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Jay Peak, Vermont, delivering this week... Some decent top-ups in the Alps, ski areas open in the Pyrenees and powder in a few fortunate places in America. The Snow Headlines - December 12th - Val Gardena starts 24-25 season with most terrain open in Italy. - Pyrenees ski season underway as snowfall finally arrives. - 3 Valleys opens 300km of terrain to post the most open in the world. - Over two feet (60cm+) of snowfall in 72 hours for Val Thorens and others. - 10 ski areas in the Alps post more than 100km of slopes open already. 
Where is it going to snow?.
World Overview The snowfall in the Alps at the weekend and earlier this week was perhaps not quite as intense as the most optimistic forecast models predicted at some points ahead of the event, but it was still pretty good! Most areas have had at least a good snow refresh with snow down to lower levels and some resorts in the French Alps (as well as northern and western parts of Italy and Switzerland) reported over two feet (30cm) up high over the weekend. In fact, as we're still in the first half of December and astronomical autumn, the amount of terrain open is around the average for this early point in the season, not epic, not terrible, in most areas. Most of the northern hemisphere's larger ski areas are now open, with just a few of the bigger French regions not quite yet, but opening this coming weekend in almost all cases. The season is also finally getting underway in the Pyrenees, several weeks later than hoped, after good snowfalls there this week. There have been fewer snowfalls in North America this month and base depths have actually dropped a little following November's bounty. The main thing though is that snow and cold weather on the East Coast has allowed most resorts to open there at last. Europe Austria All of Austria's leading ski areas have now opened, at least partially, with low-lying Mayrhofen showing the success of snowmaking during the colder days of the past month by opening more than 80% of its slopes at the weekend to temporarily claim the most terrain in the country at 115km. That was partly because Ischgl, which had already posted 130km of slopes open the previous week, had some closed due to the active weather system that has brought strong winds and fresh snow to Austrian slopes this week. Ischgl is now back to 170km and Saalbach has equalled Mayrhofen's open terrain. The week ahead is looking mostly dry and sunny but remaining cold with some light snowfall at the weekend. France France received snowfall down to low levels to start this week, perfectly timed for more of the country's big ski areas opening, including Serre Chevalier and the rest of the 3 Valleys. Val Thorens posted one of the biggest accumulations with 65cm in 72 hours. Terrain open so far is rather more limited than in other major ski nations, most French areas with 5-20% of their terrain so far, but that seems to be more of a commercial decision than a lack of snow, particularly up high. The 3 Valleys has moved to open about 50% of its runs now, so is topping the world chart. The rest of the big areas like the Grand Massif, Paradiski and the Portes du Soleil open this weekend (several having had preview openings last weekend). It's been sunny and cold since the snow and that should continue next week but with a little weekend snowfall expected. Italy Most of Italy's leading resorts have opened for the season now with Bormio and Val Gardena among those doing so last weekend. The latter immediately posted the most terrain open in the country with 150km of slopes from day one, about 80% of its full terrain. It also got the go-ahead to host World Cup races later this month with the FIS giving the green light to snow conditions. It's perhaps not been so snowy in Italy as most of the rest of the Alps, but there has been some new snowfall, heaviest in the north and west. The Madonna di Campiglio region posted 35cm in 24 hours on Saturday-Sunday. Staying cold and sunny for the coming week, with light snow expected at the weekend. Switzerland Swiss centres too have seen heavy snowfall earlier this week, coupled with low visibility and strong winds at times. Laax was one of the big winners, with 30cm (a foot) in 24 hours, Verbier got 20cm. About half of the country's ski centres are now open, although that half contains 90% of the big-name destinations. Year-round Zermatt continues to top the table for the most terrain open, with 50% and 160km of slopes already, one of the largest areas available in the world so far this winter. Most other areas still only have 5-20% of their terrain available. The weather outlook is sunny but cold for the week ahead, with some weekend snowfall likely. Scandinavia After a few delays, all of Scandinavia's