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J2Ski Snow Report 4th March 2021
St.Anton, Austria, now open again (for recently-tested locals at least)... A taste of spring in Europe, snow elsewhere.. The mountains are waiting for us... be patient, stay safe and follow your local advice and rules on travel. The Snow Headlines - 4th March - Italy announces ski slopes staying closed until Easter. - Second week of 'spring-like' weather in much of Europe. - More heavy snowfall in Northwestern US takes deepest base to 6.5 metres (22 feet). - Some closed Austrian areas decide to reopen, others decide to close! As we enter springtime, March is usually seen as the month that marks the beginning of the end of the ski season in the northern hemisphere. Last March was different though as it really did mark the premature end of the 2019-20 season almost a year ago when Italy shut down its ski resorts on the 9th, and most of the rest of the countries of Europe and North America as well as Asia, outside of China, followed suit through the rest of the month. A year on, and some ski areas in France, Germany and Italy have still not reopened, with Italian resorts told on Tuesday evening they would not be able to open until at least Easter - if any can and do want to open at that point. The French are yet to announce the position there now the 'closure for February' announced a month ago has extended into March. Even where resorts have been allowed to open, with many restrictions, as in Austria, it is becoming increasingly clear they're losing money doing so under pandemic restrictions, and some are now giving up for this winter. As to snowfall; there's been very little for a second week for most of Europe, although there are signs of cooler and possibly snowier weather moving in. Not as snowy as it has been recently for North America, but there has been much more snow there, the heaviest still up in the Northwest where the world's deepest snowpack this season is now 6.5 metres (nearly 22 feet) thick. In the Alpine Forecast Temperatures around seasonal averages, with a little snow next week and signs of a lot more in the week following. 
Where in the world will it snow this week?
Europe Austria Austria continues to operate for skiers living local to the slopes only, with any return to ski tourism and hotels reopening delayed until 'at least easter' now. That and the new requirement in Tirol for skiers to have had a negative virus test during the 48 hours prior to hitting the slopes led to St Anton and Solden announcing temporary closures a fortnight back, but both are now re-opened or are about to. Against this it now looks like Ischgl, at the heart of last season's first lockdown furore in the Alps, won't open and the Skiwelt region has announced its closing from this weekend. On the slopes, Austria has had a second, warm, sunny and springlike week; so it doesn't feel quite so premature as it did in mid-February. With very warm temperatures in the valleys, the snow has been best where slopes are up above 2000 metres, which unfortunately rules out a lot of well-known Austrian areas, although not the glaciers. The good news though is that temperatures are finally plummeting (it is spring after all) and getting below freezing even at low altitudes. France We're awaiting an update from the French government on whether ski areas will be able to open lifts this month or not. It's a month since the last update when it was said ski areas wouldn't open in February, but now it's March. Most ski areas are 'open' anyway and getting quite creative at helping people to ski without having lifts; besides booming popularity for cross country skiing and ski touring several areas offer taxi rides to the top of a ski run and some use ponies to tow skiers up slopes. Here too it has been predominantly a second warm and sunny week with an early start of spring skiing conditions, but most resorts have good bases and temperatures are now dropping back below freezing as we head into the weekend. Italy Like France, Italian ski areas remain uncertain as to when, and indeed whether, they'll be able to open this season. In Italy's case though the government announced on Tuesday that slope closure would continue until Easter. As we approach one year since Italy became the first country in Europe to close its ski areas (on 9th March last year), it looks like most of the country's ski areas won't open this winter. As to conditions, here too there has been a second dry and sunny week for most Italian resorts, temperatures a little cooler than the week before. It is set to slip below freezing this coming weekend even down at resort level and there's an increasing chance of the first snowfalls since mid-February. Switzerland Swiss ski centres remain open although the hoped-for opening of restaurants on March 1st hasn't materialised. Hopefully it will be possible to sit on a terrace outside a Swiss mountain restaurant in a little over a fortnight if you're lucky enough to be able to ski Switzerland at the present time. As with the rest of mainland Europe, it has been a second warm, sunny week, with just a few areas reporting a few centimetres of snowfall as a weak front moved through last weekend. Temperatures are dropping now though and more light to moderate snowfall should arrive this weekend. Engelberg, with just under five metres of snow lying, still has Europe's deepest posted base, Andermatt, with 4.6 metres, in second place. The 4 Valleys, with about 380km of runs open, has the most terrain currently ski-able in Europe. Scandinavia Ski areas in Scandinavia remain open despite intensifying pressure from governments in Finland, Norway and Sweden as they strive to keep infection numbers down. This is the one point of Europe that has reported some fresh snowfall over the past week, although not large amounts, the most in the far north at recently opened Riksgransen in Northern Sweden with a similar 10-20cm reported by Norway's coastal powder Mecca, Voss. Pyrenees No real change on a week ago for the