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A piste basher doing it's thing at Verbier, Switzerland - weekend opening from Saturday 16th Snow in the western USA allows more ski areas to open there, while light snows fall in Europe; with cold and (more) snow forecast for next week. The Snow Headlines - November 14th - More than 20 US ski areas now open for 24-25 season. - Snowfall in the Alps, with heavier falls forecast next week. - BC resorts report more than four-feet (1.2m) of pre-season snowfall. - More than 50 ski areas open across northern hemisphere. - Verbier announces season start for this weekend. - Big North American names incl. Mammoth, Park City, Vail & Whistler to open this weekend. - US East Coast season gets underway. 
Snow forecast for many ski areas.
World Overview North America has had a big step forward in terms of areas open over the last week, going from just a handful to over two dozen as heavy snowfall led to areas opening early to get the season off to a positive start in the west. There's been less good news for the eastern side of the continent, but it is an improving picture there too with snowmaking systems firing up and two of the largest resorts announcing they've quickly opened (with advanced terrain only). In the Alps, after several weeks of dry, sunny weather, there was some snowfall in the west on Tuesday and heavier falls are forecast next week. If they arrive, as current models suggest, it could be perfect timing for the start of the season at some big-name resorts. There's also been more snowfall for the Pyrenees and cold enough temperatures for overnight snowmaking in Eastern Europe. Europe Austria Another sunny week in Austria hasn't been great news for the fast-approaching main ski season but two more ski areas have opened nonetheless and whilst the natural snowfall keeps capriciously disappearing from the forecast, temperatures have been markedly dipping allowing overnight snowmaking systems to fire up, especially on higher slopes. Solden and Hintertux continue to post the most terrain open, about 30km each with the Stubai on 20km. The past week has seen Obergurgl and Kitzbuhel open, the latter making use of snow-farming to open about a kilometre of its slopes at Resterkogel. Four more Austrian glacier areas remain open daily. There is now significant snowfall forecast for Austria for the start of next week. France The French ski season is just over a week away, at last, with Tignes and Val Thorens expected to be the first to open. After some good snowfalls in September and October up high it has been rather dry and sunny since so they may not be able to open all their terrain from day one. However, the past few days have seen the freezing point drop and some snow flurries so things may still improve yet. Next week several feet of snowfall is in the forecast which could be perfectly timed for that season start. Italy Italy's autumn ski season has been in a bit of a holding pattern the past few weeks with little natural snowfall and temperatures too warm for snowmaking until recently. The Presena Glacier and Sulden ski areas, both with terrain well above 3,000m, often open in October or early November but have so far put off doing so, although Sulden now says they will open at last this weekend. For now though, with the Passo Stelvio summer ski area now closed, there remains just a few kilometres of runs at Val Senales open, although it too has announced it will open more runs this coming weekend. The lifts up to Zermatt's glacier slopes from Cervinia are also now open again. The past week has seen progressively cooler temperatures, the freezing point reaching valley floors and allowing snow-making at higher elevations, but it has continued mostly dry. Snowier days are expected next week. Switzerland Four ski centres are now open daily in the Swiss Alps, with Gstaad's Glacier 3000 the latest to open. Another four areas are open at the weekends. The amount of terrain available is also increasing with Zermatt now offering 30km of slopes, the most this autumn so far. As with the rest of the Alps the past week has been mostly dry and sunny, as were the previous two, but it has been getting colder - and snowier conditions have been moving in from the west. Much snowier weather is currently in the forecast for early next week, all being well. Scandinavia Not much change in conditions or what is open in Scandinavia over the past week, but this weekend things will begin to happen with the World Cup tour arriving in Levi and more larger ski areas due to start opening in Norway and Sweden. Hafjell, Kvitfjell and Trysil are all scheduled to open. It has warmed up again this week, a little, after sub-zero temperatures dominated in the north last week, but we're heading back to double-digits below with light snow showers so great conditions for snowmaking. North America Canada After Lake Louise opened early last week, two more Canadian centres joined it at the weekend. They included fellow Banff area Lake Louise and Nakiska, towards Calgary. However Banff's local ski hill Norquay delayed a second week and is now targeting this weekend. All have limited terrain open so far, just a few kilometres of slopes each. The heaviest snowfall has continued to be in British Columbia where some areas say they've had over a metre of pre-season snowfall to date. Sun Peaks is due