big ski areas, including Hemsedal and Trysil in Norway, Are and Salen in Sweden and Levi and Yllas in Finland are now open for the 24-25 season, most opening last weekend (although Levi started their season in early October thanks to snow farming). What all have in common are very thin bases (typically in the 10-20cm area) and very little terrain open yet (typically 5-10% of their full areas). That's partly a throwback to an often mild autumn. The good news is that it has been mostly sub-zero with light snow showers this past week and looks like it should stay like that for the coming week too. Pyrenees Last weekend marked a change in the weather here, with many areas seeing several feet of snowfall and cold temperatures. Ski areas, including the biggest like Baqueira Beret in Spain and Grandvalira in Andorra, have begun opening at last in the region, with the rest now aiming to do so by this coming weekend. Sunnier weather this weekend but staying cold, and snowfall returning next week. Scotland Scottish ski areas saw about a foot of snowfall on Friday-Saturday as Storm Darragh blew through. Centres had not opened for snowsports at that point but most closed other operations during the storm with some cut off anyway by access road closures. Glencoe noted the snow was useful for building a base for the season. After the storm, temperatures dipped well below freezing, consolidating the fresh snowpack. That led to The Lecht saying they'd start their season with a little snow this weekend, then Glencoe opening some runs on Wednesday, kicking Scotland's 24-25 season off. Cairngorm and Glenshee are currently considering opening some runs early too, although the forecast is for warming temperatures at the weekend. Eastern Europe Things are looking pretty good for this point in December across most Eastern European ski regions. Bulgaria's Bansko and Pamporovo both opened at the weekend after some big snowfalls, posting up to a metre lying from day one. Bansko had about three-quarters of its slopes open and began operations a week earlier than planned. Leading centres have also opened in the Czech Republic (Spindleruv Mlyn) and Slovenia (Kranjska Gora), joining already-open Jasna in Slovakia, all posting good early-season snow. It has kept falling too and is forecast to return at the weekend. North America Canada After the dry conditions of early December, there have been some good snowfalls in both western and eastern Canada. On the eastern side, they've been particularly welcome after an often warm and dry Autumn, allowing ski centres in the region to partially open with thin cover at last. In the west, resorts like Sunshine and Revelstoke posted 20-50cm accumulations of fresh powder. Fernie is posting the deepest snow in the country at 125cm, and Whistler Blackcomb the most terrain open in North America at 5,500 acres. It's expected to stay cold with cloudy skies and light snowfall in the West, and unfortunately warm and sometimes wet weather returning in the East. USA Relatively dry for another week across much of the western US, after the snowy November, although it has remained cold in most areas and there have been some light to moderate snowfalls. The bigger accumulations, particularly at the end of last week, were on the eastern side of the country bringing powder conditions to ski areas in Vermont, Maine and New York state among others. Just getting snow to build bases and allow centres to open at all was the main thing after the warm autumn and unfortunately, rain returned midweek, stalling things. Back in the West, there have been reports of some Tahoe areas struggling to make snow due to warm temperatures but on the whole, it remains a positive picture with resorts like Mammoth reporting almost all their terrain open and the continent's (and the world's) deepest snow still in the Pacific Northwest corner at resorts like Mount Baker in Washington State. There's more of the same for the coming week really, hopefully a little more snowfall in the north and west at least with light-moderate snowfalls expected. |
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Whistler, BC, Canada, aims to have over 5,500 acres open this weekend... More ski areas open, more terrain, and more snow - either on the ground or on the way - across the northern hemisphere. The Snow Headlines - December 5th - Big pre-season snowfall for Bansko, reports 50cm accumulation at the weekend. - Pyrenees struggle with warm temperatures preventing any opening so far. - Ischgl first ski area to offer over 100km of slopes open so far this season. - Chamonix delays opening Grands Montets for second successive weekend. - Whistler expects to open over 5,000 acres of terrain this weekend. - Big snowfalls forecast for Alps and Pyrenees. 
Snow forecast for many ski areas.