Pyrenees either. It did not get so warm here as further east and north in the Alps but was still above freezing and too warm for snowfall for another week. The situation with pandemic operating restrictions also continues unchanged with limited numbers of Spanish areas open and those that are limiting amounts of their terrain to about 20-30% - due to limited demand as only locally based people can visit still. The same for Andorra whilst French resorts are open to tourists from a wider part of the country but are not allowed to run their ski lifts. Scotland Alas the continuing springlike weather, into its third week now, is having an impact on the unused snow cover on Scottish slopes. So far most of the country's ski areas are still showing cover on the runs themselves complete but with large brown patches appearing around them as the heavy winter snow begins to melt away. Currently, it appears centres won't be able to open until late April, at the earliest, and perhaps then only to people living locally - if there's any snow left. Eastern Europe Bansko had its annual place on the world ski racing stage last weekend as the Alpine World Cup rolled into town. Conditions were actually a little better in Bulgaria than at some resorts in the Alps with temperatures not climbing so high, but otherwise, it has been the same springlike weather and posted snow depth totals are down 10cm or so on a week ago. The region's ski centres still have all of their terrain open and plenty of snow lying now to see them through to the end of the season. In any case, temperatures are dropping again this weekend. North America Canada Conditions continue to look good across Canada's main ski areas. The biggest snowfalls of the last seven days came in Alberta and Eastern BC where resorts posted up to 50cm of snowfall over a few days leading into the weekend, so most centres had great snow cover. In the east, there was fresh snow too around the same time but more like 15-30cm reported. It was perhaps appreciated in the east more though, where there have been fewer fresh snowfalls this season, than the west, which has had plenty. Since the weekend it has been drier across the country, but generally stayed cold so not much of a thawing issue so far. In fact, the long term forecast for Banff is a cold spring. As ski areas stay open into May there that's definitely good news. USA The US continues to post some impressive snow totals although things did appear to calm down at the start of this week and the start of spring following the very snowy February in the Northwest of the country. Those big snowfalls (some resorts in Washington state posted over two metres/seven feet in the last week of last month, whilst Jackson Hole said it was their snowiest February ever recorded) put Alpental up to a 6.6 metre (22 feet) base now, the deepest in the world at present. But things are good to very good almost everywhere in the US with pretty much every resort open, and now most fully open. Colorado and the southern Rockies are still on the below-average cover but are catching up and the second half of winter is proving much more consistently cold and snowy at east coast ski areas than the first half did. |
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J2Ski Snow Report 25th February 2021
Dawn light on the Matterhorn, Zermatt... Snow and cold in America and Japan, sunshine in Europe. The mountains are waiting for us... be patient, stay safe and follow your local advice and rules on travel. The Snow Headlines - 25th February - Sweden's Riksgränsen to open for 2021, this Friday, 26th February. - Huge snowstorm in Utah dumps over a metre of snow in 60 hours. - Sunshine and warm temps in the Alps, Balkans, Dolomites, Scotland and Pyrenees. - Ski area in Washington state first this season to claim 20 feet/6 metres of snow lying. - Verbier announces terrain closures in March to reduce losses in pandemic. The big news in Europe this week is - after the very low temperature and heavy snowfalls earlier this month - warm, sunny weather. Of course spring does start on Monday, by the meteorological measure of the seasons, but if you stick to the more traditional astronomical version with it starting around March 21st, it feels like it has kicked in a month early. The result is that, although there's very little fresh snow to report, the open ski resorts in the alps are posting social media pics of fabulous empty, sunny, snowy slopes that few people can actually get to. Of course, there is a downside, as those who watched the final days of racing at the Cortina Alpine Skiing World Championships last weekend will have seen - lower slopes getting wet and sticky by late morning. They're not posting pictures of that! The snow is holding up well, but there's no clear end to the warm weather in most areas at present, so the thawing might become an issue if it carries on into March. The really big snowfalls in the past week have been happening in Japan and on the Western side of the US. Japanese resorts have reported up to 2 metres of snowfall in the last seven days (and much of that concentrated into three days at the end of last week!) whilst in the US Northwest resorts have repeatedly had to close reporting up to a metre of snowfall in 72 hours and one resort base passing the 6 metres (20 feet) mark, the first in the world to do so this season. There's little fresh virus news to report. France, Germany and Italy are due to review their slope closures once more over the next week or so though few have the mental willpower left to remain optimistic. For Brits, it has been made clear that there'll be no international leisure travel this season if any had still held a faint glimmer of hope. Switzerland appears to be becoming a little smugger that they have, they believe, been proved to have made the right move in opening slopes this season. In the Alpine Forecast Mild and sunny weather for a few more days yet, before cooling toward seasonal averages as move into March. 
Snow for Canada and the USA this week...
