in the first half of autumn and 2022 is no exception. The only difference is there's a lot less snow on the glacial ice than usual so cover is thin and terrain available limited. But it is now cold and there have been more decent snowfalls this week adding 20cm+ so it is currently an improving picture and skiers there now enjoying a fresh snow cover rather than little more than grey ice scrapings as had been the case. Hintertux, the only area that's managed to stay open to its 365-day schedule, has tripled its open terrain from 6 to 18km and unveiled its terrain park. It has now been joined by Solden and three more resorts – Pitztal, Stubai and Kaunertal are opening this weekend. The Kitzsteinhorn and Molltal glaciers are yet to name their opening days and the Dachstein has said it won't open for downhill skiing at all this winter but has already opened for cross-country skiing. France There are no French ski areas open at present and Tignes has now given up on its aim of opening at least one day of every month of the year so no attempt to open 30th September in 2022. Instead, it hopes to open in a fortnight's time. Les 2 Alpes also aims to open from October 15th but initially for race team training only and then for a couple of weeks to early November before closing again ahead of its full season opening. Here too there's been cold weather and some fresh snow up high, improving the pre-season conditions and hopes of opening on schedule. Italy Italy's Val Senales and Passo Stelvio glacier ski areas are currently open, both with limited terrain open so far but with fresh snow cover. Cervinia is due to re-open it's link to the limited terrain that has re-opened above Zermatt from this weekend. There was plenty of snowfall up high in the Dolomites this week too. Switzerland Zermatt remains the only Swiss area open after re-opening a fortnight ago following a seven week closure. It still only has limited terrain open. The FIS have OK-ed their first cross-border World cup Downhill in four weeks' time. Saas Fee is still open but just to race teams training for now. Glacier 3000, Engelberg and Andermatt as well as the Diavolezza Glacier near st Moritz were all expected to open for their seasons in October but a serious fire damaging a key restaurant and lift station at Glacier 3000 has thrown their opening plans into doubt. Scandinavia Scandinavia has been seeing colder weather too and snow showers on the hills in many ski regions as temperatures have been hovering close to freezing. The only slopes currently open are those of Norway's Galdhopiggen glacier, but these are restricted to race teams training only at present. It does report 40cm of fresh snowfall though. Finland's Levi and Ruka ski areas are due to open in a week's time for their 7 month plus seasons. They use snow farmed from last winter and spread back out on the slopes to create runs and few kilometres long to get their seaons started. North America There have been more positive signs of approaching winter from coast to coast in North America with more snowfall reported on high peaks in the East for the first time at resorts like Lake Placid and in the West there's been more on mountain tops around Lake Tahoe. There's nowhere currently open in North America other than the indoor centre in New Jersey. Loveland in Colorado expects to start snow-making this weekend and is hoping to open later in October. |
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J2Ski Snow Report 22nd September 2022
Hintertux, Austria, has snow and is open... More early snow, and glacier openings, for Europe! The Snow Headlines - 22nd September - Fresh snowfall in Colorado. - Zermatt re-opens. - Two Italian glacier centres open, one to start 22-23, the other resuming its summer 2022 run. - Heavy spring snowfalls in Australia bolster cover for the season's final weeks there. - Norway's Galdhøpiggen summer ski centre re-opens taking Europe's open resort count to five. - Several leading ski areas in South America including Portillo in Chile end their 2022 seasons. - More Austrian glaciers plan to open for the season over the next seven days. - First snowfalls of the Autumn reported in the Dolomites and Tatra mountains. 
A little snow around the world...