World Overview With hundreds of ski areas already open for their 24-25 seasons the battle is now on to open as much terrain as possible in the run-up to Christmas, only three weeks away. In Europe Ischgl has been leading the way since it opened at the weekend, the first with more than 100km of slopes on offer although Zermatt-Cervinia is now about there too and with all sectors of the 3 Valleys opening this weekend, it looks like it will post bigger numbers too. The Alps have seen increasingly cold and snowy weather this week which looks good news for lower-lying terrain yet to see the snow that's been dumped above 2,000m. In North America, Mammoth Mountain and Sun Peaks were leading with most of their terrain open, but here too it looks like the biggest resort, Whistler Blackcomb, will take the top spot at the weekend when it plans to have 5,500 acres available. Areas doing less well right now include Eastern North America (although some areas have had several feet of snowfall at last in the past week), The Pyrenees (significant snowfall is now expected next week) and Scandinavia (getting colder and snowier here too!). Europe Austria Austria continues to lead the way on multiple levels in Europe, with the most centres open of any country, the ski areas with the greatest percentage of terrain open (Obertauern was near to 100% at the weekend), and the ski areas with the most terrain open. That's Ischgl, which opened at the weekend with 110km of slopes available already. After sunny weather and a bit of a temperature spike at the weekend, it has been a colder week with temperatures dropping to freezing down to resort levels at times, allowing snowmakers to work to the max, and there have been some mostly light natural snowfalls too. The forecast is for still colder and snowier weather into the weekend. France Around half-a-dozen French ski areas opened at the weekend, joining already-open Tignes and Val Thorens. In fact, La Rosiere, Alpe d'Huez and Les 2 Alpes managed to offer a little more terrain each than those first two openers. Avoriaz, with half-a-metre of snow lying, opened terrain a fortnight earlier than originally planned for a 'preview weekend' but the Grands Montets above Argentiere in the Chamonix Valley put off its planned opening for a second week. Grands Montets, along with several more resorts including Serre Chevalier, now plans to open this weekend. There's not much change in terms of French snow conditions since the big snowfalls a fortnight ago, however, temperatures have generally remained low and there have been some light snowfalls, with more significant dumps expected later this week. Italy It was a fairly dry week until recently in Italy, when colder, snowier weather moved into the north and west. More of the country's bigger resorts have been opening including Livigno and Madonna di Campiglio at the weekend. Cervinia's shared area with Zermatt has the most open terrain so far, with about 100km of slopes there and increasing fast. In the Dolomites, most sectors of Dolomiti Superski have opened with Kronplatz posting the most open so far – about 50km of slopes. Switzerland About 30 Swiss ski areas are now open, including most of the country's famous resorts. This week has seen some fresh snowfall and colder temperatures for snowmaking and the forecast is for heavier falls at the start of next week. Verbier and the 4 Valleys, and St Moritz are both up to about 50km of slopes open with newly open Samnaun (linked to Ischgl) as well as Zermatt (linked to Cervinia) on around 100km of slopes open each. Other Swiss areas newly opened include Andermatt and Laax. Scandinavia It's still very early days - of course - but after much hype about Norway and Sweden being the place to go for a snow-sure winter, it has been a rather mild autumn with rain rather than snowfall and temperatures often too warm for snowmaking too. As a result a lot of the region's larger resorts you'd expect to be open by now, like Norway's Hemsedal, have pushed back their opening dates. Sweden's Are has just opened after delays and just has a few kilometres of slopes available initially. The big four centres in Finland are open, but still with a reliance on machine-made snow. All that being said it has been colder this week and some of the biggest snowfalls of the autumn to date are expected over the next few days which should transform things. Pyrenees It's an increasingly tense time in the Pyrenees as ski centres have been forced to delay their openings in Andorra, France and Spain due to the warm conditions. The biggest of them all, Andorra's Grandvalira, failed to launch its 24-25 season on Saturday. We're now all reset for things to hopefully get going this coming weekend and there have been more promising signs with colder temperatures, hopefully, low enough for significant snowmaking. Increasingly heavy snowfall is also expected, with the potential for a metre or more by the start of next week if they play out as forecast, so it remains to be seen what does open this Saturday. Scotland The Scottish Highlands saw very mild weather last weekend but temperatures have dropped back to closer to seasonal norms since Monday with mid-week snow on the hills replacing that lost in the weekend warmth. The four centres aiming to open before Christmas (all except Nevis Range) have had their SnowFactory all-weather snowmaking machines fired up and making terrain suited for beginners, sledging and ultimately some longer runs if adequate natural snowfall doesn't arrive over the next few weeks. Eastern Europe It's looking pretty promising across Eastern Europe with centres already open in the Czech Republic, Poland, Romania and Slovakia (including the region's largest centre, Jasna). Most have had natural snowfall and low temperatures for snowmaking. Bulgaria's season isn't expected to start for another week or so but there have been some great snowfalls there over the last seven days, with Bansko getting about 50cm last weekend. North America Canada It continues to look like a great start to the season in Western Canada with Whistler Blackcomb expecting to jump to over 5,500 acres of terrain open this weekend and resorts across Alberta and BC posting some of the best