Europe Austria Austria - as is the case across most of Europe - is enjoying some lovely, sunny weather at present. Open ski areas, open to locals only that is, are reporting great conditions but with most of the country's slopes below 2000m and thus seeing temperatures well above freezing, it will be getting sticky by lunchtime at many. The deepest snow and the best conditions are mostly up on the glaciers at present, where depths of around 3 metres (10 feet) are reported. The onerous operating restrictions and news that hotels won't re-open before the end of the season have led about 40% of Austrian resorts to close; St Anton and Solden among the latest to do so. France The ski lifts at French resorts remain closed of course, although the resorts themselves are open. Cross-country skiing and ski touring are booming and after reports of people being towed up the slopes behind snowmobiles or ponies, there's now an option to take a taxi to the top of a 2km long groomed run at Courchevel. Here too there's no fresh snowfall to report and instead wall-to-wall sunshine and warm temperatures - very warm down in traditional valley resorts. The French government had said no ski areas opening lifts in February, which of course ends on Sunday, so the question is now, what about March? Italy Italy as well has its ski slopes closed, after the shock last-minute cancellation of re-opening plans a little over a week ago. Here the next hope of opening comes after the first weekend in March, the next date when a decision is due. In the meantime, there has been lots of sunshine here as well. There is quite a lot of variation however; Cortina, which hosted the Alpine Skiing World Championships, of course, is seeing daytime highs of +10C in resort this week but nighttime lows of -10C on their higher slopes. Switzerland It has been a warm week in Switzerland too with above freezing temperatures as high as 2000 metres, in some places even higher, here as well. Resorts have reported glorious, sunny conditions and therefore, here too, there's no fresh snowfall to report. Nonetheless, Europe's deepest snow is lying 485cm deep on the Titlis glacier above Engelberg. The 4 Valleys has the most terrain open in the country - 375km - but does say the Bruson sector will close in a cost-cutting exercise, as Verbier's lift company tries to stem pandemic operating loses, from March 7th. Scandinavia If you are looking for some fresh snow in the past week in Europe it has to be Scandinavia. Coastal Voss says it has had 48cm (17 inches) accumulate since the weekend although here too that's the exception with generally warmer temps and some areas even reporting periods of rain. But, overall, most areas have decent depths and everything open. The northerly Riksgransen Centre, 250km within the Arctic Circle in Sweden, opens for its 2021 season on Friday. Its unusual season runs through spring (too cold and dark in winter), with the culmination of skiing under the midnight sun offered several days a week from mid-May when 24-hour daylight reaches its northerly latitude. Pyrenees Freeze-thaw conditions in the Pyrenees too, with daytime highs of +10, overnight subzero at most ski areas. Centres in Andorra and half-a-dozen Spanish resorts remain the only areas open, and with only limited terrain skiable at each, due to only local people being able to visit. Ski slopes on the French side of the border closed still. Scotland The eight-week freeze and heavy snow period that lasted from Christmas to mid-February is definitely over for now in the Scottish Highlands where temperatures in the valleys have been hitting afternoon-highs of 10 degrees above freezing. Fortunately, it's cooler than that on the ski slopes but there are still some thawing temperatures. From the webcams, so far it continues to look good if (and it remains unknown at present) ski centres are allowed to open in April. The forecast is for largely dry weather, similar temperatures, occasional rain. Eastern Europe Unusually it was actually colder (with a little more snowfall) in Bulgaria and Southeastern Europe than further north in the Alps at the end of last week. But that has now changed and the warmth has reached here too. Bansko is hitting 15C down at the base resort and the 40cm thickness of the home run last week is now 30cm. Plenty of snow lying on the main slopes though. Bulgaria has announced restaurants can re-open from March 1st, clubs and bars from 1st April, so does that mean the end of the ski season could see all resort businesses functioning here? North America Canada Very good conditions reported on Canada's Western and eastern sides. Alberta and BC ski areas have been seeing some good snowfall again, after a brief lull, with Lake Louise reporting 48cm of snow in 48 hours at the start of the week. So lots of perfect powder pics posted by resorts in the region. Less snow in the east, as is the norm, but conditions remain amongst the best they've been this season in Quebec which most areas fully open and some fresh snow - if only 10cm or so - in recent days. USA The snowy weather has certainly been making the headlines in the US over the past week, with the deep freeze in Texas mainstream news. For skiers, it's a little further north and west where the big news has been occurring. First, the biggest snowstorm in 20 years was claimed by resorts including Alta and Snowbird in Utah, which were closed by the intense snowfall until the weekend then re-opened to powder heaven (along with avalanche and tree well danger of course). Next, the focus switched to the Northwest corner and Oregon and Washington states where, in the former, Timberline ski centre has been closed this week after an ice storm knocked out utilities whilst in Washington state more huge snowfalls closed ski areas there. Alpental ski area is now reporting a 6.1 metre base (that's over 20 feet of snow lying) after another metre of snowfall since the weekend. Less dramatic weather but some fresh snow in most other US ski regions so on the whole the picture is good and what snow problems there are right now are because of too much rather than too little snow. |
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:thumbup:
Well, right now is not a good time to be looking at a career change to ski or travel... but a couple of years hence it might be.
