Where is Good to Ski or Board Right Now?

The question everyone is asking, Where is Good to Ski or Board Right Now?

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**** Updated Friday, 1 March, 2024 ****

Where is Good to Ski Right Now?

Spring is here (by the meteorological measure of the seasons), so it’s perhaps typical that after months of ‘springlike’ conditions in the Alps, the past few days have been decidedly wintry!

It’s obviously good news though, with resorts posting up to a metre and a half of new snow over the last week, giving the slopes a base boost perfectly timed for the final month or two of the season.  The deepest bases are now touching 5 metres in the western Alps, so things are looking good for March and April skiing and in some cases even later into spring.

Snow totals in the Pyrenees have also been more than a metre now in many areas over the past seven days, really transforming things and allowing some centres to fully open for the first time this winter.

Elsewhere in Europe, there’s been snowfall, if not so much, in central and northern Scandinavia but rain further south. The picture in Eastern Europe is mixed and some Scottish slopes have reopened after most were closed last week.

Across the Atlantic conditions in most areas are the best they’ve been all winter with lots more snowfall in the west (and a huge new storm just coming in from the Pacific) as well as a bit of fresh snow in the east too. The Pacific Northwest corner continues to report below-average snow conditions but it too is seeing a decent dump this time with Whistler Blackcomb noting over 2 feet of fresh snow in the past 72 hours and more coming.

Austria

Austrian ski areas posted some of the biggest snowfalls of the last week, with glacier centres reporting up to a metre of snowfall up high in 72 hours through last weekend. That’s set them up well for skiing into April and May, with base depths now 3 metres (10 feet) or more in many areas. There was fresh snowfall for lower Austrian slopes too, where it was more accurately needed, with Saalbach Hinterglemm posting a 70cm accumulation in 48 hours. So, all in all, March starts much better than things have looked for much of February, bolstered by the biggest snowfall of the season so far.  Austria’s Ski Juwel pictured above, St Anton pictured top.

France

Many French ski areas have posted over a metre of snowfall on high slopes this week and Les Arcs, with 485cm lying at 2,000m, notes this is 3.5 times the amount they had there at this point last season. It and Alpe d’Huez, at 4.8m, are posting the world’s deepest snow and once again France is currently the only country with multiple ski areas posting 4m+ bases. Les 2 Alpes and Flaine are also up there. With all the fresh snow the avalanche danger is widely up to 3 “considerable” on the scale after previously being low. Despite all the new freeriding opportunities though, and the big refresh of snow cover on the groomed runs, there’s not a lot of change in what’s open, as that was already most runs before the new snow arrived and most large French ski regions remain 90%+ open.  Vars pictured above.

Italy

Italy has had a fantastic week for snowfall with some resorts getting over a metre of fresh snow up at about 2,000m Ski areas from the Dolomites to the western Alps are posting powder conditions as well as increased avalanche danger off-piste due to all the snow. As with the rest of the Alps that’s expected to keep falling through the weekend, with temperatures much cooler than they’ve been, but ease off to sunnier weather next week.  Madonna di Campiglio above.

Switzerland

Swiss ski centres saw some big snowfalls over the last week, with some seeing snowfall totals nearing a metre over the last seven days, so conditions are excellent for the start of March. St Moritz was one of the big winners, posting a 75cm snowfall in 48 hours last weekend.  Glacier 3000 near Gstaad posted similar accumulations. All the snowfall did cause some issues for people trying to get to and from the resort last weekend and meant some terrain was closed while lifts were dug out or made avalanche-safe. Most centres are back to fully open now though, led by Verbier (pictured above as the snowfall started last Saturday) and the 4 Valleys which is 95% open.  Laax is the first Swiss area to post a 4m+ base this season whilst St Moritz is the only major resort in the world to report its upper slope base depth up more than a metre in the last 7 days.

Pyrenees

The Pyrenees have had the biggest transformation of any ski area in the world this week as we’ve reported here. Snowfalls of more than a metre at many areas, more than most had had all winter up to now, have made the region look fully winter-immersed after being springlike all winter. Temperatures have dropped, snow is still falling and resorts are opening the most terrain they’ve been able to all winter. On the downside, there’s only just over a quarter of it left and with so much snowfall so fast the avalanche danger for excited freeriders who finally have powder to enjoy is very high – level 4 on the scale to a maximum of five.  Formigal pictured above as the snowfall got started.

Scandinavia

A mostly good picture still across Scandinavia but warmer weather has been impacting ski areas at more southerly latitudes over the past week bringing rain and fog to ski areas in southern Norway and Sweden. Further north though at the bigger resorts the precipitation has been snowy and base depths are still building. Myrkdalen in Western Norway has the region’s deepest snow at 2.4 metres and Sweden’s Åre the most terrain open with 90% of its 91km of runs skiable.  Norway’s Voss pictured above.

Scotland

Scotland’s had its usual weather ups and downs with some fresh snowfall and cold weather, but also gales and, at times, thawing temperatures on lower slopes. There’s not much change from a week ago. Cairngorm, Glenshee and The Lecht (pictured above this week) still have very limited runs open, just around the nursery slope area. Glencoe has the most open, about half its runs with top-to-bottom descents possible when the wind strength allows lifts to run up to the top. Nevis Range still does not have enough snow to be able to offer any skiing or boarding. Keep in mind though that things can change very quickly for better or worse in terms of snow on Scottish slopes.

Eastern Europe

A real mixed bag of weather across Eastern Europe this last week with some snowfall for high slopes in the north and even a few centimetres up top in Bulgaria, but against that some warm spells and rain at lower levels have brought overall open terrain down a little. Slovakia’s largest area Jasna has dropped from having all of its runs open a few weeks ago to about two-thirds now. Bansko in Bulgaria has seen its snowpack dropping with +1-C temperatures in resort although it so far maintains its long run back to the village and still has about 80% of its slopes open.  Pamporovo pictured above.

USA

It’s been a snowy few days in the US and it’s about to get snowier! Ski areas in (or near) the Rockies, including Aspen and Jackson Hole have reported two-foot accumulations over the past few days, so plenty of powder with everything open – although there have been reports of strong winds at times too. But the main event is just getting underway with a huge storm moving in from the Pacific coast, forecast to deliver up to 12 feet of snow (over 3.5 metres) to ski areas in California with significant falls elsewhere in the west too. That kind of snowfall is good for spring base depths but tricky in the short term as it buries lifts and roads and sends the tree well and avalanche danger up high. Looking good once it has passed next week though. Eaglecrest in Alaska pictured above.

Canada

Western Canada has had one of its best weeks of 2024 with consistently sub-zero temperatures down to low levels and some good snowfall totals – some of the best of the season in fact, over the past few days. Whistler Blackcomb, which has struggled with warm temperatures at lower levels and not a lot of snowfall at any levels was one of the big winners, posting over 60cm of snowfall in 72 hours. Marmot Basin up near Jasper has also had several feet of snowfall this week, as have ski areas around Banff (including Sunshine pictured this week), where there are still nearly 3 months of the season left to run. So it is looking good for the start of spring here.

 

**** Updated Friday, 23 February, 2024 ****

The snowfall is finally here, it seems, in the Alps after weeks of big falls not really materialising. Hopefully the 30-90cm that’s forecast for a wide area will finally happen through the end of this week and conditions will be more wintery once more – just as meteorological springtime nears!

Where is Good to Ski Right Now?

Snowfall and colder weather is also due in the Pyrenees and it hasn’t really left Scandinavia all winter. Unfortunately, it has been warm in the Scottish Highlands though, leading several centres to close their slopes until new snowfall arrives, which is just beginning as we publish this week, so fingers crossed.

Across the Atlantic conditions in much of North America are looking great after a February that has seen more snowfall already than the rest of the season combined at many areas. California, Colorado and Utah have seen the biggest falls with several areas now reporting 10 feet or more of February snowfall. But this week there have been good snowfalls in the East too. It’s just the Pacific Northwest corner of the continent still suffering due to warmer temperatures and limited snowfall.

Austria

A pretty good week by 2024 standards for Austrian ski areas with slightly colder weather and some decent snowfalls, most marked on the upper mountain (the usual rain at times in valleys). There were some good accumulations up high. Desoitr this the ongoing battle to maintain snow cover by moving snow that had been piled high in the colder, snowier months at the end of 2023 around to cover thawed area is being lost a little at last with some of the bigger areas closing more lower runs., The result is a slight decline in open terrain although it should be stressed there’s still plenty open for most.  The Arlberg region around Lech and St Anton, for example, still has 90% of its slopes open (down from 98%) and snow more than 10 feet deep up high. Plenty to see out the season.

France

We have been back to seeing some very warm temperatures, well into double digits above freezing, in French ski valleys over the last week unfortunately, hitting both the volume of snow surviving the thaw and perhaps more importantly (as most slopes remain open), the quality of the snow, most noticeably below 1800m. Up high though, in the second week of the busy half term holidays, it has been mostly happy faces. French ski areas continue to post the deepest snowpack and the most open terrain in the world.  The 3 Vallees remain over 90% open with more than 550km of slopes open with Alpe d’Huez, Chamonix, Les Arcs and Flaine the only ski areas worldwide posting upper slope base depths of more than 4 metres. Conditions do appear to be finally changing now with colder weather and snowfall returning.

Italy

It has been a mostly dry and sunny week in Italy with temperatures reaching +10C in valleys, the freezing point up around 1800-2200mm for much of the week. There have been some light snow showers on higher slopes though, with Trentino a particular beneficiary. The cross-border Cervinia-Zermatt ski area is posting the most terrain open with  just under 300km of slopes, more than 90% of its terrain. However the Milky Way (Via Lattea) including Sause d’Oulx, Sestriere and others has the most terrain open in Italy at just a few kilometres less. Cooler temperatures are more significant snowfall is expected to end the week.  Passo Tonale pictured on Friday morning.

Switzerland

Swiss centres have had fresh snowfall earlier this week with 10-30cm falls reported on Monday/Tuesday, it’s now snowing again and the most optimistic forecasts are that accumulations should be at least double that, potentially more. As with the rest of Europe conditions are better on high slopes, with valley runs battling thin cover despite the fresh snowfall. Most of the country’s big centres still have at least 80% of their slopes open. Verbier (pictured above on Tuesday morning) and the 4 Valleys continues to post the most with 95% of its slopes and 380km of runs available.  Lenzerheide is pictured top before the snow arrived.

Pyrenees

The Pyrenees finally saw a drop in temperatures and snowfall last weekend, after what seemed like (and largely actually has been, unfortunately) months of above average temperatures and snowfall. Alas it didn’t last too long with sunshine and warmer temperatures returning through this week, but it’s a little cooler than it was and there’s a more changeable weather pattern now with more snowfall expected. The FIS World Cup Ladies Tour was in Soldeu at the weekend so the ski racing world’s eyes watched conditions evolve from snow on high slopes but not much at resort on Saturday to winter down to the valley floor by Sunday. So 20-40cm of snow for most areas greatly improving conditions but not a huge jump in the amount of terrain open as a result ( widely 40-80%). Formigal is pictured above.

Scandinavia

Scandinavia has been posting some of the best conditions in Europe all winter so far with consistently subzero temperatures keeping the snow in great shape.  Most ski areas ion Finland, Norway and Sweden are fully open and after those in the far north had no daylight at all during the 24 hour Polar night period in the latter half of December, the daylight hours are now rapidly increasing as they head towards 24 hour daylight in May.  But it is still cold enough, in most resorts for the snow quality to be maintained better than in the Alps. Levi in Finland pictured above.

Scotland

Scotland’s ski areas have had a sunny, warm week – not good news for the thin snow cover. As a result Glencoe and Nevis Range in the west have both had to suspend offering skiing, at least at time of writing. Glencoe hoped to re-open some terrain on Friday, conditions permitting.  Nevis range has had fresh snowfall on Friday, pictured above. The Lecht and Cairngorm were back to nursery slopes open, maintained by their all-weather snowmaking machines. Glenshee had a little more. It did turn colder and start snowing again on Thursday and the forecast for the week ahead is looking more promising for colder, snowier weather, so there’s some hope that slopes and centres may reopen.