to be the first to open there this coming week with Whistler opening later next week too. It continues to look promising for a good snow season in the West whilst in the East snowmaking systems have fired up now. USA It's been a busy week in the US with lots of ski areas opening across the west including big names like Breckenridge, Copper Mountain and Winter Park in Colorado, where snow depths are reported to be above average for this very early point in the season. A five-day snowstorm helped boost early season bases. Wolf Creek, the first to open in the US back in October is now almost 100% open with the most terrain open in the world at present. Ski areas opened for the first time this season in other states like Idaho and Utah as well as southerly locations like Arizona and New Mexico. Big names like Park City and Vail are going to join them in the coming week. Several ski centres in Oregon also plan to open several weeks early. It's been less good news with warm temperature on the East Coast but that has changed in the past few days and temperatures are low enough for snowmaking systems to fire up at resorts like Killington and Sunday River which announced on Wednesday night they'd be open from Thursday morning (although initially with largely ungroomed, hike-to, expert-only, thin-cover type terrain!). |
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Breckenridge, Colorado, have had 2 feet of snow this week... and open tomorrow, Friday 8th November! North American ski areas starting to open, with heavy snow for the West Coast. Temperatures forecast to drop in Europe. The Snow Headlines - November 7th - More US resorts open after colder weather and snowfall. - Kitzbuhel opening for the season this weekend thanks to snow farming. - Canada's delayed season start is now underway with lake Louise opening. - Scandinavia gets much-needed temperature drop and some snowfall. - 8 Areas due to open in Colorado this weekend. - Cooler temperatures starting to appear in European forecasts. 
Incoming! Snow Forecast for the West Coast, and a little for Europe?.
World Overview With sunny weather dominating in the Alps over the past week, much of the activity related to ski areas opening has been in North America where the number of resorts open jumped from 1 to 6 last weekend. With a plethora of resorts announcing opening this weekend, it looks set to triple again and give the US the most areas open of any country in the world, with North America also drawing equal with Europe for areas open. There have been some good snowfalls, with up to 2 feet (60cm) reported in Colorado and, more crucially, some very cold temperatures for snowmaking to keep things moving along. It wasn't quite enough for Banff's Norquay to hit its target opening date, with the resort initially announcing a one-week delay (now two weeks) but Lake Louise opened Wednesday to start the Canadian 24-25 season anyway. In the Alps it's been a fairly mild, mostly sunny and largely dry week so there's been little change on a week ago. Things can change quickly though and, in a positive sign, forecast updates over the last 24 hours show temperatures dropping and snow forecast to move in from the west at the weekend. Bookmark the J2Ski forecasts! We've completely revamped our forecasts for this winter, using the best of current forecasting models and now looking 16 days ahead (of course, no forecast is reliable at that timeframe, but we'll see major pattern changes show up earlier). Europe Austria Austria continues to have the most ski areas open for the time being at least with seven glaciers to choose from. They've been posting webcam images of gorgeous blue sky conditions each day of the past week, the only problem being with the freezing point up towards 4,000m altitudes it's very warm for early November so lower areas can't start snowmaking ahead of their seasons. Be that as it may, Solden has the most terrain open anywhere in the world at present with over 30km of runs. Hintertux has almost as much, the Stubai about 20km. The Kaunertal, Kitzsteinhorn, Molltal and Pitztal glaciers are also open. Kitzbühel is due to become the 8th Austrian ski area to open for the 24-25 season, this Saturday, using snow farming to create a few kilometres of runs at its Resterkogel sector. The good news is that temperatures are now dipping and there's some cloud (and a little snow) forecast so the zero (freezing) line should be down to 2000m by the weekend - with more changeable conditions. France There remains nowhere open in France and with a week of predominantly warm and sunny weather behind them and not a particularly exciting forecast for the week ahead in terms of imminent cold and heavy snow, there's no current likelihood of anywhere opening early. That said temperatures are now dropping and there is light-moderate snow forecast up high in a few places. Currently, Chamonix, Tignes and Val Thorens are set to be the first in the country to open in just over a fortnight. Italy Italy's summer ski centre Passo Stelvio ended its six-month 2024 opening at the weekend leaving Val Senales, with just 2.5km of slopes available, the only centre currently open on Italian soil. With the recent warm, dry, sunny weather there haven't been any other areas rushing to join it but Sulden, which sits at 1900m and has slopes up to 3250m is expected to open this weekend. You can