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J2Ski Snow Report 25th November 2021
Near Les Angles, French Pyrenees, today... Snow in the Alps, and lots more to come. We heard you missed us? We're back! And so's the snow! We're delighted to bring you the first J2Ski Weekly Snow Report of the season and it's a good one... The Snow Headlines - 25th November - Austrian tourism in lockdown but some ski centres still open to locals. - US ski areas struggle to open much/at all for Thanksgiving due to warm weather. - First centres open in the Pyrenees. - Canadian ski areas post the biggest snowfall totals of the past week. - Scandinavian ski areas begin opening en masse following world cup racing in the region. - Scotland finally gets some pre-season snowfall. - First World Cup racing in North America for two years this weekend. 
A lot of snow in the forecast for Europe and America!
World Overview Europe The ski season has started across Europe and considering that didn't happen this time last year in about half the major ski nations that feels like an achievement. There is a hiccup in Austria, with a 20-day partial lockdown underway, but France, Italy and Germany have all opened resorts and the season is gathering pace. There are more than 50 areas open already across Europe with that number set to double or even triple this weekend. As to the snow, well, that's not been too exciting of late, but that's about to change... Most of the early-opening resorts have enough up high and some like Zermatt / Cervinia have managed to open about 60km of runs - but for most it's much less. The good news though is that a multi-day snowstorm is now hitting the Alps and is expected to run through into next week, so hopefully, that will be 'transformative' ahead of the main season. Elsewhere on the continent there's already been a good snowfall in the Pyrenees earlier this week and ski areas are set to open there this weekend. North America It has not been a November to remember for most of North America, with too much warm and dry weather across the continent, but as in Europe, more wintry weather is arriving. Denver posted it has passed the latest ever date it has had snowfall earlier this week in almost a century of keeping track. It all started so well with a near record-breaking October snowfall in California a month ago but most of that has thawed away and many resorts have delayed opening. The Thanksgiving Holiday weekend is upon us now though and some have opened but with very limited terrain. On the upside, though things have turned more wintery across much of the continent this past week allowing resorts to open in the Midwest and on the East Coast that hadn't been able to until now. It's still not great in California though. Europe Austria Austria has everyone worried in the Alps now after a huge surge in infections led the country to announce a 20-day lockdown, which started on Monday and is due to end on December 12th. Actually, there's a chance it will end sooner as the Austrian government has stressed 20 days is the maximum and it will end sooner if possible, with a review due next week. There was confusion at first, as it was thought the dozen or so ski areas that had already opened would have to close (per the Austrian lockdown last autumn), but it later became clear they could stay open but just for locals with hotels and restaurants staying closed. So several glaciers including the Kitzsteinhorn, Stubai and Molltal have stayed open/re-opened. Solden however, which last weekend had the most terrain open of any ski area in the world, with 70km of runs has closed for now. France So far the French ski season has got off to a fairly smooth start with Tignes opening last month and three areas, Val Thorens, Montgenevre and Porte Puymorens kicking off the main season at the weekend. Several more including Chamonix and Les 2 Alpes are expected to join them this weekend as momentum builds. Against that there's of course nervousness about the pandemic situation in France which seems likely to mean that it will be required to show a COVID passport at the lifts in the next few weeks. That rule will be brought in if cases in the country rise above 200 per 100,000 (which looks likely). On the bright side, heavy snowfall is in the forecast after a fairly dry and sunny few weeks with many French ski areas expected to see up to 50cm of fresh snowfall by the start of next week. Italy There's cautious optimism in Italy at present with ski areas opening here, as in France. In fact, Italian ski areas have been opening sooner and in greater numbers than in France with seven centres already open this week, and at least 20 more set to join them at the weekend. Cortina was one of the first to open early, earlier this month, with Madonna di Campiglio joining it last weekend, selling out of tickets. Most Italian areas require online ticket purchase, surgical-grade mask-wearing and being in possession of a vaccine certificate, recent recovery from infection or a negative test result. The snowfall here, like