(pic credit Jeff Engerbretson at Alpine Meadows, California, USA)
This Week’s Headlines:
- Fresh snow in Eastern Europe.
- Another metre of snow for Jackson Hole, 80cm from Whistler, 60cm for Courchevel.
- Scotland’s Glencoe claim’s world’s second deepest snow base at 4.9m
The snow fall of the last seven days appears to have eased a little on previous weeks in most areas, although it is up in Northwestern North America, with Jackson Hole’s amazing winter for fresh snow continuing. Elsewhere there has been more fresh snow in most places, just not the huge volumes of previous weeks.
At the same time bases are beginning to build and most areas now look good for the remaining 5 – 10 weeks of their seasons. The base at Mt Baker, officially the world’s snowiest resort, is passed the 4m mark, not far behind the current world number one for depth, the Passo Tonale glacier in Italy which has more than five metres lying.
More snow is expected on each side of the Atlantic over the coming week as we enter March.
Alps and Paralympics
Sochi
Getting honest snow reports from Sochi can be challenging. Or at least reports that tell the whole picture. They’re currently reporting about 5cm of fresh snow and a 2.2m base with the Paralympics due to start in a week’s time. But will it be a tropical Paralympics just like the tropical winter Olympics of the fortnight just passed?
Austria
Most ski areas in Austria have reported a healthy 10-20cm top up of their snow cover in the past week although Ischgl (which along with Lech reported 25cm in 24 hours at the weekend) and the Stubai have done a little better with 30 and 40cm, approximately, respectively. Snow depths are impressive on the country’s glaciers – good news for spring summer 2014 – with most, including Hintertux, Stubai, Kaunertal and Pitztal on 2.7 – 3.5m – 9 – (nearly) 12 feet. Across the country things continue to look much better than one to two months ago, although the lowest depths remain in the Skiwelt (30-60cm) and Mayrhofen (10-80cm).
France
France has seen yet another snowy week says J2ski.com, with many areas in the alps and Pyrenees receiving up to a foot of fresh cover, and some as much as double that. The snowfall is ongoing as we compile this report but so far today La Clusaz, La Rosiere, La Plagne and Meribel are among resorts reporting 20-25cm of snow in the past 24 hours, yesterday (Wednesday) it was resorts a little further south like Puy St Vincent and Serre Chevalier that were doing the same. This follows on from similar falls reported at the weekend by resorts like Chamonix and Tignes, the former reporting more-than-half-a-metre of fresh snow in the past seven days. All major French ski areas now report at least a 1.2m (four foot) base on upper slopes, some as much as 3.3m (11 feet) – so all are looking good for the remainder of the season.
Italy
It has been one of the quietest snowfall weeks in a while in Italy although the usual suspects – Alagna and Cortina – who have had at times dangerously excessive snowfalls this winter – were among the bigger beneficiaries of the last week each receiving around a foot of new snow – most other Italian resorts have reported 10-20cm. Passo Topnale on 5.1m and Madesimo on 5m continue to claim the world’s deepest snow bases. A fresh wave of snowfall is currently moving across the country with Asiago in the West reporting a 20cm fall yesterday.
Switzerland
20-40cm of fresh snow has been reported across Swissd slopes over the past week with Verbier topping the fresh snow tally – 40cm this week, half of it in the past 24 hours. Others recently posting 20cm or so of new powder in 24 hours include Les Diablerets and Champery. Andermatt still has the country’s deepest snow base, stuck around the 4m mark, with Saas Fee and Zermatt only a few feet less.
Pyrenees
Conditions remain good in Andorra and across the Pyrenees. There was 10cm of fresh snow on Wednesday at the region’s largest area, Grandvalira, where the snow is ;lying more than seven-and-a-half feet deep (230cm), although it’s deeper still in parts of Vallnord at 2.6m, meaning the region looks set to complete its second epic winter in a row
Scandinavia
In common with most of Western Europe, conditions remain good in most of Scandinavia, although there’s less fresh snow this week, a 20cm overnight fall at Voss over the weekend one of the biggest reported. Lillehammer still has the deepest snow in the region at 2.5m, while ski centres in Sweden, such as Are, and in Lapland, are closer to their usual 50-70cm, with a couple of inches of fresh snow reported at the weekend to freshen things up.
Eastern Europe
Parts of Eastern Europe have seen its first significant snowfalls for a month, dramatically improving conditions there. In Bulgaria falls of 15-30cm have been reported over the past week, with much of that arriving in the last few days. Depths are at around the metre mark with Bansko seeing the biggest accumulation (30cm) and deepest base (1.2m). Poiana Brasov in Romania has also had 5cm of fresh snow but depths remain a scant 3-0cm on upper runs.
Scotland
More astonishing snow reports from Scotland where it just keeps snowing as it rains everywhere else in Britain. Most of the runs that can be open, are open, and where they’re not its usually down to too much snow overwhelming lift systems rather than too little cover. Glencoe’s reported base of nearly 5m is almost world beating. There are the usual Scottish issues of changeable weather, with those strong winds a recurring problem, but stunning days in between so as usual if you can make it, check ahead on the day before setting out.
North America
Canada
Fresh snow has been reported across Canada with 20cm of snow at Le Massif in the East on Sunday, the same day as Grouse mountain above Vancouver in the west reported 30cm. Over the past week as a whole though it has been Western resorts that have continued to play catch up with Whistler Blackcomb one of the snowiest resorts on the planet clocking up more than two feet of fresh snow. Most Western areas now have, or are close to, two metres of snow on their upper slopes but Mont Ste Anne in Quebec, which added 15cm/six inches of cover this week, continues to have the biggest base at 275cm (just over nine feet).
USA
J2Ski reports there’s been more fresh snow in the US in recent days, though not huge falls, with one exception. The snow has been falling in Colorado all week – on and off – and Crested Butte just posted a 23cm accumulation over night, following similar falls reported at Arapahoe Basin and Copper Mountain sand many others over the last week. However the near metre of snow that has been accumulated by Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the most reported anywhere in the world this week and more than double the next biggest snowfall in the US, is the stand out tally for the past seven days. On the east there’s been some new snow too, with Stowe reporting 15cm/six inches.
ends