Eastern Europe

Spring weather is taking a bit of a hold in Eastern Europe to a greater and lesser extent. Bulgarian resorts are celebrating the sunny weather, although they have also reported a 2cm overnight snowfall on high slopes at Bansko on Thursday night. Further north in the Czech and Slovak Republics and Poland the warmer temperatures are impacting lower slopes but the big centres like Jasna in Slovakia still have at least 80% of their slopes open and report fresh snow now falling.

USA

The latter half of the US ski season is certainly shaping up as much better than the first half with most of the country’s slope now open (unlike it November and December) and snow depths growing (When they seem to have stalled for the past month in much of Europe). The past week has been a good one with loads of snowfall across the West of the country as a series of storms blows through, but also in the East there’s been lots of fresh snow and powder conditions as well.  The only region where conditions ‘remain challenging’ (Meaning above average temperatures and below average snowfall) is the pacific Northwest corner where resorts like Crystal Mountain and (ironically) the famous holder of the world record for the most snowfall in a season, Mt Baker, both still only have about half their slopes open.  The Palisades pictured above.

Canada

Not a bad week across Canada, particularly in the east where resorts in Quebec are posting their best key stats of the season to date – almost all slopes open, almost entirely below-freezing temperatures and some fresh snow on top. It’s still more problematic in the West where conditions in Alberta and BC range from – “close to normal, everything open, pretty much” on the eastern half of the region but “worst season in decades, this is dire” the closer to the Pacific Coast you get. Whistler Blackcomb has had issues with rain, thawing and slushy snow on its base slopes but is in better shape on the upper half of the mountain where most of the terrain is and runs are 80% open, but smaller areas like Cypress Mountain and Grouse Mountain to the south just have a few runs open each, less than 10% of their terrain.  Canada’s Mont Orford in the East pictured.

**** Updated Friday, 16 February, 2024 ****

There are not any huge snowfalls anywhere in the world to report for the last seven days, but there has been at least some snow almost everywhere!

That’s particularly good news for the Alps, Dolomites and Pyrenees which had been suffering in warm, dry weather for weeks – although in the case of the Alps and Dolomites, early-season snow meant pretty much all runs were open anyway, just getting very hardpacked with not much freeriding powder left anywhere. The new snowfall was not as much as hoped and heaviest up high of course, but still is a very welcome refresh.

Elsewhere in Europe Scandinavia has about the best conditions anywhere, with more fresh snowfall reported and temperatures staying low. Scotland has all five centres open for only the second time this season thanks to improved conditions there. However, Bulgaria had a setback from torrential rain and even lightning strikes to lifts reported at the start of the week.

Across in North America, it’s been cold in the Northeast and there’s been moderate snowfalls on ski slopes across the continent, leaving conditions about the best they’ve been all season, with certainly the most terrain open that there has been.

Austria

It’s been back to very warm weather in Austria over the last few days after temperatures dropped to freezing and there was a rare snowfall down to valley floors at the weekend. As with other countries in the Alps, high slopes above 2,000m have seen 20-30cm of snowfall, but unfortunately, at low elevations, it has been more rain and thawing of the valley snow.  Most resorts still have 90% or more of their slopes open, a little less for areas like Saalbach Hinterglemm and the Skiwelt although they did pile the snow on when it was cold enough for snowmaking early in the season so much of it is surviving the warm weather on the pistes at least, it’s just a bit wet to ski on down low.  Zillertal Arena pictured.

France

French slopes have not seen the big snowfalls that were forecast last weekend, but temperatures did drop and they did all see some snow – the best about 30cm on slopes in the southern Alps, more like 10-20cm further north. This was still good news though after three weeks of mostly warm and dry weather, especially as the snow fell down to the valley at lower resorts like Morzine and Les Gets. With almost all of the country’s slopes open anyway it was basically a nice refresh of the hard-packed surface ahead of the start of the busy half-term period. Temperatures have climbed back up in valleys but remain subzero at altitude and there is more snow forecast, albeit probably light stuff again, this weekend.  Bonneval pictured.

Italy

Conditions are the best they’ve been for weeks on most slopes in Italy with fresh snowfall on the groomed runs.  As before, most ski areas in the country have 80-100% of their runs open but lower temperatures and 20-40cm of snowfall at the weekend gave pistes a welcome refresh. Val Gardena is up at 98% open with 180km of runs and there’s even more for skiers based in Cervinia for the cross-birder terrain into Switzerland or in Sestriere and Sauze d’Oulx for skiing into France on the Milky Way circuit. Although it has been back to sunshine this week, temperatures are cooler and more snowfall is forecast through the weekend. Bormio pictured.

Switzerland

There’s not much different to report in Switzerland than in the rest of the Alps – 20-30cm of fresh snowfall on the country’s glaciers and high slopes, but more like 5cm and rain at times down in valleys, where snow depth is about 10% of what it is up high. So many Swiss resorts, again as the rest of the Alps, have sunny, snow-free resort streets but ribbons of white to the base on lower runs, but good conditions and everything open above 1800m. Verbier and the 4 Valleys continue to post the most open, around 98% of their 410km of slopes, Zermatt is on about 300km with its connection to Cervinia.  Glacier 3000 pictured.

Pyrenees

The Pyrenees finally saw a drop in temperatures and snowfall last weekend, after what seemed like (and largely actually has been, unfortunately) months of above-average temperatures and snowfall. Alas, it didn’t last too long with sunshine and warmer temperatures returning through this week, but it’s a little cooler than it was and there’s a more changeable weather pattern now with more snowfall expected. The FIS World Cup Ladies Tour was in Soldeu at the weekend so the ski racing world’s eyes watched conditions evolve from snow on high slopes but not much at the resort on Saturday to winter down to the valley floor by Sunday. So 20-40cm of snow for most areas greatly improving conditions but not a huge jump in the amount of terrain open as a result ( widely 40-80%). Formigal pictured.

Scandinavia

Finland, Sweden and Norway continue to report excellent conditions with most ski centres in the region seeing consistent cold temperatures and more regular snowfall than further south. The snow is now over two metres deep in western Norway with much of it relatively freshly fallen. Most ski areas in the area have all of their slopes open too and Europe’s most northerly major resort, Riksgransen, is due to open for its 2024 season at the end of next week. Meanwhile the Fonna summer ski area, due to open in May, says its entire drag lift including the overhead cables have disappeared under snow lying up to 10 metres deep!  Voss pictured above.

Scotland

Scotland’s ski areas have had one of the best weeks of the season, well timed to coincide with the first week of the half-term holidays. Essentially winds have been less violent and precipitation more snowfall than rainfall allowing bases to start building again and centres to gradually open more terrain. Conditions do remain dynamic and things can get better or worse quickly but at the time of writing all areas except Nevis Range had some more runs open beyond their nursery slopes, with Nevis Range hoping to be able to re-open soon.  Glenshee pictured above.

Eastern Europe

Torrential rain has hit Bulgarian ski areas hard this week with Bansko forced to cancel World Cup slalom races on Sunday and then Pamporovo largely closed on Monday due to rain damage to its slopes and even reports of lightning strikes damaging lift towers!  But things are now starting to improve again with slope recovery underway. It’s not been a lot better further north with heavy rain on low slopes in the Czech and Slovak Republics too, but temperatures have been dropping since Tuesday and again it’s looking better for the weekend.  Jasna above.

USA

None of the big snowfalls that we saw in California and the Rockies the week before last to report, but conditions have been good across most of America this past week with many areas in the Rockies and on the East Coast picking up 6-12 inch accumulations. The latter was particularly welcome for some resorts in states like Vermont which have not seen many decent dumps this winter and are still only 50-60% open in some cases. There’s more snowfall moving into the west over the weekend so the latter half of February is looking promising.  Whiteface pictured above.

Canada

It has not been a bad week across Canada, particularly in the east where resorts in Quebec are posting their best key stats of the season to date – almost all slopes open, almost entirely below-freezing temperatures and some fresh snow on top. It’s still more problematic in the West where conditions in Alberta and BC range from – “close to normal, everything open, pretty much” on the eastern half of the region but “worst season in decades, this is dire” the closer to the Pacific Coast you get. Whistler Blackcomb has had issues with rain, thawing and slushy snow on its base slopes but is in better shape on the upper half of the mountain where most of the terrain is and runs are 80% open. Meghan and Harry were over for a visit in the last few days. However smaller areas nearby like Cypress Mountain and Grouse Mountain to the south just have a few runs open each, less than 10% of their terrain.  Banff Sunshine pictured above this week, Mont Tremblant top.

**** Updated Friday, 9 February, 2024 ****

California and Norway have been the two snowiest parts of the ski world this past week as snowfalls have been quite local and quite intense where they have arrived. Some Californian ski areas have seen over four feet (1.2 metres) of fresh snowfall this week, while ski centres in Norway have posted up to 60cm (2 feet) on the back of storm Ingunn. Not such a snowy picture for the rest of Europe but the Rockies have also posted several feet of snowfall in the US.

Things are now starting to change in the Alps, thankfully, after three mostly dry, warm weeks. Colder temperatures and snowfall are starting to arrive in the Alps and the even more hard-hit Pyrenees.

Austria

Although Austria typically has lower altitude slopes than most of the rest of the big four Alpine ski nations, and it has, like the rest, seen warm temperatures, getting into double figures on lower slopes, in recent weeks, it is still reporting, on average, just under 90% of the country’s ski slopes open and many centres like Kitzbuhel are up near 100%.  Temperatures are now dropping with the freezing point back below 2000m and temperatures of -10C expected overnight on higher slopes into the weekend and light to moderate snowfall returning.

France

French ski areas suffered a third week of warm, dry weather but things have finally started to change with colder temperatures reported and the first of the snowfalls that are expected through the weekend and into next week. In the meantime everything is open and French resorts are posting the world’s deepest snow with Flaine, Chamonix and Les Arcs among those posting 4m+ snow depths. The Portes du Soliel and the 3 Valleys are also posting the most open terrain in the world. True there’s very little freeride terrain left worth skiing and snow quality hasn’t been great on pistes in valleys but that should change over the coming week. Beware though the avalanche danger level is set to rise steeply from its current low.

Italy

Italy is set to see some of the biggest snowfalls of the coming week if forecasts prove correct. Snowfall to low levels could total as much as two feet in the Dolomites over the coming days, about as much as most areas have had all year so far. It’s the same for ski areas in the northwest in the Aosta Valley where the snow is already lying much deeper, in some places over 3,m/10 feet deep. Despite another week of warm weather, and reports of closed slopes in Italy (which turn out to be for a small ski area near Rome hundreds of kilometres south of the main ski regions) most Italian ski slopes remain open. Arabba pictured above.

Switzerland

Reports of snowless slopes in Switzerland in British media are false – at least when it comes to all the major resorts most Brits actually head to. Verbier and the 4 Valleys, for example, have snow lying more than 3 metres deep and 390km of the 410km of slopes open – 95%. It’s a similar story across the country with Laax/Flims posting the deepest snow with 4 metres, nearly, lying upon its glacier. It has though been a third successive warm week with temperatures hitting double figures above freezing at 1000m and getting up above freezing at 3500m in the afternoons, bad news for winter. But temperatures are falling and so snow is starting to again, so things are finally looking up and in the meantime, everything is open.

Pyrenees

It’s been yet another mostly warm and sunny week for the Pyrenees, which have seen very little natural snowfall all winter, and for a month now have regularly seen temperatures climbing above +10C in valleys and the freezing point getting up above 3,000m in the afternoons, higher than the highest lifts. So we’re really talking old snow that gets very hard-packed and freeze-thaw conditions every day too, with little snow left at low elevations, most of the skiing on higher runs. The bigger resorts like Grandvalira (Pas de la Casa and Soldeu) in Andorra still have about half their runs open, some other centres are struggling to open even a quarter of their runs though. The good news is it appears things will finally change a little this weekend with cooler temperatures and snowfall forecast.  Spain’s Baqueira Beret, still with over 100km of slopes open, pictured above.