A sound plan might be for your "friend", his wife and their friends to start a business together before moving abroad just to see how they work together. A friend of mine (no, really) cooked up a cunning plan with his then friends (also neighbours, so they knew each other quite well - or thought they did), it all went horribly wrong and they ended up moving to another country just to escape...
We? Surely you mean "they"? :lol: Anyway, "their" best plan is probably to pick a location first and then spend enough time there to get to know who's who at the tourist office, which families own the biggest chunks of land, whose toes they may tread on, etc... and what might be coming up for sale. Local businesses for local people, is very likely something you'll encounter and - with the current circumstances nothing less than catastrophic for many locals - that could be a big influence.
Yes, a lot of the independent / smaller chalet operators work this way. I have the impression this works fine for a "lifestyle" approach (if your main objective is to be in the mountains) but margins will be tight. I can put you in touch with a few people who have "been there and done that", albeit pre B and C words so more benign circs. On the plus side, there is likely to be a good supply of properties available to rent this way. The down side, of course, is that they'll be available due to the previous tenants going bust or down-sizing. :(
Very likely, although a positive is that many aspects that are - right now - either uncertain or complicated, should be clearer in the long-term. Wish your friends luck with it though! -) |
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J2Ski Snow Report 18th February 2021
Niseko, Japan, got 60cm in the village this week... Good skiing, but cold weather, excess snow and virus all cause closures! The mountains are waiting for us... be patient, stay safe and follow your local advice and rules on travel. The Snow Headlines - 18th February - Italy's ski season almost starts - cancelled by government hours before lifts due to open. - Ski areas in Utah close due to extreme avalanche danger. - St. Anton and Solden shut down skiing after Tirol and Austria tighten rules further. - World's deepest snow base this season pushes through 5-metre barrier. - Most German ski areas won't have a 20-21 ski season. - Ski areas in Alberta closed for most of last week by extreme cold. - Scotland sees its "best in a decade" cold spell end, warmer weather returns. - Ski areas in Ontario, the only North American region closed by the pandemic, re-open. There are great conditions across most ski slopes, with lots of snow lying almost everywhere now, in the ski areas of Europe, North America and Asia. Europe's week has not been one of the snowiest, with ski areas seeing 10-30cm of snowfall in total at best, but with generally cold temperatures and sunny skies those lucky enough to be able to legally hit their local slopes have been reporting fabulous conditions to make most of the rest of the world jealous. The heaviest snowfall of the past seven days has been in Japan and the North-western corner of North America where some resorts are now reporting 5 metre (15 foot) base depths. Sadly there's been (yet) more bad news from Europe with Italy's ski resorts (expected to re-open from last Monday) being told at the eleventh hour by their government they could not. Austria's Tirol region has also brought in more rules, including a requirement for a negative virus test certificate issued within the preceding 48 hours, before you hit the slopes. Random checks are promised to ensure compliance. Austria also says hotels are staying shut now to at least Easter. It was also announced late last week that Germany's pandemic lockdown was extending into March - to the 7th at least - which led several resorts there to say they definitely won't be opening this winter. Most usually end their seasons in late March normally so it just won't be worth it. The high Zugspitze glacier remains hopeful of some final months or weeks of operation as it can stay open to late spring. In the Alpine Forecast Warm and sunny in the Alps this week, before a return to more seasonal temperatures (and snow) toward the end of the month. 
Japan in the firing line, again...