also access Zermatt's glacier ski slopes, just over the Swiss border, from Cervinia now the connection has re-opened. It is getting cooler and back down to seasonal norms in Italy but there's not much snowfall in the forecast as yet. Switzerland Switzerland is just about holding its own in second place for number of ski areas open, although it might be overtaken by the US at the weekend, whilst drawing equal with Austria. Like the rest of the Alps, the past week has been predominantly dry, sunny and mild, with temperatures getting a few degrees above freezing on glaciers. Zermatt is posting the most open terrain in the country with 24km of slopes available. This is about when they would have hosted the planned cross-border FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup Downhill season opener had the race not been (seemingly) permanently cancelled. Ironically this year it looks like it might have been good to go. The Titlis glacier above Engelberg is posting the world's deepest base at this very early point in proceedings – just over three metres lying up top they claim. Murren is the latest ski area to open, last Saturday, thanks to snowfarming, like Adelboden the week before. You can also ski at Saas-Fee and St Moritz (Diavolezza Glacier). The forecast is looking more changeable now – cooler and cloudier to start with. Glacier 3000 near Gstaad is expected to start its season this weekend. Scandinavia Colder weather has finally arrived in northern Scandinavia to the delight of Finland's Levi and Ruka as well as Kabdalis in Sweden which had been struggling to maintain slopes made from snow saved from last season. Now there is fresh natural snow and snow-making systems can work. More smaller northern Norwegian and Swedish centres are planning to open over the next few weekends, and the bigger players later this month. It's looking fairly dry into the weekend but colder, and remaining cold enough for snowmaking up north. North America Canada There is snow on the ground at Mount Norquay near Banff but it ultimately opted not to start the lifts on its self-declared tentative season start date last Saturday, as there wasn't enough. It initially said it planned to open this coming weekend but has now announced a further weeks' delay blaming sunny weather. Fellow Banff resort Lake Louise did open earlier this week to claim first in Canada. The third Banff area of Sunshine opens on Friday. Albertan ski areas Marmot Basin near Jasper, as well as Nakiska, are also targeting this weekend to start their seasons and we may also see the first East Coast area opening; most likely Quebec's Sommet St Sauveur. The heaviest snowfall this week - several feet (60cm) in some cases - has been reported in British Columbia resorts like Apex, Big White, Red Mountain, Silver Star and Fernie - which aren't planning to open quite yet. It's been drier the past few days but there are colder temperatures and more snowfall in the forecast now. USA The US has had an exciting week. Ski areas in the Pacific Northwest posted some of the world's first heavy snowfall pics of the 24-25 pre-season, while more resorts opened in Colorado (some reporting two feet/60cm of snowfall this week). There was a big drop in temperatures, with overnight lows down as far as -20C in the Colorado Rockies, leading to snowmaking systems firing up in states across the country – including (initially) New England and the Midwest although its unfortunately now back to very warm there. At the time of writing, 13 ski areas plan to be open in six states in the western US this weekend including 8 in Colorado and the first for 24-25 in Arizona (Arizona Snowbowl), California (Mt Rose), Idaho (Lookout Pass) and Utah (Brian Head). Nevada's Lee Canyon which opened last weekend will also re-open. In Colorado, centres opening last weekend were Arapahoe Basin and Keystone which joined already open Wolf Creek; they were joined by Eldora, opening more than a week early on Thursday. Two more centres – Breckenridge and Copper – had already said they planned to open this weekend but they're now being joined by Loveland and Winter Park too. It has turned a little drier the past few days but stayed sub-zero Celcius for snowmakers and there's more snow forecast to end the week. |
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Lake Louise is opening today (5th November), with free lift passes next week for veterans ("Canadian military personnel, past and present")
The Banff ski areas of Banff Mount Norquay, Nakiska and Sunshine Village should open this coming weekend. For more season starts this week and for the rest of the month (and 2024); see our opening dates for ski resorts in Canada, and for snow conditions check the Canadian snow forecasts. |
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Impatient more than worried... it's 3 weeks until the first French resorts (including Tignes) open and 6 weeks until the majority start their seasons, which should (fingers crossed...) be plenty of time for the weather to change.
We'll certainly be highlighting any change to the current weather outlook here! Keep the faith... |
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Over 20 ski areas now open in Europe and Scandinavia, with more starting their seasons in the coming weeks AND A-Basin and Keystone, Colorado in the USA joining already-open Wolf Creek tomorrow!
