Messages posted by : admin
|
J2Ski Snow Report June 22nd 2023
After a 3-year hiatus, Selwyn, NSW, Australia has literally risen from the ashes and is back in action tomorrow! Snow in Australia, season starts in Argentina. The Snow Headlines - 22nd June - Ski season gets underway in Argentina. - Tignes opens for glacier ski season. - More snowfall in Australia mean most centres are now open.. - Skiing at midnight under the midnight sun in Sweden this weekend. - More centres open for the 2023 season in New Zealand, but one closes. - Norway's Stryn glacier ends its 2023 season. - US down to three centres open as they head towards 4th of July. - Snowfall in Western North America closes one of few still open ski areas. - Aussie area last open in 2019 will re-open Friday. 
Some decent snow bound for South America
World Overview We are into winter proper (by the astronomical calendar as well as the meteorological one) in the southern hemisphere, and summer in the northern. We're also now into double figures for the number of ski areas open in South America, Australia and New Zealand with at least one centre now open in every ski nation there. Australia in particular has been reporting plenty of fresh snow now, in other areas, cold temperatures. Against that, Mount Hutt, the first resort to open for the season in the southern hemisphere, has been forced to close again by rain. In the northern hemisphere, the summer heat is beginning to build with the consequence that Snowbird in Utah has abandoned plans to stay open to US independence day on July 4th, and Norway's Stryn glacier has ended its 2023 season. There has been a hiccup in the warming of the weather in north-western North America however, with up to 30cm of snowfall reported and the snowstorm temporarily closing one of the three still-open US ski areas. On a positive note, Tignes opened for its summer ski season at the weekend and Riksgransen, 200km north of the Arctic Circle in northern Sweden, re-opens for midsummer skiing under the midnight sun for this weekend only. Southern Hemisphere Australia The snow was falling in Australia as we were posting last week's report and in the end, it allowed two more centres - Mount Hotham and Falls Creek, to open their slopes for the season. They joined Mount Baw Baw, Mount Buller and the largest centre Perisher, which had all started skiing the previous Saturday. The terrain had been very limited at those three centres though and Perisher opened some main runs for the first time last Friday after the fresh snowfall. The weather stayed cold into this week though with more snowfall at the weekend adding a further 20-30 cm and then it kept snowing through the week, on and off. Thredbo opened for the season on Tuesday. Selwyn in New South Wales says it's opening Friday, for the first time since the lifts and base building were destroyed by bush fires in January 2020. New Zealand It's a mixed picture in New Zealand with some cold temperatures allowing snowmaking but with clear skies and no snowfall, but then milder air has brought rain. The result is that some areas have slightly expanded the limited terrain they opened with, others have had to close completely or delay opening. The outlook isn't that great for any significant cold, snowy weather arriving any time soon either unfortunately - although there is some light snow in the forecast now. The Remarkables, Coronet Peak and Cardrona all opened last weekend, with the first two adding a bit more terrain through the week. More were due to join them this weekend but one of them, Treble cone, has now delayed opening for the time being. Sadly Mt Hutt, which had been the first in the southern hemisphere to open back on June 10th, announced last weekend that it was forced to close due to the impact of heavy rain on its snow. Argentina Argentina's big opening weekend is coming up on Saturday but one centre, Las Lenas, has already opened, kicking off the country's 2023 season and its own 40th. So far it's been cold but hoped-for big snowfalls have not materialised. The heaviestto date in 2023 have tended to be in Patagonia. The continent's biggest resort, Catedral, and the world's most southerly, Cerro Castor, are among the centres due to open for the season from Saturday. Chile Chile has seen cold temperatures but little snowfall to date and La Parva is currently the only ski centre there reporting it has open slopes. More of the country's better-known ski areas including Portillo and Valle Nevado are aiming to open for their 2023 seasons this coming weekend if they can. Africa At the present time, it does not appear that either of southern Africa's ski areas – Tiffindell in South Africa, which last opened in 2019 for skiing and Afriski in Lesotho – will open for skiing this winter. Europe Alps We are up to three ski areas open in France now, with Tignes opening last weekend, joining its neighbour Val d'Isere. The two areas report 20km of slopes open, the greater part on the Tignes side. Tignes is open for five weeks for snowsports, and Val d'Isere is already nearly halfway through its four-week opening. You can also ski for a week or so more at Les 2 Alpes. Elsewhere the Hintertux glacier is open in Austria, Passo Stelvio in Italy and Zermatt in Switzerland. All the glaciers have reported warmer weather this past week, rarely getting below freezing below 4,000m now and reaching +10C in the afternoons at 3,000m altitude. It's been mostly sunny but there have been some rain showers. Cervinia opens at the weekend for its summer-autumn run but it really only provides lift access from the Italian side of the Matterhorn to the glacier skiing already open above Zermatt at this time of year. Scandinavia It's a big weekend coming up at Sweden's Riksgransen which reopens from Thursday to Saturday inclusive for three days and nights of midsummer skiing – the lifts opening from 10 pm to 1 am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday for skiing under the midnight sun to welcome in summer. It closes again on Sunday. One of Norway's three summer ski glacier areas, Stryn, has ended its season as well, leaving two centres planning to continue through summer and posting some of the world's deepest snowpacks at 3-4 metres, helping to see them through warm temperatures this last week. They're the Fonna and Galdhopiggen glaciers. The latter with Scandinavia's highest lifts up to 2,200m. North America This time last week there was excitement that Utah's Snowbird was re-opening after a three-week hiatus, planning to open weekends to at least the 4th of July, making use of the huge remaining snow reported to be remaining after 800" (20.3m) plus of snowfall that had fallen. Unfortunately though, things didn't play out as planned with Snowbird deciding the thaw was so fast it was going to open for last weekend only, so that's it now closed until next winter it seems. Still open and hoping to remain so into July, despite the impact of hot temperatures for them too, are Mammoth Mountain and The Palisades in California and Timberline in Oregon. There was some respite from the heat too in the Rockies with cooler temperatures and some significant snowfall reported in the Cascades, Rockies and other resorts in the region. Timberline was actually closed for several days at the start of the week by snow and low visibility while Marmot Basin up near Jasper in Alberta reported 30cm (a foot) of snowfall. The fresh snow was apparently not enough to change things enough for Snowbird though. |
|
|
J2Ski Snow Report June 15th 2023
Perisher, Australia just got enough snow to start doing this... Southern hemisphere season is go. The Snow Headlines - 15th June - 2023 Southern Hemisphere ski season is underway. - Val d'Isere joins Les 2 Alpes, Tignes opening next. - Some Australian ski areas open on time, others delay, but opening soon. - Utah's Snowbird plans to re-open this weekend, and on weekends into July. - Fewer than 20 ski areas open worldwide, but over 10 countries and 5 continents. - New Zealand's Mt Hutt opens for 2023 season, more in NZ for the weekend. - Argentina's 2023 ski season starts on Saturday. 
