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Light in the dark... La Clusaz WILL open this winter - for 2 days!
Started by User in Ski News, 2 Replies |
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Ok, so we really didn't expect this. Just when we thought the curtain had come down on the season-that-never-really-was...
La Clusaz will open their lifts - for free - from 08:00 this coming Sunday (23rd May 2021), for their shortest ever season, to close on Monday 24th at 15:30. If you can get there, of course. Sadly we can't, but we know some of you can... And, yes, there is snow up on La Balme. Here are a couple of webcam shots from earlier today... 
The lifts will be free, but you must pre-register online (and take your own food, as the restaurants will be shut). Here's the announcement, courtesy of Google translate (the original, in French is at https://www.laclusaz.com/ouverture-du-massif-de-balme.html)
Picture (c) La Clusaz |
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J2Ski Snow Report 1st May 2021
Jasna, Slovakia, open into May... Cold weather in the Alps and America. The mountains are waiting for us... be patient, stay safe and follow your local advice and rules on travel. The Snow Headlines - 1st May - After a cold April; snow depths over 4 metres on Austrian glaciers, over 5 metres in Switzerland. - Unusually, Crans Montana and Pitztal glaciers open for skiing through May. - Ski areas in Slovakia re-open; season extended to at least 9th May. - Southern hemisphere ski areas report fresh snowfall ahead of their 2021 season. - Whistler-Blackcomb closed early due to virus, some Canadian areas open into May. - Austrian glacier areas re-open as hospitality can resume in May. - Norwegian summer ski areas prepare to open. - Skiing in Slovenia continues into May for second year. Until the final week, this April was one of the coldest in the Alps in recent years. Much of North America was cold too, as were - at times - the Pyrenees, the Balkans, the Tatras, even Scotland. But whatever the weather in the first half of spring, and whether it is a pandemic year or not, May traditionally sees the fewest number of ski areas open in the world - around the middle of the month - when we can drop to single figures, before summer skiing and the southern hemisphere's 2021 ski season kicks off in June. In this oddest of seasons, some unexpected ski areas are opening (whether re-opening or staying open) later than they would normally. Slovakia's Jasna re-opened on April 22nd after being closed for most of the season and has so far extended its season to May 9th; and may yet go later into May. Kanin, in Slovenia, also re-opened in April and is staying open into May – it did that in 2020 and stayed open all month in the end. The ski season in the Pyrenees and Spain does seem to have ended though, a few weeks earlier than it would normally at resorts like Sierra Nevada which often stay open to the start of May. In the UK Scottish ski areas were allowed to re-open on the final Monday of April but sadly the last one that had hoped to offer skiing, Glencoe, announced a few days beforehand that there was not enough snow left to open a run even up high. But the lifts can be used for ski touring again at least, and travel has re-opened across the UK, if not for international travel out of Britain. Across the Atlantic, spring operations are fairly close to normal in terms of what's open in May. The big exception is Whistler Blackcomb, sadly closed last month and for the rest of the season (which usually includes much of May), due to a spike in the Brazil variant of the coronavirus pandemic there. Over in Asia Japan's ski season is also winding down to its normal pattern and there's been plenty of early-autumn snowfall in the Andes, Australia, New Zealand and even the mountains of Southern Africa to get excitement building for, hopefully, a better southern hemisphere season than 2020, starting in just over a month now. In the Alpine Forecast 
See where it's going to snow...
Europe Swiss ski areas seem to be increasingly confident that they got their winter right in the Alps, opening with safety measures in place to stop pandemic spread and operating the closest to "normally" although in reality, far from it. Things did improve at the end of April, with restaurants allowed to reopen for outdoor service. Ski areas open in May will include Zermatt and Crans Montana all month (the latter a bit of a surprise as it is not normally). Centres open at the start of the month include Glacier 3000 near Gstaad and Les Diablerets as well as the Diavolezza glacier near St Moritz to the 9th and the Titlis glacier above Engelberg, currently with Europe's deepest snowpack at 6 metres, to the 23rd. Laax is currently open for the first weekend of May only. Austria has had a strange year with ski areas able to open but not to have any tourism. The result was that most ski areas closed a little earlier than they would on the first few weekends of last month. In terms of May skiing there was also an impact in that several of the glacier areas (Kaunertal and Molltal) that normally open in May haven't opened this season so far as operating costs were way too high for likely income from low visitor numbers. However with the Austrian government's announcement in late April that hospitality could re-open on May 19th, the Kaunertal announced it will re-open on May 15th, and Molltal on the 22nd. The Stubai glacier has kept changing its plans, originally saying they'd stay open into June but then cutting right back to announce closure on May 2nd, a month earlier than expected. The latest plan, announced on 29th April, is to stay open an extra two long-weekends (Friday to Monday) until mid-May. Another unusually late spring opening has been announced by the Pitztal glacier, located on Austria's highest lift-accessed slopes, which normally opens from September to April. It has extended its season to early June, so this May is open and along with the Kitzsteinhorn and Hintertux glaciers, is also all month. The Kitzsteinhorn above Kaprun announced it was extending its season from the