Keystone (pictured) and Arapahoe Basin will both open tomorrow! Where to Ski in November 2024 November can make or break a ski season depending on which way mother nature plays its. Ideally snowy but most importantly a cold month is what we're hoping for. Although there have yet to be any really significant, lasting, snowfalls for the northern hemisphere (outside Scandinavia) this autumn, about 20 centres are already open in six countries in the Alps and Scandinavia, thanks to their glaciers or snow farming efforts. So far this autumn, Europe has seen cold temperatures and snowfall at times above 2500m but now we really need colder temperatures to lower elevations. Currently the forecast is warm and dry to start November, but it's early days. In north America it has been cold in Canada but warmer than average in the US, but is now very cold and forecast to remain so to start November, so looking more promising at this stage, although only one centre has opened so far (with at least 2 more opening tomorrow). Most of the big names hope to open by the end of November. Europe Austria Although it may be overtaken by Switzerland and perhaps the USA within the first 10 days of the month, Austria starts November with more ski options than any other nation – seven glacier areas. It also has the largest ski areas open so far 25-35km of slopes at Hintertux and Solden. Kitzbuhel is scheduled to open a few kilometres of runs thanks to snow farming on the second weekend of the month then the high-altitude resorts of Obergurghl and Obertaurn will open just after mid-November, the first non-glacier areas that don't use snow farming. As elsewhere in the northern hemisphere the final weekend of the month will mark that start of mass resort opening with Ischgl usually offering one of the largest areas available anywhere, often more than 100km of slopes, upon opening. France French ski areas have given up on opening in September, October or even early November (Les 2 Alpes and Tignes would have been open by now until a few years ago) so, barring a huge snowfall and resorts opening early (which can and has happened at least once in the last decade so we live in hope!), its Grand Montets in the Chamonix Valley, Tignes and Val Thorens set to open first in the country for the final week of November. Italy Italy has a few small glacier areas open as we start November, one of them, Passo Stelvio, a summer ski area which started its 2024 season back in May, plans to close until next spring on Sunday 3rd. Other than access to Zermatt's glacier ski area from Cervinia, options are likely to be limited in Italy until late in the month when bigger resorts with high altitude skiing liker Bormio and Livigno tend to open. Before that, smaller centres like Sulden and the Pragelato glacier above Passo Tonale should join already-open Val Senales. Switzerland Switzerland starts November with five ski areas open and unlike other nations these are big names – Adelboden, Engelberg, St Moritz (Diavolezza Glacier), Saas-Fee and Zermatt – and all have glacier skiing except Adelboden which has used snow farming, the same technique Murren will use to open on the 2nd. Other big name Swiss resorts aiming to open in the first few weeks of November include Davos, Gstaad (Glacier 3000) and Verbier, snow permitting. Then most Swiss areas begin opening from the 23rd or 30th towards the end of the month, or in early December. The Zermatt / Cervinia area often has one of the largest amounts of terrain open anywhere in November and early December, thanks in part to having Europe's highest lift-served slopes. Scandinavia Scandinavian centres have an advantage with their northerly latitude typically bringing colder, snowier weather earlier than further south and many of the region's centres will open in the latter half of the month. As we start November a handful of ski areas are already open in Finland, Norway and Sweden, most using snow stockpiled through summer and spread back out on the slopes in October to create new runs. This year they've suffered unseasonably warm weather making maintaining them tricky, but its now colder and fresh snowmaking on the old snow is underway. One of these centres, Finland's largest Levi, will host World Cup alpine ski races this month. Pyrenees Most Pyrenean ski centres in Andorra, France and Spain will open in the final week of November or the first week of December, all being well. On the Spanish side there's a particular wish to be open by the start of December ahead of a week of public holidays that come in the build up to Christmas. The signs are fairly promising at this stage with some good October snowfalls reported. Baqueira Beret currently plans to open on the 23rd November as does France's Porte Puymorens with the region's largest area, Androrra's Grandvalira, among those targeting November 30th. Rest of Europe Most ski areas elsewhere in Europe don't aim to open until early December but if we have a spectacular early snowfall most Scottish centres could open at short notice and have done in the past. The same is true for Eastern European resorts, a few of which may open on the final weekend of November if conditions are