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J2Ski Snow Report 12th March 2020
La Clusaz, France looking good this morning... The good news is that it's still snowing somewhere... The Snow Headlines - 12th March - Ischgl to close from Saturday 14th March (Galtür, Kappl and See remain open), see ischgl.com for details. - Italian ski resorts closed until at least April 3rd; many areas likely to stay closed until next season. - Europe's deepest base passes the five-metre mark for the first time this season and overtakes North America's deepest. - Big snowfalls in Bulgaria to start this week - up to 30cm in 24 hours reported. - Ski areas in the Pyrenees post one of the biggest snowfalls of the season to date. The coronavirus situation is developing hourly; please check your local health authority and government advice and stay safe! That aside - the snow is still falling and conditions on the slopes are pretty good in most of the world's ski regions. In Europe, there has been heavy snowfall for many areas, including regions that haven't had so much this year. The French Pyrenees reported up to a metre of snowfall at the end of last week, with plenty of snow (if not quite so much) in Andorra and Spain too. Bulgarian resorts reported a foot of snow to start the week and up in Scandinavia, one centre has posted a five-metre base, the deepest on the continent at present (and in fact overtaking the deepest reported base in North America for the first time this year!). Finally, Scottish centres are still getting dumped on too – albeit with the usual mix of gales, sleet and rain at times too. It's been a little quieter in North America and for a time a little too warm in the East where unfortunately rain was reported after the great snowfalls of the previous fortnight. It's been getting colder again now though. Further west there were more snowfalls in Alberta, BC, California, Colorado and Utah among other areas, keeping the good cover in the west nice and fresh. In the Alpine Forecast After a dip in temperatures over the next couple of days, with a little snow in places, clear and mild conditions look likely for the next week or so. Beyond that are some interesting possibilities for cold and we'll have more clarity on that next week. 
A little more snow for the Alps...
EUROPEAN ALPS Austria The weather in the Alps has been warming up in the past 24 hours or so, but the warm snap should be short-lived and comes after some good snowfalls over the past week. The snow has been falling heavily until very recently in fact with Ischgl, Solden and the Stubai glacier all reporting 20-30cm of fresh snow waiting for skiers and boarders as recently as Wednesday morning. UPDATE - Ischgl has this morning announced that it will close from Saturday 12th March. France Ski areas in the French Pyrenees actually posted slightly bigger snowfalls, on the whole, than areas in the Alps over the past week – and it's the first time we've been able to say that this year – well except perhaps in late January when the Pyrenees got a little and the Alps got none. Cauterets was among the big winners down in the French Pyrenees, with a 'transformative' 90cm (three-foot) snowfall. It has kept snowing in the French Alps too though and La Plagne continues to post the deepest base in the country and, pretty much, in the Alps, with a 4.6m base on its higher runs and 29cm (nearly a foot) of fresh snow in the past few days. Other areas in the region report similar falls. For example, 25cm at Tignes and Chamonix. Italy It feels odd giving an Italian snow report with all ski areas closed as the country tries to slow the expansion of its coronavirus outbreak, but, for the record, there were some good snowfalls across much of the country last week. Ski areas in the Dolomites reported up to 90cm (three feet) of snow and in the Aosta Valley, seven-day snowfall totals passed the metre mark at La Thule. There was also snowfall in more southerly ski areas in Piedmont which had not had much snowfall since big falls in mid-December. They are however now, of course, all closed until at least early April. Switzerland Swiss ski centres have posted the most snow in the Alps over the past few days. In the 24 hours from Tuesday to Wednesday resorts including Arosa, Laax, Glacier 3000 at Gstaad and Verbier all posted 20-30cm accumulations. Those are just the latest falls in another snowy week though which saw one area, Lotschetal, claim more than 1.6 metres of snowfall in the last seven days and the current 'deepest snow in Switzerland' title at 4.8 metres (16 feet). Other Swiss areas have had up to a metre of snow since this time last week too. So assuming there are no operational problems over the next month or so caused by 'the virus' – it's looking good the rest of the season at most Swiss areas in terms of snow cover. Scandinavia A 30cm snowfall at Roldal in Norway on Wednesday morning took the reported base depth there to 5.4 metres, overtaking the 533cm deepest base in North America. It's the first time since December that a European resort has posted a deeper base than a North American one. It also reflects a snowfall trend across Scandinavia which has seen more snow dumped across the region over the past week – albeit far, far less than at Roldal. Of the bigger, better-known resorts Hemsedal and Trysil are both fully open with around 1.5m snow depths, Are over in Sweden is also at near capacity but with a slightly lower base. Pyrenees It's been one of the best weeks of 2020 so far in the Pyrenees with some big snowfalls going into last weekend. These were a real boost to the region which has suffered from long warm and dry periods so far this season, although for the bigger destination resorts that haven't been a big problem, as earlier falls in December, topped up in late January, provided enough cover to keep everything open. Only smaller, lower