snowfall totals in the world, including Fernie opening with the deepest snow in the Rockies. This week has been drier than recently but remaining below freezing and there's more snow forecast now. Less good news from the East Coast where the World Cup races due at Tremblant this weekend are the first in the 24-25 season to be cancelled, for lack of snow. Things are getting colder and snowier more consistently now though so hopefully more resorts will be able to open very soon. USA The Eastern US has been catching up after its mostly warm autumn, with cold, snowy weather allowing more centres to open. The biggest snowfalls though have been further inland in the Great Lakes region where a "Lake-effect-snow-event" led to record-breaking accumulations of up to two feet (60cm) in 24 hours for some lucky smaller centres in states like Michigan, which had also previously been suffering a dry winter. Things continue to look good in the West. Mammoth is leading the way with almost all its runs open now and the snow has kept dumping in the Northwest of the continent. |
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J2Ski partner Alps2Alps – the trusted ski transfer company for 15 years providing the lowest cost options to get to the slopes, launches new shared transfer service on all of its routes. Alps2Alps launches a shared transfer option for the 2024-25 winter season; * Covering more destinations, across the Alps, including France, Italy, Austria and Switzerland * Highly developed IT creates maximum efficiency, meaning lower mileage * Huge fleet of vehicles to suit groups from 3 to 49 people * Nominated in the World Ski Awards as the number one transfer company Top rated Alps transfer company on Trustpilot, Alps2Alps has launched a new shared transfer service for this winter on all of its routes, seven days a week. It's a completely unique service that only Alps2Alps is offering across such a wide selection of airports and destinations, with a door-to-door service that includes a maximum of three stops en route. The maximum size vehicle for shared transfers is an eight seater minibus and the most popular routes will offer the most competitive prices. To get a quote for an airport transfer, to or from just about every major ski resort in Europe (and many in the USA), go to https://www.alps2alps.com/. 
The company, founded in 2011, covers more winter sports holiday destinations in the Alps than any other transfer operator with over 100 resorts spanning France, Switzerland, Austria and Italy. Popular routes include Geneva to Avoriaz, Chamonix and Val d'Isere and Innsbruck to St. Anton. With a highly developed back end system, Alps2Alps has become the most effective and efficient company in the sector that aims to reduce driver mileage with real-time technology to manage bookings. This AI style of programming has put Alps2Alps at the very forefront of ski consumer logistics and produces significant amounts of data around the trends and habits of skiers as they fly into Alpine hub airports and onto their final skiing destinations. It also has access to the widest choice of fleet that can handle passenger numbers from 3 to 49, with every vehicle category available to suit the needs of the group or the demands of shared transfer numbers. Alps2Alps reputation with its customers is second to none and it is highly rated on platforms such as Trustpilot.
https://www.alps2alps.com/ |
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We start December with hundreds of ski areas open across the northern hemisphere, and expect thousands to be open by the end of the year. Read our guide to find the best spots.
The new Jandri Express lift, which opened at Les 2 Alpes, France, this weekend, picture (c) David Quinveros Where to Ski in December 2024 December is the month when we go from a few hundred ski areas open in Europe, Asia and North America to, hopefully, towards 5,000 across the northern hemisphere. They'll all be opening over the next three weekends, all being well. So far, signs are fairly promising in most areas. There have been good snowfalls and low temperatures in the Alps in late November whilst La Nina has brought heavy snow to North America's Northwest and, across the Pacific, the slopes of Japan. The regions where the jury is still out are really North America's easterly and southern areas which have had only marginal snow conditions so far and need consistent cold for their snow-making. There's also the perennial question over lower-lying ski areas in Europe. So far the snow and cold have been up high, mostly above 1500-2000m, where, fortunately, most of the bigger resorts operate. But we are yet to see how winter will play out for the smaller and lower-lying resorts. The Pyrenees are having a difficult time at present with warm weather preventing snowmaking and thawing what snow fell earlier this autumn. The next few weeks will be key. Europe Austria Austria has had the most skiing available in Europe (and until mid-November when the US season took off, the entire world) so far. Around 50 Austrian ski areas are open and the battleground has moved to who can offer the most terrain with Ischgl, Solden and Obergurgl starting the month in the top spots with approximately 95km, 85km and 70km open already respectively. They're actually the top three for all of Europe. Most of the big Austrian regions like the Skiwelt and Saalbach are also open but with lower elevations the terrain open there is more limited so far. It's not been a bad autumn and the last weeks of November saw cold and snowy weather, but so far bases at lower levels are measured in the low 10s of centimetres, not the metres. France The French ski season got underway over the final week of November with Tignes and Val Thorens the first to open. Nerves were stretched through much of last month with warm, dry weather but thankfully there were big snowfalls in the week before opening and both centres opened on time with the snow lying a metre deep. Cold weather after the snow has also allowed snow-making systems to fire up. More centres including Alpe d'Huez, the Grands Montets at Chamonix, Avoriaz (preview weekend), Monrgenevre and Les 2 Alpes opened on the last day of November and