good. North America Canada Canada has had a snowy September and October in Alberta and eastern BC and the three Banff ski areas are expected to get the country's 24-25 season underway soon (which is due to be better than average in the west thanks to the La Nina impact). Mount Norquay had hoped to open on the 2nd but has delayed and will now open the weekend of the 9th, the same as the other two Banff areas Lake Louise and Sunshine as well as Marmot Basin to the north near Jasper. Sun Peaks should be the first in BC mid-month with the country and continent's biggest ski area Whistler Blackcomb opening for the final week of the month; it reported 80cm of snowfall in the final week of October. Others will join from then on, into December. Snowmaking was underway in the east late October too so centres could start opening there early in November too. USA November is a big month in the US with most of the country's leading ski areas wanting and planning to open by the end of the month when there's the key Thanksgiving holiday long weekend. Unfortunately, October hasn't really been one to remember with much of the month delivering above average temperatures although there have been some snowfalls, the heaviest about a week before the end of the month that allowed the first ski area to open, Colorado's Wolf Creek. It then warmed up again so Wolf Creek has remained the sole open area, but the last few days of the month (and forecast for early November) has seen a big temperature drop, allowing snowmaking systems to fire up and in some cases operate 24 hours a day on both east and west coasts. That should mean more centres will be opening early in the month. Usually the US has more ski centres open by far than any other country by the end of November. Asia Several small Japanese centres have already opened thanks to all-weather snowmaking machines and at least one centre in northern China also opened late last month crediting early natural snowfall. But as in Europe most of the big-name Japanese ski areas don't aim to open until the very end of the month, or early December, depending on conditions. So far, they're autumnal and not very cold although Hokkaido's mountains have had at least one light dusting of snow already. The La Nina forecast should mean above average precipitation and below average temperatures for Japan, hopefully meaning abundant powder. |
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Making snow at Arapahoe Basin, USA, opening soon... Snow in the forecast for Scandinavia and parts of North America, as the number of northern hemisphere ski areas open reaches 25. The Snow Headlines - October 31st - Snowfall for Europe's southernmost resort, and for Portugal's only ski centre. - Temperatures drop and snowmaking systems run across North America. - Alpine Skiing World Cup 24-25 tour underway. - Canada's ski season due to start this weekend. - The last European summer ski area still open for 2024 to close this weekend. - Southern hemisphere's 2024 season over. We're up to about 25 ski areas now open in Asia, Europe and North America (by this weekend) with the southern hemisphere's 2024 season finally over. 
Snow forecast for Scandinavia and North America.
World Overview We're up to about 25 ski areas now open in Asia, Europe and North America this weekend with the southern hemisphere's 2024 season finally over. Operations are mostly thanks to glaciers, all weather snow-making machines or snow farming techniques with last winter's snow reused. At this point, only one centre is solely reliant on freshly fallen natural snow. In terms of weather, North America and Scandinavia are currently looking the most wintery with the Alps seeing warm, sunny weather this week. Elsewhere in Europe there was a good snowfall across the Iberian peninsular at the weekend, with snow reported at Europe's most southerly ski area, Spain's Sierra Nevada, as well as the most westerly on the mainland, Portugal's Serra de Estrella. It's also been colder with some snowfall in Scotland and Scandinavia. In North America there's been some snowfall but perhaps more importantly temperatures have dropped, and snow-making systems fired up from coast to coast. So far, nowhere has joined first-to-open Colorado's Wolf Creek, but more may do so this weekend. The only area officially hoping to is Banff's Mount Norquay which tentatively plans to start Canada's 24-25 season on Saturday. The southern hemisphere's season ended a few days earlier than expected last week the last two areas still operating, Turoa and Whakapapa ski areas on New Zealand's North Island abandoned plans to offer skiing at the weekend with rain and warm weather thawing the snow cover on Mount Ruapehu, where they're both located. Europe Austria Austria continues to have the most ski centres open in the world at present and also the centres which, individually, have the most terrain available. Sölden successfully hosted the opening of the 24-25 Alpine skiing World Cup tour with GS races at the weekend attracting record crowds of nearly 20,000. They saw some fresh snowfall up on the glacier but with the freezing point moving between 3000 and 4000m there was rain too. Sölden