elsewhere in mainland Europe, has been limited in November although Cervinia has 60km of open slopes shared with Zermatt, the largest area in the world open so far. The forecast looks promising here too with 2-3 days of snowfall expected over the weekend and cold weather, indeed temperatures dipping as low as -25C at 3000m altitude. Switzerland Switzerland is of course the country where ski slopes stayed open all last winter, although there were various limitations at times, and so far the season is gathering pace there with more than a dozen ski areas, most with glacier skiing, open. These include lots of big-name areas like Andermatt, Arosa, Crans Montana, Davos, Laax, Engelberg, St Moritz, Saas-Fee, Verbier and Zermatt – all already open for the season. Their numbers are set to grow further this weekend and snow cover should be boosted too with a major snowstorm expected to bring up to half a metre of new snow through the weekend. That will be welcome as bases are mostly fairly thin and terrain limited so far. Scandinavia Scandinavia has had a mixed autumn with cold and snowy weather up in Lapland, and increasingly further south too, but not a whole lot of snow so far. Despite this about a dozen resorts are already open and most big name resorts are expected to follow this weekend. Levi in Finland has been hosting World Cup slalom racing. There's not much snow in the forecast but there is some and temperatures will be sub-zero night and day which is, of course, good news for snowmakers. Pyrenees After 20-40cm of snowfall was reported across the Pyrenees in the middle of this week it's looking like a great start to the season coming up this weekend when most of the region's leading ski resorts in Andorra, France and Spain are expected to open. The first in the region, Porte Puymorens, did open last weekend, a limited area and for two days only, but it was the first opening since March 2020. That's the case for many of those about to open too as Andorra and Spain had lockdowns or other restrictions last season which made it not worth opening for many centres even if they were permitted to. Scotland Scottish ski slopes have had a warm autumn to date with little hill snow but the weekend should see a change for the better with snow forecast through next week. All five centres also have all-weather snowmaking systems and Glencoe at least has begun creating snow piles with their, it says initially for use on its sledging run. Eastern Europe It's not quite the start of the season in Eastern Europe although resorts will start opening in the next weeks. Most of the better-known centres won't do so until mid-December however. Temperatures are dropping and there has been the odd snow covering at higher elevations. Jasna in Slovakia was among areas starting snowmaking on Wednesday. Resorts have also been firing up their snow guns, but for most, there's still some way to go before opening. North America Canada Canadian ski areas have seen the heaviest November snowfalls in North America, as you might expect given the more northerly latitudes, although it's not been a month to remember for most areas. Resorts like Marmot Basin and Sunshine in Alberta both reported 25-50cm accumulations over the past week, most of it last weekend. Other areas have had some snow but not really enough to open much yet. The first resorts in BC have opened though, Sun Peaks and Cypress Mountain among them with the big one, Whistler Blackcomb, set to join the party. Over on the East, it has been drier and warmer than usual and a real struggle for any areas to open yet. Just a couple have a short run or two skiable mostly thanks to snow-making. Several more Canadian areas do plan to open this weekend though, from East to West Coasts, with winter nearly upon us. It is looking cold across the country's ski slopes over the next week, not getting above freezing, but there's not a lot of snow in the forecast, just the odd shower here and there over the next seven days. USA US ski areas have definitely been struggling to open for the season so far this autumn, with several having to postpone planned starts before the Thanksgiving long weekend, now underway, to early December. Last weekend most of the 10 ski areas that had opened across the country were in Colorado (and even here some like Beaver Creek have delayed), with just Killington in Vermont and Mammoth in California the only other two open. Things are changing by the hour but it looks like around 40-60 ski areas will be open this weekend, with the first in states like Utah (Brighton, America's largest Park City and Solitude among the first, all having previously delayed planned openings last week) and New Mexico opening. The good news is that there does seem to be something of a change in the forecast, if not yet a wholly convincing one, with cold weather allowing snowmaking systems to fire up in the Midwest and East and some natural snowfall in the West, at least in The Rockies and mountains like The Cascades, not so much in California where delayed openings are ongoing. Unfortunately, the final week of November looks to be largely dry, perhaps with some snow showers in the East, but it should at least be below freezing overnight in many ski areas. Keep your fingers crossed... and we're back with you next week... |