resorts have had problems. But the fresh cover has really bolstered bases and improved snow quality this week. The avalanche danger did jump up to 'high' immediately after the falls as temperatures rose but have eased down somewhat now. Scotland Scotland is in its usual cycle of gale-force winds, heavy snowfall and periods of rain and sleet as temperatures move up and down below freezing and Easterly and Westerly fronts do battle. The dominant feature of this winter (and most winters) – storms rolling in from the west – continues to mean Glencoe and Nevis Range on that side of the Highlands are continuing to get the heaviest snowfall, but also often the strongest winds, which can force lift closures. But, on balance, conditions remain among the best they've been in recent years, which means that most of the country's ski runs are open and all five centres operating. Eastern Europe It's continued to be a snowier spring than much of winter was in the Balkans and Pirin mountains with Bulgarian ski areas reporting up to 30cm (a foot) more snowfall to start the week after some good snowfalls last week too. The only problem with this snowy cycle (which promises another big dump later this week) is that temperatures tend to yoyo back up to well above freezing between falls, although there is a sweet spot when the snow is fresh but it is not too warm. North America Canada Canada's west saw snowfalls into last weekend (the Banff region reported another 30cm or so by Saturday), then after a brief dry, warm few days it is back to cold and snowy, with 10-30cm more snow reported in the past 48 hours or so for most ski areas in Alberta and BC. In the East, it, unfortunately, turned warm and wet at the start of this week but here too it has now got colder once more and reports of up to 25cm of fresh snow in 24 hours have been posted by ski areas in the region since Wednesday. USA The US saw snowfall ease off a lot over the weekend and the bad news in the east was that temperatures rose so much that rain fell on the slopes here, rather spoiling the beautiful fresh base of snow dumped down over the previous fortnight. The good news though is that it has now got colder in most areas with fresh snowfall for many, albeit heavier in the west. The past few days has seen resorts in Colorado post up to 35cm (14 inches) of new snowfall, with smaller falls in states like Utah and Wyoming. The deepest snow is still in Washington state in the Northwest but, as mentioned above, it has finally lost the title of 'world's deepest base' at Alpental ski area, at least at the time of writing, as the base there was 533cm against the 540cm at Roldal in Norway. Stay safe and if, like us, you've had to change your plans - remember the mountains will still be there next winter... |
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Similar confirmation from Monterosa (Champoluc, Alagna, Gressoney, etc.) with their headline implying that's it for the season.
See https://www.visitmonterosa.com/en/ |
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Yes, all Aosta valley resorts to close from tomorrow; brief announcements here on the websites for La Thuile and Courmayeur. Some of the official statements say this is until April 3rd (at least) so there appears to be a chance of some re-opening for Easter but not looking likely. :( Tour operators re-locating folk out there at the moment. |
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We've just received this from Trentino's tourist office...
There's more information here :- https://www.visittrentino.info/en/articles/practical-info/coronavirus-info Obviously, the situation may change, but this is what they're saying today. |
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J2Ski Snow Report 5th March 2020
When it wasn't snowing this week, it looked like this... photo (c)Snoworks Ski Courses Boom! It snowed! The Snow Headlines - 5th March - Big snowfalls for much of the Alps; some areas see almost a week of non-stop snowfall. - Good snowfalls for the Pyrenees, the southern Alps and California. - Riksgransen opens for 2020 season with the deepest base in Sweden at 4 metres. - Some of the best snowfall of the season in Bulgaria and eastern Europe. - Over a metre of fresh snow in a week, for resorts on East and West Coasts of USA. - St Anton first ski area in Austria to report 4 metres plus base. It's been quite a week for snowfall with some parts of the world seeing their biggest falls of the season so far. The usual suspects in the Alps have had big accumulations but so also have regions that haven't had so much recently - the Pyrenees, the Southern Alps, large parts of Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, as well as California across the Atlantic. Of course, snow doesn't always float down Christmas card style and the small print on many of these falls includes gale-force winds closing lifts, low visibility, temperature fluctuations that sometimes meant rain instead of snow and all of the above adding up to high avalanche danger (Level 4 - of 5 - in some areas). But against all those downsides, there's plenty of powder and its clearly good news for sustaining ski centres through their final month or two of the season. Over in North America, there was lots of snowfall this week for ski areas on both the West and East sides of the continent. In the East, where things have improved a lot over the past month after a poor start to the season, the snowfalls were probably the biggest this year, on the West the most interesting thing was a decent dump down to California, which has rather missed out on the big snowfalls further north since Christmas. In the Alpine Forecast Further big snowfalls expected in the next few days for north and western Alps with - after a brief lull - more incoming. Lighter snows, with some heavier local accumulations, to the east. 