previously announced May 25th closure day right through to July 24th, saying its decision was also thanks to the Austrian government plans to begin to ease tourism restrictions from mid-May. April was colder and snowier than usual in Austria and the snow is lying 3-4 metres deep so it should be a good month. France has seen rapidly increasing vaccinations in recent months and the country's three summer glacier ski areas all seem optimistic of opening later this spring. Indeed Les 2 Alpes which had said it planned to open the first two weekends in June then daily from the middle of the month now says it plans to open daily from the last weekend of May. Then Val d'Isere from the 12th for a month, then Tignes a week later on the 19th, with a summer ski season to 1st August. It may be possible, for those able to get there, to ski in Italy from the end of this month. Passo Stelvio is expected to begin its six-month summer season (which it almost managed to complete between Italian lockdowns in 2020, just having to shut down a week earlier than planned at the end of October). Cervinia says it will open for summer skiing for three months from June 12th. Northern Europe Scandinavia has had more of a 'normal' season than much of the rest of Europe although with borders largely closed, particularly Norway's, business is of course down here too. Some of the region's bigger areas stay open to May 2nd but after that most will close. However, Levi and Ruka in Finland will stay open to May 9th and 'Europe's spring skiing capital' Riksgransen up in Norway for a few weeks longer than that, all enjoying the start of 24-hour daylight up at their northerly latitude. Riksgransen's skiing under the midnight sun season is due to begin this month. Otherwise, the season is due to start at Norway's three small glacier ski centres, which report plenty of snow lying ready. Galdhoppigen is due to open for the season on May 13th, then the Fonna glacier the next day and finally Stryn in Norway on the 27th at 10 am precisely. Eastern Europe A year ago one of the first ski areas in Europe (and the world) to re-open after the first lockdown was Kanin in Slovenia, with its great views out to the Adriatic. Slovenian ski-areas were allowed to re-open after the latest lockdown there in mid-April and Kanin reported a base of over 4 metres. It stayed open through May last year, it is not yet clear how long it may stay open in 2021. North America We actually have mostly the usual suspects open in California, Colorado, Utah, Oregon, Vermont and Washington State in terms of still open ski areas in the US as we enter May, as well as several centres in Alberta Canada. In addition, the continent's sole, small summer ski area, Beartooth Basin on the Montana/Wyoming state line, says its short 2021 season will kick off at 9 am on the 28th, all being well. So as of the start of this month we have about a dozen areas open in the US. North of the border, in Canada, open ski areas currently include the Banff resorts of Mt Norquay (having extended its season), plus Lake Louise and Sunshine as well as Marmot Basin further north. Most of these will close after the first weekend of the month, but Sunshine stays open to the 24th and it has been a cold and snowy April so those final weeks of this season should be good. The region has had a cold and frequently snowy April. It's more of a mixed picture in the US with a snowier and colder April than March in the Rockies. Winter Park and Loveland have extended their seasons to May 9th and Breckenridge and Arapahoe Basin aim to stay open all month. Snowbird in Utah is also still open. Over in California though it has been a warm and dry spring, mostly, and almost all areas have closed. The exceptions are Mammoth, which expects to stay open all month, and Squaw Valley, which has set 31st May as its season end date but says it doesn't expect to make it this year, as it's just too warm for the snow to last they think. There are also ski areas still open up in the Pacific Northwest corner of Oregon and Washington state. Alpental, with a 6.4 metre (21 feet) base, the world's deepest, has extended its season to May 2nd, so far. There's also Mt Bachelor (to the end of the month), Crystal Mountain (to the 9th) and Timberline – which starts May with a 4-metre base. It has North America's longest season aiming to stay open to the start of September if the snow lasts. Over in the east, it's really just Killington in Vermont now, with the snow piled high on the superstar trail with the annual attempt to keep skiing into June. Asia The season has ended in most Asian ski nations too, but some of the larger Japanese areas traditionally stay open to the start of May and 2021 is no different. It's often well into the teens' Celsius above freezing and the snow can be sugary but most have such big bases built through the winter there's plenty left to slide on. May 5th is the main Japanese closing day but several areas, including Happo One, have extended their seasons to at least May 9th. After that the Gassan ski area usually stays open as the sole Japanese option to July. Southern Hemisphere April saw the first snows of 2021, in what was early Autumn, on ski slopes in Argentina, Australia, Chile, Lesotho, New Zealand and South Africa – in other words on each of the six southern hemisphere ski nations. In fact, most reported several decent dumps in April. Currently, all six do look to be planning to open for the 2021 season. This time in 2020 Les Lenas in Argentina had already announced it wouldn't even try to open that year, whilst others such as Portillo in Chile and South Africa's only ski area Tiffindell never got to open because of the pandemic. Hopefully, this winter will be better, particularly for Australians whose own ski areas should be open, fingers crossed, as well as now having the 'travel bubble' established with New Zealand so there's the option to go ski there. The 2021 southern hemisphere ski season should start in just over a month's time in early June. |
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You know how some PR gets a bit breathless and over-excited...