Scandinavia

It’s been a good week for Scandinavian ski centres as Storm Ingunn last weekend left a lot of snow behind in his wake. There was the most at West Coast Norwegian resorts like Voss which posted several feet of powder waiting at the start of the week (pictured above) after storm damage to power supplies and other issues were sorted out, Elsewhere most areas, including in Finland and Sweden, reported at least a foot of fresh snow, the biggest falls of the year. So currently everything is open and conditions excellent.

Scotland

Scotland has had another challenging week of gales, warm spells and torrential rain that has all hit the snowpack hard and knocked out much of the limited terrain that had been able to open before now. Things have turned colder again over the last few days but we are back to very limited terrain available at present, at several centres just the nursery slopes open thanks to their all-weather snowmaking machines. Glencoe, Glenshee and Cairngorm (pictured above) do have some more runs open though.

Eastern Europe

Bansko is the focus of the ski racing world’s attention this weekend as the Men’s Tour is in town for World Cup racing. The resort looks to be in its best shape of the seasons so far with about 70% of its terrain open. Borovets though is going the other way, closing some trails and cancelling nights skiing saying it’s too warm. Snow has started falling again up in the Czech and Slovak Republics where higher slopes and bigger resorts like Jasna are in good shape but lower runs lack snow cover as it’s been too warm in valleys.

USA

It’s been the best week of the 23-24 season so far for most US ski areas. California has done particularly well with huge snowfalls (Mammoth reported over 2 metres yup top) over the last seven days. They’re back to their traditional problem of having to dig it all out and make slopes safe to be able to actually operate. There have also been several feet of snowfall along the Rockies, from two feet at Jackson Hole to three in New Mexico at Taos.  The only places not doing so well are still in the Pacific Northwest which continues to have issues with wet snow/rain among periods of colder, snowier weather up in Washington state.  Taos is pictured top, Mammoth above.

Canada

It’s been a mixed week for Canadian ski areas with warm weather in the west causing issues with snow quality at times, either destabilising the snowpack on steep slopes leading to terrain closures at resorts like Kicking Horse, or seeing rain at low levels causing problems at Whistler Blackcomb and some other centres. Fortunately, though the past few days have been colder and so there’s been lots of shouting about 10cm snow accumulations and things getting back on track. Further east in Quebec, it has been colder, -20C at times in fact, but unfortunately here too it’s now warming up to end the week with a chance of rain before temperatures drop again.  Mont Orford in Quebec pictured above.

**** Updated Friday, 2 February, 2024 ****

“Springlike” continues to describe conditions in the Alps as we start February. We’ve had a week of mostly warm, sunny weather and there appears to be another on the way with temperatures passing +10XC in lower valleys in the afternoons and the freezing point rising above the highest peaks too. Not good news in the long term but in the short term not a huge problem as most ski areas have decent snow depths so any thawing is having little impact on what’s open – for the vast majority at least 80% of their slopes, many more than 90%.

Outside the Alps, it’s similar but more extreme still in the Pyrenees bit more mixed and generally colder in Eastern Europe. Scotland continues to be battered by gales and has lost some of the limited cover it had, Scandinavia is generally looking good but has just been hit by its most severe gales in three decades, impacting Norway particularly.

Across the Atlantic, it’s been a quieter week for snowfall and weather in general across North America but a fresh front just starting to move in is expected to bring significant fresh snow accumulations to the west through the weekend.

Austria

Austrian ski areas have seen predominantly warm, sunny weather over the last week, which although giving very pleasant conditions on higher slopes, is not good news for the snowpack overall and led to thawing on low runs and in some cases a battle to keep lower terrain open. But that said Austrian ski areas are well prepared for this and there’s not been a big change in what is open (which remains pretty much all slopes). There has also been sine fresh snowfall on higher slopes, with the Kitzsteinhorn posting 25cm (10”) and a corresponding jump in snow depths over the past few days. So it’s too soon to worry very much, but with sunshine forecast through the weekend, it would be nice to see a return to winter before long.  Kitzbuhel is pictured above this week.

France

French ski areas have been battling some very warm temperatures this week, hitting +10C in valleys down at 1,000m altitude. The freezing point has been climbing above 3,000m in the afternoons too meaning thawing at all levels, although obviously lower runs which had thinner cover from early warm spells and rainfalls are in the worst state. The big picture isn’t as bleak as that appears though because lots of early season snowfall has left France with the deepest snowpack, up to 4.2m up high in Les Arcs, so most of the country’s slopes remain open with good conditions up above 2,000m and valley runs still kept open. The world’s biggest area the 3 Valleys has 95% (550km) of its runs open still  and Les Portes Du Soleil which has lower terrain still 85% (490km)

Italy

Italian ski areas have enjoyed the same sunny conditions and mostly dry weather as the rest of central Europe. Bases in the Dolomites are lower than in the Alps, but still, most ski areas in the region are more or less fully open, well used to opening on a 30-50cm base. The sunshine here is expected to continue well into next week as well with the same plus temperatures reaching +10c at 1,000m altitude and the freezing point getting above 3,000m. The Milky Way (Via Lattea) around Sauze d’Oulx and Sestriere is now up to about 75% open, despite still having a thin base, with around 300km of slopes accessible, the second most in the country after the linked areas around the Sella Ronda with nearly 500km of slopes open.

Switzerland

Swiss ski areas have also enjoyed a fairly settled, largely sunny week with little precipitation to report and strong, gusting winds at times the main issue for skiers. That and the fact that mild temperatures down in valleys mean the snow is sticky at times below about 1800m altitude, the best of the conditions above that …which fortunately most slopes are. So there’s little change on seven days ago really. Laax is posting the country’s deepest snow up on its glacier where it’s lying more than 12 feet deep. Verbier and the 4 Valleys have the most terrain open, still at 95% of the 410km of slopes there. It looks like a sunny weekend ahead.  Zermatt is pictured above.

Pyrenees

Alas, it has been another week of mostly sunny and too warm temperatures across the Pyrenees, lower valleys seeing daytime highs of +10 to +14C and even the highest slopes seeing +7C and overnight lows rarely cold enough for snowmaking. So the challenging conditions continue (with no sign of much change ahead) and centres are battling to keep slopes open still. The biggest centres like Andorra’s Grandvalira (Soldeu, Pas de la Casa etc) and Spain’s Baqueira Beret can offer the most – both at around 50-60% of their slopes on the upper mountain so around 100km each.

Scandinavia

The big factor in Scandinavia right now is severe gale force winds, mostly impacting Norwegian resorts, which have closed on Thursday and Friday in many cases, but also the wider region. The storm, reputed to be the most violent since the early 1990s, comes against a backdrop of excellent conditions otherwise across Scandinavia with most ski areas fully open there with better snow quality than in much of the Alps thanks to the consistent low temperatures in the region.  Base depths have hit 2m at ski areas around Voss in western Norway.  Hemsedal is pictured above.

Scotland

After all five Scottish ski centres managed to operate simultaneously for the first time this season a fortnight ago, they were closed again within 48 hours as more than a week of gales began. These ended last Sunday with record-warm temperatures which decimated cover on lower slopes when centres could finally reopen earlier this week. We did get a few calm, cold days on Monday and Tuesday though and there are a few runs still open at Cairngorm, Glencoe (pictured above) and Glenshee plus nursery slopes at The Lecht. Strong winds returned for the latter half of the week though and now centres are hoping for a return of winter.

Eastern Europe

Not a great deal of change to report in Eastern Europe where the picture is of fairly good conditions at the bigger, higher centres, but not much snow cover for smaller, lower runs. So Slovakia’s Jasna and Bulgaria’s Borovets are posting 1m+ bases up high and most runs open, but Bansko still only has about half of its terrain skiable on the upper mountain. Eastern European ski areas have actually had more wintery conditions than the Alps this week, with temperatures closer to freezing, just not much snowfall.  Pamporovo is pictured above.

USA

It was a fairly quiet week in the US until the past 24 hours or so with snow depths dipping a little on a week ago as temperatures rose a little above freezing but not much snowfall was recorded. However, a major storm is now moving west and is forecast to deliver several feet of snow by the end of the weekend, the heaviest in the west of the country. Mammoth (pictrured above) reported up to 2 feet of snow on Thursday morning. Conditions remain way better than they were in November and December with an increasing number of ski areas reporting they’re now 100% open, including America’s biggest Park City in Utah which may currently have slightly more terrain open than North America’s biggest Whistler Blackcomb north of the border. Keystone (pictured top) has every one of their 140 ruins open, they say. Looking good over in the East too which had seen similar issues but several areas have now reported their snowiest Januarys in at least a decade to bounce back.

Canada

It has been a fairly calm week across Canada with temperatures typically in the freezing to -15C range. However, there have been reports of some unfortunate warm weather spikes, with Kicking Horse (above) announcing it was closing some lifts and runs midweek after warm weather there made some steeper sections of its snowpack less stable. Overall though it’s a positive picture with some light snowfall reported and almost all Canadian ski slopes currently open – the most this season so far.

 

**** Updated Sunday, 28 January, 2024 ****

Where is Good to Ski Right Now?

Temperatures in the Alps have been warmer than we’d like for January this week with “springlike” the term widely used. There has been some precipitation but although high slopes saw a foot of snow, lower ones saw torrential train at times.  Those skiing above 2,000m will certainly be seeing the best of the conditions this week.

Elsewhere in Europe, the Pyrenees continue to need colder temperatures and snow with most areas posting an average of half their runs open. Similar reports for Bulgaria, but Scandinavian areas are mostly fully open. Scotland has been battered by storms and we’re still waiting to see how things stand when the latest blows through – it’s been mild but with heavy snowfall reported up high.

Over in North America, conditions continue to improve although there has not been so much fresh snowfall this week. But from less than half of the slopes open a month ago, we’re now averaging more than 80%.

Austria

We’ve had quite a lot of different weather hit Austria over the last seven days. The best was arguably last weekend when cold, sunny weather dominated, and the worst, midweek, when many areas saw heavy rain on lower slopes, although by Thursday many were reporting a foot of fresh snow up high, so there was an upside (including Fugen, pictured above). But it has been a little warm and snow conditions have suffered on lower runs. Against that though most Austrian areas report their slopes as 80-90% open.

France

A very mixed week for skiers in France, but, for most, it’s still good with some great sunny days and above 1800m more nig snowfalls. The deepest reported is now 5 metres at Alpe d’Huez. Against that, low valley slopes at resorts including Les Gets, Morzine and La Clusaz have reported rain when others were getting snow and the past few days have seen ‘springlike’ conditions with valley temperatures touching +10C and the freezing point climbing up to 3,000m. Unfortunately, that’s the picture for the coming week too, with lots of sunshine. Fortunately, the snow is deep enough in most areas to withstand it. Avoriaz is pictured above.

Italy

Snow depths are up a little in Italy on a week ago, not that that matters much for most of the resorts international skiers visit in the north and west of the country where the snow has been lying 2-3 metres deep for months no with more or less everything open. It’s good news for the Dolomites though where bases are more in the 50-100cm bracket, although here too everything is open anyway. There have been warmer valley temperatures this week as everywhere, after the snowfall, but centres like Val Gardena continue to report everything open, Cervinia is at 90%.

Switzerland

Swiss centres have had the same mixed weather week as the rest of the Alps with cold clear weather at the weekend giving way to some heavy snowfall on high slopes early in the week, but that falling as rain at lower levels. They’ve also had the same problem with valley highs reaching +10C in the afternoon, although up high lows of -10C still overnight – so in short, springlike, with freeze-thaw conditions to quite high altitudes and the avalanche danger at ‘considerable’ in many areas. The coming week looks mostly dry, with plenty of sunshine, but mild still into February. Despite this most of the country’s ski runs remain open, Zermatt is at 90% of its terrain, Verbier and the 4 Valleys, 95%.