A little snow in the hope forecast... 8)
World Overview The southern hemisphere's 2023 ski season has officially started with ski areas in Australia, Chile and New Zealand all opening within hours of each other last Saturday morning. New Zealand's Mount Hutt was probably first due to the direction the world turns. Snow cover is fairly limited in Australia and New Zealand so far although improving. Some Aussie areas that delayed opening slopes at the weekend will do so over the next few days, others say they need a bit more snow yet. In the Andes, it's a mixed picture but some areas have half a metre or more lying for opening day. Several dozen more areas plan to open this coming weekend. With ski areas opening on two southern hemisphere continents, the number of continents where lift-accessed skiing is now possible is up to five. There are four areas open this weekend in North America, 10 in Europe and the Gassan summer ski area in Japan continues its 2023 run. The number open north of the equator is actually increasing with Val d'Isere opening last weekend and Tignes then Cervinia (providing access to skiing above Zermatt) due to open over the next few weekends. Southern Hemisphere Australia Most of Australia's ski areas officially opened last Saturday for a three-day 'holiday weekend' with Monday a public holiday to celebrate King Charles III's birthday in most Aussie states including the major ski ones. However only three areas actually had some skiable terrain to offer from day one, after the mild spell over the first week of June gave way to cooler temps and up to 10cm of wet snowfall. Perisher and Mount Baw Baw both had limited terrain open, as did Mount Buller, aided by its TechnoAlpin all-weather snowmaking machine. Conditions have greatly improved in the last few days with heavy snowfall – double what forecasting models projected – dumping up to a foot (30cm) of snow at most Aussie areas by Thursday morning with low temperatures for snowmaking too. As a result Perisher immediately opened additional terrain and other areas are now expected to open imminently. Falls Creek and Hotham have announced they're both opening slopes from Friday 16th but Selwyn and Thredbo say they still need more snowfall – which is expected on Sunday. New Zealand The ski season got underway at Mount Hutt on Saturday morning, 24 hours after the season had been due to begin. It's thought that with time zones in New Zealand's favour, with 9 am there arriving before 9 am in Australia and Chile, it means Mt Hutt was probably, marginally, first in the southern hemisphere to open for the 2023 season. Well, open and hopefully stay open – purists will point to fellow Kiwi ski area Manganui opening a month ago for three days after a good pre-season snowfall. For the past week, temperatures have been getting down to -5C overnight with largely clear skies. Some snow showers but mostly sun. Coronet Peak, The Remarkables and Cardrona are all due to open for their 2023 seasons this weekend, noting that they'll have limited terrain available initially. Argentina It's looking like the coming weekend will see the season start in Argentine with Cerro Bayo and Las Lenas among the resorts to have named a date, although it is expected at least half of the country's resorts will open too. Patagonia has done well with pre-season snowfalls, markedly better than any other region in May when several areas including Chapelco and Las Lenas posted snow totals of more than a metre. As Argentina's winters tend to be "all or nothing" it's hoped this is a sign of a good winter ahead. Certainly, there's been more cold and snowy weather over the last week. Chile Chile's La Parva was reportedly the first ski area in the country, and the Andes, to open for the 2023 ski season in South America. According to its snow report initially it has about a third of its 50km or so of runs open. Other Chilean ski areas including Portillo are expected to open for the season this weekend but perhaps there will be some delays as there are reports that some like Valle Nevado have not had much snowfall as yet. Africa At present, it does not appear that either of South Africa's ski areas – Tiffindell in South Africa, which last opened in 2019 for skiing and Afriski in Lesotho – will open this winter. Afriski says it will be open but that it won't be able to run its lifts and snowmaking for logistical reasons, so snow play only. Europe Alps The number of open ski areas in the Alps is currently standing at five with Les 2 Alpes and Val d'Isere open in France (The latter opening for a four-week summer ski season last Saturday), Passo Stelvio in Italy and Zermatt in Switzerland all skiable and reporting a lot of sunshine, classic freeze-thaw conditions and the best conditions mid-morning. Currently, year-round Hintertux, the only ski area open in Austria, is posting the deepest snow at over 3 metres and the most terrain open but Tignes is due to open for a month or so of summer skiing which could see it retake the "Deepest snow in the Alps" title. It was lying about 5 metres deep when it closed for its 22-23 season six weeks ago and while there's been some thawing there's also been some fresh snowfall. Scandinavia It's still the three small glacier areas open in Norway – Stryn, Folgefonn (Fonna) and Galdhopiggen to choose from, although next week Riksgransen in the Swedish Arctic Circle will re-open for a few days of midsummer skiing, including its signature "under the midnight sun" ski experience between 10 pm and 1 am. The weather has been full-on sunshine and getting quite warm with lows around +5C and highs towards +20C so thawing continues and best conditions early. Snow depths remain good though and Galdhopiggen's 2-5m base is the deepest in the world at present. North America There were four ski areas currently open in the USA including California's Mammoth and The Palisades, both aiming to stay open into July (The Palisades now confirming it will end its season on the 4th – Independence Day), the summer skiing on Palmer Snowfield and the Beartooth Basin summer ski area in Wyoming. All four have reported a lot of sunshine and warm weather this week but say conditions remain good in the mornings. The exception is Beartooth Basin which suddenly announced it was closing immediately a few days ago after less than a three week season, blaming rapid snow melt. However, Snowbird in Utah plans to reopen Fridays to Sundays from this weekend onwards, "as long as the snow lasts" – thanks to the remains of the 8m+ of 22-23 season snow still lying deep on kits upper slopes. Uplift is via its new tram cabins which in summer include the option of riding up the mountain outside on a 'balcony' connected to the cabin. |
|
|
J2Ski Snow Report June 8th 2023
Mount Hutt, New Zealand, reports "very thin cover" but will open Saturday 10th June... Southern hemisphere ski season about to start. The Snow Headlines - 8th June - Southern Hemisphere's 2023 season start imminent. - Final area still open in Colorado closes with fresh snow falling. - Four ski areas in four countries open in the Alps. - Val d'Isere summer ski season scheduled to start this coming weekend. 