2021 Audi Nines presented by Falken: In the Mix! A mind-blowing set-up and an insane show by some of the world's best riders: the 2021 Audi Nines presented by Falken was one for the books! Enjoy some of the most amazing action in the new Ski Mixtape video! The Ski Mixtape With the stoke level cranked to 11 and creativity hitting new heights, this year's Audi Nines presented by Falken session was one to remember... ...to be fair though, they may have a point... get yourself a coffee and crank up the volume... |
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J2Ski Snow Report 1st April 2021
Riksgransen has the deepest snow in Sweden and will be open into May... Spring weather in the Alps and America. The mountains are waiting for us... be patient, stay safe and follow your local advice and rules on travel. The Snow Headlines - 1st April - Most ski areas in North America closing by mid-April, some open through to May. - Around a dozen glacier ski areas in Austria and Switzerland will be open into May. - Whistler closed for 3 weeks due to virus spike, says season now over. - Italy's Cervinia says it will re-open as soon as allowed to do so by the government. - Ski areas in the Pyrenees more than double terrain open for Easter as restrictions ease. - Scotland's Glencoe hopes to operate for 1-2 weeks from 26th April. - Verbier closing a week-earlier than planned, Skiwelt already closed. - It increasingly looks like no 20-21 ski season at all in France or Italy. The "ski season like none before" nears its natural end with the world's leading ski nations already under scrutiny as to whether they did the right thing to open-with-pandemic-operating-restrictions or not-to-open-at-all. Neither position appears to have made a huge difference either way to national virus stats – with some countries that carefully opened their resorts keeping figures on the lower end of the scale, whilst some that closed all areas saw some of the highest rates of infection in the world anyway. There's always a new twist with the virus and this ski season though, and the latest one came late on Monday when authorities in British Columbia announced North America's largest ski area, Whistler Blackcomb, has to close for three-weeks due to a spike in the Brazil variant of the virus there. A best case scenario would have been re-opening on April 20th for a final month of the season but it has now said it is not going to attempt that and is now closed until winter 21-22. Despite this surprise news, overall the season is not yet over, though most of the ski areas that are still open will close after Easter next week. For some it will be sooner than they normally would, others say they'll stay open into May, June or even later. For the world's leading ski nations, it looks like France and Italy will miss the 20-21 season completely, Switzerland is open, Austria and Andorra were open to locals, Scandinavian ski countries and North American resorts all open with various restrictions in place. As to snow conditions for the ski areas that are still open and for the lucky few that can get to any that are, they are perhaps a little lower than usual in most of Europe, particularly after a very warm end to March for many, as well as the Rockies and California, but they should still offer enough cover to see them through to their planned season end date. In the Alpine Forecast After mild weather this week, there's quite a severe cold snap in the forecast for early next week; with snow expected to quite low levels (for the time of year) across much of the Alps. 
See where it's going to snow...
Europe Austria It is a rather mixed Easter picture in Austria as some of the ski areas we'd expect to stay open through April – like Ischgl – haven't opened at all this season. Others like Obertauern, are open but say they may end the season soon after Easter because of lack of demand under the country's pandemic opening restrictions. Of the half-dozen glacier areas several have been closed much of the winter too due to lack of demand, so it remains to be seen if all will open in late April, May and June as they normally would. In any case the snow up on the glaciers is lying around three metres deep. Perhaps the best bets are year-round Hintertux and The Stubai, close to Innsbruck. France French resorts are reporting good snow conditions as we enter April and the Easter holidays week. The majority will be open to tourism but with the ski lifts remaining closed; so for snowsports it will continue to be a case of ski touring, cross country skiing, snowshoeing and beginner lessons for children as the main options. With the pandemic limiting operations and income generating opportunities it is currently unclear when the ski areas which would normally stay open through April and in to May like Chamonix, Tignes and Val Thorens will be able to open. Italy It's coming up to 13 months since Italian ski areas shut down at the start of the pandemic and after many false dawns it sadly looks unlikely that there'll be any skiing here to end the season, with the third wave of the virus causing another lockdown. Some Italian summer ski areas – Passo Stelvio, Cervinia and for a while Val Gardena - were open from late spring to late autumn in between pandemic waves so it is possible Cervinia and Stelvio will re-open this spring. Cervinia has now publicly stated that is their intention as soon as permitted. Switzerland Swiss ski areas have, famously, taken a different path to the other 'big 4' ski nations through the pandemic, opening their ski resorts with pandemic spread prevention measures in place. Studies they have carried out and infection rates recorded have led most of the country's leaders to believe this was the correct decision. Engelberg currently has the deepest base in Europe at 6 metres (20 feet) and is one of several Swiss areas that look like they'll stay open into May. Zermatt has already said they plan to stay open year-round and indeed are coming up to a year of their glacier ski area operating since re-opening after the first Swiss pandemic lockdown in spring 2020. Verbier has however said it will close a week earlier than expected, in mid rather than late April, due to ongoing operating