the next three weekends should see just about all French areas open. Italy Italy has had a largely dry and sunny November, but there were some heavy snowfalls in the penultimate week of last month, especially in the west - and a little more since, plus the last 10 days were well below freezing allowing snow-making. So it's a mixed picture but with room for optimism as most Italian ski areas open over the first three weekends of December joining the dozen or so already open, which include big names like Cervinia and Madonna di Campiglio as well as parts of the giant Dolomiti Superski region. Switzerland More than a dozen Swiss ski areas had opened by the final weekend of November and as everywhere else in the northern hemisphere, the rest of the country's centres are expected to open in the weekends running up to Christmas week. It has not been a spectacularly snowy October or November but the final weeks of last month did see some good snowfalls and the temperature drop to -20C up high so there is snow and snowmakers have been operating. Almost all the big names – Andermatt, Davos, Engelberg, Gstaad, Saas-Fee, St Moritz, Verbier and Zermatt already opened for the season in November. Scandinavia It's a mixed picture in Scandinavia as more northerly resorts up in Lapland come close to the period of 24-hour darkness. There have been some periods of very cold weather in October and November for snowmaking and some natural snowfall too, but whilst we start the month with a dozen or so areas open, they're mostly the smaller centres up north with the big names pushing back their opening dates, so far to the first weekend of December. It's looking more promising further north though with all of the main centres in Finland now open. Scotland There was excitement in Scotland in the final week of November with a good snowfall accumulation thanks to Storm Bert. Unfortunately, it was short-lived with Bert bringing warm temperatures, rain and gales at the end so a lot of what had fallen went again. Four of the Scottish centres do have all-weather snowmaking machines and Glencoe, The Lecht, Cairngorm and Glenshee usually manage to open at least some terrain in December. Nevis Range has said that unless there's spectacular snowfall it probably won't open until the February school holidays due to financial strains. Pyrenees Alas, it's not looking great for the season start in the Pyrenees. As we start the month nowhere is open and that's particularly bad news for Spanish resorts which usually capitalise on a series of bank holidays in December. There were some October and November snowfalls but recent weeks have seen very warm weather melt cover and prevent snowmaking. The current hope is to open on 6/7 December but the first week's forecast for the month isn't hugely promising, a little colder and a few centimetres of snow up high, perhaps. Eastern Europe There have been some good snowfalls and sub-zero temperatures for snowmaking reported in most eastern European ski nations. One of the region's largest ski areas, Slovakia's Jasna, was one of the first to open on the final day of November. Most of the rest of the centres in the Czech Republic, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia will aim for the 7th, 14th or 21st of this month to get their seasons started. At this point, everything looks promising! North America Canada Western Canada has got off to a great start to the season with La Nina bringing colder and snowier weather than average, so far delivering the goods. Revelstoke was one of several British Columbia resorts to post more than 3 metres (10 feet) of pre-season snowfall, more than anywhere else in the world. Various BC ski areas opened early for their 24-25 seasons last month including Big White and Silver Star (by a week) and the biggest, Whistler Blackcomb, by a day. There is less brilliant news from the East Coast where ski areas start December still struggling against warm temperatures. The largest, Tremblant, has now managed top open a week later than planned with very limited terrain and thin machine-made snow cover initially. Others hope to join it over the coming weeks and the forecast is a little more promising. USA Most of the big-name US resorts have already opened in November in order to capitalise on the Thanksgiving Holiday business at the end of last month. The start of the season is looking much better this year than this time last year, as it's a La Nina, rather than El Nino, winter, which has already started bringing more snowfall, heaviest in the Pacific Northwest region, which has seen more snowfall than anywhere else in the world so far this autumn/fall. The East Coast, as last year, hasn't had such a good November though, but the final week did see temperatures dip and snowfall, so resorts have begun opening, the remainder aiming to go as soon as they can this month. Asia After a few small Japanese areas opened in early November, mostly using all-weather snowmaking to create small ski areas, the big names like Niseko and Nozawa Onsen began opening on the final weekend of last month and the rest are due to start their seasons over the next few weekends. As with North America, Japan is hoping to be a beneficiary of the La Nina system in the Pacific this season. So far, it's too early to call but there have been a few decent dumps to whet the appetite late last month. Hakuba opened on November 30th with the deepest reported snow in the country so far 1.25m. Niseko is due to open on December 1st. |
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Loveland, Colorado, USA, looking fabulous this week... Snow in Japan, and in North America, as many more ski areas open across the northern hemisphere. Milder temperatures in the Alps this weekend, to be followed by cold next week. The Snow Headlines - November 28th - French ski season underway as Tignes and Val Thorens open. - Ski season expected to start in Eastern Europe and the Pyrenees this weekend. - Most US ski areas open in time for Thanksgiving weekend. - Scottish ski centres get a foot of snow on Saturday, but much thaws on Sunday. - Four of Finland's leading ski areas are now open. - Good snowfalls in Japan ahead of the main season start this weekend. 