Europe Austria Austria continues to have most of its ski areas open, just for locally based skiers. There have been concerns about rising virus numbers and a rumour that ski areas would require skiers to provide a recent negative test result before they could hit the slopes which left resorts in Salzburgerland and Tirol furiously denying that was the case late last week (until the rule came in this week). Snow and skiing conditions have been fairly idyllic the past week with sunny days and good conditions. Some areas have only limited terrain open due to the limited number of people permitted to visit but the Skiwelt said they had 150km of runs open this week - about two-thirds of its total. The further restriction on operations in Austria, mentioned in our introduction, has led both St Anton and Solden to announce they are shutting down their ski slopes until further notice. Other areas say they'll stay open for the time being but keep an eye on things and reserve the right to close if skier numbers drop still further. France This should, of course, be one of the busiest times of the French ski season with resorts normally packed with French, British and other school holidaymakers. In fact, French families can still go and stay in a resort in most cases and a kind of ski school lesson is also on offer for the kids, but the lifts remain closed and are now due to remain so for at least another fortnight. Ski and snow conditions have been excellent this past week for those lucky enough to be able to live in an area where its safe and permitted to visit the resorts. The past week has been predominantly dry, cold and sunny. Base depths in the Northern Alps are very good in most areas, with the snow lying 2-3 metres deep at most well-known ski areas, so the late-season does look good if (1) resorts can open (2) people can travel to them. Italy Frustratingly for Italian ski areas, resorts like Livigno which expected to open for the season at last on Monday morning were told by the Italian government late on Sunday that, actually, this wouldn't be permitted - despite months of planning for safe operations during the pandemic and recent weeks of being told they would be able to open so long as the region they were in remained in the low 'yellow' tier. Of the main ski regions, only Trentino and South Tyrol were in the orange tier and knew they wouldn't be able to open. The latest lockdown extension is to March 5th. Conditions have been excellent on Italian ski slopes with good cover, low temperatures and in recent days sunny weather - as those watching the second week of the Cortina World Championships have been able to see through the TV screen. Switzerland Swiss ski areas remain the exception in Europe with slopes open and hotels too, although there are plenty of pandemic operating limitations in place and reports from Swiss ski area indicate there are very few tourists there. Snow conditions look great with most areas reporting 5-25cm of fresh snow in the last few days, some of the biggest ski areas in Europe currently open and the deepest bases on the continent too (480cm/16 feet at Engelberg tops the depth table). Scandinavia Things are looking pretty good in Scandinavia with temperatures remaining subzero and some fresh snowfall to keep slopes in good condition. Unlike most European ski nations more or less all centres are open in Norway, Sweden and Finland and almost everyone now has all their slopes open and lifts running too. Travel restrictions are in place making international travel to each nation all but impossible though. Pyrenees and Spain No fresh snow to report in the Pyrenees but conditions remain good, although what's open at the ski areas that are open in Andorra and Spain remains pretty limited, due to limited demand with only local people able to ski there still. French ski slopes remain closed. There's mixed pandemic news from Spain - Sierra Nevada in the south say they're opening to a wider area, all of Andalucia in fact, but contrarily, several ski areas run by the Aramon Company, including Cerler, Formigal and Panticosa, none of which have opened this season yet due to the pandemic, have now confirmed on Tuesday this week that they won't be opening this season. Scotland As it felt inevitable that Scottish ski areas would have one of their snowiest seasons in decades just when they weren't permitted to open, so it seems typically ironic that as the hope of re-opening draws closer (as cases fall), so the long spell of cold snowy weather appears to draw to a close with this week seeing a return to more usual windy, sometimes rather warm (+5 TO +10C) conditions which commonly cause a meltdown of Scottish snow cover. Hopefully, though, the big bases that have built up will survive, especially on higher slopes where temperatures are closer to freezing. Eastern Europe It's been snowy in Europe's south-eastern corner after a warm-weather blip. Mainstream news reported snow in Athens but Bulgaria's ski slopes have also had a good 10-30cm top-up after seeing temperatures of +15 Celcius a week ago. So things are looking good again there, they say, with fresh cover and pretty much everything open. North America Canada The two main bits of news from Canada are first that it has been cold, very cold, in the west - particular around the Alberta/BC border, and ski areas there including Marmot Basin near Jasper and Sunshine near Banff ended up closed up to four days last week because of it, for safety reasons. Ski areas in Ontario in the East, which had been the only region of North America where the provincial government had closed the lifts due to the pandemic, have now been allowed to re-open, since Tuesday. Otherwise, the news in terms of conditions is generally good - not a lot of fresh snowfall in the past week (although looking snowy now in the West) but nearly everything open, good snow depths and fresh conditions. USA Pretty good conditions in most parts of the US at present with low temperatures keeping the snow quality good. The biggest falls in the last seven days - two to three feet (60-90cm) totals - were reported in Utah (Alta), Wyoming (Jackson Hole) and in Washington State which remains the only place on the planet with several ski areas posting bases of more than 5 metres. Unfortunately, there have been a spate of deaths reported in avalanches, tree wells and even one involving a collision with a tree. Smaller falls elsewhere hoping to keep cover fresh in all the main ski regions. Alta and neighbouring snowbird were both closed on Tuesday by the extreme avalanche danger there. |
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Although our audience is global, the forum is quite UK-focused; and skiers in the UK have pretty much had this winter cancelled...
Probably... even if you don't use them soon, they'll be less work to prep when you do need them and you can also leave a little wax on your edges to help keep the rust away.
