J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by J2SkiNews

Snowfall numbers in western Canadian have been going off the scale with Revelstoke reporting it has passed the 3m/10 feet of snowfall this month mark this week; Lake Louise (pictured above) saying it has had around 1.5m/five feet this week alone; Nakiska saying it received 60cm/2 feet in 24 hours; and Kicking Horse (pictured below) reporting it received over 10cm/4 inches of snow in one hour alone on Tuesday.

The latest snowfall excesses come on top of a snowy month which has already seen Western Canadian resorts opening early or announcing they are about to – Big White, Cypress Mountain, Kicking Horse, Panorama, Sun Peaks and Whistler have all announced early openings.

The Head of Mountain Safety at Kicking Horse described the snow storm on Tuesday/Wednesday as 'nuclear snowfall' in a bid to describe the excessive volumes involved.

(Library picture!)

The numbers for exactly how much snow expected to fall in the Alps this weekend are beginning to be firmed up by snow forecasters after the initial speculation on social media claimed up to 2m might fall at some resorts.

The weather is expected to change dramatically from the warm dry November to date around Friday at most areas and the snow to roll in over the weekend.

So far the biggest numbers reported are for just over five feet (157cm in fact) to fall on France's only currently open ski area – Tignes – with most of that accumulating on Sunday when up to four feet (1.2m) is forecast.

Moving further East the numbers drop to around 90cm (three feet) for the 4 Valleys in Switzerland and 60cm (two feet) for Zermatt/Cervinia and drop still further to around a foot/30cm at resorts in Austria.

These forecasts are of course updated by the hour so may increase/decrease as we move closer to the weekend.

For many resorts a key issue is not so much snowfall volumes (although with snowless slopes and the start of the season only weeks ago, a healthy fall would be greatly welcomed), but the low temperatures forecast to accompany the snow which will allow them to finally fire up their dormant snowmaking arsenals.

Val Thorens later put out a press release which pretty much confirms all the comments above - they say they need a minimum four days to prep the pistes. The storm seems to be most likely to hit Saturday/Sunday and if forecasts are correct is looking like a 'major weather event' so it would be a bit mad to encourage people to try to get there anyway. They had also previously put out a release a week ago saying they definitely intended to open so I think really wanted to, even without snow (and the resulting negative "Resort Opens With No Snow" headlines), but this pretty unique set of circumstances has forced them to change their minds. I remember a few years back they did delay opening a week due to lack of snow, but then it snowed a lot around the original opening date so they opened a few days after the original date and a few days before the new date and claimed they were "opening early because of all the snow" Marketing genius :) Be interesting to see if they do that again around next Tuesday/Wednesday...

Several ski areas in Utah have announced they will follow ski areas in Colorado, California and Western Canada by opening early for the season.

First up with by Brighton Ski Resort which claims it will be the first in the state to offer skiing and boarding for 15-16 when it opens tomorrow, Wednesday 18th November.

Snowbird has also brought forward its opening date to this weekend, following heavy snowfall.

Brighton reports it currently has a 54cm base thanks to snowfall so far whilst Snowbird reports another foot (30cm) of snow in the last 24 hours.

El Nino is not being welcomed across North America however. Some areas further north and east say they tend to suffer from warmer temperatures and less precipitation in El Nino winters, including areas in Montana and the Midwest. However so far, in Montana at least, there have been good snowfalls too with Big Sky opening for a pre-season weekend earlier this month because of all the snow there.

North of the border more resorts have been announcing early openings too – including Cypress Mountain and Sun Peaks who both say they'll now open this weekend because of all the early snow. They join other resorts including Aspen and Whistler who had already announced they'd open early this weekend.

Increasingly excited forecasts of significant snowfall in the Alps in the latter half of this week are filling social media as nervous resorts and tour operators see light at the end of a so far dry and warm November tunnel.

Reports initially quoted 20-30cm accumulations this morning but by this evening the most excited were
claiming that up to 1.5m (five feet) of snow is likely in some places by the end of the weekend.

The snow's arrival is a little too late for Val Thorens which has just announced it will be delaying its planned opening by a week, just a few days after it said it would definitely open even if there was no snow. The highest resort in France was due to open for this weekend, the second in the country.