See where it's going to snow.
World Overview As we approach the start of December, there are now over 200 ski areas open in the northern hemisphere. The majority of these are in North America, where US resorts have endeavoured to open in time for the coming Thanksgiving Holiday weekend, but we're well past 50 in Europe now too, with the French season getting underway last weekend. The weather has been fairly quiet this week in the Alps after the big snowfalls last, there have been some lighter showers and cold temperatures for snowmaking, but plenty of sunshine too. The snow has kept falling in North America, very heavily again in the west and things are improving now on the East Coast where ski areas had previously been struggling to open much terrain as it was too warm and dry. Japan's season kicks off this coming weekend and there's been plenty of snowfall there. Europe Austria There were some very low temperatures last weekend in Austria, getting down to -20C after the snowfalls. It's warmed up since, but overnight lows have still been at -10C allowing pre-season snowmaking to continue at the majority of Austrian areas not yet open, and there have been light snowfalls too. A dozen ski resorts are now open, with Schladming and Obertauern among the latest. This weekend sees Ischgl, which often posts the most terrain open in the Alps as it opens, starting its 24-25 season. France The French ski season got underway last Saturday with Tignes and Val Thorens the first two resorts to open. Both report snow depths at the metre mark on their highest slopes after heavy snowfall earlier this week ended a long spell of dry, sunny weather. Val Thorens has the most terrain open posting 23km of slopes available for its 'Grande Premiere' opening weekend. Tignes reported that 10km of slopes were initially open. It's been a mixed week since with some snow showers and very cold temperatures, with warmer, sunny spells in the mix too. This coming weekend, resorts including Alpe d'Huez, Argentiere, Avoriaz (for an early-opening preview weekend), Montgenevre and Les 2 Alpes are among those expected to open. Italy There are half-a-dozen Italian areas open for the season now with 3 Zinnen Dolomites and Cortina d'Ampezzo amongst the latest to open. Most only have a few kilometres of slopes open with a thin base reported at this early point in the season. This weekend should see much of Dolomiti Superski begin opening, and several other Italian areas. There was some light snowfall midweek but otherwise, most of the country has been largely sunny and it's looking like more of the same into the weekend. Cold though with lows below -10C so good news for snowmakers. Switzerland Zermatt has doubled its available terrain to 65km of slopes open so far, as it aims to stay ahead of Samnaun which opens with its Austrian neighbour Ischgl this weekend. That's one of about 20 Swiss areas expected to be open this weekend with Crans Montana and Laax among those starting their 24-25 seasons, whilst resorts like Verbier switch from weekend to daily operation. A mostly sunny weekend ahead with the snowline moving between 500 and 2,000m, snowfall returning around Tuesday next week. Scandinavia We're still waiting for Scandinavia's bigger ski centres to open, at least those in Norway and Sweden. In Finland, Pyha and Yllas opened last weekend, joining already-open Levi and Rukas so that's the big four there open for 24-25, just as polar night begins to descend and the sun comes close to its annual dip below the horizon until January. It's still just small ski areas - with a kilometre or so of slopes - open in Norway and Sweden though, but big players including Norway's Geil, Hemsedal and Trysil as well as Sweden's Are, are expected to start their 24-25 seasons this weekend after several false dawns. All have been posting images of snowy slopes and temperatures have been dipping to allow snowmaking with a good dump of natural snowfall for many this week too. Pyrenees There's nowhere open yet in the Pyrenees but that should change this weekend with some of the region's big players including Spain's Baqueira Beret and Andorra's Grandvalira expected to open. Quite how much will be open from day one remains to be seen as daytime highs have been rather warm with plenty of sunshine and the Pyrenees