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Ah yes, the old "my car's been ploughed into a ravine" situation... best avoided! :lol: |
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J2Ski Snow Report 1st November 2021
So this happened; Les Contamines, France, today... Snow arrives in the Alps, and lots more to come. The mountains are waiting for us... be patient, stay safe and follow your local advice and rules on travel. The Snow Headlines - 1st November - Light snows fall across the Alps, with more forecast. - Californian ski areas receive a metre of snowfall and several open early for season. - Finnish, French, Swedish and US ski seasons are underway. - Southern hemisphere's 2021 season ends. - More than 20 areas are now open in the Alps. - First of the Beijing 2022 Olympic venues open for the season. - Canada's season starting November 5th. The big snow news of the past month came in the last week of October with a huge snowfall in California where several resorts reported over 40 inches (a metre) of snow in less than 48 hours; leading several areas to open early for the season. There's been less snowfall to report in the Alps, but there were light falls across a wide area today and a lot more is forecast later this week. More than 20 ski areas are now open in Europe, and numbers will grow rapidly this month. Ski areas are open in Scandinavian in Norway, Sweden and Finland too; most thanks to snowfarming, but there have also been some decent snowfalls on top. In Asia snow has been falling in Japan but there are no major resort openings planned until the end of November. Borders here also remain closed although there's some hope things will open up by the start of the season due to declining infection rates. With the Beijing Olympics less than 100 days away now excitement is mounting in China and one of the snowsports venues, Wanlong, has already opened for the season there with machine-made snow. The final areas still open in the southern hemisphere, four New Zealand centres, ended their 2021 seasons in the penultimate week of October, so it's all done until 2022 there. 
A lot of snow in the forecast for Europe and America!
The Alps Austria Austria has led the northern hemisphere's 2021-22 season opening with the most centres open over the past few months and eight glaciers open by mid-October (the Dachstein only for race teams training), at which point Italy and Switzerland had three open a piece and France none. Kitzbuhel was the ninth area to open, using snow saved from last winter at the Resterhöhe area, for the final weekend of October – a few weeks later than recent years. It's the first non-glacier area in the Alps to open and Kitzbuhel hopes it'll be back to a 200 day season through to next May for the first time in three seasons after two virus curtailed winters. What's open so far then? There has not been a lot of snow so far this autumn and snow cover on glaciers is thin. Hintertux and Solden both have the most terrain open with over 32km (20 miles) of runs each – actually the most open anywhere in the world as we start November. You can also ski already at the Kitzsteinhorn above Kaprun, The Stubai near Innsbruck as well as the Pitztal, Kaunertal and Molltal glaciers. Obertauern and Obergurgl will be next to open in Austria in mid-November and a change in the weather with fresh snowfall is expected to start the month. France Tignes opened in mid-October, although like all European glaciers, it hasn't had much October snow - although snow fell today and more is due over the first week of November. A second French glacier area at Les 2 Alpes is currently open for the first week of the month only, before closing again. Val Thorens is due to be the next French resort to open in less than three weeks on the 20th. Italy Italian glaciers are suffering the same issues as those in the rest of the Alps as we enter November – not much snowfall in October. But like the rest of the Alps snow is forecast for the first few days of November. So far Cervinia is open, providing access to the slopes of the Klein Matterhorn above Zermatt - as is Val Senales and Sulden. Passo Stelvio, which had been open since last spring, closed for the season on the last day of October. Most other Italian resorts are expected to start opening from the end of November. Switzerland The last weekend of October had been targeted by several areas including Laax for their season-opening but warm, dry weather last month led them to delay and Switzerland starts November with five areas open rather than the eight expected. Andermatt did hold its nerve and opened it Gemsstock freeride mountain on the 30th although it was more hard-packed machine-made snow than the light powder for which the area is famed in mid-winter. It joins already