World Overview It is now officially autumn by both the meteorological and astronomical measures in the northern hemisphere, and spring in the southern. We've seen mountains turn white in Europe and North America over the last seven days to drive home that point. The season wind-down in the Andes has continued to gather pace with several big name resorts, including Chile's Portillo, joining the list of those that have closed so far, and Nevados de Chillan saying it will close this weekend, while other big names like Argentina's Las Lenas have a week or two more of their seasons to run. In the northern hemisphere, things are finally moving a little in Europe with a second glacier opening in the Alps and one that had temporarily closed in Scandinavia re-opening to skiers at the weekend, then two more temporarily closed summer ski areas re-opening on Tuesday this week. Several more Alpine resorts say they plan to open in the next week. The weekend snowfall on high slopes in the Alps (as well as the first cover of the autumn for the Dolomites and Tatras) definitely improved spirits but although some areas reported 20-30cm up high it's not yet that much and concerns remain over the viability of season-starting world cup races planned for Les 2 Alpes, Cervinia-Zermatt and Solden in just four weeks' time. Each could do with a big snow dump asap. In North America, anticipation is up in Colorado after most ski areas there got a healthy dusting of snowfall at the end of last week on higher slopes too. Australia It has been a good week for Australian ski areas, other than a little rain going into last weekend. Since then there's been a spring snow dump to give a boost for the final week or two of the 2022 ski season down under, which has been one of the best in years for most resorts. Ski areas posted up to half a metre of fresh snow lying by Sunday morning, although at the same time their snowpacks have dropped on a week ago, as when it is not snowing, it has been thawing, with daytime highs hitting double figures. It was cooler after the snowstorms though and conditions are very good for so late in the season with 1.5m (five feet) average upper slope depths and most still having 90% or more of their terrain open. Hotham, Thredbo, Perisher and Falls Creek are all in good shape. New Zealand It's been one of the more 'stable' weather weeks of the season to date in New Zealand with predominantly light winds, and some snow showers but also plenty of sunshine and not much wind. Ski areas have been reporting good grooming conditions and temperatures dipping below freezing overnight but climbing to high single figures above zero Celsius by mid-afternoon, then dropping away again. The snowpack for resorts on the South Island remains good with resorts like Cardrona, Mt Hutt, The Remarkables, Coronet Peak and Treble Cone posting 1.2m (four feet) or more lying on upper slopes which should be plenty to see them through the season's final weeks. On the North Island, Whakapapa and Turoa which tend to stay open the latest into October in the southern hemisphere are still struggling to build significant bases this winter but it's an improving picture with more terrain opening this week after snowfall there. South America The season continues to wind down in the Andes with most of Argentina and Chile's resorts expected to close over the next two weeks. One of the big-name resorts, Chile's Portillo already did, last Sunday, but Argentina's Las Lenas plans to stay open one more week and the continent's largest resort by uplift, Catedral, until the second weekend of October. It has though closed a lot of terrain in the last seven days and no longer has the most slopes open in the world, that title passed back to Australia's Perisher this week. Europe Ski areas in the Alps got a big boost on Saturday when there was a thin coating of snow on slopes above about 1500m altitude over a wide area – from the French Alps in the west to the Eastern Dolomites. By Sunday snow totals on some glaciers on the Eastern side of the Alps had reached 30cm and the snowfall extended to the dolomites in the south and Tatras in the north. Italy's Val Senales had already announced it would open for its 22-23 season last Friday, finally ending more than a month when Hintertux was the only area open in Europe (and the whole northern hemisphere ...excluding dry slopes and snowdomes). The snowfall led to two 'temporarily closed' areas, Europe's highest slope on the glacier above Zermatt and the popular team training slopes of Passo Stelvio announcing they'd re-open from Tuesday (20th). The Galdhopiggen glacier in Norway has also re-opened (if only to booked teams so far) taking us from 1 to 5 areas open since last week. Hoorah! The snowfall was not a lot and was short-lived with most areas back to sunshine since Saturday afternoon but it is cooler and getting below freezing up high most nights. More glaciers plan to open in the coming week or so including Solden this weekend and Stubai, Kaunertal and Pitztal the weekend after. North America There was plenty of excitement in Western North America at the end of last week as a second September snowfall in the Colorado Rockies brought more snow cover to higher slopes in the state than the previous dusting. Loveland is among several areas hoping to turn on their snowmaking machinery in the next week with the aim, like Arapahoe Basin and Keystone, of opening for the season next month. California, which is in a multi-year drought and has had another long hot summer, posted its first storm bringing much-needed rain at lower levels and some snow to higher ski slopes too. |
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J2Ski Snow Report 15th September 2022
Mount Ruapehu, New Zealand, got a bit wintery this week... Last few weeks for the south, new season in sight for the northern hemisphere. The Snow Headlines - 15th September - Snow reported up high in the Alps including Zugspitze and Hintertux glaciers. - Chile's leading ski resort of Portillo says 2022 season will end this Sunday. - Italy's Val Senales to open for 22-23 season this weekend. - Loveland test snowmaking equipment ahead of season. - Fresh snowfall improves conditions at New Zealand's Mt Ruapehu. - Excitement in Alberta as Sunshine and other areas see good snow covering. 