A little hope in the snow forecast...
World Overview The southern hemisphere's 2023 ski season is due to get started this coming weekend with the first ski areas in Australia and New Zealand (and possibly in the Andes too), all aiming to get the lifts running from this Friday or Saturday. The only fly in the ointment is spells of mild weather that have been impacting the pre-season snowpack build-up in Australia and New Zealand. So it's fingers crossed. In the Northern Hemisphere, there are still areas open from the 22-23 season although the numbers continue to slowly decline with the last area still open in Colorado closing last Sunday. But at the same time, more summer ski centres are opening with lift-served skiing resuming in Italy at the weekend and a second French glacier area set to open this coming Saturday. Southern Hemisphere Australia Australia's ski season is due to get fully underway this weekend, the traditional season start date with a long weekend including a Monday holiday reallocated to celebrate King Charles III's birthday, despite its lack of proximity to the actual date. Things were looking promising for much of May with repeat snowfalls totalling about a metre through the month in some areas, plus temperatures low enough for snowmaking, but annoyingly the week up to the opening date has seen warm and wet weather dominate. So no early openings in the end but thankfully temperatures are now dropping with overnight lows below freezing so snowmaking can resume. There was snow reported overnight Thursday-Friday at many ski areas and a little more in the forecast too. However it's not looking like enough in the near term unfortunately and a growing number of areas are saying that although they'll open at the weekend, there'll be no skiing possible initially. Thredbo (one of those reporting snowfall on Thursday night) and Selwyn (opening for the first time since 2019 after a catastrophic bushfire destroyed it in each 2020 and a subsequent rebuild) are among those with "no snow sports possible" openings. At the time of writing Mount Hotham, Perisher, Thredbo, Falls Creek and Mount Buller (which has all-weather snowmaking) had not confirmed if they're able to have some slopes open or not. New Zealand After a rather warm end to May, the weather seems to be coming good just at the right time with snow falling and temperatures dropping on New Zealand's South Island as the start of the 2023 season nears. There were some decent, 20-30cm, snowfalls last weekend and snowmaking has been fired up as temperatures have dropped. Only Mount Hutt had hoped to open this weekend and it said the decision was on a knife edge earlier this week, but on Wednesday it said it will open, limited terrain, just 24 hours later than hoped, this Saturday 10th. Potentially it'll be the first area opening to stay open for 2023 (club field Manganui opened last month for three days after a particularly good pre-season snowfall but has closed since). More NZ ski areas are due to open from the 17th. Argentina It has been cold and snowy in Argentina, although the start of the season is still at least a week away for most centres here. La Hoya was among the resorts posting a big snowfall at the weekend. Catedral, the continent's largest ski area, has said it may open some slopes this weekend if conditions allow, but has not yet confirmed if it will. Chile It's a similar story to Argentina with most Chilean ski fields having seen some good re-season snowfalls. The famous Portillo ski resort said it had had about 25cm of snowfall in a recent storm. Some agencies are reporting La Parva may open this weekend but the centre itself has not yet confirmed this. Africa At present, it does not appear that either of South Africa's ski areas – Tiffindell in South Africa, which last opened in 2019 for skiing and Afriski in Lesotho – will open this winter. Afriski says it will be open but that it won't be able to run its lifts and snowmaking for logistical reasons, so snow play only. It's a shame as it has had more cold and snowy weather in the past week. Europe Alps There are four ski areas currently open in the Alps, one in each of the big four Alpine nations. After a very cold and snowy spring, there are signs of the weather starting to warm with a lot of dry, sunny conditions since the start of the month. Snow depths are not looking that spectacular at most glacier centres however so it remains to be seen if those areas planning to stay open through July to September manage to do so this year, when most didn't last - although spring 2022 was much warmer. You can currently ski or board at Les 2 Alpes in France although it appears to have dropped its long repeated "Biggest skiable glacier area in the Alps" marketing and has a smaller area, complete with boarder and terrain park available this year. It only plans to stay open through June and close later this month but Val d'Isere and Tignes, the latter reporting the snow lying 4 metres deep on its glacier when it closed last month, are due to open over the next two weekends. Val d'Isere should be first, opening two lifts serving seven runs from Saturday 10th for a four-week season to July 7th. However, four of those runs will be for race team training only and closed to the general public who'll just have access to the other three between 7 am and noon daily. In Italy, Passo Stelvio opened at the end of last week for a five-month 2023 ski season and the year-round centres of Hintertux in Austria and Zermatt in Switzerland, remain open. Scandinavia It remains the three small glacier ski fields in Norway – Fonna, Galhopiggen and Stryn – open to all, Galdhopiggen reports it has 5m of snow lying, the most of any open centre in the world. Most of these centres have just one or two drag lifts and a few kilometres of slopes plus a terrain park, but Stryn is offering low-priced summer cat skiing to terrain not served by the lifts. North America There are four centres currently open in the USA. Mammoth and the Palisades in California both plan to stay open into July while Timberline in Oregon has its Palmer Summer Snowfield opening, although its snow depth start is dropping fast so it's unclear how long it will stay open. Finally, the Beartooth Basin summer ski area in Wyoming on the Montana border is also currently operational. It's classic summer ski conditions with plenty of sunshine but temperatures still get to freezing overnight but warm by lunchtime so the best conditions are in the mornings. Snowbird in Utah has said it will re-open the weekend after next as it still has lots of snow lying. The last areas that had been open in the east, Sommet Saint Sauveur in Quebec, Canada and Killington in Vermont both ended their long 22-23 seasons in the last week having made it into June. |
|
|
J2Ski's Where to Ski in June 2023
Falls Creek, Australia, opening soon... US resorts extend into June, season approaches for the south. June is traditionally the month when the southern hemisphere's ski season gets going properly, Europe and North America get their glacier summer ski seasons underway, and there are also up to a dozen 'survivors' that have been open since the previous autumn and are still going after 7 or 8 months keep their lifts turning. Of course, it is not quite as neat as that; some southern hemisphere areas open in May if there's good early snow; fewer glacier ski areas open for ever shorter seasons, and some already opened earlier in the year. Right now it looks promising for those 'still open from last winter' northern hemisphere areas, thanks to huge snow build-ups across western North America, with at least half-a-dozen areas planning to continue into June in 2023 (some years it's only one...). There's also a novelty this year with the chance to slide on snow in Abu Dhabi, for the first time.