has the most terrain open anywhere in the world at present at over 30km. Since last weekend though it has been dry, sunny and rather warm and that remains the forecast into next week. The six other glacier areas open are Hintertux, the Kaunertal, Kitzsteinhorn, Molltal, Pitzal and Stubai. France The French Alps have currently got the same warm, dry, sunny conditions as the rest of the Alps and that's expected to continue through into next week. No French ski areas are currently open with the first three planning to open in three weeks time; on the 22nd or 23rd November. They are Chamonix, Tignes and Val Thorens. Italy There's little change on the situation in Italy a week ago with just two centres currently open. Unless there's a season extension, Passo Stelvio is expected to close on Sunday to end their 2024 summer ski season which began back in May. The main change is that access to Zermatt's glacier, which now has an expanded 24km of slopes open, has reopened. There are also a few kilometres of slopes available on the glacier at Val Senales. Italy has seen the same dry, warm and sunny weather this week as others in the Alps. Switzerland Switzerland saw two more ski areas open last weekend taking their tally to five, second only to Austria. Engelberg is one of the latest to open, with its Titlis glacier skiable once more, and Adelboden has opened a small area, using snow farming to build a run from snow saved from last winter. They join already-open Saas-Fee, St Moritz (Diavolezza Glacier) and Zermatt. Like the rest of the Alps it's been a warm and sunny week here after a little weekend snowfall. A sixth Swiss centre, Murren, says they'll open this Saturday thanks to snow farming. Scandinavia Temperatures in Sweden and Finland have finally dipped below freezing and snowmaking has started at resorts like Levi and Ruka. The only centre open in Norway, the Galdhopiggen summer ski centre - with Scandinavia's highest slopes - has had more wintery weather for longer, but is due to end its six-month 2024 run this weekend. North America Canada Canada has had cold weather and more snowfall since the weekend, and snow-making machines have begun operations from coast-to-coast, with Cypress Mountain and Whistler on the Pacific Coast making snow just as Tremblant and other Quebec resorts closer to the Atlantic have snow production underway too. Around Banff though its more natural snow that's relied on. Local ski hill Mount Norquay had aimed to be the first in the country to open this weekend, getting its Cascade Chair spinning, but it announced on Wednesday that's now been delayed a week to when others including Lake Louise and Sunshine as well as Jasper's Marmot Basin were planning to open anyway too (although at the time of writing their website still says "tentatively" opening 2nd November... so who knows? So far the cold and snowy weather, with more forecast, is playing ball. USA The US saw some snowfall in the west at the start of this week with excitement in the Rockies and at West Coast ski areas from California to Washington state. It has since turned drier and sunnier again but crucially temperatures have dropped to well below freezing in the mountains and so snow-making systems have fired up and in some areas are working around the clock. That's not just in the West either, as East Coast resorts like Sunday River in Maine have also got snow-making underway and did even open for a special pass holders day on Halloween, although has now closed again. As we publish this week's report it remains only Wolf Creek open but it seems likely other Colorado resorts, particularly the likes or Arapahoe Basin and Keystone, may well be joining them in the next few days, as temperatures are forecast to stay very cold with more snowfall on the way. |
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Gulmarg Snow Reports - October 2024
Started by Himalayan ski guides in Snow Reports from Ski Resorts, 3 Replies, discussing Gulmarg |
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Possibly... ;) Too far ahead to have any certainty. Please note that our current forecast for Gulmarg is wrong and showing stupid temperatures; we've identified a bug and this will be fixed within the next hour... :oops: |
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It's white but not (yet) deep; a cold covering for Vail, Colorado, USA. First US ski area opens, with several additions in The Alps from last week. Snow has fallen on yet-to-open resorts in The Rockies and The Pyrenees. The southern hemisphere season finally ends this weekend. The Snow Headlines - October 24th - The US and North America's 24-25 ski season is underway. - 7th Austrian glacier opens for 24-25 season. - Japan and Sweden latest countries to see 24-25 get underway. - Access to Zermatt's glacier ski area due to resume for those based in Cervinia. - Heavy snowfall reported in the Pyrenees, although nowhere open there yet. - Alpine Skiing World Cup 24-25 tour set to start at Solden this coming weekend. - Last area open in the Andes, Chile's Valle Nevado, ends extended 2024 season. - Southern Hemisphere's 2024 season ends this weekend. 
See where the snow is forecast.