A little snow around the world...
World Overview Probably the most welcome news of the past week was the appearance of a thin fresh snow covering on Alpine glaciers in Europe after the long hot spring and summer. This was not yet the kind of decent early-autumn dump we get some years, but something at least, and the unprecedented period of there only being one area open in the northern hemisphere should end this weekend as a second glacier area opens. There was a good snowfall in the Canadian Rockies too. The season continues to wind down in the southern hemisphere with the first of the big name resorts south of the equator, Chile's Portillo, announcing it will end its 2022 season this Sunday. Most of the rest will follow over the next three weeks. There's been some fresh snowfall reported in Australia and New Zealand this week, although also periods of rain in Australia and strong winds once more in New Zealand. Australia Australian ski areas have had another good week with decent snow depths leading into the final weeks of the season. Thredbo tops the pile with just over two metres lying while Perisher, having about 20cm less, has more terrain open, the second-most in the world at present with nearly 60km of runs open in fact. There was some fresh snowfall to start the week adding 5-10cm and temperatures have been cold enough overnight for snowmaking but it is warming up and the next front arriving is unfortunately expected to bring rain initially before transforming to deliver a decent dump of snowfall. New Zealand A fairly good week by the standards of this season in New Zealand with some decent fresh snowfalls reported and generally good weather in between although the familiar issue of gale-force winds did temporarily close some areas once again and avalanche mitigation work also led to some areas being closed to access. Mount Ruapehu on the country's North Island, where the Turoa and Whakapapa ski areas have had one of their most challenging seasons on record, was one of those excited to see fresh snowfall. They're aiming to make up for lost time by staying open to the latter half of the autumn, if they can, but bases are still not deep here. The numbers are better on the South Island with Mount Hutt, Treble Cone and others posting around 1.5 metres (five feet) lying or more. These areas reported up to 30cm (a foot) of fresh snowfall on Thursday morning. South America Another fairly dry week in the Andes, where the season continues to wind down, despite the ski areas with the deepest reported snowpacks in the world at present (2.5 – 3 metres) and the most terrain open (^4km/40 miles at Cerro Catedral near Bariloche) both being here. Temperatures have continued to dip below freezing on the slopes overnight but have been reaching double-figures above zero Celsius in the afternoons at bases. Chile's famous resort of Portillo says its season, its first full one since 2019, will end this Sunday whereas Argentina's Las Lenas will carry on to September 30th. Most other ski areas in South America will close before the end of the month although a few including La Hoya say they'll be open to early-mid October. Europe The prolonged hot weather in the Alps though spring and summer set alarm bells ringing that the start of the autumn opening of glaciers might be delayed this year. However two – Italy's Val Senales and Austria's highest glacier slopes at Pitztal - have announced they'll open this month. Val Senales this weekend and Pitztal on the final Friday of September. The news comes after fresh snowfall was reported on glaciers on Friday-Saturday at the end of last week, the first noticeable fall, albeit a minor one, for months for most places. At Hintertux in Austria, currently the only ski area currently open in the northern hemisphere, the grey glacial ice turned white once more. Several resorts including Norway's Galdhopiggen, Switzerland's Saas-Fee and Zermatt and Passio Stelvio in Italy are temporarily closed until conditions improve, which might be soon. That said the weather has been sunnier since the weekend, although staying cool up high. North America The big excitement in North America over the past week was a decent covering of snow on Friday-Saturday at the end of last week at a number of ski areas in Western Alberta and Eastern BC in Canada. Sunshine ski area near Banff, which usually opens late October/early November with natural snow cover, was