Southern Hemisphere's June 2023 Ski Season Kick Off Australia Australia's 2023 season is due to start on 10th June for most ski areas. That's the beginning of the long weekend break that for seven decades celebrated Queen Elizabeth II's official birthday but is now commandeered to celebrate King Charles III's instead. The good news is that a mostly cold and frequently snowy May means things are currently looking good for opening day. The first week of June is looking mild and possibly wet, but it should be cold and snowy again just in time for the opening weekend. Mount Buller, Thredbo, Hotham, Perisher and Falls Creek are all lining up for first lift rides of the season and Selwyn Snowfield will re-open for the first time since a catastrophic 2020 bushfire. Rebuilding is now completed and the ski area expects to re-open with the rest. New Zealand New Zealand's Mount Hutt has the earliest scheduled opening date of any southern hemisphere ski area – 9th June. Coronet Peak and The Remarkables are targeting a week later, the 16th of June, with Cardrona going for the next day, the 17th of June. The Happy Valley area at Whakapapa and Treble Cone hope to open on the 24th. May has seen some good snowfalls on higher slopes in New Zealand and one club field, Manganui, already opened for three days in May following an early snowfall, the first in the southern hemisphere for 2023. The end of May was a little mild but colder weather is forecast for early June, so fingers are crossed. Argentina The last third of May brought good news for Argentina's ski centres with some very healthy snowfalls. Nowhere more so than the leading resort of Las Lenas which reported over a metre of snow lying on 22nd May after a huge pre-season snowfall. Chapelco posted images of a 20-30cm fall there a week later on the 30th, so the signs are good. Most of the country's biggest resorts, including the largest in South America, Catedral near Bariloche, should open from mid-June. Chile Most ski areas in Chile begin to open from mid-June. Things have been looking promising with some good late-May snowfalls and temperatures low enough for overnight base-building snowmaking too. Portillo posted pictures of white slopes on May 30th, Valle Nevado, Nevados de Chillan and a dozen other resorts should be open for the latter half of the month. Africa Africa is the only continent with ski areas in both the northern and southern hemispheres, despite having the lowest total number of any continent. Unfortunately, though, its northern hemisphere ski areas in Algeria and Morocco didn't operate their lifts last northern hemisphere winter 22-23 and it is looking like the same will be true for Afriski in Lesotho and Tiffindell in South Africa this season too this southern hemisphere winter. Afriski appears to be dealing with practical or political problems, saying it will be open for snow play with natural snow this winter (and it's had some already in mid-May), but it won't run its lifts in 2023. It has had some good natural snowfalls in the latter half of May too, the latest on the 30th closed the access road. Ski Areas Open in June 2023 in North America June 2023 is looking like it will see more ski areas open in the US than any summer in the past decade. Half-a-dozen ski areas have now confirmed plans to open at least part of the month, thanks to huge snowpacks still lying from last winter and spring snowfalls. Most are opening at weekends (Friday to Sundays) and earlier in the day (typically 8 am-2 pm). In California, Mammoth and The Palisades still have snow lying more than 12 feet deep and both plan to stay open into July this year. Timberline in Oregon's Palmer Snowfield is also expected to stay open through June if the snow holds, as is the recently reopened Beartooth Basin summer ski area on the Wyoming/Montana border. In Utah, Snowbird has announced it will reopen at weekends from mid-June, and keep opening so long as the snow lasts and Colorado's Arapahoe Basin is also opening for the first weekend of June, closing on the 4th. Besides these centres, you can also ski or ride on the Horstman Glacier on Blackcomb Mountain above Whistler in BC and at a terrain park above Copper Mountain in Colorado but only if you sign up to a private camp at either. Killington also decided it will open its Superstar trail with less than foot of snow left for advanced skiers on Thursday June 1st. It looks a lot like this will be the final day of the 2022-23 season, although that's to be confirmed. May saw several ski areas re-open after having been closed for a month, and this may happen in June too. Glacier Skiing in Europe in June 2023 Fortunately, spring 2023 has been much, much cooler and snowier than spring 2022 was on Alpine glaciers, so it's a more promising picture for ski slopes that plan to open in June. Tignes posted the deepest base in Europe much of the winter, at nearly 5 metres at the peak in early spring, so it remains to be seen if that stat has changed much. It is due to open for summer skiing on June 17, a week after Val d'Isere on June 10, both joining already-open Les 2 Alpes, which has moved its 'summer ski' season to earlier in the year and hopes to stay open through June. The three centres put France well ahead of Austria, where just the Hintertux Glacier is expected to be open in June. Italy should have two centres open by the end of the month, with Passo Stelvio due to open at the start of June and be joined by Cervinia from 24th June, while Switzerland has just Zermatt open. So there should be seven Alpine glaciers open through, or at least at various points during, June. Scandinavian Glaciers and Skiing at Midnight at Midsummer Three small glacier ski areas are open in Norway and posting the deepest snowpacks in the world – with snow up to 8 metres deep. Fonna, Stryn and Galdhopiggen Glacier ski areas are all expected to stay open all month. Sweden's Riksgränsen ski area, one of the world's most northerly, closed at the end of May but has announced it will re-open its slopes over the Midsummer period in late June. Skiing Asia and The Rest of The World in June 2023 Elsewhere in the world, Japan's Gassan summer ski area is open for its 2023 season and has about 4 metres of snow lying at the start of June. Over 100 indoor snow centres are open worldwide and June 2023 offers the novelty of playing in the snow in Abu Dhabi for the first time as the company behind Ski Egypt and Ski Dubai opens a new indoor snowpark, the first in the Arab Emirate. |
|
|
J2Ski Snow Report June 1st 2023
You can still do this, in June, at Mammoth Mountain, California... US resorts extend into June, season approaches for the south. The Snow Headlines - 1st June - Southern hemisphere's 2023 season starts next week - if nowhere opens early? - Only around a dozen ski areas still open from 22-23 northern hemisphere season. - Snowy weather in Australia ahead of the season start next week. - Just four ski areas open in the Alps - one each in the main Alpine nations. - Colorado's ski season ends Sunday, with snowfall forecast. - Three ski areas open in Norway - the most of any country in Europe. 