Eventually... but depends very much on which wax and what's in it... check the manufacturer's advice. Pretty sure I've seen some waxes explicitly labelled as "long life - suitable for storage" or something similar, but I gave up servicing my own skis a long time ago... 8) |
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Right here. Ask a question and - if it's ski related (!) - chances are that someone will be able to help. |
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J2Ski Snow Report 11th February 2021
Andermatt, Switzerland, skiing above the clouds... Saharan dust, summer snow in NZ, and powder in Scotland! The mountains are waiting for us... be patient, stay safe and follow your local advice and rules on travel. The Snow Headlines - 11th February - Most Italian ski areas (not South Tyrol) may open from Monday. - More huge snowfalls in Scotland; closed areas see snowiest months this century. - Andermatt first in world to post 5-metre base depth this season. - Bulgarian resorts see temperatures reach +15C at the base at the weekend. - Canadian ski areas close due to cold. - Dust from the Sahara turns Swiss snowfall orange. - Ski areas in New Zealand report more snowfall in January (summer) than July (winter). There's been some light to moderate snowfall over the first half of this week in the Alps, with many ski areas seeing another 10-30cm of snowfall. But the weekend was warmer with some lower resorts seeing rain at the base, snow higher up, at times. Things are changing now though with skies clearing, widespread sunshine and very low temperatures on the way for the weekend. Some will see lows on the slopes of -20C or colder. Elsewhere in Europe Scotland's sensational season for snowfall continues - with the great irony that the country's ski areas are closed by the pandemic. In Eastern Europe temperatures have gone from 15 below freezing a few weeks ago to plus 15 and 'very spring-like' in Bulgaria. After the huge west Coast snowfalls that began a fortnight ago, it has been a quieter week for snow in North America, though there have been some more moderate falls in the Rockies and further west. The main news from the East has been very cold temperatures, as low as 0F and sometimes lower. Ski areas in Japan have reported yet more big snowfalls as the great winter 20-21 continues there. Most areas have already surpassed the snowfall totals from last winter. There's also been fresh snow reported in the Andes and New Zealand with several ski areas in NZ noting that they received more snow in the unseasonably cold January - the first half of summer there - than they did last July, the first full month of their winter, last ski season. In the Alpine Forecast Some decent snowfall likely for the northern and western Alps this weekend, but generally a lighter week for snow than of late. Cold temperatures will keep conditions good. 
It's the USA and Japan looking good for new snow this week...
Europe Austria A fairly quiet week for snowfall in Austria with just some modest 5-15cm falls for most areas and some lovely sunny days when the clouds have been absent. Slopes remain quiet with only local people allowed to visit and most resorts have limited terrain open in response to the limited demand. The big weather factor at the moment is the temperature, which is dipping about 20 degrees (C) from last weekend when some areas saw rain at resort level. If (and a big if) pandemic restrictions ease enough by the late spring, summer skiing possibilities look good with the four deepest Austrian bases all on glaciers; Hintertux, Kaunertal, Pitztal and the Stubai all have more than 3 metres (10 feet) of snow lying now. France The French Alps have great snow cover at the moment, with several resorts reporting upper slope base depths at or near three-metre (10 feet). Most resorts are open but the French government are keeping lifts closed through February so it is ski tourers and cross country skiers out on the slopes. though advised to be wary with the avalanche danger still high. If Italian resorts do open next week (which looks likely at the time of writing), it will leave France as the only leading ski nation keeping its lifts closed. But, looking for an upside, all the snow does mean that if areas do open at easter there should still be plenty then. Recent weather has been snowy once more for many areas, although with much smaller accumulations than last week. It is looking cold, dry and sunny into the weekend. Italy Italy is the focus of world attention at the moment, at least in terms of ski racing, with the Alpine Skiing World Championships 2021, the biggest event in ski racing outside the Olympics, underway in Cortina. Alas the first three days have been lost to inclement weather (snowfall, avalanche danger, fog), but hopefully things will get on track for the remainder. At the time of writing most Italian ski resorts are hoping to be able to open for the ski season at last, on Monday, although we know of course that things can change at very short notice. Only the South Tyrol is currently banned still from having its areas open, due to higher virus levels there. If Italian skiers can get on the slopes next week though they should be able to find great conditions almost everywhere. There was some fresh snow at the start of the week, enough to lead to the postponement of opening races at the world championships in fact, but now its cold and sunny so it will be glorious on Italian pistes if they do indeed finally open. Switzerland Swiss ski areas continue to operate with greatly reduced numbers due to travel restrictions, and resorts here are suffering as a result. In terms of the snowfall and weather, there's been a little more at the start of this week with ski areas in the east of the country posting up to 20cm accumulations on Sunday/Monday, but since then it has been largely dry. Andermatt had been the first ski area in the world this season to post a 5-metre base depth but that has now gone back down to 4.7 metres - still the (joint) deepest in the world, just ahead of resorts in Japan and the NW USA. Temperatures, which had been rather warm, are also plummeting, as the skies clear with temperatures as low as -20C forecast by the weekend. Some Swiss resorts have been posting images of dusty orange snowfall and light