open, but with similar limited terrain, at Engelberg, Diavolezza (Engadin/St Moritz), Saas-Fee and Zermatt. Other areas like Crans Montana aim to open their glaciers as soon as possible and the snow forecast for the next few days should be a big help. Scandinavia The only other ski areas open in Europe to start November outside the big four Alpine nations are up in Scandinavia. Here Norway's Galdhopiggen glacier, which opened back in spring, was closed in August/September by warm weather but has now re-opened, and says it plans to stay open until mid-November, a fortnight later than usual. In Finland Levi and Ruka opened thanks to snow-farming in early October and have since seen their slopes covered in natural snowfall. Sweden's Idre Fjäll and Kåbdalis have also opened a kilometre or so of runs each using snow-farming in recent days. Most Scandinavian ski areas will open later this month, some of the big names, including the biggest Are, targeting the 20th. Rest-of-Europe Most parts of Europe have reported snow cover on their mountains at some point this autumn but for many, it has been of the type that covers with a few inches for a while but then thaws away again. That said it is starting to build in some areas and most will aim to open in the Pyrenees, Dolomites and eastern European mountains in late November or the first half of December. North America Canada Western Canada has seen some decent pre-season snowfalls over the past few weeks and it looks promising for most ski areas there opening in the latter half of the month. The ski season is due to start first in Alberta with Lake Louise targeting this Friday, November 5th and Calgary's closest area, Nakiska, the following day, Saturday 6th. Sunshine, which has been posting increasingly snowy looking cam pictures, then follows on Thursday 11th. The World Cup tour is due to return to Canada after missing North America last season due to the pandemic with the first Downhill of the Olympic season scheduled for the end of the month in Lake Louise. USA The big news for the final week of October in the USA was one of the biggest October snowstorms for California ever recorded. Ski areas around Tahoe area reported up to 42" (105cm) of snowfall accumulating at the top of their ski runs. That included areas that only weeks before had been battling huge forest fires after a hot, dry six months since the end of last season. Palisades Tahoe (the ski area formerly known as Squaw Valley), along with a smaller resort, Boreal, and Mammoth Mountain to the south took the decision to open two weeks early, on the last Friday of the month in time for Halloween weekend so that skiers and boarders could enjoy the snow. It joined the four high-altitude Colorado areas that were already open, Arapahoe Basin, Keystone, Loveland and (weekends-only) Wolf Creek. There has been snowfall across the US in the last week of October with a decent dump (after a warm few days) covering the Rockies and the first significant snow in the East. Here, although there's yet to be any confirmed dates, it looks like the first areas in New England will open, thanks to their huge snowmaking arsenals, fairly imminently. Most other US resorts will open in the latter half of November as they try to offer as much open terrain as possible for Thanksgiving weekend at the end of the month, a crucial holiday period to get some early revenue in. We'll be re-starting our Weekly Reports in the next couple of weeks, so look out for the snow! It's coming... |
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It's been a while but I don't think much has changed; there is plenty of on-street parking BUT it does depend when you're going. Off-peak weeks should be fine but Feb half-term it'll be rammed; and possibly more so than usual, as it looks likely that more people will drive this season.
Worth noting that you will (obviously!) be parking at altitude so if you get lucky with the snow then you'll need to allow time for digging out on departure day, or even finding your car if parked above ground... :lol: If it's not ridiculously expensive, underground can make life a lot easier. |
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Good news for all who have to travel from the UK into Europe to ski this winter; the NHS COVID pass will be valid wherever the EU Digital Certificate is required. Copied from https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/mex_21_5645 EU Digital COVID Certificate: Commission adopts equivalence decisions for Armenia and the United Kingdom Today, the European Commission adopted two new decisions certifying that COVID-19 certificates issued by Armenia and the United Kingdom are equivalent to the EU Digital COVID Certificate. As a result, the two countries will be connected to the EU's system and the COVID certificates they issue will be accepted in the EU under the same conditions as the EU Digital COVID Certificate. At the same time, the two countries agreed to accept the EU Digital COVID Certificate for travel from the EU to their countries.