have not had as much snowfall as the Alps, although some areas did get a decent dump earlier this week. Scotland Scottish ski areas saw some good snowfalls at the weekend as storm Bert blew through, depositing up to a foot of snow on their slopes. Glencoe had also already started its all-weather snowmaking machine to add to the mix. Alas, much of the Saturday snow melted in warmer, wetter weather on Sunday. Temperatures dropped again to as low as -10C on Wednesday/Thursday but are expected to rise back to +10C through the weekend, so nowhere seems likely to open just yet. Eastern Europe There have been more promising pre-season snowfalls and cold weather for snowmaking in Eastern Europe. Nowhere is open as yet but one of the region's largest centres, Slovakia's Jasná has released images of slopes covered in deep, fresh snow and says it plans to open this Saturday, November 30 and it seems likely other centres in the wider region will follow suit. It's looking like a snowy end to the week, a sunny weekend, then a snowy start to December. North America Canada There's an East-West divide in Canada with east coast ski areas still battling mild temperatures preventing snowmaking as well as little or no natural snowfall, whilst in the West most areas are now open and are being repeatedly dumped on. Sun Peaks has the most open terrain, with about 75% of its runs. Whistler only has about a third of its trails open so far but is already posting a 1.2m (four feet) base up top. The week ahead looks to be remaining cold, typically in the -5C to -15C range on the slopes, with further light-moderate snowfalls. USA Thanksgiving is underway in the US and thankfully it's been a good week for snowfall in most of the country's ski regions. About 100 centres, including most of the larger destination resorts, have opened in time for the holidays. The Northeast has been having the most challenging conditions and there's still not a lot open at the centres where lifts are turning, but there was 10" of snowfall last weekend which was a big boost on top of the snowmaking efforts and it has been snowing again over the past 24 hours. That's arriving a bit late for quite a few areas with Vermont's Stratton among the latest to delay its opening to at least next week. More snow is forecast. There were similar falls in the west too which were further boosted by 1-2 feet of snow midweek. The Pacific Northwest continues to post the best snow in the continent and the most snowfall anywhere in the world in November. Among last weekend's openers was Park City in Utah, which has America's largest ski area. |
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Those of us who've been around the mountains for a year or two will likely know of the "Where to Ski" and "Where to Ski and Snowboard" guides, created by Chris Gill and Dave Watts. The books were the go-to references for anyone planning a ski trip, in pre-Internet days. They remained relevant well into the digital age with their comprehensive coverage of places to ski.
To read the full announcement from Chris click here 
If you don't have the latest (and last) copies of Where to Ski in Austria, France and Italy (three separate books), then now is the time, as Chris is selling off the remaining stock at the bargain price of £1.99 (postage adds another £6, so you might as well get all three... ). The online shop is at https://www.editors.co.uk/shop |
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Snow Reports by e-mail - New Ski Resorts
Started by Admin in Snow Forecasts and Snow Reports, 78 Replies, discussing Morillon and Sölden |
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The forecast for Kronplatz is listed as "Bruneck-Kronplatz" HTH. |
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Kicking Horse, BC, Canada, looking good with fresh! Heavy snow in much of the Alps, and in North America, as more early-opening ski areas get their seasons underway. The Snow Headlines - November 21st - Huge snowfalls in the Western Alps with some areas expecting over a metre in total. - BC ski areas report up to 2.5m (8 feet) of pre-season snow, several open early. - French ski season starts Saturday with Tignes and Val Thorens due to open. - Cold and snowy weather in the UK, including in Scottish ski areas. 
Snow is forecast!.