one of those blessed. Elsewhere, particularly in the Western US, it has been hot once again and a number of fresh forest fires have broken out near several ski areas in California. Despite this Loveland ski area in Colorado, one of America and the world's highest, tested their snowmaking systems earlier this week, getting lots of media attention for doing so, with the hope it will be cold enough to turn them on and start snow-making at the end of the month. There's nowhere currently open for snow sports on snow in North America except for the indoor Big Snow centre in New Jersey, however a number of areas high in the Colorado Rockies hope to start snow-making in about a fortnight if it's cold enough, with mid-late October opening targeted. |
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J2Ski Snow Report 8th September 2022
Spring is in the air in Oz, and so is Thredbo's ambassador Tess Coady... Light snow up high in the northern hemisphere. The Snow Headlines - 8th September - Rainbow is the latest NZ ski area to end its season earlier than hoped. - Alpine glaciers gear up to open for early autumn skiing as scheduled, with first light snowfalls reported. - Season in the Andes winding down; most resorts closing over next three weekends. - Less than a month until 22-23 season starts in Finland at Levi and Ruka using farmed snow. 
Spring snow for New Zealand...
World Overview It has been a quiet week for snowfall around the world with just light falls reported in most southern hemisphere resorts. Springtime has arrived in the Andes, Australia and New Zealand with more small areas announcing they've closed (or are closing this weekend) and the first of the big areas in Argentina and Chile saying that next week will be their last of 2022. In the northern hemisphere, it's the reverse situation of course with meteorological autumn underway and the astronomical version of the seasons in the final fortnight of summer. There continue to be signs of cooling but only very light snow up high so far, raising nerves at centres due to open for autumn skiing this month and especially those lined up to host World Cup opening events at the end of October. Australia A fairly steady weather week in Australia with mostly dry conditions although there was some snowfall to start the week. All ski areas remain more or less fully open with Thredbo still posting a two-metre base, the deepest in the country, whilst Perisher, which was posting that stat a week ago, has now dropped back to 185cm. It still has the most terrain open in the country though, around 64km (40 miles). Most Aussie ski areas will be open to the first weekend in October. New Zealand This week has begun fairly well in New Zealand with ski days starting with temperatures a little below freezing and quite a lot of blue sky weather. Mount Hutt even reported over 20cm of fresh snowfall on Monday – Tuesday, the biggest snowfall reported anywhere in the world in the last seven days. The good times did follow a bad end to last week though with more 130kph winds, more warmth and more rain. This has left Rainbow the latest of the smaller areas to announce it was having to close for the 2022 season earlier than they'd hoped. Mount Hutt and Cardrona currently have about 90% of their terrain open and are posting the (joint) most terrain open in the country. The Remarkables has the country's deepest top to bottom base with 170 to 150cm lying. Weather looks like it should stay sunny for most through the weekend with the next chance of snowfall at the start of next week. South America It has been another largely dry week in the Andes with the last significant snowfalls now three weeks ago for most areas, although some have had a few centimetres/an inch or two, at the start of this week. Most remain open although we are nearing the end of the season faster here for the majority of resorts than for Australia and New Zealand. Most will close the weekend after this and almost all of the resorts by the final Sunday of September. That said, for the final weeks, temperatures should still get below freezing overnight even if they creep up towards double figures (Celsius) by the afternoons. Most ski areas have at least two-thirds of their terrain still open, although it's noticeable that that percentage is down from a week ago and resort level snow cover getting thin at the continent's biggest area, Catedral near Bariloche in