See the snow forecast for the week ahead...
World Overview We're into June and that means the start of the main 2023 ski season in the southern hemisphere. It's also the start of wintertime by the meteorological measure of the seasons. So far things look fairly promising in the main ski regions with some big pre-season snowfalls in the Andes and some cold and snowy weather in Australia and New Zealand, although there have been warmer spells too. The earliest official target opening date is next Friday 9th for Mount Hutt in New Zealand but it seems likely somewhere else may try to get in there earlier. The end of May saw about half of the still-open ski areas in the northern hemisphere call it a day on their 22-23 season at last, but more than a dozen are continuing, with about half of these being fresh summer 2023 openings of (mostly) glacier areas. They are fairly evenly divided between Europe and Scandinavia plus one in Asia - Japan's Gassan summer ski centre. Scandinavia has been reporting the coldest, snowiest weather in the north, delaying the season start of one of Norway's summers ski glacier area by three days last weekend. Europe Alps Two more Austrian glaciers closed at the weekend leaving just year-round Hintertux open. In Italy though, which has not had anywhere open for the last three weeks, skiing is back on with the Stelvio Pass re-opening and the Passo Stelvio ski area opening for its five-month 2023 season through to early November, all being well. The initial signs here are good from the looks of opening images showing base buildings buried in snow. You can also ski in France, at Les 2 Alpes, with Tignes and Val d'Isere due to open for short summer ski seasons later this month. Europe's highest slopes above Zermatt are also open. So, unusually, there's one ski area open in each of the big four Alpine ski nations for the next few weeks. Scandinavia It has been a wintery week in Scandinavia. There are now three small glacier centres open in Norway, more than any other single country in Europe at this point in the year. New snow meant the Stryn glacier, the latest and last of the three to open, ended up repeatedly delaying its opening planned last Thursday to eventually open at lunchtime on Sunday. The cold and snowy conditions have continued here and at the other two open areas, Fonna and Scandinavia's highest ski slopes at Galhopiggen. Sweden's Riksgransen has ended its 2023 main season but plans to re-open after three weeks of closure for a Midsummer ski celebration from June 22nd to June 25th, including midnight-sun summer skiing for the first time in several years. North America There were a dozen ski areas open in the US last weekend (and one unexpected brief reopening of Summit Saint Sauveur in Quebec) but that number has halved as we enter June. Mount Bachelor, Winter Park, Snowbird and Arizona Snowbowl are among the areas that finally ended their long 22-23 seasons after the Memorial Day public holiday on Monday. However we do have one newly opened option, with the small Beartooth Basin ski area in Wyoming, the only summer-only area in North America, which opened on Saturday for the first time since summer 2021. And Snowbird says it plans to re-open after a few weeks break, from mid-June. In terms of skis areas still open from the winter, we are down to four. California's Mammoth Mountain and The Palisades – both still reporting snow lying nearly 5 metres (16 feet) deep on their higher slopes - are still open and remaining so at least into July. The Palisades is now only operating its Alpine Base. They've been reporting mostly sunny weather although with the odd rain shower. Temperatures still dip to freezing overnight but in the 60s Fahrenheit during the day. You can also still ski at Colorado's Arapahoe Basin although it has confirmed it will close this coming weekend on June 4th. Snowfall is expected for the final weekend – although just an inch or so. The summer ski area at Timberline in Oregon, the Palmer Snowfield, is also open. In the eastern US, Killington re-opened to advanced skiers on June 1st but it's assumed that was the last day of their season. Southern Hemisphere Australia It was a very good week for pre-season snow and excitement build-up in Australia with repeat 10-25cm snowfalls and cold weather for snow guns to work full throttle. That was up to a few days ago when temperatures warmed up. At the last report Falls Creek, Mount Hotham, Perisher, Thredbo and other areas are all looking in good shape for the season to start at the end of next week, on June 10th the start of the long holiday weekend. With conditions looking good, the big question is, will any open early? New Zealand Pretty good conditions for many New Zealand ski areas too with snowfall and low temperatures following a mild spell. Mount Hutt has the earliest officially announced opening date of any southern hemisphere ski area, although of course Managanui ski field already opened for three days in May after a big pre-season snowfall. Now though, with winter here properly, we're (hopefully) talking about ski areas opening and staying open. South America It's looking good for the season start in both Argentina and Chile too with cold weather and decent pre-season snowfalls here. The earliest expected opening is still about a fortnight away but here too some centres could open early. Ski tourers have been pictured skiing already at Las Lenas ski area after it received more than a metre of late June snowfall, but officially the season doesn't start there until June 14th. Fellow Argentinian resort Chapelco and famous Chilean centre Portillo have also reported some good pre-season snowfalls if not so much as Las Lenas so far. Africa At the present time, it does not appear that either of Africa's southern ski areas – Tiffindell in South Africa, which last opened in 2019 for skiing and Afriski in Lesotho – will fully open this winter. Afriski says it will be open but that it won't be able to run its lifts and snowmaking for logistical reasons, so snow play only. That got started on Wednesday this week after a good early natural snowfall. |
|
|
J2Ski Snow Report May 25th 2023
The sun finally sets (this coming weekend) on a great season for Palisades, California... More early snow in the southern hemisphere. The Snow Headlines - 25th May - More pre-season snowfall in Australia and New Zealand. - A third Californian ski area to open this weekend. - One ski area open in each of Austria, France, Italy and Switzerland from Monday. - At least six US ski resorts to open during June. - Stryn Glacier delays 2023 opening due to forecast snowfall on access road. - Last two areas open in Colorado announce closing dates. - Canada's 2022-23 season ends as the last three centres close. See the snow forecast for the week ahead...