losses in the pandemic. Scandinavia Scandinavia has not had one of its snowiest winters so base depths aren't particularly inspiring as we enter April, and there was some warm weather in the last week of March. But equally it has been snowing and the days are long. Finland, Norway and Sweden have also taken a pragmatic approach to operating in the pandemic so currently it appears that ski areas like Are in Sweden and Ruka in Finland will be staying open through to the start of May as usual. The deepest snow in Sweden is up in Riksgransen, the self-styled "European capital of spring skiing", so it should be good for its season through to mid-May by which time there should be skiing under the midnight sun. Pyrenees and Spain The Pyrenees had a fairly snowy first half of the winter, with warmer weather (but still some snowy periods) over the past month or so. Only about 10% of the region's ski areas have been operating and those that are open are only allowed to have locally based people visiting, no tourism. The result has been limited terrain open, operating losses and it looks like most will be closing earlier than they normally would, after the Easter weekend. That said some of big players like Baqueira Beret have greatly increased terrain open for Easter week, from around 30km most of this year to 92km – 75% of the maximum possible, for Easter. Spain's highest ski slopes at Sierra Nevada currently look like they'll remain open to the first weekend of May as usual. Scotland It is not looking promising for any skiing in Scotland this spring, with much of the big snow pack that built up between Christmas and mid-February largely melted-away in the month and a half since. It appears that Scottish centres could open at the end of the month, probably just to locally based skiers, if the notoriously fickle Scottish highland weather throws a late cold spell in to the mix, or indeed the centres fire up their all-weather snow-making systems just for the heck of it, once they finally can. Eastern Europe Bulgaria starts April with some tough lockdown measures which almost led to resort closures when they came in on 22nd March, but the main ski areas have stayed open to date. That was especially good news as the last 10 days of March were also among the snowiest for that late in the season. Bansko, where the home run remains open, has said it will stay open to at least April 12th, Borovets to the 15th. North America Canada Conditions are looking good in much of Canada as we enter April. Temperatures stayed cold for much of March and there are good base depths in the West, more marginal once things warm up in the East. There was heavy snowfall in British Columbia in the last week of March bringing up to half-a-metre more snow cover. Most Canadian ski areas will close by mid-April but, assuming there are no changes due to the pandemic, a number of ski areas should stay open to the end of the month and in some cases into May. They include the three Banff resorts of Norquay, Sunshine and Lake Louise as well as Marmot Basin near Jasper to the north in Alberta. Whistler would have been North America's largest ski area still open for Easter but it will now miss that holiday week due to its early closure. Over in the East Sauveur in Quebec is among areas that keep terrain open later into spring if the snow holds out. USA Despite warm temperatures in recent weeks, the snow cover in the US seems to be holding up at most of the country's leading areas. The majority will end their seasons over the next few weeks but perhaps a dozen will make it through to the end of the month and stay open into May. Those confirmed so far include A Basin, Breckenridge (to 31st May) and Winter Park (to 9th May) in Colorado as well as Crystal Mountain in Washington State. Squaw Valley and Mammoth normally stay open in California too as does Snowbird in Utah, Timberline in Oregon and on the East Coast, Killington in Vermont. All of these areas report good cover and everything open as we enter April. We'll be taking a break now, before returning with our monthly round-ups over the summer... thanks for reading! |
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J2Ski Snow Report 25th March 2021
Hintertux, Austria with fresh snow this week... Snow in the Alps and America. The mountains are waiting for us... be patient, stay safe and follow your local advice and rules on travel. The Snow Headlines - 25th March - Deepest base in the Alps reaches 6 metres (20 feet). - Snow in the Andes, 3 months ahead of 2021 southern hemisphere ski season. - Hintertux glacier - open year-round - first in Austria to pass 4-metre base mark. - Europe briefly overtakes North America for world's deepest base. - Heavy snowfall in Balkans and Turkey. After the heavy snowfall in the Alps of a week ago, ski areas, at least those that are still open, have been enjoying fresh snow under predominantly sunny skies. The avalanche danger has decreased somewhat and some resorts have actually increased the terrain they have available. It is a very mixed picture though; against easing of restrictions in some countries, some, including France and Italy, have gone the other way and intensified restrictions still further, making any hope of an end-of-season ski for those living locally even less likely. It is also coming up to the 'natural' end of the season for lower-lying areas, even without the pandemic, and some are just giving up on 20-21 a little earlier than they would have anyway. There has been more fresh snowfall in Europe over the past seven days; with Austrian areas reporting snowfall, some big accumulations down in the Balkans and fresh snow in the Pyrenees. The deepest base in Switzerland (and Europe) has finally hit 6 metres (20 feet); in Austria it is at four metres. Over in North America, there's been a loosening of restrictions, albeit mostly small details like people being allowed to travel further to the slopes, as the number of people vaccinated passes 100 million. There's also been fresh snow, heaviest in the West. In the Alpine Forecast After snowfall at altitude, for some locations, this weekend clear and warmer weather will bring a distinct feel of spring to most of the alpine area. 