Argentina. Catedral still, just about, has the most terrain open in the world and the 2.5m upper slope base depth at Nevados de Chillán over the border in Chile remains the deepest that anywhere is reporting. Europe We still have just the Hintertux Glacier in Austria open to the skiing public with a thin coating of machine-made snow on 6km of its glacier slopes. Temperatures have been dipping below freezing on glaciers overnight though and not climbing high above freezing even in the afternoons so things are looking more promising for ski areas like Solden, Val Senales and Pitztal due to start their 22-23 seasons later this month as well as Saas Fee, Zermatt, Passo Stelvio and others aiming to re-open. Hintertux has begun promoting its terrain park opening on September 30th anyway, with the Stubai announcing they are opening a fortnight later. There have been light snowfalls in recent days which are a promising sign but we're still waiting for something more significant. Some do have all-weather snowmakers or stored 'farmed' snow from last season that may allow them to open small areas even without fresh snowfall. It's cooler in Scandinavia too where Norway's Fonna glacier announced its summer season was over. Galdhopiggen remains open to teams though and hopes to re-open to all when conditions improve. North America After the early snowfalls up high in recent weeks in the Rockies and elsewhere, it has turned warmer once more so there's little sign of winter on its way this week in the mountains. But it is of course and there's a hope that ski areas in Colorado will begin snowmaking by the end of this month (that's Loveland's target at least) and begin to open next. A report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the US has predicted a 'triple dip La Nina' affecting winter weather with more precipitation for most. That's not guaranteed of course but the triple dip refers to three successive winters of La Ninas and that now has a cumulative impact of a 1.2-degree dip in temperatures since 2019 which will hopefully be good news when combined with more precipitation. |
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J2Ski Snow Report 1st September 2022
Falls Creek, Australia, seeing signs of Spring this week... Seasons on the turn, north and south. The Snow Headlines - 1st September - New Zealand's Mt Lyford first in southern hemisphere to close for 22 after warm wet weather. - Les 2 Alpes announces it's hosting World Cup Skier and Boardercross races next month. - 2022 season ends on schedule in Southern Africa. - Ski areas in New South Wales reach 2 metre base depths. - First snowfall of pre-season in Teton mountains in the northern US. - Only one centre open in Europe still with three others 'on hold' until conditions improve. - Rain reported in Australia to start the week, but conditions then turn a little more wintery. - First ski area ends 2022 season in South American Andes. - Five weeks until the largest ski areas in Finland aim to open for 22-23 with snowfarmed snow. 
Spring in the air in the southern hemisphere, autumn coming in the north...
World Overview There's something of an end-of-the-season feel in the southern hemisphere with the first centres in the Andes and New Zealand, as well as the only one that had been open in Southern Africa, all announcing the end to their 2022 seasons. Most others will continue to late September or early October but the weather is definitely getting warmer, particularly by the afternoons almost everywhere, albeit with many areas still seeing temperatures drop below freezing overnight. In other words classic springtime freeze-thaw 24-hour cycles. In the Northern Hemisphere, there remains just one centre open – the Hintertux glacier in Austria- thanks to its snowmaking effort just about keeping it ahead of thawing temperatures. Other centres in the alps and Scandinavia are ready to reopen once it gets colder (and hopefully some high-altitude snowfall arrives) with September and October start dates for dozens more coming up fast. Africa – the only continent to have ski areas in both northern and southern hemispheres – has seen the scheduled end of the 2022 ski season in the south at Afriski in Lesotho which turned the lifts off until 2023 on Thursday. It means we currently only have ski areas operating on three continents. Australia A fairly calm week for weather in Australia with plenty of blue sky