More snow for the Alps...
EUROPEAN ALPS Austria A snowy week for Austria with many resorts seeing snowfall every day, or almost, but with sunny periods at times too. The most any one resort has reported was a metre for a small area in Salzburgerland, but a lot of resorts have had 30-60cm (1-2 feet) of fresh snow in total. The snow was perhaps most welcome down in the south and east of the country which largely missed out on some of the big falls of the past month in the northern Alps. St Anton has jumped ahead of Austria's glacier areas and is now posting the deepest base in the country at 415cm – the only resort with more than four metres of snow lying in the country, and indeed one of only a few worldwide to reach the four-metre base mark. France France too has had a very snowy week, with the snow arriving a day or so before Austria last week and adding up to a little more in many areas. Three Valleys report more than 1.5 metres (five feet) of snow since our report last week and Tignes was not far behind with 145cm. La Plagne and the Paradiski region were also amongst the big winners and now have a 4.35m base, still the country's deepest. So fresh snow pretty much everywhere (ski areas in the southern Alps that missed out from falls last month seemed to get a better deal this time and were dumped on too). The avalanche danger has ranked up though of course, mostly Level 3 (Considerable) to Level 4 (High) at present. Italy Italian ski areas have had some huge snowfalls over the past seven days, particularly in the past 48 hours, taking skiers minds off the coronavirus outbreak a little bit perhaps. The extra good news is that the snow has been falling on areas that have not had much this year so far, including the Dolomites, where up to 70cm has been reported since Monday, and more southerly parts of Piemonte (which saw huge snowfalls in early December but not much since) and Trentino. There have also been big snowfalls in the areas up on the French and Swiss borders that had been having regular big dumps anyway. Big winners included Cortina d'Ampezzo (70cm) and Madonna di Campiglio (69cm). Switzerland The Swiss Lötschental ski region has again posted the biggest snowfall in Switzerland and indeed Europe over the past seven days claiming to have had 1.9 metres (over six feet) of snowfall. It has also joined the 4m+ base depth club, reaching 4.3 metres. Other Valais regions reported rather less, although a number of smaller centres like Anzere claimed 1.3 to 1.6 metres. Verbier got the most snow of the big-name resorts – reporting 1.1 metres. Warren Smith in resort says conditions just get better and better. As with other resorts in the Alps, there's been stormy weather at times, closing lifts, and the avalanche danger is of course way up, but the big picture is very good. Scandinavia A snowy week for Scandinavia is nothing unusual this winter – well at least for eastern Norway and the region's more northerly centre. Close to Oslo and Stockholm, as well as Helsinki for that matter, it has been an often warm and sometimes wet winter so the fact that the snow came further south at the weekend was very welcome at areas that have struggled to open much terrain. Riksgransen, which opened for its 2020 season last weekend, has no such worries going straight in with a four-metre base on opening day. Roldal in western Norway has had snow almost daily all year and posted 30cm in the past 72hours and the deepest base in Europe now at 4.8 metres. Pyrenees It has been the snowiest week for about six weeks in the Pyrenees with resorts there reporting up to 50cm of snowfall in the last seven days, with more snow currently falling and expected to continue to do so into the weekend. So that has obviously transformed slope conditions for the better with fresh snow and off-piste powder too – although extreme caution is required there (even more than normal) with at least one avalanche rescue already reported on the Spanish side of the mountains in the past few days. Ski areas in Andorra report all runs open and a bolstered snow base for the final month or so of the season. Scotland So far Scotland's luck has held and there have been more great days on the slopes of the five Highland ski centres this week. In fact, the picture, already the best for several years, has kept getting better with more and more runs open across the five centres, and fewer days and part-days lost to gale force winds that plagued the area for much of the year until a week or so ago. There are still occasional wind closures, but