Some weekend powder on the cards for Whistler...
Europe Austria After the heavy snow in the Alps last week there were some glorious sunny days in Austria over the weekend and at the start of this week. At the same time, the snow has kept falling, on and off, at some resorts and most of the snow this week has been at Austrian areas. As a result, the year-round ski area of Hintertux has become the first in the country to pass the 4 metres base mark this season - hopefully good news for late spring, summer and autumn skiing. The other Austrian areas with bases three metres or more deep are also glaciers including the Kitzsteinhorn above Kaprun near Zell am See. Austrian resorts continue to be open to local skiers only with no hotels open. The Vorarlberg province is currently experimenting with opening gastronomy and non-essential shops to see how that goes, with a view to the wider easing of restrictions across Austria after easter if things look good. But an increasing number of Austrian centres are giving up for winter 20-21 now anyway. France French ski lifts remain closed and there seems little hope now of re-opening this winter. Most would be winding down for the season now of course although the season usually continues to early May at resorts like Chamonix, Tignes and Val Thorens in a normal season. About half of the country's resorts continue to operate, however, without ski lifts running, with ski touring and cross country skiing more popular than usual. Conditions are excellent after a big snowfall last week was followed by cold, sunny weather and a lowering avalanche danger. Italy Italian ski areas all remain closed through March with a new lockdown underway. The country's ski areas missed the bigger part of the snowfall last week and it has been predominantly sunny across the county over the last seven days. It's been cold though, generally below freezing even in the valleys, and as low as -20C up above 3,000m, so not much of a spring thaw in Italy yet. Although most Italian ski areas say they will not open for the season now even if the rules allow them to, Cervinia issued a statement on Tuesday saying it will open in April if permitted. Switzerland Switzerland continues to have the closest season to a normal winter in western Europe; if you don't expect to see many non-Swiss guests in a resort and many facilities open in a resort that is. Most ski centres remain open and there has been some easing of restrictions to allow more shops to open and some outdoor dining. As to the snow, after the big falls that ended a week ago, it has been a much sunnier picture, although some resorts have posted 5-15cm accumulations, including Engelberg, the only resort in Europe, and one of only two worldwide, to be reporting a 6m(+) base. Most Swiss resorts are open and planning to stay open at least to Easter. The 4 Valleys, with about 75%/300km of runs open, is believed to be the largest area open in Europe still, as it has been all winter, although all 175km of runs on the Swiss side of the Portes du Soleil remain open. Scandinavia Skistar, the leading Scandinavian ski area operator, has given some insight into how ski areas are operating by saying it has had a fairly good season at its Swedish resorts, pandemic limitations permitting, but a much more challenging one at its Norwegian centres where restrictions have been stricter, including for travel in, which is all but impossible. But whilst it has closed its one Austrian ski area, St Johann, its Scandinavian centres continue to operate with most looking likely to see out the season to the start of May. This last week has seen more light to moderate snowfall for many areas, cool temperatures and sometimes strong winds but snow depths are not what they were last year, the deepest up at Riksgransen in the Swedish arctic is just under two metres, half what it was a year ago. Pyrenees There remain only a small number of ski areas open in the Pyrenees, but they do include many of the region's biggest centres - Andorra's GrandValira and Spain's Baqueira Beret for example. The good news on the Spanish side has been a slight easing of travel restrictions meaning more people can travel from a little further afield to the slopes. That in turn has allowed ski areas to open a little more terrain, although all still have less than half their slopes open due to the still very limited demand. Baqueira Beret says it plans to more than double the amount of terrain it has open - to 90km - for the Easter period. The further good news this week though is some fresh snow; quite a lot in fact at the weekend with up to 40cm reported. Scotland It's still not quite clear what's happening with Scottish ski centres - whether they'll be allowed to open earlier than April 26th or not. Restrictions were eased by the Scottish government on shops and indoor facilities but ski areas appear to have been left off the list of places allowed to re-open sooner than expected. With warm weather for much of the past week starting to seriously eat into the remainder of the historic snow accumulation from January and February anyway the date may be academic. It looks like there won't be much snow left by April. Eastern Europe Bulgaria has entered a period of increased restrictions after easing them at the start of March and seeing infection levels climb again. There was a fear that ski areas would close but at the weekend all confirmed they would be open, with Bansko and Borovets saying they intended to continue to operate to at least mid-April. This was good news for those able to get to the slopes there as it has been a cold and unusually snowy week for the start of spring down at this latitude with some heavy snowfall and great conditions. North America Canada Fairly cold and fairly snowy still in Western Canada