due to a cloud of dust from the Sahara that has blown in. Scandinavia After the frequently snowy January dramatically improved conditions in Scandinavia, February has seen the weather getting very cold and dry. The upside of this has been plenty of glorious sunshine just as the daylight hours are increasing as we move towards springtime. The downside is little fresh powder, although with temperatures typically 10-20 degrees below freezing the snow that has fallen is holding its dry, powdery quality much better than the freeze-thaw conditions more common in the Alps. Pandemic numbers are low, particularly in Norway and Finland, albeit with travel strictly restricted, so for those lucky enough to be able to get on the slopes it's looking good at present with most centres more-or-less fully open with good snow depth on all runs. Pyrenees The strange season in the Pyrenees continues. Around a quarter of the region's ski areas are open including two of the biggest, GrandValira in Andorra and Baqueira Beret in Spain, but the ski lifts in France remain closed and many Spanish ski areas haven't opened either because of pandemic restrictions or because they don't think it is worth opening. Those that are open typically have between 20 and 50% of their terrain open to try to keep operating costs down with the limited demand. Grandvalira has the most reported open - 74km - about a third of its full area. The weather has got colder with fresh snowfall (10-20cm) in the first half of this week. Drier again now with sunny weather expected to return at the weekend. Scotland 
Powder in the Pentland Hills, for locals only and you'll have to hike... but it'll be so worth it... picture (c) Bryan Hogg Scottish ski centres have been making mainstream news this past week as broadcasters cotton on to the fact that the country is seeing its best snow conditions in more than a decade, whilst centres remain closed by the Scottish Government due to the pandemic. Cairngorm posted pictures at the weekend of a trail groomer ploughing the closed access road and drifts around the base building reaching two-metres. It's the same at the country's other four centres. There's no word when access may be allowed again but it seems unlikely before March. The good news is that the snow should last well into spring now, weather permitting. Eastern Europe Warmth - not the best weather for skiers - has been the order of the day in South-Eastern Europe with Bansko in Bulgaria seeing temperatures hit plus 15C in the resort at the weekend and +8C at the top of the mountain. Fortunately, the cold and snowy January weather means it has a good base to draw on and temperatures have been falling since the Saturday high and should be sub-zero by this coming weekend with more fresh snow in the forecast. More countries are re-opening their slopes with the Czech Republic and Poland expected to allow skiers back this weekend. North America Canada Very snowy and very cold sums up the weather in Western Canada over the past week. Apex was among the resorts reporting more than a metre of snowfall in five days over the weekend whilst Sunshine ski area near Banff was forced to close on Monday as temperatures were deemed too low for safe operation during the pandemic. Over in the East of the country its been cold in Quebec too. Here it has been a dry winter to date and bases are thin but snowmaking systems can at least operate full blast in the low temps. USA After the huge snowfalls in the West a week ago and some hefty dumps in the east too things have been quieter for most areas this week. In the east, as in Canada, the cold weather has been a big issue. Otherwise, conditions are the best they've been all season with fresh snow and everything open. The Rockies, at least the southern Rockies, aren't having a great snowfall season but there was excitement with some fresh snow and powder skiing at the weekend. The biggest falls of the last seven days were up in the Northwest corner though where Mount Baker hit a 4.7-metre base after several feet more snowfall since the weekend. That equals the deepest in the world published by Andermatt in Switzerland. |
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J2Ski Snow Report 4th February 2021
Big Bear Mountain, California got snow... again! Big snow, both side of the Atlantic, and a bit more more coming. The mountains are waiting for us... be patient, stay safe and follow your local advice and rules on travel. The Snow Headlines - 4th February - Deepest snow base in the world this season passes 5-metre mark at Engelberg. - Ski areas in California report over 3 metres of snowfall (11 feet) in 3-days. - Avalanche danger hits highest level following up to 2 metres of snowfall in the Alps. - French and Scottish ski centres to stay closed through February but Slovenia re-opens slopes. - Bi-annual Alpine Skiing World Championships start in Cortina d'Ampezzo this weekend. The snowiest week of the season so far has seen accumulations of over two metres reported at several resorts in Austria and France and over three metres in California. The upside of this has been powder skiing for those lucky few who can get to the slopes and (slightly tenuous perhaps), bases building for late-season skiing if more of us can ski by Easter. The downside is the avalanche danger being exceptionally high and, particularly in the US, the danger of snow suffocation if caught in a tree well. Away from the Alps and Western America, it has been a fairly snowy story in Canada, New England, the Pyrenees and Scotland too. The latter is reporting their best season in terms of snowfall and consistently cold temperatures since 2010, so it's a little ironic the centres have to stay closed due to the pandemic. Drier, but cold, in Scandinavia. In pandemic news, France and Scotland have confirmed they're keeping ski slopes closed into March although Slovenia has allowed theirs to re-open. Austria has delayed a decision to the middle of the month when Italy still hopes to re-open their slopes, at present. In the Alpine Forecast Most of the alpine region will see more snow over the next few days, with some heavy falls expected on Sunday for the Swiss and Italian Alps in particular. 
Snow heading for Japan and the US in the next 48 hours (and Swiss and Italian Alps on Sunday)...