not so much. Glencoe reports the snow base several metres deep up high so it begins to look like it could weather a warming of temperatures, the other four areas are closer to 60cm on their upper runs but have now gone from about a third of their runs open to two-thirds in most cases. The good news is that temperatures are forecast to stay cold on the mountain and there's still more snow on the way. Eastern Europe It has really been about the best week of the season so far for many ski areas in Eastern Europe. There was heavy snow for Bulgaria at the end of last week as forecast, when the period of warm weather finally ended and temperatures plummeted depositing up to 30cm (a foot) of snow on the slopes, really transforming the conditions. The sun then shone through the weekend and at the start of this week but now a second wave of snowfall is coming in and looking like it will deliver as much snow again or more than last week – making this the snowiest period of the season to date. The avalanche danger is high with all the fresh snow on old snow along with temperature fluctuations and at the time strong winds. Similar reports from the Czech and Slovak Republics, Slovenia, Poland and other eastern European ski nations. North America It has been another snowy week for much of North America. Canada Eastern Canada has enjoyed its best week of the season so far in terms of snowfall volumes with a number of resorts posting more than 50cm (20 inches) of fresh cover over the weekend. Everything was already looking good after falls in the latter half of February but it's even better now and Spring 2020 looks like it will be remembered much more fondly than autumn-winter 2019-20 there! There's been more snow too in the Rockies and further west where the deepest bases at resorts like Mount Seymour are getting up near four metres. The big-name destinations like Big White and Revelstoke are closer to three metres with up to 30cm (a foot) of fresh and everything open. USA It has been one of the snowiest weeks of the season in the US with resorts on both the East Coast (Stowe) and West coast (Mt Baker) posting seven-day snowfall totals of more than a metre (40 inches). There was also snow for Californian ski areas with resorts around Lake Tahoe, which hasn't had such a snowy winter since New Year, posting up to a foot (30cm) of fresh snowfall at the weekend for a nice slope refresh. Some ski areas in the East actually reported more snowfall than the West, unusually, with resorts in Maine, Vermont and New York state posting 60-90cm (2-3 feet) accumulations, further improving already good conditions there. |
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We received the following from Trentino Tourist Office last night :-
See www.visittrentino.info/en/press/press-releases/ |
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J2Ski Snow Report 27th February 2020
Sunrise at Les Arcs this morning, snow is coming... Sun then snow for the Alps, and lots of it. The Snow Headlines - 27th February - Big snowstorm - potentially biggest of winter so far - rolls into the Alps. - Riksgransen, Europe's "Spring skiing capital", opens for its 2020 season on Friday. - Snowfall arriving in the Pyrenees. - Summer snow in New Zealand at Mt Hutt among other resorts. - More heavy snowfall in the Rockies. It's snowing again in the Alps; February has been a snowy month, compared to January, but it's still nearly a fortnight since the last big falls. The snowfall is currently 'mid-storm' so it's not yet clear how much will accumulate, but forecasts are for 30-60cm (1-2 feet) for most areas by Friday. With meteorological springtime starting Sunday the fresh snow will be good news, particularly after a few 'unseasonably warm' days last weekend. The good news is that the snow should keep falling into the first week of March, potentially with some of the biggest accumulations of the season so far. It's been a snowy week in Scandinavia and Scotland, with some of the best conditions of the season so far. There's been fresh snow in Eastern Europe too and the Dolomites and Pyrenees should be seeing some of the best snowfalls for a while. In North America, most of the continent's ski areas are in good shape. It has kept snowing in the East where the season is now 'normal' after a shaky start and some of the biggest dumps since the weekend have been reported in the Rockies and up in Alaska. In the Alpine Forecast A snowy few days, a brief lull and then more snow lining up as March arrives. 
French Alps Incoming...