as we enter springtime. Whistler remains fully open - the biggest ski area in North America of course - and there is still two months of the season left to run here. It's been a mixture of sunshine and snow showers, the biggest of these on the west coast but with some snow to top up cover in Eastern BC and Alberta too. More dry and sunny in the East, with a cold start to the week but getting in to plus temps as we head to the weekend. USA More snowfall on the US West Coast at the weekend, with up to 50cm reported by resorts in California - and smaller snowfalls in many other parts of the country. It has been warming up though, particularly in the North East of the country where resorts in states like Vermont reported highs of +15C at their bases earlier this week. All in all though things are looking pretty good for spring skiing across the US and there has even been a slight easing of some pandemic restrictions in terms of travel limitations as the country passes 100 million vaccinations. |
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J2Ski Snow Report 18th March 2021
Val d'Anniviers, Switzerland, looking good this morning... Snow in the Alps and America. The mountains are waiting for us... be patient, stay safe and follow your local advice and rules on travel. The Snow Headlines - 18th March - Some Swiss ski areas report over 1.8m (6 Feet) of snowfall From major storm. - Succession of big snowstorms in US hit California and then the Rockies. - Arlberg area sees restaurants re-opening in Austrian test case. - The deepest base in Europe nears the 6-metre mark. - Snowfall reported at Mount=t Baw Baw in Australia in final days of summer there. It has been quite a week in the Alps with one of the biggest snowstorms of the winter (and the first big dump for two months) hitting the region. France and Switzerland have reported the biggest storm totals, with several reporting over 1.8 metres (six feet) accumulating over three days, but most ski areas have had at least 50cm of snow and many towards a metre, including resorts in Austria, southern Germany and northern Italy. The snow, often arriving with strong winds, has caused very high avalanche danger over a wide area. In France, ski lifts are closed but resorts are warning freeriders as well as cross country skiers and snowshoers of the dangers. Elsewhere in Europe, there's been more snow in Scandinavia, some snowfall down in Bulgaria and it was a snowy weekend for the Scottish Highlands, although it has warmed up a lot since. Across in North America, it has been a snowy week too with some 60cm (two-foot) accumulations first on the west coast in California then in the Rockies, with the north again benefiting most. In pandemic news; centres in Spain are opening more terrain as travel restrictions there are eased. Scottish centres may also be able to open earlier than expected, at least to locals, from early April, but that's not clear yet, nor whether there'll be snow left by then anyway. It's less good news in Germany where most ski areas now say they won't be opening this season. In the Alpine Forecast Another cold week ahead, with snow in the East of the Alps, before temperatures moderate toward the end of the month. 
Snow inbound for Austria next week...
Europe Austria Austrian ski areas have been busily posting images of buried cars and - in some cases, including up at St Christoph in the Arlberg - buried buildings as giant snowdrifts sweep into structures. Most of the country's ski resorts remain open to local people and the Arlberg, again, is currently being used as a national guinea pig to test restaurants re-opening. However, hospitality (hotels) won't re-open until Easter at the earliest and resorts that sometimes stay open to May or beyond are telling anyone who can travel there, to look for smaller family-run pensions as it will not be worthwhile for bigger hotels to open. France French ski resorts remain open but with ski lifts not allowed to operate. They reported big snowfalls over the first half of this week, with some ski areas like Les Menuires and Val Thorens noting around 75cm in 72 hours. Avalanche danger levels are widely put at 4 on the scale to 5. La Plagne reports the deepest snow depth in the country of those that are measuring it, at 3.5 metres. It's unclear if any French ski area will be able to open lifts this season; it looks increasingly unlikely at this point. Italy Italy has, unfortunately, had to enter a third lockdown as virus cases rise there and so there's no chance really now that ski areas will be able to open this season. Summer ski areas like Cervinia (for access to Zermatt's summer ski slopes) and Passo Stelvio, opening in late spring/early summer, remain possibilities - as at the end of the first lockdown last year - depending on whether this new lockdown is successful. The heavy snowfall in the Alps passed to the north to some extent, and even where Italian resorts did get the snow some are semi-shut-down at present and not measuring the snow depth, but it does look like the Aosta Valley was among Italian areas seeing big accumulations. Switzerland Swiss ski areas posted the biggest snow totals right through the storm this week, with little Elm in Eastern Switzerland claiming 2.4 metres (eight feet) fell there in the past seven days. Otherwise, most of the biggest dumps (1.5 to 1.8 metres, 5-6 feet) were reported by ski areas in Valais to the west. Of course, the avalanche danger is very high and all the snow has also led to at least the first day of racing at Lenzerheide in the World Cup finals being cancelled. Engelberg in Central Switzerland - which reports about a metre of new snow - has moved close to the world's deepest snow depth, currently held by Alpental ski area in Washington state, USA, and gone through the