Getting ready in Zermatt...
Briefly mild in The Alps this week, but it's about to snap cold and snow (again!) at the weekend.
This Week's Snow Headlines
- Niseko opening Thursday 23rd November with 1m of fresh snow.
- First significant snowfalls of the autumn in Colorado and Utah.
- Cervinia closed for three days by strong winds.
- Chamonix announces it won't open for a season preview weekend this coming weekend.
- Dolomiti Superski opening for 44th season on Saturday with 100km of runs and 50 lifts.
- Whistler opens early after nearly 2m of snow falls in week up to opening day.
- More ski areas opening in Pyrenees this weekend.
A third weekend of snow on high slopes in the Alps, particularly heavy in Austria and Switzerland (some receiving another 60cm of fresh snow) has kept hopes high for a successful start to the main 2017-18 ski season in Europe.
We've also seen the Zugspitze glacier above Garmisch in Germany open with a powder alarm on day one for 20cm of fresh snow in 24 hours; Obergurgl open with 99km of runs accessible from day one; and Val Thorens open too with 70% of its runs open and base depth of a metre on higher slopes. But, it is not all good news and a little too early to declare the season start a success.
The first seemingly dark (but not snow-bearing) cloud on the horizon was the announcement by Chamonix that their plans to open the Grand Montets sector this weekend have been put on hold due to a lack of snow. So overall it continues to look like it could be the best start to the season for four years, but currently, the jury is out.
This past week hasn't been all perfect powder either. One J2Ski reader currently in Cervinia told us the ski lifts there were closed for three days this week due to strong winds.
There have been astonishingly snowy scenes across the Atlantic where Whistler opened on Friday having received 198cm (six feet) of snow in the previous seven days, only for it to just continue snowing with another 50cm reported in 24 hours on Sunday/Monday. Other areas from California to Alberta have had huge snowfalls too, if not quite so big.
In the Forecast
Continuing the remarkably consistent pattern of snowing at the weekends this November; there is more snow incoming for the Alps. Sunday should see widespread snowfall, with the heaviest falls perhaps around 30cm and falling to the North and West.
Around mid-week, the South gets a turn with, at least, light-to-moderate snow pushing into the southern Alps, Pyrenees and Dolomites.
All forecast models are looking, shall we say, pretty encouraging for the longer term (beyond a week) and we'll have more on that next week - if it continues to shape up!
OPENING TIMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE!
Some of the early openings are partial and temporary, and may be weekends only - so check with the tourist office!
Always check local conditions and resort opening times directly before travelling!
See when and where it's going to snow...
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EUROPEAN ALPS
Austria
Austria continues to enjoy a good start to the season with its third successive snowy weekend seeing up to 60cm of fresh snow falling on higher slopes (the Dachstein glacier) but most resorts got 5-15cm more. Glacier resorts are looking particularly good with the Dachstein's 2.7m base the deepest in the Alps, and other glaciers posting 1-2m of snow cover, most of it fresh. The big name opening at the weekend was Saalbach Honterglemm which has a 20-40cm base. Obergurgl also opened, in its case a week ago, and has an impressive 99km of runs open already, the largest skiable area in Europe, possibly the world, this week at least.
France
The French winter ski season got off to a good start last weekend with Val Thorens making one of its earliest ever openings and joining Tignes – open since the start of October. Val Thorens has a 50-60cm snow base and around 70% of its terrain open, very good for mid-November with lots of fresh snow falling in the first half of this month. It's been dry and sunny the past few days but at least temperatures are saying low so that snowmaking systems can work and nothing is thawing. More French resorts will be opening from this weekend, although Chamonix has decided to postpone its plans to. Val d'Isere says it will fire up its lift network on 25th November.
Italy
Italy's build up to the 17-18 ski season continues apace with Maddona di Campiglio, San Martino and Livigno all opening last weekend; joining already open areas like Cortina, Cervinia and Passo Tonale. This coming Saturday 25th November 2017 things will step up on Italian slopes with the opening of most of the areas in the Dolomiti Superski area for the giant ski region's 44th winter season. Altogether 10 of its sectors will be open with almost 50 lifts and 100km of slopes from day one. Snow depths in Italy are OK for late November but the next month will be tense as we wait to see whether recent snowfalls continue or whether winter grinds to a halt again, so far it's too early to call. In the Dolomites depths are at 20-50cm, further west they reach 60-110cm at Cervinia.
Switzerland
Around 25 Swiss ski areas were open last weekend, around two thirds of them so far open at the weekend only. Arosa was one of those opening for the first time this season last weekend and reported 20cm of snow falling in the first 24 hours. Engelberg has the deepest snow in the country at present with 30-215cm of snow depth. There's 15km of runs open there but Zermatt has the most terrain open in Switzerland at present with 41km of trails groomed.
Pyrenees
The big opening weekend for the Pyrenees looks like being December 2nd/3rd with ski areas in Andorra and most larger ski areas in the French and Spanish Pyrenees targeting that date. However Baqueira Beret which opened early the weekend before last remains open with a 20-50cm base and about 30 runs open. Temperatures have stayed low and there's chance of more snow at the weekend. A second Spanish resort, Masella, is also open and French area Les Angles opens this Friday.
Scotland
Scottish slopes are seeing their familiar freeze-thaw pattern with regular snowfalls giving a white coat to ski centres but then temperatures warming and melting much of the fresh snow. Snowfall is expected on Thursday and the first of the all-weather snowmakers due to go in to action at three of the five centres in the Highlands (Cairngorm, The Lecht and Glencoe) should arrive in early December.
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe has seen more ski centres opening with Slovenia's Kranjska Gora the latest to open. It joins fellow Slovenian resort Vogel which has 60cm snow depth on its upper slopes and four runs open. Some areas are also open in the Czech and Slovak Republics which saw 10-20cm of fresh snow at the weekend with more forecast later this week.
Scandinavia
Scandinavia has seen the most fresh snowfall in Europe since the weekend. About two dozen areas are open in Norway with bases as deep as 1.5m at Stranda and 25cm of fresh snow in the past few days at Gol. There's another dozen or so centres open in Sweden and Norway combined with Ruka posting the deepest base in Lapland at 60-90cm.
North America
Canada
There have been huge snowfalls in Western Canada, including, as mentioned above, over 2.5m in 10 days at Whistler Blackcomb, which now has the country's deepest base at 1.9m and around 30 runs open. Other already-open ski areas including Banff and Marmot Basin have reported big snowfalls too. Temperatures are rising in the latter half of this week and precipitation may fall as rain, particularly at lower elevations, up to the weekend when its due to get colder again and more snow is expected. More ski areas will be opening across the country this weekend including Canada's most visited resort, Tremblant.
USA
It has been a busy week for resort openings in the US as almost all ski areas that have snow are opening for the Thanksgiving Holiday, one of the biggest of the year in the country. Around 40 centres were open last weekend but this week the number is nearer 100 with more areas opening across the country from California to the East Coast. Openings have been aided by snowfall, most abundant in the West were up to three feet (90cm) of snow fell at the start of the week. However it was in Colorado and Utah, where the average fall was around a foot/30cm that the snow was most welcome after a largely warm, dry month. Thanks to all the snow an increasing number of areas in the West have 1-1.5m snow depths in states like Wyoming, Washington and Oregon. Mammoth with 50-152cm of snow cover has the deepest snow of all the major resorts open so far. Jackson Hole will open this weekend.