EUROPEAN ALPS Austria It was a little too warm over the weekend and at the start of this week in Austria but for most of the country's larger resorts that wasn't a problem. In the Arlberg, and on the glaciers, the snow is lying more than three metres deep and almost every run is open so a few warm days can't do too much damage. The good news now though is that we're moving into a period of lower temperatures and fresh snowfall which should last the remainder of this week, with longer-term forecasts suggesting it could continue through next week, meaning some Austrian resorts could receive more than a metre of snow, and most at least half a metre more by this time next week. France The snow is falling in the French Alps after a sunny and rather warm weekend on the slopes. For most areas, the heaviest snowfall is expected on Wednesday-Thursday so we are kind of in the thick of it at the moment, but forecasts are for storm totals to be 30-60cm (12-24 inches) by the time things ease on Friday. So that should be a good start to March on most French slopes. As it is conditions are, as they have been all season, good at most of the major destination resorts, poor at a few low-lying local ski hills that are making world headlines as evidence of climate change, but aren't really a factor for more recreational skiers. It may be different by the time the snowfall ends but currently La Plagne is posting the deepest snow in the country at 3.2 metres (nearly 11 feet) up top and it reports all but three runs in the Paradiski region it shares with Les Arcs are open. Italy Italy rather missed out on some of the big snowfalls of the past month that tracked to the north of its ski areas, with just those along the French and Swiss borders really seeing heavy snowfall. This time it does look like much of the country is going to see some decent snowfall over the coming week, albeit with the heaviest again along the country's borders, with areas like Cervinia, La Thuile and Aosta Valley resorts in line for potentially a metre of snowfall by Monday. The Dolomites looks like it too could get a decent fall over the next few days. Only Piedmont in the southwest looks like it should be dry again, ironic that it was there that saw some of the biggest falls of the season in early December. Switzerland The snow began falling on Swiss slopes on Tuesday after a very warm weekend (as witnessed by those watching the World Cup races in Crans Montana where temperatures reached double digits above freezing in the base area). Initial totals from the first 24 hours of snowfall were up to 30cm with Andermatt, currently with the deepest base in Europe at 4.5 metres on upper runs, reporting 20cm. A number of Swiss areas are currently forecast to see more than a metre of snowfall by this time next week, meaning we could see a 5 metre plus base in the Alps by the start of March (last year it was above 6 metres from early January). Scandinavia Despite warm weather in central and southern Scandinavia for much of this winter, base depths are pretty good at most of the region's ski areas with everything open outside the warmth-hit areas and the past week has been particularly snowy here. The deepest snow is over in western Norway where after two months of almost non-stop snowfall it's lying up to 4.3 metres deep, nearing the deepest in Europe. However, the past week has seen 20-50cm snowfalls across most of the entire region. The famous northern Swedish resort of Riksgransen, up in the Arctic Circle, opens on Friday for its season through to mid-May. The snow depth there ahead of the season start is reported to be the deepest this century. Pyrenees It has been another mostly sunny and rather warm week in the Pyrenees but conditions have been changing here too over the past 24 hours or so with snow moving in. As yet it does not look to be as heavy as the forecast for the Alps but skiers in the region will be relieved to see the mercury dropping away and the slopes getting a freshen up about a month after the last snowfall. Indications currently are for 5-10cm for each of the next two-four days for most areas, bringing potential totals of 20-40cm by the weekend. Scotland In most respects, conditions in Scotland have been getting better and better over recent weeks, and March is potentially looking like one of the best months in several years on Scottish slopes. The weather has been challenging over the past two/three weeks, with many days lost due to gale-force winds, but crucially it has stayed mostly cold and ski areas are building bases, particularly at mid-mountain and above. The forecast for coming few weeks is for temperatures to stay low, more snowfall but probably not as windy as February has been, and without the temperature rises. Conditions have certainly been the best they've been all season over the past few days. Currently, about 50 of the 120 runs offered by the five Highland ski centres are open, the most there's been at any time for the past few winters. Glencoe is almost fully open, the other four areas generally have half-a-dozen or more runs open. Eastern Europe After a rather warm week again in Bulgaria (following some snowfalls at the end of last week) temperatures have plunged below freezing and some snowfall is blowing in Thursday/Friday, expected to bring 20-30cm of fresh snow by the time it passes on by the weekend. Then it's back to sunshine and warm weather! That shouldn't cause too many problems though as bases look pretty good, the best at Borovets (210-265cm) where everything is open. Less good at Bansko where there's 80cm up top; the track back down to resort has just a few inches of snow on it, but they're reported to be keeping it open every which way they can. North America Canada Quebec and eastern Canada are the main focus for snowfall in Canada at present with a storm expected to bring totals of up to 60cm (two feet) of snow currently in progress. It's the latest sign that winter, even though the season is half over, is finally back to normal in the area that suffered a warm, wet start. Almost every resort is now fully open. There was heavy snow earlier this week in the West too, where bases are up above 3 metres (10 feet) at quite a few areas and conditions continue to look nice and powdery. After the heavy snowfall in the east ends late Thursday or early Friday it's looking pretty quiet over the weekend for 'weather' across Canada, with little snow forecast even on the west coast which has been dumped on for much of the past month. USA There were some big snowfalls in the Rockies again over the weekend, bringing a foot (30cm) or more snow to resorts in Colorado and Utah and there was more snow too up in Wyoming, Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. It's the east coast that is currently getting dumped on in the latter half of this week though. Like Quebec further north things weren't great in the first weeks and months of the season but are much more 'normal' now and the fresh snow is a bonus here too. Snowy March! More next week... |
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Plan to travel unless advised otherwise I think... it's obviously liable to change but the current government travel advice is here :- https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/italy/health#coronavirus |
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