five-metres depth mark on its Titlis glacier up towards nearly six metres (20 feet) all in the past five days. Scandinavia Scandinavian ski areas tend to come into their own in spring with longer daylight hours and colder temperatures at their latitudes to keep the snow in good shape without going into the freeze-thaw territory as is the case further south. There's been mostly light to moderate snowfall reported and almost all ski areas in Finland, Norway and Sweden remain fully open and reporting excellent conditions. Pyrenees There's not been much fresh snowfall in the Pyrenees, unlike in the alps, but it has remained fairly cool and the biggest news is that Spain has relaxed some of its virus restrictions allowing people to travel further to ski. As a consequence, the few areas that are open, which have also been limiting how much terrain they open to minimise operating losses, are now opening more terrain. Masella is going up to about 60km of runs open, the most in the Pyrenees since around Christmas/New year. Scotland Scotland's ski areas got a boost at the weekend with a return of low temperatures and some of the best snowfalls since the end of the two months cold, snowy spell in mid-February. Hills that had turned green and brown over the month since then went back to white. Since the start of this week though temperatures have been climbing again and it looks like highs of 10C will be the norm over the weekend in highland glens which will be bad news for lower slopes. Scottish areas remain closed due to pandemic restrictions but it looks like the re-opening date has moved forward in April, at least for people living locally. Hopefully there will be some snow left then. Eastern Europe Things have turned quite wintry down in South-Eastern Europe and some moderate snowfalls have been reported at resorts like Bulgaria's Bansko and Serbia's largest ski area of Kopaonik. The snow totals are not huge but temperatures well below freezing and regular snowfalls continuing for much of the past week is pretty good for mid-March at these latitudes. The long-run down to Bansko resort from the slopes remains open with 20km of snow cover. North America Canada It continues to look good across Canada with a generally snowy picture and in most case temperatures cool enough to maintain snow quality. There have been blips; Whistler's lower slopes have seen rain again in the past week (not terribly unusual) and in the east, several ski areas in Quebec were closed earlier this week as it was too cold for safe operations. Most Canadian centres are fully open and reporting good cover and conditions. USA It has been a snowy week in the Western US. The big snowfalls began to hit California at the end of last week, with some ski areas seeing two feet (60cm) of snowfall before the skies cleared at the weekend giving idyllic conditions. The Rockies, particularly Colorado, were forecast by some to see their 'biggest snowfall for over a century' at the weekend, but that did not materialise. The biggest fall was around two feet, with the heaviest falls (closer to a metre) further north in Idaho and Wyoming. Conditions remain generally good in the East but the first ski areas in more marginal locations, generally at southerly latitudes from East to West coasts, have begun closing for the 21-22 season as the snow starts to go. |
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J2Ski Snow Report 11th March 2021
Zermatt looks good for Spring skiing, if you can get there... Return to cold in Europe, snow elsewhere too. The mountains are waiting for us... be patient, stay safe and follow your local advice and rules on travel. The Snow Headlines - 11th March - 15cm of summer snowfall reported in New Zealand. - Breckenridge staying open to May 31st. - German ski areas *start* to open. - It's one year since Italy was the first alpine ski nation to close all of its ski resorts. - Austria's Skiwelt ends season more than a month early, Ischgl won't open. - Several major ski areas in Italy now say they definitely won't open this winter. Things definitely have more of a wintery feel this week for much of Europe with some ski areas seeing fresh snow in the Alps and even down in the Balkans, for the first time in two or three weeks. Temperatures have dipped back down to freezing too. No huge falls reported but a good freshen up of cover at open areas. Some small to moderate snowfalls up in Scandinavia and across in Canada and the US too, although we're moving to typical springtime freeze-thaw conditions for most areas on both sides of the Atlantic. That said, current projections are for some very heavy snowfall through the first half of next week. In pandemic-related news, the number of yet-to-open ski areas now saying they won't open - whatever happens over the next month - continues to grow. Bormio and Dolomiti Superski in Italy are new additions, along with Austria's Ischgl joining resorts like Formigal in Spain and Garmisch in Germany. However, after nearly three months, Germany appears to have broken ranks with France and Italy and has started to allow some ski areas in some regions to open - although so far that doesn't seem to include larger resorts that have snow that might last past Easter. Some virus restrictions have been eased in parts of North America too. All ski areas were already open here but it means slightly more relaxed operating rules. Elsewhere ski areas in New Zealand reported up to 15cm of snowfall at the end of last week, at the end of astronomical summertime there, raising excitement for the 2021 ski season start about three months away. In the Alpine Forecast Some heavy snow in the forecast for the Alps over the next week, with temperatures dipping below March averages. Open ski areas in Switzerland could see some substantial falls. 