days, and temperatures warming with the arrival of a front moving in from the West with a little rain on Monday, later turning to snowfall. Conditions remain good for the time of year though with most centres sitting on at least a metre of snow, some half as much again, healthy stats for Aussie resorts. Perisher and Thredbo now report their snow is two metres deep up top, a very good stat for Aussie skiing. They along with Falls Creek, Mount Buller and Hotham are all fully open and continue to face issues at peak times, particularly weekends, with having enough space to fit in everyone wanting to ski or board with them. New Zealand New Zealand's ski areas have had a tough time with warm weather over the latter half of August and at least one small area (Mount Lyford) has, frustrated, announced it has had to end its 2022 season. But the rest have soldiered on and have been rewarded by generally improving conditions over the past week, with low temperatures in some places cold enough for snowmaking. Most of the major South Island resorts like Cardrona and Mount Hutt remain fully open, whilst on the North Island Mount Ruapehu continues to battle its most challenging winter in decades for lack of snow and warm weather - but is currently seeing slow improvements and is gradually opening more terrain at Whakapapa. South America There's been quite a springlike feel to the weather at most ski areas in the Andes for about a fortnight now since the last big snowfall, with freeze-thaw conditions and while overnight lows have been dropping just below freezing still daytime highs have hit double digits Celsius. The continent's largest ski area by uplift, Argentina's Cerro Catedral near Bariloche, has the most terrain open of any ski area in the world at present – about 90km (57 miles) of slopes and Chile's Nevados de Chillan is posting the world's deepest snowpack at 3.5 metres. Against this, the thaw at Lagunillas, one of the closest resorts to the capital Santiago, has led to it ending its 22-23 season. The weather will continue similar except in the south where it should be much colder and snowier to close out this week. Most ski areas in South America end their seasons in the latter half of September. Europe September usually sees up to 10 ski areas open for autumn glacier skiing leading into the 22-23 ski season but it is unclear how many will actually be able to open due to a lack of summer snowfall and by contrast, hot weather on glaciers melting what snow there was lying at the end of last winter. Some glaciers have all-weather snowmaking systems and/or have saved snow under cover from the previous winter (snow farming) meaning they can potentially open limited terrain this month. For now, it remains just Hintertux in the Austrian Tirol with a thin cover of icy, machine-made snow on about three miles of slopes, that are open to the public. Saas Fee, in Switzerland, along with Fonna and Galdhopiggen up in Norway have terrain open for ski racer training and Italy's Passo Stelvio and Zermatt continue to have their slopes 'on hold' while they await an improvement in conditions in order to re-open. North America There are currently no outdoor ski areas open in North America (you can ski indoors at the Big Snow indoor snow centre in New Jersey) but anticipation is building for the start of the 22-23 ski season. After snowfalls first in Alaska and then in the Colorado Rockies it's the Tetons of Wyoming and the northern US that have seen their first snow coverings up high over the last week. The first ski areas in the US aim to open in October each year and Colorado's Loveland has a start-of-snowmaking countdown clock on its site with a target start date at the end of this month. |
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J2Ski Snow Report 25th August 2022
Thredbo, Australia, looking sweet yesterday... Great conditions in Oz, a little snow elsewhere The Snow Headlines - 25th August - First snow of 22-23 pre-season reported on high summits in Colorado. - Last week of the 2022 season underway in southern Africa. - Only one outdoor ski area still open in the northern hemisphere. - New Zealand hit by warm end to last week, but then the snow returned. - Six weeks to opening day at Levi and Ruka in Lapland thanks to snow farming. - Japan announces virus restrictions easing at the border. 
A dusting on the tops in Europe, light snow in the southern hemisphere...