Elsewhere in Europe snow has been falling in Scandinavia (Hemsedal pictured above) today. Snow is also expected later this week in the Pyrenees and on Scottish hills.

Across the Atlantic there are excellent conditions in Western North America where a succession of Pacific storms have brought large volumes of fresh snow with many resorts posting 20-30cm of new snow over night. All three Banff ski areas are open and they received 50cm over the weekend.

Aspen and Whistler are the latest additions to an ever growing list of resorts in Western North America that have announced they'll be opening earlier than planned due to all the snowfall already recorded across the region, and continuing with further big accumulations expected.

It's a less rosy picture in Europe however with a few glacier resorts that had tentatively aimed to open this weekend – Crans Montana and Verbier - saying they won't be doing so until the snow arrives – now, hopefully, forecast for next week. World Cup races scheduled for Levi in Finland this weekend have also been postponed (Now re-scheduled to Aspen in a fortnight's time).

It's clearly too early to worry about a repeat of last winter's warm and dry run up to New Year in the alps and one good sign of resort confidence was Val Thorens yesterday issuing a statement saying they will open for snow sports in one week's time, as scheduled, despite the fact that a quick glance at webcams shows currently snowless slopes.

In fact autumn skiing conditions across the 15 or so glacier areas currently open in Europe has been generally superb with several good fresh snowfalls in September, October and clear sunny days between. The problem is that November has been dry so far and double-digits warm at lower levels, but that is set to change in the next week, hopefully dramatically.

In North America Breckenridge, Copper and Keystone are among half a dozen areas open in Colorado and Heavenly, Mammoth, Northstar, Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows in California where they're particularly excited about all the new snow after four straight 'drought' winters. The hope is that the 'Godzilla El Nino' forecast (and illustrated above by Squaw Valley) is already becoming a reality.

North of the border all three Banff resorts are open as of today along with Marmot Basin and early opening Big White.

Jackson Hole, which posted the biggest snowfall stats in North America last season, is already posting the biggest snowfall figures in the US with more than a metre of new snow fallen, and that's before the famous Wyoming ski area even opens for the season.

And 15-16 is a big one for the ski area with a wild child reputation as it turns decidedly middle-aged, hitting its big 5-0 this winter.

To celebrate its anniversary, the resort has a range of new facilities ready to open. These include the new Teton Lift, a detachable high-speed quad which will transport up to 2,000 intermediate and advanced skiers each hour up to 200 acres of new ski terrain, half of which could previously only be reached by hiking. In addition, three new groomed runs are opening and a second new lift, The Doppelmayr, has recently been installed.

There are also some anniversary specials planned including Flashback Friday later this month on 27 November 2015 when for one day only, ticket prices will be just $6, the same as in 1965 when the resort opened.

Then on 19 December 2015 it's The Grand Opening of The Teton Lift and Pîste Restaurant and 5-7 February 2016 will see a 50th Retro Reunion and Throwback Weekend. The famous Powder 8's Contest will return with parties throughout the weekend.

http://www.jacksonhole.com/50th-anniversary.html

French authorities have announced that a €6m, 5.3km long temporary access road to the famous French ski resort of La Grave will open on November 23rd, in time for the new ski season.

The road is a stop gap solution to a problem identified in April at the end of last winter when the road tunnel on the main D1091 road from Grenoble to the resort was found to have cracks in it and was closed.

Sandwiched between steep mountain sides and Lake Chambon, the only way to la Grave was a huge circular route to the north which tripled or quadrupled access times making the ski area non-viable for all but the most determined to get there, as well as causing serious practical and logistical issues for la Grave's residents. Supplies had to be flown in by helicopter or brought in by boat across the lake according to reports.

Although less seriously affected than La Grave, larger ski areas such as les 2 Alpes were also most easily accessed by the closed road.

Tendering is now underway for a new tunnel, with the hope that it will be ready in a year's time for winter 16-17.

The temporary road, which goes around the south side of the lake rather than the north where the existing route is, is reported to be 4-6m wide so traffic can pass in both directions in most cases, but only lighter vehicles (it seems no full sized buses or lorries) will be able to use it and there'll be a 30km/h speed limit.

Black Diamond's BDTV has also just launched an online video on La grave's famous lift: A Simple Machine.