World Overview The big news this week is heavy snowfall in the Alps which is still dumping as we complete this week's report. So far, several feet of snowfall has been reported on high slopes and it is expected that several ski areas will have more than a metre accumulated by the time skies clear at the weekend. Although the focus is on the Alps there's been snowfall for most European mountains, including the Scottish peaks and Scandinavia, where several of the bigger resorts are due to open this weekend. It's been dumping in many parts of North America, too, and some resorts in the Pacific Northwest say that they've now had over 2.5m (100") of snowfall ahead of the season's start! More big-name resorts, including the continent's biggest, Whistler Blackcomb, have opened, and several are starting their seasons early because of the good conditions on the western side of the continent. Europe Austria Austria is the first European country to reach 10 ski areas open with Obertauern the third non-glacier ski area opening, joining Obergurgl - which opened last week and now has one of the largest areas of terrain open in the world so far, with almost 50km of slopes. There is also Kitzbuhel which did so with snow farming the week before. The country's seven glacier ski areas have seen the best of the fresh snowfall in recent days though. The weather quickly turned fairly sunny again for much of the country though temperatures are low allowing snowmaking to continue in most areas. France France has seen the best of the recent snowfalls in the west and that's expected to continue until sunshine returns at the weekend. Half-metre accumulations at 2,000m have been widely reported so far after 20-30cm accumulations on Wednesday. So the timing looks perfect for Tignes and Val Thorens kicking the French season off on Saturday. Both have confirmed they plan to open although it's unclear if a cable car accident on Cime Caron at Val Thorens on Tuesday will impact operations at all. More snowfall is forecast for next week. Italy Italy has had some fresh snowfall too, with more forecast through to the weekend. Four centres are currently open with two more – San Martino and Madonna di Campiglio, currently expected to join them this weekend. Cervinia's areas shared with Zermatt having just about the most terrain accessible in Europe at present, more than 40km of slopes with the Plan Maison, Fornet and Bontadini slopes opening on Wednesday to increase the area open on the Italian side of the border. It reported 50cm of snowfall on its high slopes in the 24 hours to Wednesday. Drier weather is ahead for most Italian areas but staying cold up high. Switzerland Switzerland should hit double-figures for centres open this weekend too with Andermatt and Davos-Klosters expected to be amongst the next to open this coming weekend, joining Verbier (which opened, for the weekend, last weekend and will also reopen this). Swiss ski slopes have seen plenty of snowfall too over the past few days, heaviest in the west and expected to continue through to the weekend. Already open are Adelboden, Engelberg Gstaad (Glacier 3000), St Moritz (Diavolezza), Saas-Fee and Zermatt – some of these only open at weekends in November. Scandinavia All eyes were on Scandinavia at the weekend as the Alpine Skiing World Cup tour came to Finland's leading resort Levi. The weather at the weekend was typical of recent weeks – hill fog, sleet and snow. So far not many areas have opened but currently, some big names including Sweden's Are and Norway's Trysil are expected to open this weekend. There's light snowfall in the forecast, temperatures down to as low as -20C overnight, and staying sub-zero in the daytime. Pyrenees The 24-25 season is yet to start in the Pyrenees but things are coming together with a good snowfall earlier this week giving 15-30cm for many areas. Low overnight temperatures have also allowed snowmaking systems to fire up. Baqueira Beret has previously said it would start its season this weekend but most resorts in the region are waiting to the 30th or later. The coming week is looking sunny with temperatures ranging from -10 to +10C. Scotland After the warm and sunny first half of November, temperatures have plummeted and there's been light snowfall across Scottish mountains and down to low elevations with temperatures down to -8C. It's unclear how fast centres will be able to open any terrain but Glencoe has started its all-weather-snowmaking and temperatures are forecast to stay low. Eastern Europe There's nowhere open in Eastern Europe this year, or expected to open for at least another week, but the snowfall in the Alps has been continuing east and south with resorts like Bansko in Bulgaria and Jasna in Slovakia posting images of natural snowfall and snow cannons firing up to build bases. North America Canada It's been a cold and snowy week in Western Canada, where BC's season is getting underway with Sun Peaks opening and now being joined by Big White and Whistler Blackcomb, both opening earlier than expected. Their decision comes as cold and snowy weather continues. Yet to open Revelstoke says it has had 2.5m (100") of pre-season snowfall already. Centres already open in Alberta now include all three Banff resorts. Canada's East Coast has also seen the season get started with Summit-St-Sauveur opening limited terrain as temperatures dropped to allow snowmaking. But the largest centre Tremblant has put its opening back from this weekend to next week as they catch up after a mostly warmer-than-average autumn. Conditions continue to look quite marginal for the coming week in the east unfortunately but much colder and snowier still in the west. USA A mixed picture on both sides of the US right now with ski centres in the West continuing to see heavy snowfall, particularly in the north, whilst it's a battle to open much terrain, if anything can open at all, in the East. In the west, centres like Aspen and Heavenly have opened earlier than planned whilst in the East, resorts including Vermont's Sugarbush have announced delays to their expected opening dates. All in all, however, more than 50 US ski areas will be open this weekend, more than 90% of them in the west, although some East Coast areas including Killington and Sunday River have managed to open high altitude terrain, most of it suited to advanced skiers only. Things look set to change for the better on both sides of the country though with a 'weather bomb' set to hopefully bring plenty of snow at last to the East (albeit with rain at lower levels and violent winds), whilst an 'atmospheric river' is due to deliver a similar scenario on the west. |
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