The two decisions adopted today will enter into force as of 29th October 2021. More information on the EU Digital COVID Certificate can be found on the dedicated website |
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J2Ski Snow Report 1st October 2021
Hintertux, Austria, 25km of slopes open under blue skies... A hint of snow in the European forecasts... The mountains are waiting for us... be patient, stay safe and follow your local advice and rules on travel. The Snow Headlines - 1st October - Number of ski areas open in Europe doubled compared to a month ago. - Half a dozen Swiss ski areas are set to open in October. - Ski areas in Australia and New Zealand extend season into October. - Around half currently open ski areas are in Austria's Tirol region. - 2021 season all but over in South America. - North America's 21-22 season expected to get underway this month. - Australia's largest area closes early due to lockdown. October is an exciting month for the northern hemisphere's ski areas as more and more ski areas begin to open and skiers watch for reports of early snowfall that might get bases starting to build ahead of the main season now just a couple of months away. The 2021 season is in full wind-down mode in the southern hemisphere, with ski centres in South Africa already closed and most of those in the Andes now having ended their seasons too. In Australia and New Zealand, ski areas came out of lockdowns last month and have been making the most of the final weeks of winter with several announcing plans to extend their seasons further into October. That's except for ski areas in Australia's New South Wales which began a new sudden 7-day lockdown on 30th September, leading the largest area there, Perisher, to announce "Season over." 
A little snow in the forecast for Europe, and a lot for Iceland!
The Alps Whilst it's a nervous time in the Alps as countries and resorts announce their operating plans for the coming season (with pandemic fears and what happened last year weighing on people's minds), there's also little to report in terms of early snowfall so far. There have been a few 5-15cm accumulations but warm temperatures have melted away any gains so far. As a result, although the number of glacier areas open has doubled from 4 to 8 compared to this point a month ago, some famous names you'd expect to be open by now have delayed. Most notable is perhaps the Stubai which announced early in September that it opened in September 80% of the time... but has been a bit muted since – it seems this year is one of that 20% it hasn't made a September opening. It's very different to 2020 when accumulations of up to a metre in late September had some areas announcing they were opening more than a month early. But things can change quickly at this time of year so fingers crossed they do soon. So where's open already? Well even without Stubai, Austria's Tirol region leads the way with half of the open areas so far – the Hintertux, Kaunertal Pitztal and Solden glaciers are all up and running for 21-22 with Solden of course due to stage the opening events of the 21-22 World Cup season later this month (23rd-24th). In Italy Passo Stelvio, which has been open since the spring, has been joined by Val Senales. The other two centres open are the Swiss resorts of Saas-Fee and Zermatt with nowhere open in France yet. What's open is fairly limited, Hintertux claiming the most with 25km of runs, but most just a couple of kilometres each. There have been warnings of very hard-packed ice by some centres. Opening dates are getting set back by some early-opening ski areas but the number of open areas should at least double again by the end of the month, all being well. Two more Austrian resorts, Kitzsteinhorn and Stubai, will hopefully open on the 10th and the temporary closed Molltal glacier may also re-open any day. Then Kitzbuhel aims to use snowfarming to open a few runs at the end of the month. The 21-22 French ski season should start in Les 2 Alpes on 10th October, initially for pro skiers and snowboarders booked for training only but then from the 23rd to 7th November for everyone, conditions permitting. Tignes aims to open permanently for the season from the 16th. The 16th should also see Cervinia re-open with access to the slopes shared with Zermatt. Then a number of Swiss areas should open in the final week or so of the month. Some are not confirming dates and will wait to see how the snow goes but the Diavolezza Glacier near St Moritz has said the 23rd and Crans Montana, as well as the Gemmstock, freeride area at Andermatt the 30th. Other Swiss resorts that may open if conditions are good include Engelberg, Glacier 3000 near Gstaad, Laax and Davos. Northern Europe Ski areas in Scandinavia have been posting images of fresh snowfall on higher slopes in the final weeks of September. That's good news for the region's highest area, the Galdhopiggen summer ski area in Norway which has been closed on and off since July due to warm temperatures melting the snow. It has been trying to re-open in September but had more weather issues including gale force winds. It does hope to open this Saturday, October 2nd. The season is due to start in Finland, at both Levi and Ruka, on Friday 8th October, thanks to snow farming – reusing snow stored over summer from last winter and spread back out on the slopes. North America The North American ski season will hopefully kick off in October as it usually does. There's nowhere open there as