Pyrenees

Unfortunately, conditions remain challenging for ski resort businesses in the Pyrenees. It’s not a problem if you like lots of sunshine and warm weather, because they’ve had plenty of that this week, but that’s obviously not great news for the snowpack, which hasn’t really had many good growth spells so far this season as it is.  So the best of the snow is on higher ground still and many areas still only have about half of their slopes open.  Formigueres aboive.

Scandinavia

There were some powder alarms in Scandinavia this week as some centres in western Norway posted 20cm+ 24-hour accumulations and Levi up in Lapland also noted it had abundant fresh power, although high lifts were also closed at the start of the weekend due to gales, so a mixed bag of weather. Conditions overall are good across the region though with most of the big-name areas like are, Trysil, Ruka and Hemsedal at, or nearly at, 100% open.

Scotland

Scotland’s centres have not had a great week after the euphoria of all five centres being open together for the final days of last week, the succession of storms hitting the UK plus warmer weather closed most of them for much of this week and despite some heavy snowfall on high slopes, overall snow loss means there are fewer runs open than a week ago. Nevis Range, currently closed, says it will provide an update on Saturday. The Lecht is back to just its nursery slope open and the other three all have fewer runs available, mostly representing 10-30% of their full terrain.  Glenshee, above.

Eastern Europe

The north-south divide continues in Eastern Europe with the most terrain open up in the Czech and Slovak Republics and Poland to the north, at least at higher elevations, where it has been more wintery all winter. Ski areas in Bulgaria and Romania and elsewhere at more southerly latitudes have still not really had any huge snowfalls and have instead relied a lot on snowmaking. The past week has been cooler than further west but mostly dry again so essentially little change on seven days ago. That is that most centres including Bansko have only half their runs open, although Borovets is up at 80%.

USA

The US has seen some more snowfall and continues to look in much better shape across the country than it did in November/December. Mammoth Mountain reported it had passed six feet of snowfall for January after only getting just over two feet in the first few months of the season. They’re still way down on last season, which set record levels of snowfall, but are in much better shape than they were and are now almost 100% open. It’s a picture reported across the country with America’s biggest ski area Park City in Utah now 100% open and lots of fresh snowfall from multiple storms this week for the East Coast too.  Stowe is pictured above.

Canada

Conditions across Canada are the best they’ve been all season after 2024 has continued cold with frequent snow showers. It was the east and west coastal ski areas which had been battling the most against warm weather and too little snowfall at the end of 2023, but big-name resorts like Tremblant in Quebec and Whistler Blackcomb in BC are both now reporting their slopes 90% open. The very cold temperatures of a week ago have now eased and temperatures are mostly in the freezing to -20C range with more light snow showers forecast.  Sunshine near Banff pictutred above this week.

**** Updated Friday, 19 January, 2024 ****

Where is Good to Ski Right Now?

The USA has been the place to be this last week if you wanted to see plenty of snowfall. Some huge accumulations of up to six feet in the last seven days have been reported, bringing to an end the first few months of the season that were often too warm and too dry in dramatic fashion. The snowfall has, ironically, caused some problems with ski areas that couldn’t open slopes for too little snow next having to close them while they dig them out, but the big picture is good for the rest of the season.

A quieter week in Europe with almost everything thrown into the mix – sunshine, murk, higher avalanche danger, snow up high, rain down low, gales – we’ve had it all. But again the big picture is good with nearly all slopes still open and base depths remaining healthy. In the north of the continent, Scotland’s five centres were open together for the first time this season from Thursday, but several were closed again by gales on Friday.

Austria

It has been a week of mixed weather across the Austrian Alps, with pretty much everything on offer from snowy mornings to sunny afternoons, temperatures a little warmer than last week, in the -5 to +5C range.  Snow depths continue to look good with two glaciers – Kaunertal and the Stubai, among the three Austrian areas now reporting the snow lying more than 3 metres/10 feet deep up high. The other is St Anton and the Arlberg which is posting the most terrain open in the country at 250km. The mixed weather is set to continue into next week with an initially sunny weekend giving way to fresh snowfall to start next week. Kitzbuhel, staging the Hahnenkamm this weekend, above, reports its slop[es 100% open.

France

A mixed week of weather across the French Alps with reports of rain, unfortunately, in low valleys including around Les Gets, but with great conditions above 1,800m, where almost every piste is open and snow depths of over 4 metres have been reported up top in Chamonix and Flaine. Much of the past week has been dry but the past few days have brought more snowfall to higher slopes. Most of the big areas like the 3 Valleys, Grand Massif, Paradiski (Les Arcs is pictured above on Thursday) and Tignes-Val d’Isere remain at least 90% open. The coming weekend looks colder again and sunny with more snowfall expected with changeable conditions next week.

Italy

It’s looking good across much of Italy after a settled week following heavy snowfall for much of the country seven days ago. Most runs are open, the only real issue has been strong winds closing higher slopes in parts of the Dolomites and along the country’s western border with France. Val Gardena continues to post virtually every run open though and the snow depth in the Aosta Valley is the deepest in the country at nearly 4 metres. The week ahead looks initially dry and sunny but with more snowfall returning to the west from Monday, drier in the Dolomites.  Sestriere is pictured above earlier this week.

Switzerland

Great conditions across the Swiss Alps at present with more fresh snowfall over the last few days following a dry week after the snowfalls earlier last week. Most Swiss regions have 90% or more of their slopes open with Verbier and the 4 Valleys posting the most terrain of all skiable – almost all of their 410km.  Meanwhile, Saas-Fee has the country’s thickest snowpack, approaching 4 metres up on its glacier. Unfortunately, though the forecast for the next seven days isn’t that good, especially for lower runs. temperatures look set to climb over the next few days with double-digit plus numbers in valleys by early next week. There’s not much snow forecast either.

Pyrenees

One of the better weeks of the season in the Pyrenees with temperatures in the -10 to +5C range and occasional light to moderate snowfalls. After the snowfall last week and some good snowmaking weather we have the most terrain there’s been open all winter.  Spain’s Baqueira ​Beret continues to post the most runs open, about 85% of its slopes now and more than 85% of its terrain. Andorra’s Grandvalira which is home to Andorra’s ski villages like Pas de la Casa and Soldeu is only a little way behind with over 60% of its larger area now open.

Scandinavia

Snowfall and some low, low temperatures are both back in Norway, Finland and Sweden, with up to 30cm of fresh snowfall and temperatures down as low as -30C in the far north have been reported. Most ski areas in the region are fully open including all the big resorts like Hemsedal, Trysil, Are, Ruka and Levi. The deepest snow and the biggest falls of the past week have been reported in Western Norway.  Idre Fjall is pictured above this week.

Scotland

Scotland’s ski season is continuing to improve. Nevis Range was the latest centre to open, unveiling its first slopes for the 23-24 season on Thursday, joining Cairngorm and Glenshee in having more terrain open beyond nursery slopes maintained by all-weather snowmaking systems. The move came following one of the coldest and snowiest weeks in the Scottish Highlands of the season so far. Cairngorm has been making access to its upper mountain terrain, where the best of the snow is, easier and easier thanks to the new snowfall. It’s hampered by the fact that the funicular lift which is the only full access to it remains out of action for repair. Glencoe has also opened. It had sledging and nursery slopes open already and its access chair for ski tourers but now has some inbounds runs of its own open too.  Glenshee this week.

Eastern Europe

It’s a mixed picture across Eastern Europe right now. In the northeast – countries like Poland, the Czech and Slovak Republic, the bigger, higher resorts are reporting their terrain fully open – but low-lying resorts, below about 1500m, are by contrast struggling to open much at all for lack of snow. More southerly nations like Bulgaria and Romania are reporting similar issues, plenty of snow up high but little or nothing on lower slopes, hence Bansko’s upper slopes are open, lower slopes closed. The past week has shown little change in that.  Serbia’s Kopaonik is pictured above.

USA

It appears to be the turning point of the season after a lacklustre first few months. There’s been heavy snowfall across the country, with some big 4-5 feet (1.2-1.5m) dumps in the West, incredibly low temperatures, gale force winds, the whole lot. As a result the country’s snowpack, which had been below 50% average with less than half of runs open, has jumped to more than 90% with most runs open at most resorts. That means that Park City – which has the country’s biggest area potentially but the past few months has not had enough snow to open all of it – finally does have about 90% of its runs open and the most in the US. Conditions are also much improved at West Coast resorts, with the Pacific Northwest seeing the biggest snowfalls as well as the lowest temperatures – as low as -40C at the weekend. Crested Butte in Colorado pictured above this week.

Canada

Ski areas in Eastern Canada saw the same very low temperatures, if not colder, that ski areas in north and west US had and several centres in Alberta and BC were closed, in some cases for several days last weekend, for safety reasons as a result. But it has been ‘warming up’ to the minus 10s/20s since and there’s been some light to moderate snowfall too so the big picture is essentially the best it has been all season. Whistler Blackcomb is finally almost fully open and two months after opening is at last reporting the most terrain open in North America.  Lake Louise pictured above this week.

 

**** Updated Friday, 12 January, 2024 ****

It’s been a good week for most of the world’s major ski regions with some of the biggest snowfalls of the season so far and temperatures dropping below freezing in the Alps, Pyrenees and across North America …while climbing back up towards the freezing point in Scandinavia from very low levels last week.

It’s difficult to remember better conditions in the Alps with some centres reporting up to a metre of snowfall this week and a growing number of centres posting 10 feet/3m bases already, and its still only the first half of January! Most areas have 80=95% of their slopes open. The world’s biggest, the 3 Valleys, is now up to 550km of slopes open. The recent cold weather has also seen snowfall down to valley floors.

Elsewhere in Europe things have warmed a little in Scandinavia where it had been very cold indeed, Scottish centres have started to open some terrain beyond their beginner slopes and the Pyrenees have had some much needed snowfall. There’s also been more snow for most Eastern European destinations.

Across the Atlantic North American ski areas have, by contrast, had a very poor season start unfortunately sand last weekend less than half of Canadian and American slopes were open, on average. The good news is there’s been lots of fresh snowfall on both the East and West side of the continent at last. So while not yet back to normal, by far the best it has been this season so far.

Austria

There have been some great images coming out of Austria this week with heavy snowfall down to valley floor turning low valley resort villages into picture perfect snowy scenes (Kitzbuhel is pictured above). As most of the country’s big ski areas were already 70-80% open anyway, the new snowfall has just improved things further, with low temperatures keeping the snow in good shape. St Anton has both the deepest snow in the country – nearly 4 metres deep up high – and the most terrain open, more than 90% of the huge Arlberg area. But it’s looking good pretty much everywhere.

France

There’s been a lot of fresh snowfall in the French Alps this week, further improving conditions that were already good, with the snowpack deeper than average – in fact passing the 4 metres mark last week at Flaine, Les Arcs and Chamonix. Conditions are great across the French Alps, the only issue has been some wet snow at low elevations, but with most terrain at destination resorts above 1800m, ski areas like Tignes – Val d’Isere are 95% open.  The world’s largest ski area, the 3 Valleys, has more than 90% of its slopes – equaling more than 550km of runs, open.  La Plagne pictured above.

Italy

There’s been snowfall and low temperatures across Italy this week, turning its valleys white, to match its ski slopes. Most runs were already open but more southerly resorts had not had much snowfall to date this season and were heavily reliant on snowmaking, so the new snowfall is very welcome. The Milky Way has seen a big jump in its reported snow depth thanks to heavy snowfall in the west of the country and is now posting the biggest single-area amount of terrain open in the country – about 250km of slopes, ahead of Val Gardena with 180km.  Livigno, which reported 52cm in 24hrs earliuer this week, pictured above.