Snow coming in for the Swiss Alps (and elsewhere)
Europe Austria Austrian ski areas continue to struggle with staying open as the months go by and they're unable to run ski resorts in a way that might make a profit, or at least stem the losses. There are plans to trial mountain restaurant openings next week in one area, allowing them to possibly open just as the season ends but the Skiwelt, which had previously had the most terrain open in the country, has had enough and ended its season early last Sunday. Others have limited terrain skiable and limited terrain open reflecting the limited demand. As to conditions, well it has turned colder and there has been some fresh snowfall after some rather warm weeks, but the best conditions continue to be up on the glaciers. France French ski areas appeared almost embarrassed to announce fresh snowfall at the start of this week after several weeks of springlike weather. Many posted 10-20cm accumulations on top of still good base depths. Ski resorts remain open, ski lifts remain closed in France, and the government there seems to have given up making separate announcements on their plans for the sector. We are now in what would be the last 3-4 weeks of the season for many French resorts anyway, with no sign of re-opening on the horizon. Italy Alas there's no good news coming out of Italy at the moment, which of course ranks second in Europe for pandemic deaths after the UK. This week marks the one-year anniversary from the date the country first went in to lockdown, on March 9th 2020 - a week ahead of most of Europe and a fortnight ahead of the UK. Back to March 2021 and as the shock starts to wear off of another month's delay until ski areas might next be able to open, a number of the country's biggest players have joined others in Austria. France, Germany and Spain and said that now, even if they are eventually allowed to open for the final weeks of the season, it isn't worth them doing so. Bormio and the Dolomiti Superski region both say they won't be opening until next winter now. For what it is worth though, the snow conditions! As with most of Europe it has turned colder and in some cases snowier this week, with up to 20cm of fresh snow reported in the first few days of this week. Switzerland Swiss ski areas have also seen some fresh snowfall in recent days posting up to 30cm (a foot) of new snow cover over the first half of this week. Engelberg, which has the deepest reported snowpack in Europe at just under 5 metres up top, and some 55km of runs open, was one of the beneficiaries. Less than five metres is the smallest 'deepest base depth' for the start of spring in Europe for quite a few years, however the forecast metre plus of snow for Engelberg next week could bring it up. Shops are now open in Switzerland, as well as hotels, and restaurants may open from the 21st if pandemic conditions allow. However most ski areas continue to report largely empty slopes as few people are allowed to travel to them. Scandinavia Scandinavia has had the most consistently cold and snowy weather of any part of Europe during the first 10 days or so of March with ski centres reporting 10-15cm of snow falling in 24-hour periods quite regularly. More or less all ski resorts in the region are fully open. Pyrenees There's been some fresh snowfall and cooler temperature in the Pyrenees too. It's the same scenario here as it has been for over two months now, with few resorts open and those that are (about 10% of the 60 or so in the region) only able to operate for locals, so limiting what's open. Baqueira Beret, Spain's largest ski area, is one of those open but with 40km of slopes only, about a quarter of their full capacity, currently operating. Scotland Scottish ski slopes have seen some fresh snowfall for the first time in about a month. After the warm end of winter which saw the big snowpack that built up over eight snowy, sub-zero weeks from late December to mid-February thaw back a good deal, the lower temperatures and fresh snowfall has improved things a little. Currently there's still at least a six week wait until Scottish centres may be allowed to reopen, in late April, probably initially just to local people, under the latest pandemic restrictions lifting plans from the Scottish government. Eastern Europe The first half of March has been much colder than the latter half of February in the Balkans and temperatures are currently sub-zero still most of the time, there was also a little fresh snowfall reported for some areas at the weekend. Most centres here remain fully open and pandemic restrictions have also been eased slightly so it currently looks like ski areas will see out the season to its natural end. North America Canada Conditions remain predominantly good across Canada. There were some heavy snowfalls at the end of last week (Whistler reported two feet/60cm up high) for some and most have seen at least a freshen up of their snow cover, even if they didn't see quite so much. Pretty much all Canadian resorts are open and the vast majority are fully open. That said it has been largely dry since the start of this week and in the West in particular temperatures have been creeping up meaning there'll probably be some thawing at lower elevations over the next few days. USA The US continues to post the world's deepest snowpack, up in the Pacific Northwest corner, but although there's been more snow there this past week, temperatures have also been climbing so the numbers - whilst still above 6 metres/20 feet at the Alpental area - are down about a foot/30cm on a week ago. Most ski areas across the country have posted some more fresh snow in the last seven days, although mostly small 10-20cm (4 to 8 inches) accumulations rather than any huge dumps. The weather patterns are also moving more towards freeze-thaw as is the norm as we approach mid-March. A number of resorts have been announcing extended ski seasons, including most Vail-owned areas although only by a week or so from early to mid-April. However Crystal Mountain in Washington state says it will stay open at weekends to mid-May and Breckenridge in Colorado through to May 31st. |
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Yes, but he is right about it being more than 5km away... :lol: |
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