World Overview The past week has seen more snowfall and cold temperatures for the Andes, Australia, New Zealand and even southern Africa, as the 2023 season draws closer – now just over a fortnight away assuming there are no more early openings. In the northern hemisphere, more ski areas have ended their seasons in Europe and North America, including the last areas that had remained open in Canada and in Eastern Europe, leaving just the centres in the Alps, Scandinavia and US that are still going. There are also more resorts opening for (northern hemisphere) summer glacier skiing, or (in the case of the US) just re-opening as there's still so much snow on the ground. In Asia Japan's Gassan Glacier summer ski area remains open. Europe Alps After months of cold and snowfall on higher slopes in the Alps, there have been a few more clear, blue sky days to enjoy the snow this week. From next week, only the Hintertux Glacier will be open in Austria - it's currently posting the deepest snow (over 3m/10 feet) and most terrain open (25km of slopes) in the Alps. The Kaunertal and Stubai glaciers ended their seasons last weekend but two other Austrian glaciers, the Kitzsteinhorn and Mölltal, will be open until this Sunday, May 28th. Elsewhere in Europe, France's Les 2 Alpes glacier is reported to have a small amount of terrain open and Switzerland's Zermatt continues to offer snow sports on Europe's highest lift-accessed slopes. There's nowhere open in Italy still but that is due to change from this weekend with Passo Stelvio summer ski area scheduled to open for its (hopefully) five-month-long 2023 season. Much depends though on whether the pass road is cleared in time. Cervinia is due to join Stelvio as a second Italian option from late June. Scandinavia It's been staying close to freezing at Scandinavia's four open ski areas and one of these, Stryn, which had already opened for cat skiing at the start of the month but planned to open its lift on Thursday 25th, is now going to delay to Friday, as there's snow forecast and temperatures down to -2C, making driving potentially hazardous, they say. The Fonna and Galhopiggen ski areas are also open in Norway and Sweden's Riksgransen is coming up on its final weekend of its 2023 season BUT has announced it will re-open for midnight-sun summer skiing over midsummer in late June for the first time in several years. North America Temperatures are finally rising on high slopes in Western North America but the snow is lying so thick that a dozen ski areas will be opening slopes for the last weekend of May coming up, a long one in the US thanks to the Memorial Day holiday. Many are now just opening weekends and have earlier hours, typically 8 am to 2 pm, than mid-winter, and of course, for this time of the year, only limited terrain is still open. There's been plenty of sunshine this past week but occasional showers too and overnight lows still getting down close to freezing. California will have the most choice with Dodge Ridge mountain resort unexpectedly re-opening this weekend, joining The Palisades and Mammoth Mountain, both still reporting the continent's deepest snow at 16-18 feet up top. It will run a double chair from the base and reports it has now passed the 750" season snowfall total mark. Breckenridge closed last weekend in Colorado but Arapahoe Basin and Winter Park are still open. However closing dates have been announced, with Winter Park naming next Monday May 29th as their last day of the season, Arapahoe Basin continuing to the following Sunday, June 4th. Further north in Utah, it's the last weekend of the season at Snowbird and Brighton after Solitude ended its record-long season last weekend. Both plan to close after Memorial Day but Snowbird will then re-open in mid-June. Skiing also continues in Oregon, with Mount Bachelor approaching (probably) its final weekend of 22-23 but Timberline continuing into June and hopefully all summer. Talking of summer, America's sole summer-only ski area, Beartooth Basin, is scheduled to open for its 2023 season this weekend. Finally, on the East Coast, Killington in Vermont remains open with snow remaining on its Superstar bumps run. By contrast, Canada's ski season ended on Monday when the last three still-open areas, Mont Saint Sauveur in Quebec, Sunshine near Banff in Alberta and Whistler Blackcomb span their lifts for the last time for the season. However, Whistler will open its Horstman glacier on Blackcomb Mountain for snowsports in June and July – but only to those signed up for private camps. Southern Hemisphere There have been more promising pre-season snowfalls coupled with low temperatures for base-building snowmaking at ski areas in both Australia and New Zealand as the 2023 season start date gets ever closer. Assuming no one opens early, that's just over a fortnight away with most Aussie areas and resorts like Mt Hutt in New Zealand planning to open around June 10th. Most ski areas in the Andes, South America, won't open until about a fortnight later than that, assuming snow conditions are good. There it has been a little drier and warmer this past week in some areas, but Argentina's southerly Las Lenas was among the centres posting a decent pre-season dump earlier this week. There was cold weather and snowfall in southern Africa at the end of last week but currently, sadly, Afriski in Lesotho says it won't be running its snowmaking and lifts this season for technical reasons and there are currently no signs that Tiffindell in South Africa, which last operated in winter 2019, plans to reopen for 2023. |
|
|
J2Ski Snow Report May 18th 2023
Manganui, New Zealand, got snow and opened for last weekend... Southern hemisphere season kicks off early (if briefly). The Snow Headlines - 18th May - Southern Hemisphere's 2023 ski season starts early after snowfall in New Zealand. - Norway's glacier ski areas open for 2023 season with world's deepest reported snowpacks. - Breckenridge closing for the season this Sunday. - Slovakia's Jasna staying open through May. - "Mid-winter" conditions in mid-May in Colorado, up to a foot of fresh snow. 
Snow on the high mountains still...