Switzerland

There are some of the best conditions in Switzerland for years with the slopes nearly 90% open, on average, across the country, the highest percentage in the world. These stats have been boosted this week by cold temperatures down to low elevations which has enabled more valley runs to open. The huge Portes du Soliel region on the French/Swiss border, which had been struggling to open half its runs until last week, has now jumped to more than 90% and 500km of slopes open, second only to the 3 Valleys. Verbier has 95% of its runs open.  Saas Fee above.

Pyrenees

The Pyrenees have had one of their best weeks of the season so far, with some very low temperatures down below -10C, and some fresh snowfall …and there hadn’t been much of that until now. Unfortunately for Andorra and sopain, most of the snowfall landed on the French side of the border though. As a result, although we’re coming from a point of snow depths well below average, more terrain has been opened and snowmaking systems have been ramped up to maximum production.  Up to 50cm (20”) of snowfall was reported through the past seven days.

Scandinavia

Temperatures have warmed from their very cold -20s last week to a much toastier -10 to -5C across Scandinavia. It’s slowly getting lighter and snowier, with the deepest depths in Western Norway reaching five feet (1.5 metres) and most centres across the region now open.  It should stay cold with more light snowfalls between sunny spells across Scandinavia this coming week. Lapland’s Ruka pictured above.

Scotland

Scotland’s ski centres continue to battle top open more terrain beyond the limited beginner slope areas maintained with all-weather snowmaking equipment. The results are nixed. At Glenshee access is most straightforward. For Cairngorm (above) the White Lady and M1 pistes are open by with the funicular out of action once more it’s a 15-minute hike to the M1 Poma to reach the lift to ski the slopes. Glencoe doesn’t have any inbound terrain open but tourers can use their access chairlift to get to what’s reported to be good snow lying between the top of that and the summit.

Eastern Europe

Most Eastern European ski areas are in good shape with cold temperatures and fresh snowfall in many areas. Slovakia’s Jasna has the most terrain open and some of the deepest snow lying – 99% of its slopes available and snow depths of up to 100cm. It’s not quite such a rosy picture in Bulgaria where most centres are only reporting 30-50% of their slopes open, although Borovets are up at 85% and a metre of snow lying up high.  Bansko is pictured above.

USA

The snowfall that US ski areas have been badly needing has arrived this week with ski areas from East to West Coasts reporting 1-2 feet of snow and powder conditions. There’s a lot of catching up needing to be done with only about half of the country’s slopes open so far after the warm and dry/wet start to the season, but the new snow has allowed resorts to open more terrain and offer some of the famed powder to enjoy at last on top. Ski areas in Colorado are tending to offer the most runs with Steamboat (above) and Vail up to 80% open, while some resorts in Utah like Alta and Snowbird (pictured top), are posting the deepest snow outside of Alaska. However Californian ski areas, which have been suffering the lack of snow the most, got a boost too with over a foot of fresh snow and Mammoth is now 75% open.

Canada

Canada saw some good snowfalls on both East and West coasts at the weekend and conditions are much improved, with some powder skiing possible in the west. The most marked improvement is at North America’s largest resort Whistler Blackcomb, which has jumped from being only 40% open to 80% now and having the most terrain open in North America at last.  Elsewhere there’s been fresh snowfall in the Rockies too and on the East Coast (Massif du Sud pictured above), where conditions have unfortunately been very poor to date. There’s still only limited terrain open there. The weather has now got much colder across the country.

**** Updated Friday, 5 January, 2024 ****

Where is Good to Ski Right Now?

Snowfall returned to the Alps on New Year’s Eve after a fairly dry final week or so of 2023. Since then it has been snowing over a wider area, with some resorts now reporting over a metre of snowfall this week and Chamonix the first in the world to report a 4-metre snow depth reached on its highest slopes – months earlier than the Alps say those numbers last winter. So although there has been some rain and sleet down low, the overall picture is very good, especially compared to recent years.

Not so in the Pyrenees unfortunately where it has been too dry although snowfall is expected here too. Up in Scandinavia, the issue is dangerously low temperatures closing some lifts, over in Scotland the skiing remains very limited but small areas beyond the nursery slopes are tentatively opening.

Across in North America, there have been some good signs for the new year, a foot of snow in California and fresh snow on the East Coast too, but it remains a lacklustre start to the season with most areas struggling to open terrain due to predominantly warm and dry (or wet) weather. The best appears to be in parts of the Rockies where some centres have 70-80% of their slopes open and snow depths close to a metre.

Austria

Conditions are excellent across most Austrian destinations. The Arlberg region is in particularly good shape with snow over 3 metres deep up high and more than 95% of the terrain there is open. It’s similar in all of the country’s big areas – Saalbach Hinterglemm, the Skiwelt and indeed most of the smaller areas too. Kitzbuhel (pictured above at New Year) reports it has all 190km of its slopes open and every lift operating. There’s been some light snowfall over the past few days and that’s expected to continue through the weekend as temperatures drop before skies clear next week.

France

French ski areas have reported up to a metre of snowfall this week, the most anywhere in the world. At the same time, Chamonix has reached a 4-metre base depth at Grands Montets, the deepest in the world at present. So things are looking pretty good almost everywhere. Most of the country’s ski areas are 75-95% open, although Les Portes du Soliel has been having issues with about 55% of its slopes open. However ski areas there, Les Gets and Morzine, were among the resorts posting nearly a metre of snowfall this week so it looks like more will be open here too shortly, and in any case, 55% of their terrain is 325km of runs.

Italy

There’s been some fresh snowfall for Italy this week and cooler temperatures too which have given a nice refresh to the slopes in some areas, however, snowfall remains below average at more southerly and easterly Italian ski destinations, but good, especially above 1800m, in the north and west. Despite thin cover, more slopes are open in the Dolomites however and the country’s big regions like Val Gardena, Cervinia and La Thuile-La Rosiere are running at 70-90% open. The Via Lattea area which had only about 40% of its slope open over Christmas week has opened up much more for New Year week, now nearer 70% of its 400km of runs available.

Switzerland

It’s looking good across Swiss ski slopes at the moment with snow depths very healthy, fresh snow falling, cold temperatures and most resorts 90-99% open. The biggest is the 4 Valleys around Verbier which reports almost all of its 400km+ of slopes are open. Other big areas like Zermatt-Cervinia and Samnaun-Ischgl also have 200km or more of their runs skiable.  St Moritxz is pictured above.

Pyrenees

The Pyrenees continue to struggle with what have been mostly warm and dry conditions, but that said snowfall is finally forecast over the next few days along with temperatures way down below freezing so hopefully a big improvement can be reported next week. For now, Spain’s Baqueira Beret continues to post the most terrain open – 11-0km of slopes, with the biggest area Andorra’s Grandvalira (Soldeu/Pas de la Casa etc) only having about 80km/40% of its slopes available. Elsewhere some centres on the Spanish side only have 10-20% of their runs open but on the French up to 100%.

Scandinavia

Great conditions overall in Scandinavia with most resorts now 90-100% open, the biggest Sweden’s Are posting over 80km of slopes skiable. However, the past few days have seen an issue with temperatures dipping as low as  -25 to -30C making some more exposed lifts deemed too dangerous to operate meaning skiers need to get back indoors every hour or so to avoid frostbite danger.  Levi, above, was one of the colder ones.

Scotland

Scotland’s ski season is gradually improving and consistent cold weather is helping. There’s not been a lot of natural snowfall, particularly at lower levels, but it is starting to build higher up and Cairngorm (above) is opening their M1 and White Lady slopes as we publish this week, the only catch is you need to hike up to the lift to access the run, so it’s ‘for experts only’ at present. It and other areas have beginner slopes open and tickets for those are selling out daily. Glenshee also has runs beyond the nursery slopes open though.

Eastern Europe

Mixed reports from Eastern Europe, There have been some good 20-40cm snowfalls in the Czech and Slovak Republics where big areas like Jasna (above) were already fully open, so it’s just better still there. In Bulgaria, warm weather has left brown slopes around the lower pistes but there has been some fresh snowfall and colder temperatures here too over the last few days.

USA

It’s been another mostly dry, not-too-cold week across the US, unfortunately. There have been some snowfalls (after more rain showers in the east) but it hasn’t made a lot of difference, although for most areas things continue to gradually improve. Most areas have had less than half of their average snowfall this season and are posting lower bases in the inches rather than the feet. Almost all big-name resorts are open now but many have only half their runs open, or less.  Other than up in Alaska, which is in pretty good shape (although even here one area closed this week blaming rain damage to the snowpack), the best conditions are in the Rockies where some resorts including Utah’s Alta and Snowbird and Colorado’s Steamboat and Winter Park, are posting at least 70% of their terrain open and some of the best snow depths in the country. There has been some snowfall in the east, improving conditions after the rain and Mammoth just saw one of the best snowfalls it’s had this winter, about a foot of snow, and is now up to about 70% open.  Unfortunately though despite this though this is turning into one of the worst season starts in many years for most parts of the US. Copper Mountain above.

Canada

Yet another fairly dry week for Canada where lots of ski areas continue to struggle to open even half of their runs. Whistler Blackcomb is now up to 60% and some like Sunshine (pictured above this week), Sun Peaks and Panorama have 70-95% open, but many including Big White, Jasper and others have only 40% open and for Red Mountain it’s only 10%.  It’s not much better in the East where ski areas are still battling the impact of rain and struggling to open much either. Consistent cold weather and a decent snowfall are badly needed.

 

**** Updated Friday, 29 December, 2023 ****

Where is Good to Ski Right Now?

The last week of December has been a largely sunny one across much of Europe, with a storm blowing through the north to spice things up a little. After some big snowfalls in the Alps, heaviest in Austria, a week ago, piste skiers have been enjoying great conditions in the Alps and up in Scandinavia where almost all resorts are open and most with 75-95% of their slopes groomed for the peak Christmas and New Year weeks.

As always it’s not good everywhere. The Pyrenees continue to struggle with warm temperatures and a lack of natural snowfall. Here it’s more like 10-40% of slopes open in most areas although some like France’s La Mongie have managed 100% and Baqueira Beret in Spain has 110km of slopes open despite each having only a 30-50cm base. Scottish centres have also been storm-battered over the past few days and just have small areas of nursery slope created with all-weather snowmaking machines available. It’s looking good over in Scandinavia though where there were some big snowfalls in Norway this week. Eastern European resorts are in pretty good shape although it has been a little warm down in Bulgaria.

Across the Atlantic, it remains a poor start to the 23-24 season almost everywhere, possibly thanks to the strong El Nino. That said more and more terrain has opened and there’s been over a foot of snowfall reported in Colorado.

Austria

There have been some big snowfalls in Austria over the past week – some of the biggest for a few years in fact. The Ziller Valley (above) saw really huge snowfalls just before Christmas, with accumulations of up to a metre in 24 hours reported. There were also big dumps for many other resorts.  As a result snow depth totals have jumped across Austria, particularly on higher slopes, with the Arlberg region now posting the deepest snow in the world up high, at over 3.5 metres for Lech and St Anton. Since the snowfall last weekend, it has been much drier though and that’s set to continue into next week with the freezing point at around 1700m.

France

It’s been a mostly sunny week in France after more snowfall at the start of last weekend. That’s given glorious conditions on the groomed runs, of which about 70-80% are open at big regions like the 3 Valleys and Paradiski (Les Arcs/La Plagne) which are also posting some of the deepest snow in the world at over 3 metres (10 feet) up high. The forecast is for more sunshine and warm temperatures in valleys for the coming week into the New Year too. The only real downside is that the snow is melting in lower traditional valley resorts like Morzine. So far not a big problem with pistes created down to resort but it would be nice to have lower temperatures and fresh snow to low elevations before much longer too.  Peisey Vallandry pictured.

