(Nozawa has a 3.3m snow base already this season)
After a worryingly warm autumn in the Alps the weather finally changed on Christmas Day with heavy snowfall sweeping across the region.
By New Year’s Day over three feet of snow (90cm) had been reported at some resorts including Engelberg on Switzerland and parts of the Chamonix Valley in France, whilst most resorts reported 40-60cm of fresh snow.
Apart from the excitement of fresh powder, the new snow transformed conditions at many resorts, some of which only had very limited terrain open up to Christmas. Most importantly it allowed for top-to-bottom skiing to begin at many areas, meaning there was no longer a need to take a lift back to the resort at the end of the day. The new snow also boosted resorts in Eastern Europe which also saw significant snowfall.
Elsewhere there had been more snow in the Pyrenees which has had a good season so far and in Scandinavia, where some resorts in Norway had had more snow in December than any other area in Europe. The Dolomites got less of the fresh snow but the huge Dolomiti Superski region reported over 1,000km of its 1,200km of slopes were open for New Years Day thanks to its extensive snowmaking system.
Across the Atlantic conditions are largely good with resorts in Colorado and Utah in the US and Alberta and BC in Canada reporting regular powder dumps right through December meaning the snow is now lying more than six feet deep at some. Resorts in Japan have also been reporting huge snowfalls.