World Overview The big news of the last seven days was the southern hemisphere's 2023 season starting earlier than planned when up to 40cm of snowfall was reported in New Zealand. The club-run Manganui ski area was the first to open, from Friday through to Sunday. Australian ski areas have also reported colder weather and lighter snowfall to end this week. Meanwhile, the season continues to wind down in the northern hemisphere but there were still more than 30 ski areas open across Europe, Asia and North America and it has kept snowing too. On Europe's glaciers conditions are colder and generally better than in the hot spring of 2022 and in the US, the four Colorado ski areas still open last weekend saw "midwinter conditions" with up to 13" of snowfall in 24 hours reported last weekend. Europe Alps After the big snowfalls reported on Alpine glaciers a week ago, conditions continue to be mostly cold up high, with more, albeit lighter, snow showers keeping things fresh. It continues to be a much colder and snowier picture on glaciers than in spring 2022. Altogether seven glacier ski areas are still open, five of them in Austria, although two of these, Kaunertal and the Stubai, plan to close after the coming weekend. For the Kitzsteinhorn above Kaprun and Mölltal glaciers, there's another week, to Sunday May 28th and Hintertux is open year round. Also open are Les 2 Alpes in France and Zermatt, which is now the only ski area still open in Switzerland after Crans Montana closed at the weekend. There's nowhere currently open in Italy but Passo Stelvio should open for its 2023 summer ski season the weekend after next. Scandinavia We're into the final fortnight of the 2023 season at Riksgransen, Sweden's most northerly ski area, 200km north of the Arctic Circle and where it's now 24-hour daylight at its northerly latitude. Skiing and boarding beneath the Midnight Sun are offered on Thursday and Sunday evenings between 10 pm and 1 am. In Norway all three glaciers at summer-ski areas, Stryn, Fonna and Galhopiggen, are now open for the 2023 season. They're reporting snow depths of up to 10 metres, immediately the world's deepest snowpack for summer 2023, overtaking California's Mammoth after six months of it having top spot, so that's hopefully good news for being able to keep open through the warmer summer months this year. Eastern Europe Slovenia's Kanin ski area continues to re-open high terrain at weekends, mostly for team training, but this weekend is expected to be the last for 2023. Less expected is Slovakia's largest ski area of Jasna, which to be fair had been posting a decent upper slope depth all winter, announcing its plans to stay open through May. North America Canada It's the final weekend of the season coming up in Canada with the three areas still open gearing up for their final turns. Whistler Blackcomb has reported that operating for its final planned week is touch and go due to warm weather causing snowpack instability and high avalanche danger. There are similar issues for still-open Sunshine near Banff, although here there's no talk of a shutdown of the slopes. Finally, Summit St Sauveur in Quebec has one snowy slope expected to be open for the final weekend of the season. USA The US continues to have more ski areas open than any other country, using the snowpack built up through the winter. Many are now just open weekends (Friday to Sunday) and limited hours (typically 8 am to 2 pm) though. The main snow news of the last week came from Colorado where Breckenridge, Winter Park and Arapahoe Basin remain open and there was lots of fresh snowfall last Friday. Further north Utah's Brighton, Snowbird and Solitude areas are also still going strong and Sundance reopened at the weekend, although just for last weekend, 5 weeks after it had ended its season, partly to celebrate the deep snow still lying. The Snowbowl in Arizona to the south is also still open. Out west in California, it's been much warmer but Mammoth and The Palisades are still posting North America's deepest bases and planning to stay open to July although Kirkwood has now closed its season. Further north Oregon's Mt Bachelor and Timberline are still open, the latter opening its Palmer permanent snowfield for its summer ski season this week. Crystal Mountain up in Washington State is also still going. Despite the recent snowfall though, Breckenridge announced earlier this week that it has decided to end its season at the end of the day on Sunday. Killington is now the only ski area still open in the Eastern US, with an ever thinner base on its Superstar spring bumps run, but cold weather forecast to end the week with snow possible on the highest peaks in the region. Southern Hemisphere Australia After a decent dump of snowfall a fortnight ago Australian ski areas have seen drier and milder temperatures until the past 36 hours. The temperature has now dropped down to -5C with snow showers overnight and snowmaking systems (and in some cases all-weather snowmaking systems) have been in action - with the official season start date now three weeks away. New Zealand Snow arrived in New Zealand just as our report last week was being published and up to 40cm was reported over the next 24 hours. The season is due to start there early next month, but the club-run Manganui snowfield decided to open early, running its lifts from Friday to Sunday before determining the cover was no longer adequate. This was the first lift-accessed skiing in the southern hemisphere open for 2023. Andes Most ski areas in Argentina and Chile begin opening in mid-June so we're still 4 weeks or so away, although early openings are not unheard of if the snow arrives early. So far the forecast is fairly promising with some pre-season snowfalls, low overnight temperatures and daytime highs getting down towards freezing too. Southern Africa Afriski in Lesotho and Tiffindell in South Africa have traditionally been among the first to open each winter in the southern hemisphere, often at the end of May. This year the weather looks to be playing ball for the essential snowmaking base build-up with overnight lows well below freezing and even some natural snow forecast, but unfortunately neither area is currently planning to open for skiing at all this season, according to local media. |
|
|
J2Ski Snow Report May 11th 2023
Fonna Glacier, Norway, started their summer season this week... Snow coming for New Zealand, still snowing on Alpine glaciers! The Snow Headlines - 11th May - Heavy pre-season snowfall in Australia. - Snow forecast for New Zealand. - 22/23 season over in Finland, Italy and Slovakia. - More than 30 ski areas still open in nine countries in the northern hemisphere. - Less than a month to the start of the 2023 southern hemisphere ski season. - Snow still falling on Alpine glaciers – Hintertux reports 50cm in 24 hours on May 11. - Levi and Ruka complete 7-month 22-23 ski seasons in Lapland. 
Up next! Snow for New Zealand's ski areas...