Italy

Most of Italy has had a predominantly dry week with plenty of sunshine and warm weather in the south. The dolomites are long used to being able to open almost all of their slopes with a thin covering of predominantly machine-made snow and that’s the case now in resorts like Cortina d’Ampezzo which is posting most of its runs open but only a foot of snow lying at most. On the other side of the country, the via Lattea/Milky Way has similar depths but only about a third of its 400km or so of slopes open.  It’s not the same, the low snow depths, everywhere though. La Thuile posts nearly 3 metres up high, Cervinia 2 metres. There’s no big change ahead in the forecast although temperatures should be cooler and there’s a chance of some snowfall on New Year’s Eve. Val di Fassa pictured.

Switzerland

Swiss centres have been posting some of the best stats in European skiing this week in terms of the percentage of terrain open (most of the big centres at 90-99%) and snow depths (up to 3 metres). It’s been a sunny week here also and the rest of the snow is in the north and west with cover thinner in regions like the Jungfrau around Wengen, at least on lower slopes and Engadin around St Moritz, although both still have most of their slopes open. The coming week has a more unsettled weather pattern which should mean fresh snowfall. St Moritz pictured.

Pyrenees

It’s been another challenging week for ski areas in the Pyrenees as Spain wraps up its warmest December on record. Most centres are now open but smaller areas sometimes only have 5-10% of their runs available so far as they battle warm, dry weather. That said the bigger resorts mostly have at least 40% of their slopes open. That’s the case for the Grandvalira area of Andorra (Pas de la Casa, Soldeu etc) with Spain’s Baqueira Beret still posting the most open – 70% of their terrain and about 110km of slopes. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of change in the forecast – continuing mostly dry but a little cooler.

Scandinavia

There were some good snowfalls in Norway this week with some centres reporting as much as 60cm of fresh snowfall in 24 hours. Otherwise, things look good for most resorts across the region. The big players like Sweden’s Are and Norway’s Trysil report slopes 80-90% open for the peak season, although Hemsedal is only ay 60%. Up in the far north where the sun dropped below the horizon in mid-December, it’s due to re-emerge for the New Year on Monday (for example at Levi, pictured above this week).

Scotland

Scotland’s season is underway at Cairngorm, The Lecht and Glenshee (pictured above this week) but so far it is just small areas of nursery slope created using all-weather snowmaking machines rather than any ‘proper’ ski runs. There has been some snowfall this week and consistently low temperatures but really a lot more is needed before resorts can start to open full runs. Glencoe has a dry slope for skiers and a sledging slope with its all-weather snowmaking system. Nevis range has nothing open yet.

Eastern Europe

A bit of a north/south divide in eastern Europe this week with more snowfall and more terrain opening at more northerly centres in The Czech and Slovak Republics and Poland, and more springlike weather at more southerly resorts in Bulgaria and Romania. That said the deepest reported snowpack, about a metre up high, is the same both north and south and so is the amount of terrain with ski areas like Borovets in Bulgaria (above) and Jasna in Slovakia both now reporting that their slopes are almost fully open. Bansko is pictured top.

USA

Ski areas in the US are continuing to suffer a poor start to the 23-24 season with most areas still hoping for a good snowfall to kick things off. The best conditions are reported in the Rockies, particularly Colorado, however, where there was 1-2 feet of snow reported last weekend. Parts of Utah are also doing OK. Snowbird is almost fully open. But on the West Coast it’s an ongoing battle to open more terrain despite some fresh snowfall last week and in the east resorts do get snow but then see temperatures rise and rainfall wash away the snowpack. So colder, snowier weather is needed almost everywhere in the US as we start 2024.   Schweitzer in Idaho is pictured above.

Canada

Canadian ski areas are facing very similar issues to those south of the border in the US, with resorts in Quebec in the east of the country forced to close by spells of torrential rain, while those in the west, including the continent’s biggest Whistler Blackcomb, struggling to open much terrain because of the warm temperatures there. The best of the conditions are, as in the US to the south again, in the Rockies, along the Alberta/BC state line. Here resorts like Panorama and Sunshine (pictured above this week) are almost fully open, despite not having much snow lying, most other centres are at 60-80% open, much better than the 40-50% for most areas on the East and West coasts.  The forecast is mostly for cold and dry weather across the country into the start of 2024.

**** Updated Friday, 22 December, 2023 ****

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas across the world’s ski slopes, particularly in the Alps where the snow is falling again after a sunny start to the week and base depths have reached 3 metres (10 feet) at some areas in the Alps. We’re at the shortest day which means more daylight hours from now on and we’re also about to start the busiest fortnight of the season which means virtually all ski areas are open and that they’re each aiming to open as much terrain as they can.

Currently, that’s easiest in the Alps, where there’s the most snow and up in Scandinavia. Some resorts in Eastern Europe are about there too. However the Pyrenees are in need of more snowfall unfortunately and up in Scotland any snowfall at all would be helpful – centres there are starting to open but just with small nursery slope areas courtesy of all-weather snowmaking machines.

Across in North America, challenging conditions continue, with things actually getting worse on the East Coast with torrential rain earlier this week temporarily closing some centres.  Snowfall is badly needed on the west coast too although there has now been some snowfall in California to slightly improve things this week. The Rockies, particularly in Colorado and Utah as well as up in Alberta and Eastern BC seem to have the best of it there at present with some centres almost fully open and a few feet of snow lying.

Austria

After a sunny weekend and start to this week it has turned colder and snowier again over the last few days with temperatures back below freezing day and night right down to low levels, so a good run-up to the Christmas weekend. Snow depths on Austrian slopes are already looking healthier than they did all last season too, so so far so good. Most Austrian areas now have most of their terrain open with the Alberg (St Anton, Lech), Skiwelt (Soll, Ellmau, Westendorf and others) and Ischgl/Samnaun all reporting over 200km of slopes open each this week.  Saalbach pictured above.

France

It has been a mostly sunny week in the French Alps after last week’s rain and then snow, with skiers and riders lucky enough to be out there reporting amazing conditions already. The country is reporting the world’s deepest snow (Around 3 metres at La Rosiere and Flaine) and the biggest areas open, including the biggest of them all, the 3 Valleys, nearing 500km open so far and perhaps going for even more for Christmas week. A snowy weekend is forecast then a sunny Christmas week with temperatures warming a little in valleys.  Risoul, now open for the season after a delay due to flooding, has now opened and pictured above.

Italy

It’s been a fairly uneventful week in Italy with plenty of sunshine, although some snowfall is arriving as we publish this week’s report. However, the ski racing world’s attention has been on the country with multiple stops on the men’s tour staged here this week. Cervinia is posting the most terrain open in the country, although some of that is over the Swiss border in Zermatt, Passo Tonale’s neighbouring Presena Glacier the deepest snow and Val Gardena the most terrain wholly in Italy, 170km or about 95% of its slopes open already. It’s looking sunny over Christmas and perhaps a little warmer than we’d like down in the valleys.  The new cable car opens at Val Senales this week (pictured above)

Switzerland

Swiss ski centres had a mostly dry and sunny week but snow clouds have now moved in and it’s looking like the country could see some of the biggest snowfalls in Europe by Christmas Eve, some areas likely to get more than half-a-metre of fresh cover. Conditions are pretty good already with the 4 Valleys almost fully open and the Zermatt-Cervinia area not far behind.  Growing numbers of Swiss resorts are reporting the snow already lying more than 2.5 metres deep including Laax and Saas Fee. So it’s looking good and sunshine is expected to return next week.  Glacier 3000 near Gstaad pictured bove.

Pyrenees

Alas, its continuing to be a rather challenging start to the season in the Pyrenees, with the very warm December temperatures continuing, with valley highs still getting into double figures in the afternoons.  Smaller, lower resorts are struggling to open at all, bigger higher centres are open but with thin cover so far and limited terrain. Spain’s Baqueira Beret has the most available, over 100km of slopes, with the region’s biggest centre, Andorra’s Grandvalira, incorporating Pas de la Casa, Soldeu and others, managing about a third of their runs so far. Connections between the different resort bases are all open but in some cases, it’s a lift link, not yet a piste one.

Scandinavia

Temperatures did make it a few degrees into positive numbers earlier this week on lower slopes at more southerly Scandinavian centres with sunny skies too (for those not currently in a period of permanent Polar night), but the latter half of the week has seen more cloud, snow showers and temps back down in the -20s overnight for many.  Norway’s Trysil and Sweden’s Åre are currently posting the most terrain open in the country.  Finlaand’s Levi above.

Scotland

Scotland’s season is getting underway with Cairngorm (pictured above last week) opening a small area of snow slope for beginners thanks to their all-weather snowmaking machines. The Lecht will also be opening a  small nursery slope area from Saturday. Neither would have been able to open without their TechnoAlpin SnowFactoy machines as the week started warm, wet and windy, although it has now got a lot colder with some snowfall, but there’s not much snow left for the fresh snow to fall on. Glenshee had aimed to open on Wednesday but was delayed as it was too warm even for all-weather machine-made snow. Glencoe was already open with a toboggan slope and the Lecht has said they want to open a terrain park with their all-weather snowmaker next week. So only Nevis Range is reliant on the natural stuff and not yet open.

Eastern Europe

Bulgaria’s ski season kicked off last weekend with great fresh snow falling with perfect timing after a warm, dry spell. More snowfall has led to more terrain opening with Borovets (pictured top) already nearly 100% open, and Bansko (pictured above) with more than half of its slopes skiable. Jasna in Slovakia, the largest area in the northeast, appears to have better conditions with about 75% of its terrain open and snow depths of up to a metre reported.

USA

Unfortunately, there’s been little improvement in conditions in the US where most ski regions are having a poor start to the season. The exception is Alaska up in the far northwest where there has been several metres of snowfall, and the Rockies which have had several feet and conditions aren’t too bad at all with resorts like Alta, Snowbird, Vail and Aspen reporting some fresh snowfall and most of their terrain open, so not far off normal operations. On the West Coast, it remains dry in California where centres are still battling to reach half their runs open, most not there yet and on the East, there was torrential rain earlier this week temporarily closing most centres.

Canada

Canada has had another mostly dry week, unfortunately, and ski areas on both the West and East coasts are struggling rather with a lack of the white stuff. In Quebec, the problems were exacerbated by warm temperatures and rain to start this week, which closed a number of centres. Over in the West, there’s just not that much terrain open still at North America’s biggest ski area, Whistler Blackcomb. There have been some decent dumps further east in BC and over the provincial border in Alberta, Resorts like Fernie, Panorama and Lake Louise reporting around a metre of snow on their higher slopes and most of their terrain is open. Sunshine, pictured top this week, has lifts running.

**** Updated |Sunday, 17 December, 2023 ****

Where is Good to Ski Right Now?

It’s time to hold our nerves in the Alps where, after some great snowfalls through November and early December, things turned warm and wet to about 2,000m altitude last weekend and remained so for a few days. Not too much damage was done before temperatures dipped again and it actually kept snowing up high throughout but it looks like to weather rollercoaster isn’t over yet with more warm weather for lower elevations next week, although this time it should stay sunny for most. Perhaps this is the new normal?

Elsewhere in Europe Bulgaria’s ski season starts this weekend, with limited terrain initially, its remained very cold up in Scandinavia and resorts are struggling to open much terrain yet in the Pyrenees while they await colder temperatures and a good snowfall, though the big centres and manging to open quite a lot.

Across the Atlantic The Rockies continue to see some good snowfalls and there’s been more snow in the East too, but on the West Coast it remains challenging due to warm, dry weather.

Austria

Despite warming temperatures earlier this week and some tawing on lower slopes, conditions in Austria continue to be much better than they were a year ago with some healthy snow depths o higher slopes, still 30-60cm of snow in valleys and most of the country’s resorts reporting 60-80% of their slopes open already.  Ischgl, with the cross-border area linked to Samnaun, still has the most terrain open, about 200km of slopes, but other big regions like the Skiwelt and Arlberg aren’t far behind.  Sunny weather and warmer temperatures are expected for the next few days in most areas.  The Kaunertal Glacier is pictured above.