Europe Austria Austrian ski areas saw some of the biggest snowfalls of the huge storm that hit the Alps in the latter half of last week. Resorts in the Tirol posted up to two metres (80 inches) of snowfall and the avalanche danger hit maximum level in many areas. Austrian skiing has also been making headlines away from the winter sports sector with the country's police raiding St Anton to find more than 90 skiers staying 'illegally' from a wide range of national origins. They now have to quarantine and pay a large fine. Austria, which has its slopes open to local people but not ski tourists, has begun easing some lockdown restrictions on day-to-day life. However, a decision on easing ski tourism restrictions, or not, has been delayed to mid-February. Bases on glaciers are now past the three-metre mark thanks to all the new snow so that could be good news for late spring/summer glacier skiing if that's when travel is allowed again. France France too saw huge snowfalls at many of its Alpine resorts, some like Val Thorens posting 1.5 metres (five feet) totals. Many ski resorts remain open - with the lifts shut - but the French Government has this week kicked the can down the road again on when lifts might be allowed to open, confirming it will now not be until at least the start of March. The mood in ski areas appears to have gone from anger and despair to resignation, although some ski area workers did block the Frejus trunnel into Italy in protest at the hardship resulting for them. The snow was back at the start of the week with still more heavy snowfalls reported. Italy The ski racing world's focus will be on Italy and specifically Cortina d'Ampezzo over the coming week or two with the bi-annual Alpine Skiing World Championships due to kick off in a few days time, the second biggest event in skiing after the Winter Olympics. There's also heightened anticipation of ski areas re-opening after three months - subject to the state of the pandemic of course - in just over a week's time on the 15th of February. So far that date is holding. Italian ski areas have had fresh snowfall this past week. Conditions, from what we can tell at closed areas, would be great if resorts were open. Switzerland Swiss ski areas remain defiantly open and the biggest issue this past week has been the huge snowfalls over the weekend, perhaps overshadowing the pandemic for a change. Up to two metres (80 inches) of snow was recorded at some areas in Valais and it has been snowing again in the past few days too. Lötschental claims 2.9 metres (nearly 10 feet) of snow has now fallen there in the past week. All the snow has taken Andermatt's upper slope base depth past the five-metre mark, the first resort in the world to reach that this season so far. But it also brought the avalanche danger to maximum level 5 and a number of resorts were temporarily cut off due to the avalanche danger over access roads and rail routes. Scandinavia The Scandinavian picture has been dominated by cold weather over the past week, with temperatures in places down to -20C or even -30 Celcius. This has come with clear skies so not much fresh snowfall to report. Most areas have enough snow lying and are fully open, or thereabouts. Unlike down in the alps most ski areas are open to all in Finland, Norway and Sweden, within national pandemic restrictions in each country of course. Pyrenees The news from the Pyrenees is little changed on the position for the past month now. Ski areas in Andorra and some in Spain are open, but to local skiers only. As these are mostly destination resorts reliant on tourism, their operations are reported to be losing money in the present scenario so they're opening only a fraction of their terrain to try to cut costs. Resorts in the French Pyrenees are closed of course. The weather has been warmer but another 20-40cm of fresh snowfall has been reported in the past week. Scotland Frustratingly, but somehow typically, Scotland's ski-season-that-isn't just keeps getting better and better and with consistently cold snowy weather for the past six weeks now. So the snow is lying several metres deep and conditions are now widely being compared to the last really good winter of 2009-10. But on Tuesday the Scottish Government said pandemic spread prevention measures will keep the country's ski centres closed to at least the end of this month. Ski touring is proving ever more popular with the great conditions but lifts are shut. A number of skiers have been fined for travelling too far from home to go skiing in the lockdown. Eastern Europe After very cold temperatures and then heavy snowfall in the latter half of January conditions are excellent on Bulgarian ski slopes as we enter February. It has warmed up a little and there's been less fresh snow this past week but bases are pretty healthy now and even the long run down to resort from Bansko's slopes is reported to have an unusually healthy half-metre of snow lying on it. North America Canada A promising picture across Canada with the west seeing more good snowfalls (40-50cm in 48 hours reported for Kicking Horse and Whistler in BC over the start of this week). So it is a case of ever more terrain open (Whistler is already fully open) and powder conditions. The East continues to look 'much improved' too with some fresh snow and, equally important after the warm autumn, consistently cold temperatures. Even the virus news is improving in that Ontario, the only province or state in North America where the regional government has decided to close ski areas due to the pandemic, has decided to open centres there again 'ASAP'. USA The biggest snowfalls in the world of the past week have been recorded in California, where one resort (China Peak) posted a 3.2-metre accumulation, Mammoth said they got ten feet (three metres) during the three-day storm from Tuesday/Wednesday to Friday/Saturday. There was some digging out (an understatement!) and avalanche mitigation measures, before 'amazing conditions' from Sunday. Further north in Washington state heavy snowfall took Mount Baker's base past the 4-metre mark, the deepest on the North American continent at present. Some snow in Colorado too but snow depths remain below average. A big storm hit the Northeast after California's ended, running from Monday to Wednesday this week, with some resorts in New York state posting more than three-feet (90cm) of snowfall. |
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