World Overview As we move further into spring in the northern hemisphere, another swathe of ski areas in Europe closed after the weekend, including all those that had been open since 2022 in France and Italy. There are still more than a dozen places skiable across the continent, with reports of more fresh snowfall on glaciers over the last week. In fact some of the totals up high continue to be much greater than they were in actual wintertime. The USA continues to have by far the most ski areas open of any one country in the world at present. Although half-a-dozen resorts closed after last weekend, nearly 20 continue to operate, most having extended their seasons thanks to record snowfall last winter. In the wider world, the season has more or less ended in Japan with the last resorts closing at the weekend, and just the Gassan summer ski area open there now. In the southern hemisphere, where the 2023 season is approaching fast, there have been some good snowfalls on Australian slopes and higher runs in the Andes. New Zealand too has reported some big snowfalls – up to 40cm in 24 hours – in the last few days. Our southern hemisphere section is back for 2023 below and will be expanding over the coming weeks as the number of northern hemisphere ski areas continues to fall. Europe Austria Several more glacier ski areas ended their 22-23 seasons in Austria at the weekend, with the country's highest slopes at Pitztal, as well as Solden's twin glacier ski area, now closed for snowsports until the autumn (when they're often among the first to open for the new season). Five Austrian areas remain open to the end of May, more than any other European country at this point. The Kaunertal, Kitzsteinhorn and Mölltal glaciers plan to stay open through to Sunday May 28th, the Stubai to the 21st and the Hintertux glacier intends to remain open year round. It continues to be cold (full-time below freezing above 3,000m) with snow showers almost daily, some of them quite major – up to 50cm in 24 hours in fact - so it's a much brighter picture than the warm spring of 2022, so far at least, although low visibility continues to be an issue. France The French ski season is over, kind of, Tignes, Val d'Isere and Val Thorens, which had been the last areas still open there for the 22-23 season, all closed at the weekend. However this year Les 2 Alpes has reopened for late-spring/early-summer glacier skiing, which it has moved forward by nearly two months from the usual 'summer' opening. It plans to keep its glacier slopes, claimed to be the world's biggest skiable glacier area, through May and June so in 2023, the French ski season continues! That said, L2A currently has very limited terrain open, mostly used for team training, but open to the public. The snow depth is reported to be 1.5m (5 feet). Snow showers have continued with the freezing point at 2500-3000m altitude and the occasional 5-10cm up at these heights. But there have also been 4-6 hours of sunshine most days. Italy Cervinia ended its season at the weekend, and was the last Italian area still open so currently there are no lift-served Italian centres available. Passo Stelvio will open for glacier skiing on the final weekend of the month and Cervinia itself will re-open for summer skiing in June. Switzerland Four more Swiss ski areas including Adelboden, the Diavolezza glacier near St Moritz in the Engadin, Engelberg and Glacier 3000 near Gstaad and Les Diablerets closed on Sunday leaving Crans Montana and Zermatt the two still open areas in Switzerland. Crans Montana though will end its season on Sunday, while Zermatt intends to return to year-round opening of its glacier ski areas if the summer allows in 2023 (2022 saw a 7 week closure in August and September last year as the snow melted from the glacier). Here too the weather has been generally cooler than average for early May and has stayed below freezing on glaciers, double digits below (freezing) up at the highest points of Zermatt's area. There have been more snow showers and Zermatt's glacier snow depth has actually increased slightly. Scandinavia Finland was another country where the 22-23 season ended last weekend as Levi and Ruka came to the end of their 7 month ski seasons. All of the ski areas in Norway open through the last winter ski season have also closed, but last weekend saw the Stryn and Fonna summer ski areas open (Stryn initially for cat skiing only) for glacier skiing. The country's third summer area, Folgefonn, is due to join them next weekend. The other Scandi ski option right now is Sweden's most northerly area, Riksgransen, which is now offering twice-weekly skiing and boarding under the midnight sun now that 24 hour daylight has arrived at its location 200km north of the Arctic Circle. The lifts re-open on Thursday and Sunday evenings from 10pm to 12:30am. Conditions are pretty good but temperatures could be cooler, as currently they're in the zero to +10C range with a mix of sunshine and showers, the showers more likely to be rain than snow until things get cooler. Eastern Europe Slovakia's Jasna stayed open a week later than expected but closed on Sunday, leaving Kanin in Slovenia the only area still open in Europe outside of the Western Alps and Scandinavia. The resort, located on the Italian border and offering views out to the Adriatic, is opening for (at least) two more long weekends of spring skiing up high. The snow depth is reported to be up to 2m and there's about 5km of slopes still open. After a warm weekend it has also been cold with snow showers on higher slopes this last week. North America Canada Lake Louise was the latest Canadian ski area to end its season, last weekend, leaving Sunshine near Banff in Alberta and Blackcomb Mountain by Whistler in BC the only two areas fully open. In the East of the country, Summit St Sauveur in Quebec is opening one run at weekends. All three are aiming to stay open through to May 22nd. It's turning sunny for the remainder of the week after cool temperatures and some snowfall in the west over the last few days. USA The US continues to have by far the most areas open in May, many in the west of the country thanks to record snowfall through the winter. More than two-dozen areas were open there last weekend in 11 states and although half-a-dozen closed after Sunday afternoon, almost 20 remain open either daily or at weekends, mostly in Colorado, California, Oregon and Utah. In terms of weather, the big thaw is underway but its still snowing in the West, and California's Palisades posted 11" of fresh snowfall in the last week. In California, Mammoth and The Palisades remain open with the world's deepest snowpack still, and a third area, Kirkwood, is also still operating but may close this coming weekend. For Colorado, Copper and Loveland have closed but Breckenridge, Winter Park and Arapahoe basin remain open. In Utah, Brighton, Snowbird and Solitude still going strong. Oregon's Mt Bachelor, Timberline and Willamette Pass are also still open, as is Crystal Mountain up in Washington state. Lee Canyon in Nevada, the ski area closed to Las Vegas, has kept extending its season and will re-open next weekend, now making this the centre's longest ever season. Over on the East Coast Jay Peak and Sugarbush closed leaving only Killington still open and hoping to remain so through May. Southern Hemisphere The southern hemisphere's 2023 season is just a month away now with the first ski areas in Australia, New Zealand South America expected to open in early June. Unfortunately, there's no sign of any skiing being possible in Southern Africa this winter, at least at a regular ski area. Tiffindell, South Africa's only ski area, has not operated since 2019, although it has not officially shut down permanently either. Afriski, Lesotho's ski area, announced earlier this year that it would not operate this winter. The past week has been a very good one on Australian ski slopes with several snow showers, each delivering up to 15cm of fresh snow (and some gale force winds to drive it in). Most resorts have also fired up snowmaking systems, including Selwyn Snowfields, due to re-open this winter three years after it was ravaged by bush fires. New Zealand had seen warmer temperatures until the past few days but on Thursday 11th May resorts across the country posted images of substantial snowfalls, up to 50cm in 24 hours. There has also been snowfall on high slopes in Argentina and Chile again too, with up to 15cm accumulations reported here. |
|