France

A  bit of a mixed week in the French Alps with temperatures climbing and rainfall to quite high levels earlier in the week. However it then cooled down midweek and we saw more snowfall before `skies cleared and sunshine returned to many areas to end the week. Oh and there were strong winds at times to add to the mix!  Despite this snow conditions remain good in most areas after the big snowfalls of December and early November  with base depths very healthy for this early in the season. The last of the big French resorts that hadn’t yet opened for 23-24, including Les Arcs, open his weekend.  Les Menuires, pictured top, was another new opener.

Italy

Most Italian ski resorts and about half of Italy’s ski slopes are now open highlighting that the proportion of runs open so far is about 50% on average. There’s a big range within that average though, with Val Gardena having 95% of its slopes open, the most for a single destination in the country, over 170km in total. There’s been the same range of weather conditions here and it’s looking a little warm for the week ahead but base depths of up to 2.5m (at Passo Tonale) should mean this isn’t too big a problem and snow has been topping up the cover in the cold spells, Livigno reported 50cm snowfall in the previous 24 hours on Thursday.  Kronplatz is pictured above.

Switzerland

Swiss resorts have also seen warm temperatures and some snow loss at lower elevations, Crans Montana, for example, reports kits lower slope base depth down from a metre to 60cm. At this stage though the snow that built up through November has been plenty to see resorts through and there was more snowfall, heavier at altitude, in the latter half of this week. As a result Saas Fee is the second resort in Europe, after Chamonix, to post a 3m base on its highest slopes.

Pyrenees

Conditions continue to be a bit challenging for ski centres in Andorra, Spain and the French Pyrenees with a number of smaller centres still unable to open after the warmest December temperatures on record in Spain. Some fresh snowfall has been reported though and most of the major resorts are open and opening more terrain. Spain’s biggest, Baqueira Beret, will have over 100km of slopes, more than half of its terrain, open this weekend the say.  Grandvalira in Andorra has opened all connections and has more than 70km of slopes open.

Scandinavia

It has been another cold (-10 to -30C) week in Scandinavia but without much fresh snowfall. The big resorts like Norway’s Hemsedal and Trysil and Sweden’s Are and Salen continue opening more and more terrain ahead of the busy Christmas weeks, aided y snowmaking systems. Up in the far north, resorts like Levi and Ruka in Finland have entered a three week period of Polar Night when the sun does not appear above the horizon. The slopes are floodlit though (with multi-coloured lights in Ruka – pictured above) so it’s a nice surreal atmosphere for skiers. The sun will be back in the New Year!

Scotland

 

Scotland’s ski season will definitely start next weekend, if not sooner, with Cairngorm (above) announcing they will offer at least a small beginner area thanks to their all-weather SnowFactory snowmaking machine. Hopefully though they’ll be able to offer more, as will the other Scottish centres which also plan to operate for Christmas week, Glenshee the first to name a date – from this Wednesday. Snow has been falling, it’s just a question of whether there’s enough natural stuff yet.

Eastern Europe

Bulgaria’s 23-24 season got underway on Friday with all of the country’s top centres opening. It’s ‘early season conditions’ with Borovets apologising for the limited amount of terrain the were able to open on day one. there was though, heavy snowfall for the opening weekend, raising sprits considerably. Elsewhere most resorts are now open in other countries like Romania (Poiana Brasov),  the Czech Republic (Spindleruv Mlyn) and Slovakia. Here Jasna has the most terrain open and deepest snow (up to a metre) so far in the region.  Serbia’s Kopaonik pictured above.

USA

Conditions continue to improve across much of the US after low snowfall in November to start the season.  The Rockies have seen some of the best conditions with several feet more snowfall in the last seven days. Snowbird in Utah has opened their Mineral Basin terrain and other centres in Colorado and Utah have more and more runs open while Jackson Hole has gone through the 125” season snowfall total already. Conditions remain challenging on the West Coast where there’s been little natural snowfall and what’s open is mostly thanks to snowmaking. There’s been more snowfall and some powder days in the East though.  Snowbird is pictured above, Telluride top.

Canada

The  Canadian  Rockies continue to post the country’s best conditions with bases now reaching the metre mark after  recent snowfalls and centres including Lake Louise (pictured above this week) and Fernie having most of their runs open – the most in the country so far in fact with Whistler Blackcomb on the west still needing more snowfall to be able to open more terrain. Ski centres on the East Cast were closed for a period earlier in the week due to stormy, warm, wet weather but most have now reopened and are reporting fresh snow cover.

 

**** Updated Friday, 8 December, 2023 ****

Where is Good to Ski Right Now?

Winter is increasing its hold on the northern hemisphere’s ski areas with more snowfalls reported across Europe, North America and Japan. There have not been any massive falls reported, but typically 1-2 feet has landed over the last seven days. Chamonix opened posting the deepest snow in the world, the first over 3m / 10 feet.

Unfortunately, the snow hasn’t just floated down though. There have been gales reported at times, low visibility from fog and low cloud and in the western Alps a brief period of rain to high levels. This mostly led to short-term slope closure due to the winds or high avalanche danger, but the French resort Risoul sadly suffered serious damage to its base from flash floods as it was in the eye of one storm.

Besides that isolated incident though, more and more ski areas have opened for their 23-24 seasons and of course many more will start this weekend. Andorra, Poland, Romania and Slovakia were among the countries where the 23-24 season started last weekend.  Already open resorts are opening more and more terrain, we’ve seen the first single area to offer 200km of slopes in 23-24 this week and again this weekend will see bigger still areas open.

Here’s what’s happening where:

Austria

Around half of Austria’s ski areas have opened already and are posting excellent snow conditions in the large part – especially for this early in December and compared to last season. Obertauern, for example, already has snow lying two metres deep from top to bottom of its slopes. All of Austria’s big ski regions are open and for much of the past week (as the one before), the Ischgl-Samnaun area has dominated in terms of terrain open with more than 200km of slopes – the most in the world until this weekend. The Arlberg (St Anton / Lech) held second place. It was a drier week for a while but it has stayed cold and now the snow is falling again so it’s continuing to look good. Including down to low levels at resorts like Kitzbuhel, above.

France

 

Despite a blip a week ago which saw a brief period of warm, wet weather to high altitudes, resulting in serious damage at the base of Risoul ski area thanks to resulting flash floods, the big picture is still very good for early December in the French Alps. More resorts have been opening early and those that had planned to open, like Argentiere in the Chamonix Valley, report the snow already lying 3 metres (10 feet) deep up top – great news for the season ahead.  The forecast looks good for lots more snowfall over the week ahead too.  Courchevel, which opened early last weekend is pictured top, Chatel above.

Italy

It’s a big week for Italian ski areas with the giant Dolomiti Superski region fully opening all 12 sectors with over 300 lifts spinning and more than 800 km (500 miles) of runs open, about two-thirds of its full area. In the west of the country, the Milky Way region is also starting operations on the Italian side (Montgenevre on the French side opened last weekend) with the skiing at Sestriere starting. Overall it’s looking great for the first half of December, in part evidenced by how much is open already.  The Presena Glacier above Passo Tonale reports the country’s deepest snow with 2.5m lying.

Switzerland

The snowy start to Switzerland’s season continues with more snowfall reported and more snow forecast through the coming week as temperatures stay low. Gstaad’s Glacier 3000 has the country’s deepest snow at 2.2m. The Samnaun/Ischgl cross-border ski area is the first in the world to offer over 200km of slopes open this season but another cross border region Zermatt-Cervinia (above) is catching up fast with about 130km so far. More than a third of Swiss centres are already open for winter 23-24 and that number is set to grow this weekend with many more due to join them.

Pyrenees

The ski season is getting underway in the Pyrenees. Spain’s Baqueira Beret is posting the most runs open so far – about 65km, with Andorra’s Grandvalira (above), which opened at the start of this week, at around 40km initially. There’s not a lot of snow there yet and resorts have been battling with warm temperatures, particularly at their bases, but then temperatures are dropping well below freezing overnight so the extensive snowmaking systems can work at max. Resorts have begun opening on the French side too.

Scandinavia

It continues to be  great start to the 23-24 season in Scandinavia where most centres are now open and many have been open a month already now, for Finland’s Levi and Ruka (pictured above) it’s two months. Light snowfall has kept falling and continues to accumulate and stay in great shape tanks to the low temperatures – down to -20C at times. It’s also getting dark around the clock at more northerly latitudes so most skiing is under floodlights. All of the big resorts including Sweden’s Are and Norway’s Hemsedal are open and adding increasing terrain availability daily.

Scotland

Scotland has seen temperatures rise a little from the double digits below freezing at the start of this week, however, they remain close to freeing and the air has more moisture in it with the airflow coming off the Atlantic rather than down from drier areas to the northeast. So Scottish centres have reported snow starting to accumulate and fill in the hollows on higher slopes, fingers crossed, we just need the temperature to stay below freezing and for more to fall. Most centres aim to open Christmas week, whether with natural snowfall and/or with their all-weather snowmaking machines. Glencoe’s machine is already supplying a tobogganing slope and they’ve turned on the access chairlift to help tourers access high-altitude snow.

Eastern Europe

A swathe of ski centres have opened in the Carpathian Mountains across northeastern Europe over the last week, including the biggest, Slovakia’s Jasna as well as Romania’s best-known, Poiana Brasov and Poland’s Zakopane. The Czech Republic’s Špindlerův Mlýn is another with some runs open already. Jasna already has more than half of its 45km of slopes open thanks to early snowfalls which have continued through the past week. There’s been more snowfall at Bansko (above) which opens the weekend after this.

USA

It has not yet been a big start to the season in the US but nonetheless, most of the country’s big resorts have opened now and there have been some relatively good snowfalls this week with most ski areas right across the country seeing at least a foot of snow, more like two feet in the Rockies That let to Utah’s Snowbird closing briefly last weekend due to avalanche danger while Jackson Hole has already reached the 100 inches (2.5 m) snowfall this season to date point.  Sunday River in Maine above.

Canada

There’s been an improvement in the snow conditions across Canada over the last seven days with fresh snowfall reported in the East and West. Alberta has topped the fresh snowfall table with Sunshine at Banff posting about 60cm (two feet) of fresh snowfall over the past week and some great powder conditions. However, Whistler Blackcomb has the most terrain open in the country with about 20% of its vast area open already.  On the East Coast centres are still battling warm, spells and rain showers but cold and snow are gradually winning it seems with more centres opening in Ontario and Quebec and more terrain available at those that have already opened.

**** Updated Sunday, 2 December, 2023 ****

It’s been a  slightly up-and-down week for weather in the Alps but in most respects, the dream start continues with still more early base-building snowfalls. For full disclosure, the only real ‘blip’ was a period of rain to high altitude as temperatures suddenly spiked, but this appears to have been short-lived and actually helped stabilise the snowpack.  Stormy weather also closed some centres at times. The week ahead looks predominantly cold and frequently snowy again. So it’s looking good.

Outside the Alps, the first resorts have opened in the Czech and Slovak Republics but the start of the season seems to have stalled slightly in the Pyrenees.  Nearly everywhere has opened now in Scandinavia however.

Across the Atlantic, the season start still lacks the big snowfalls that marked the start of last winter 22-23, but there has been more snowfall and most of the continent’s well-known resorts are now open, just without much terrain available yet …but then it is just the start of December.

Austria

A great week for Austria with cold temperatures and snowfall down to low levels. More than 50 of the country’s ski areas are now open and those that have been open a while continue to lead the world in terms of terrain open. The Saalbach and Arlberg regions, including Lech and St Anton, are among the latest big-name centres to open this weekend. Kitzbuhel, Saalbach, The Arlberg, Obergurgl, Solden and Obertauern all have at least 50km of slopes open, with Ischgl leading the world with nearly 200km of slopes open already.  Year-round Hintertux has the highest percentage of its runs open already, 52km of its 60km area.  Snow falling in Fieberbrunn this week above.