we start the month but high-altitude ski areas like Arapahoe Basin, Loveland and Keystone in Colorado are starting snow-making with Keystone saying it definitely has the intention to open as early in October as possible. Things were looking good in the final days of September with mountain tops across the Western US turning white and some resorts in Colorado seeing a measurable few inches of fresh snow. There's also been some snowfall to increasingly low levels at times across Western North America, particularly up in Alberta and BC in Canada, although so far it has mostly been of the kind that melts away again in the heat of the day. Other candidates for October openings include Wolf Creek, also in Colorado, which has been first in the race to open several times. The only ski area known to have actually set an October target opening date is Canada's Lake Louise, aiming for the last weekend of the month. Asia There are not usually any ski areas open in Asia in October other than indoor resorts, however, some small centres in China and Japan do use all-weather snowmaking to open a run or two this month in a normal season. In China, with the Olympics coming up they're likely to be keen to be first to open there, in Japan with the pandemic still a major issue in day to day lives, perhaps less so. Southern Hemisphere Australia The surprise season extension in Australia so far has come from one of the world's most southerly ski areas, Ben Lomond in Tasmania. It's also one of the few that haven't been in lockdown this winter. It has announced plans to hopefully stay open through the country's October school holidays to October 10th. New South Wales went into lockdown on September 30th effectively ending the season there. Most of the rest of the Australian mainland's ski areas in Victoria will close on Sunday, October 4th. New Zealand New Zealand has had a weather roller-coaster through September since the country came out of lockdown in the middle of last month and ski areas were allowed to re-open. They've had good snowfalls, wet snowfalls, rain, fast thaws, freezing and gale force winds to contend with, as well as the odd lightning storm. So quite a few weather closures and now most of the smaller centres as well as some bigger players like Treble Cone are closed (or closing after the first weekend of the month). But the country does usually have centres staying open longer into spring than anywhere else in the southern hemisphere and Mt Hutt, which has had the world's deepest snow base for much of the past four months at over 2.5 metres up top, has announced a season extension to October 21st. Turoa and Whakapapa on the North Island also usually stay open to late October and sometimes in to "Snowvember." They announced on 23rd September that was their intention, snow cover permitting. South America Most ski areas in the Andes of South America are now closed for the season. Las Lenas in Argentina missed its second full season completely, although this year it was more due to a lack of snow for most of the season than pandemic restrictions. Portillo had said it wouldn't open for a second winter due to ongoing pandemic restrictions on international travel there but then surprised everyone by opening to locals only for the first three weeks of September after a big snowstorm. Watch our news feeds for more information as - hopefully - snow starts to arrive in the next week or two... |
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J2Ski Snow Report 1st September 2021
The snow returned to Portillo, Chile this week Heavy snow in The Andes, warm glaciers in Europe... The mountains are waiting for us... be patient, stay safe and follow your local advice and rules on travel. The Snow Headlines - 1st September - Fresh snowfall in late summer reported up high in the Alps and the Rockies. - With African and US ski areas closing in August, resorts only open on 3 continents. - Long-awaited snowfall hits the Andes, South American conditions now best of the season. - Summer ski areas close earlier than expected in Austria, France, Norway and US due to heat. - Australia and New Zealand hit by August lockdowns as Delta variant spreads. - Only 4 areas open in Europe at the start of September. August saw mixed fortunes across the southern hemisphere; with long-awaited (and heavy) snowfall in South America, the natural end to the 2021 season in southern Africa, and most ski areas in Australia and New Zealand ending the month closed due to lockdown. In North America the 20-21 ski season finally ended a little earlier than expected, while in Europe half of the glacier ski areas that should have been open were shut down instead due to the summer heat. September sees the start of autumn in the northern hemisphere and of spring in the southern. The last week of summer/winter saw snowfall for both hemispheres; the first fresh snow on high peaks in the Alps and the Rockies and more significant snowfalls for the final weeks of the season in Australia, New Zealand and the Andes. There was even snowfall reported in the Tatra mountains of Slovakia. But due to lockdowns and the impact of a warm summer in the Alps and a dry one in the Andes we start September with only 30-40 ski areas open in six countries on three continents worldwide. That's about a third of what we'd expect without a global pandemic and climate change to contend with. Hopefully, we'll be closer to normal by the latter half of the month. 
Dustings on the mountain tops, for now...