World Overview There's lots happening in the ski world as the 24-25 season starts to build momentum. Perhaps the biggest news of the last seven days is the start of North America's 24-25 season following colder, snowier weather there. In Europe, more centres have opened and we should hit the 20 mark, for ski areas already operating, at the weekend. Sweden is the latest European country to see a resort open. In Asia, the first centre to open, as usual, is expected to be Japan's Yeti centre, which uses an all-weather snowmaking system to create its run. In the southern hemisphere, the 2024 season is just about over. The last centre still open in South America, Chile's Valle Nevado, closed on Sunday. Two centres on New Zealand's Mount Ruapehu were open, with just a few kilometres of slopes left each, and had hoped to last for one final weekend. However Whakapapa announced that Thursday (today) had to be its final day due to fast thawing so the season is over there now. Turoa still hoped to open this Friday-to-Sunday as we publish this week's report. Europe Austria Austria has the most centres open in the world at present, more than half of all centres open in the Alps and over a third of the global total – low as it currently is with less than 20 areas open in the northern hemisphere ahead of the main season start and only two left in the southern hemisphere with the 2024 season almost over there. It also has the only area posting more than 30km of slopes currently open, Solden, which hosts the opening races of the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup this weekend. Conditions look fairly promising with mostly dry, cold conditions expected, although with some light snowfall quite likely. The Hintertux and Stubai glaciers have about 20km of slopes open each and you can also ski at the Kitzsteinhorn, Kaunertal and Pitztal glaciers with Carinthia's Molltal the latest to join them, last weekend. France There remains nowhere open in the French Alps with Les 2 Alpes and Tignes, both having given up on glacier skiing at this time of year after several years of inadequate early snowfall. Ironically Les 2 Alpes has been posting images of a snowy-looking glacier though! The French season should kick off on 23rd November in Tignes and Val Thorens unless there are any early openers. Italy Italy should be up to four or five centres open this weekend (depending on how you measure it) with the Presena Glacier above Passo Tonale and the high slopes of Sulden expected to open, whilst access from Cervinia to Zermatt's glacier ski slopes is also expected to recommence after a few months closed. They'll join already-open Passo Stelvio and Val Senales, which have been reporting excellent conditions, despite little fresh snow this past week, but thanks to earlier October falls and cold conditions up high. Switzerland Switzerland plans to have a fourth, and also a fifth centre open this weekend. Adelboden has used snow-farming to create a run for race training which opened on Thursday for teams and will open to all from this Saturday. Engelberg's Titlis glacier hopes to start its season this weekend, all being well, and will join already open Saas Fee, Zermatt and St Moritz's Diavolezza glacier which has a kilometre of runs open. Saas Fee and Zermatt both have 12-15km of slopes open but are hinting at opening much more over the next few weekends as they officially switch to winter mode. Conditions have been fairly benign this last week in the Swiss Alps with milder, drier weather and just the occasional light snowfall above 2,000m; colder and more unsettled for the week ahead. Scandinavia Sweden has joined the Scandinavian nations that have started their 24-25 season. The northerly centre of Kåbdalis opened with a run created from snow stockpiled from last season through the summer and spread back out on the slopes last weekend. A second Swedish centre, Tarnaby, is expected to open this weekend, but temperatures have been a little mild. Finland's Levi and Yllas are both in the third weeks of their 24-25 seasons now and hoping for colder temperatures after getting rain earlier this week. It is indeed getting colder now, thankfully, as Ruka said they were struggling to maintain their snow due to a lack of overnight freezing there. In Norway, they are still going with their 2024 summer ski season with Galdhøpiggen still open for a few more weeks. They have been enjoying fairly good conditions there with temperatures a few degrees on either side of freezing and regular light snow showers reported. North America Canada We're only a week away now, all being well, from the start of Canada's 24-25 season - with Banff's Mount Norquay ski area expected to open on November 2nd. The weather continues to look promising with snowfall reported on slopes from coast-to-coast including about 8 inches (20cm) up high at Whistler Blackcomb at the weekend. With more wintry conditions expected things are looking promising at present. USA The Western US enjoyed a wintery weekend with some centres posting more than 20 inches of snowfall on Friday and Monday last. As a result, Colorado's Wolf Creek ski area became the first in the country, and indeed the entire North American continent, to open for the 24-25 season, at 9 am on Tuesday. It reported a 21" snowfall and about s third of its terrain open initially. Other Colorado ski areas like Arapahoe Basin, Copper, Keystone and Loveland have all got snowmaking underway and benefitted from snowfalls too, if not getting so much as Wolf Creek. Silverton also has ski tourers on its slopes, with a reported 7" of fresh snowfall, at the weekend. Since the snow things have warmed up a little and turned sunny again throughout this week and that's expected to continue into next week. |
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