World Overview Australia and the Andes probably had the best of the conditions over the past week, with repeat snowfall adding up to 50cm more to Aussie slopes and the Andes basking in beautiful conditions under blue skies following last week's big dump. Not so good news for New Zealand alas as the warm, wet storm that blew in at the end of last week had a big negative impact on snow conditions. It has turned colder and snowier in recent days though so there is hope. We'll be down to ski areas open in only five countries on three continents by this time next week with Africa's only currently open ski area due to end its 2022 season next week, following on from North America's last still open area at the weekend. So the number of countries and continents offering skiing will have more or less halved compared to two months ago. Europe is currently hanging in there with only one ski area open to the public. There are positive signs for the run-in to winter 22-23 in the northern hemisphere though, which has pretty much started with the news of snowfall dustings in Colorado last week and that it's only six weeks until the first resorts are due to open for next season in Lapland. Resorts in the Alps will be opening sooner still if there's a decent snowfall soon. In the wider world, Japan has announced further easing to travel restrictions in place due to the pandemic, making it seem more likely that it will be possible to travel there again this winter. Australia It's been a good week for Australian ski areas with several snowstorms, one at the end of last week, and another at the start of this, which brought about half a metre of new snow in total to higher slopes. Coupled with this, temperatures staying below freezing and with the sun out again, it's a winning combination. It should stay mostly dry and temperatures climb a little into the weekend. The country's largest resort, Perisher, reports 100 trails open and almost all 50 lifts turning. Other areas are also running at capacity. New Zealand The warm rain storms that hit New Zealand in the latter half of last week were a major setback, once again turning conditions on their head after a fantastic weekend and start to last week before the storm blew in. After the storm, resorts still open like Mount Hutt reported reduced terrain, warm temperatures and "early spring-like conditions" but some smaller centres said the damage to the snowpack was so great they'd have to remain closed until things improved. Fortunately, things did start to improve from Saturday as things turned back to wintery and Cardrona posted six inches of fresh snowfall, with other South Island centres receiving similar. Colder weather and more snowfall arrived on Wednesday although some centres remain closed. Unfortunately, Mount Ruapehu, home to Turoa and Whakapapa ski areas on the North Island, is having a particularly hard time with warm temperatures all winter so far and the latest hit damaging what terrain they had managed to open. They're now reporting the 2022 season as their worst in decades. South America The latest snowstorms to hit the Andes brought another week of powder to the slopes of Argentina and Chile, with Portillo reporting it had passed the 4-metres seasonal snowfall to date figure. It and most of the continent's other ski areas have been reporting their slopes 100% open and excellent conditions. For most, there are 3-4 weeks of the 2022 season left to run although some will stay open to early October. Chile's Nevados de Chillán is reporting the deepest base in the world at 3.5 metres (nearly 12 feet) up top and Argentina's Catedral near Bariloche has the most terrain open in any one area – around 100km (63 miles) of slopes. Africa It's the final weekend of the 2022 season coming up in southern Africa with Lesotho's Afriski due to close on September 1st after a three-month season. It has had wintery weather almost to the end but daytime highs are now getting into double figures Celsius regularly and although overnight lows are still cold enough for snowmaking, things are definitely becoming more and more spring-like. Europe As the seasons change, nerves may be stretching still further in the high Alps where half-a-dozen ski areas would normally aim to open glacier runs in September but may have to delay this year until there's a big snowfall up high. That could, of course, arrive anytime, and temperatures have been cooling, especially overnight, but we're yet to see anything too spectacular snowfall-wise. Italy's Passo Stelvio ski area, as well as Saas Fee and Zermatt in Switzerland and the Galdhopiggen glacier ski area in Norway also say they'll re-open as soon as conditions allow. But for now, it remains only Hintertux in the Austrian Tirol as the only resort still open for summer skiing in Europe, with 6km of "very icy" runs possible thanks to snowmaking on their glacier. Saas Fee, Galdhopiggen and a second Norwegian glacier, Fonna, are all believed to be still open to race teams for training, but not to the general public. North America The last area still open in North America since 2022, Timberline in Oregon, closed at the weekend, so we now begin the build-up to winter 22-23, potentially only two months away with the first snowmaking guns often fired up at the end of September on high slopes in Colorado. Just to raise spirits the first snowfall on high peaks in the state was reported late last week on peaks near Alma in the Mosquito Range. It was the earliest snowfall reported in the state in four years. The thin cover had melted within 12 hours but it was enough to get ski social media excited. Since then more snow dustings have been reported at other high points in Colorado including the former ski area of Berthoud Pass Near Winter Park Resort. |
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