The Alps September is typically the month when glacier ski areas start to open for the upcoming season. That happened as normal a year ago before everything ground to a halt, except in Switzerland where they opened in late October. Fingers crossed no hiccups this autumn. Four glaciers are currently open for snowsports in the Alps and they (as well as currently closed areas) have been posting pictures of fresh snowfall, albeit quite light so far, up high in the final weeks of August. Currently, it's Passo Stelvio in Italy, Hintertux in Austria and the glaciers above Saas-Fee and Zermatt that are open. Snow levels on each have been declining since mid-spring but the thaw appears to be stabilising and hopefully, the numbers will begin climbing again any day now. Italy's Val Senales is the first confirmed to open in the middle of the month with Austria's Pitztal and Kaunertal glaciers targeting the weekend after. The Molltal glacier should be re-opening as well. Two more Austrian glaciers, the Stubai and Solden are hoping for September openings, they say, but haven't fixed on a date yet. No French glaciers and no more Swiss ones are set to open until October. Northern Europe Alas, warm weather in Scandinavia this summer led to "the fastest ever thawing" of snow cover on glacial ice at Norway's three summer ski centres leading them to close early. One of them, the Galdhøpiggen Sommerskisenter - which usually stays open to the start of November - hopes to re-open as the weather cools in September. Ski areas in Lapland, Levi and Ruka, are also getting excited about their upcoming opening, using snow 'farmed' from last season to create a few runs each, but that's not until October 8th. North America There's nowhere open in North America for skiing at the start of September. Timberline on Mount Hood in Oregon usually aims to keep its 'permanent snowfield' open to the start of the month and the long Labor Day holiday weekend (this year September 4-6) but this year it was beaten by the summer heat. In fact, the heat has been quite an issue with forest fires across much of the west of the continent all summer. As we start September several ski areas close to Lake Tahoe in California have had to evacuate due to a huge forest fire in the region. One resort, Sierra at Tahoe, has already had the fire burn through but seems to have largely survived, partly by pumping water out of its snowmaking cannons. Ski resorts all over the region have closed and asked people to stay away from Tahoe and summer operations at many well-known ski areas across the West have been suspended from time to time due to poor air quality resulting from smoke in the air. In better news though, there has been some late summer snow to get spirits up and there are the first opening dates announced. Resorts like Sunshine, Snowbird and most centres in Colorado published late-August snow (dusting) pics online. Vail Resorts, the continent's largest multi-resort operator, has said it hopes it won't need to limit ticket sales in the early season (to Epic pass holders) due to increased space. Jackson Hole has also said the same on running lifts back at capacity, including their cable car. As to where will open first; Keystone has said it aims to open as early as possible in October. Arapahoe Basin, Wolf Creek and a few others are usually also contenders. Up in Canada Alberta's Nakiska has opened in late October before, as has Sunshine. We're not expecting any lifts turning in September but you never know. Asia There are currently no areas known to be open in Asia. Ski areas can open from late September or early October in China and Japan. Chinese ski areas are likely to want to claim first in the country to open in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics season. Southern Hemisphere The start of September means the start of spring in the southern hemisphere and therefore the final weeks of the ski season. In fact, the season is already over in southern Africa where the Afriski centre in Lesotho ended its 2021 season on schedule on the last Sunday of august with a dusting of fresh snowfall. Whether it is already the end of the ski season for most ski areas in Australia and New Zealand is not yet known. Rising cases of the delta variant in both countries closed the recently opened travel bubble between them and led the two main Australian ski states of New South Wales and Victoria to announce new lockdowns, which are ongoing as we start September, until at least the 10th in the case of NSW. Only the small ski areas on the southerly island of Tasmania remain open. New Zealand is in lockdown although moving from level 4 to level 3 at the start of the month. It needs to be down to level 2 for resorts to reopen and there's no date for that yet. Ski centres in both countries say they're prepared to reopen when lockdowns ease, but there's frustration as both have their best snow conditions of the season, and fear that allowed re-opening will be too late to be viable. In South America, the snow has finally arrived in the last 10 days of August after a largely snowless winter which led some areas to close again as cover got too thin, whilst several had still not been able to open at all. |
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Quite... Iglu's 'Fool-ish' idea of putting a slope on a cruise ship looked better... |
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