France

It’s mostly good news from France, with still more snowfall and more resorts opening, but not quite all good with a brief spell of rain up to 2,800m altitude reported a few days ago. However that’s actually good news overall, avalanche experts report, as it will stabilise a snowpack that was rather unstable off-piste due to the heavy snowfall and strong winds at times. Newly opened ski areas include Alpe d’Huez, La Clusaz, Les 2 Alpes, Montgenevre and Chamonix Valley (Argentiere) – opening with over 3 metres of snow reported lying, the most in the world for anywhere open to date. They join Val Thorens (pictured above last week) and Tignes, already open a fortnight. The 3 Valleys has also had an early opening of some of its other sectors.

Italy

More Italian centres have opened meaning about a third of the country’s resorts now have at least some runs open. But it’s been a mixed week for weather with more snowfall for most but some suffering from dry, sunny conditions, leading to the temporary closure of some slopes at Madonna di Campiglio (although it looked good when this picture was taken above earlier last week). Val Gardena is one of those newly opened, several days ahead of schedule, initially with just a few runs but planning to fully open from the middle of next week when it will have one of the largest areas open in the world at present.

Switzerland

There’s been a big jump in the number of Swiss areas opening for the season, so now more than 50, or about half of the country’s leading centres have opened. Here too it has been a mixed week for weather with an overall positive picture but with some spells of warm weather bringing rain to quite high levels against periods of snowfall down to low levels. This dynamic pattern, which has also included strong winds at altitude has led to temporary lift and slope closures at times and a moderate to high avalanche risk off-piste.  The Samnaun-Ischgl area has just under 200km of slopes open, the most in the country to date, while Glacier 3000 has the deepest snow at 2.4 metres (8 feet) up top.  Verbier, pictured above last week, has had nearly a metre of fresh snow but warns the avalanche danger is high. Murren is pictured top last week.

Pyrenees

There seems to be a bit of a delay on the season kick-off in Andorra, with centres saying they’ll open at the start of next week – a key one on the Spanish side of the mountains with a plethora of public holidays making resorts really, really want to have slopes open to attract early-season overnight stays. For now though, there’s not much change on a week ago when Baqueira Beret opened the first runs on the Spanish side and Porte Puymorens the first on the French side. This weekend it’s Font Romeu open instead on the French side. Bases are thin at this early point though, with just 10-30cm of snow lying.  Conditions are a little marginal still, with overnight lows of -10C and some snowfall but daytime highs of +10C and some rain at times.

Scandinavia

Another cold week in Scandinavia where all of the region’s big resorts are now open for the season, including the largest, Sweden’s Are and Salen, as well as Norway’s Hemsedal and Trysil (pictured above last week) and Levi,  Ruka and Yllas up in Lapland where we’re now early at 24-hours without the sun coming up above the horizon. Although we have again seen the minus 10s and even minus 20s, temperatures did climb up and ut even managed to sleet a little briefly early in the week at more southerly locations, but most have seen clear days with the odd light snow shower. As a result, most lonely have thin bases and 10-20% of their terrain open so far.

Scotland

Scotland has enjoyed a very cold, sometimes snowy week, but there’s not yet enough snowfall to open, despite one newspaper claiming centres were opening early.  To be fair all five centres have all-weather snowmaking systems so could open a small amount of terrain if they wished, but most are saying they’ll aim for Christmas week for that when demand is there. Glencoe has though got its access chairlift running to take ski tourers up to the snowline for some early season off-piste.

Eastern Europe

The first ski areas outside the Alps, Pyrenees and Scandinavia have opened in Europe this weekend with centres in the Czech and Slovak Republics now open.  They include Czechia’s Špindlerův Mlýn but the region’s largest resort, Jasna in Slovakia, reports the most terrain open, about half of its 45km of slopes,  and decent snow cover, particularly on higher slopes. It has been a snowy week with another one forecast ahead. Bulgaria’s ski season is set to kick off in the middle of the month.

USA

Most of America’s leading ski areas are now open and a foot or so of snowfall has been reported both in the Rockies in the west and in New England in the East over the past few days. But it has been a mixed bag with a lot of dry and sometimes warm weather as well as periods of low visibility, so it still feels like winter proper has not really got underway. Most resorts still have thin bases and limited terrain open, although more significant snowfall is now in the forecast.  Colorado’s Vail is reporting the most terrain open in the country – but still only about 10% of its full area. Alaska’s Alyeska has opened with the deepest snow in America as that’s the part of the continent that did see a lot of November snowfall.

Canada

Like the US, Canada is also still waiting for a really good snowfall to get the season moving but nonetheless, more areas have been opening. Fernie has opened about 20% of its slopes on opening for the season and currently has the most terrain open in the country.  Whistler is just behind with about 10% of its slopes open. Conditions remain challenging in the East with warm weather for December limiting snowmaking operations. Those watching the women’s World Cup GS races at Tremblant at the weekend, unfortunately, saw racers battle on springlike slush and mountain fog in the limited open terrain.  The forecast is looking good though with cold, snowy weather expected for the week ahead.  Cypress Mountain in BC pictured top.

 

**** Updated Saturday, 25 November, 2023 ****

Where is Good to Ski Right Now?

We’re into triple figures for the number of ski areas already open in Europe and North America and pre-season conditions remain promising in most areas. There’s been more snowfall to low levels in the Alps and temperatures have remained mostly low while over in the Pyrenees, new snow has allowed ski areas to start opening here for the season.

More resorts are now open in the Dolomites too, the largest opening with 50km of slopes open from day one. Over in North America, most of the continent’s big resorts are now open, including the biggest, Park City and Whistler Blackcomb. For US resorts many wanted to be open for the current Thanksgiving holiday weekend. There’s been less snowfall here than in the Alps so far but reported falls of up to about a foot more snow in the Rockies have improved things and it’s been cold enough for snowmaking systems to run at full pelt.

Austria

Austria, and particularly the Tirol region, continues to lead the world when it comes to the amount of terrain open at its resorts so far. Ischgl jumped to the world’s number one spot with 112km of slopes open from day one when it opened on Thursday. It overtook Solden which had reached 100km of slopes open itself, the first in the world this season to get to triple figures. Nearby Obergurgl is in third place with 70km open already.  Often needing snowmaking to open its terrain in November, this year Ischgl says it has had up to 60cm (two feet) of natural snowfall, and there’s been more falling across the country down to low levels over the past few days.  The Stubai Glacier pictured this week.

France

The French ski season was due to have begun this weekend at Tignes (lift opening day at Tignes last weekend pictured above) and Val Thorens but because of the heavy snowfall in the French Alps in the first half of this month, is already a week old, after those two centres opened early. That said dlown in the Pyrenees Porte Puymorens reported some ski slopes open this weekend. Most other French resorts plan to open over the first three weekends of December with resorts like Chamonix, Montgenevre and Les 2 Alpes lined up to open next weekend. It has been another week of mostly promising weather in the French mountains with the snowline dropping again with lower temperatures and more snowfall.

Italy

Another good very early season week in Italy with cool temperatures and some fresh snowfall and the number of centres open here is now up into double figures. Big name centres already open include Cortina d’Ampezzo, Madonna di Campiglio (above this week), Livigno and Kronplatz. The latter has opened with the most terrain open in the country so far – 50km of slopes. However, less well-known Sulden has the deepest reported snow in the country at 1.2 metres.

Switzerland

Switzerland now leads Europe in terms of the number of ski centres open, reaching almost 20 ski areas with at least some runs open this weekend. There are also more runs available at centres that are open, with Zermatt/Cervinia nearly doubling up from 30km a week ago to 60km this and the newly opened Corviglia area at St Moritz posing even more. However, the Samnaun/Ischgl area has taken the top spot with 120km (75 miles) of runs open this weekend. There’s more and more terrain open and in further good news, temperatures have been very low, hardly getting above freezing, with more snow falling too. Glacier 3000 is pictured above.

Pyrenees

The Pyrenees have had a positive change in the weather since the start of this week with temperatures dropping and a decent amount of fresh snow falling too. Snowmaking systems have also fired up with many of the region’s larger centres due to begin opening for the season from next weekend. Baqueira Beret (pictured above this week) announced it was opening a week earlier than expected, this weekend, thanks to snowfall there.

Scandinavia

Another great week for Scandinavian ski areas as temperatures appear to dip ever colder and daylight hours start to disappear altogether, until January, up in the Arctic Circle. -25C has been spotted up in Levi and Ruka in Lapland which are already nearly two months into their 23-24 seasons. The region’s big-name resorts including Are (pictured above) and Salen in Sweden and Hemsedal, Trysil and Geilo in Norway are all open now too. There have been some good 20-40cm snowfalls reported by some Norwegian areas including Roldal.

Scotland

Scotland has had slightly warmer weather on some days over this past week but also continued to see overnight lows dipping well below freezing most nights on ski slopes. Not much fresh natural snowfall to report this week but Glencoe has had a test firing of its all-weather snowmaking system and said it hopes to open sledging in a fortnight and its access chairlift for ski tourers wanting a lift up, at the start of December.

Eastern Europe

It continues to look promising for the start of the season for most ski centres in Eastern Europe. Slovakia’s largest, Jasna, has been posting images of snow lying a foot deep on higher slopes (above) and Bansko, the biggest in Bulgaria, has had more snowfall too. Most Eastern European centres aim to open over the first three weekends of December.

USA

An improving picture in the US with resorts in the Rockies posting up to a foot of snowfall at the start of the week. Then midweek there was a decent dump on the East Coast too (Sugarloaf in Mazine pictured this week above). Both were much needed, especially as resorts battled to open for the big Thanksgiving holiday. Lots of the country’s big resorts are indeed now open right across the country.  However, there’s still not much open at most resorts with most only having a foot or less of snow cover and limited terrain open so far.

Canada

The season is starting to find its rhythm in Western Canada with a decent 30-40cm dump in Alberta which Banff’s Norquay declared was “the snowfall we’ve been waiting for”.  Lake Louise is pictured top and above – about to open new terrain this weekend.  The country and continent’s biggest resort, Whistler Blackcomb, has started its season and reports about 10% of its vast terrain open so far. The season is also getting underway in the east of the country too, mostly thanks to snowmaking but with some natural snow too. The biggest area here, Tremblant, has a few runs open and another big player Mont Ste Anne opens this weekend.

**** Updated Saturday, 18 November, 2023 ****

Where is Good to Ski Right Now?

The number of ski areas open worldwide continues to grow rapidly, passing the 60 mark this weekend, with about a 60%/40% split Europe to North America.  We’re set to reach triple figures before next weekend.

A lot of ski areas in the alps are opening a week or more earlier than planned with Crans Montana, Laax, Livigno, Madonna di Campiglio and Passo Tonale among those doing so this weekend.  So too did Tignes and Val Thorens, starting the French ski season.

The Alps have seen more snowfall, down to low levels in Austria over the last few days, although there has also been thawing and rain on some lower slopes after the big falls in the first half of the month, pretty normal as things settle down to winter in the latter half of autumn. It has remained cold up in Scandinavia where big name resorts like Are and Trysil are now open..

Over in the US it remains a mixed picture with more East Coast resorts opening (including Sunday River pictured top) and the biggest in the US, Park City (pictured above), but some including Telluride have delayed opening due to too little snowfall there.

Austria

Austrian ski areas have seen some of the best snowfall of the past few days with Lech and St Anton both posting images of heavy snowfall down to street level on  Saturday. There are about a dozen ski areas open with Obergurgl the latest non-glacier area to join, opening with over 50km of runs open while its Otztal neighbour in Tirol, Solden, has jumped to over 90km of slopes open, up 50% on a week ago and remaining the most in the world at present. In fact there two have the most open on the planet at present, followed by two more Tirol areas, Hintertux and Stubai, each with nearly 40km open. They’re perhaps all preparing for next Thursday which sees Ischgl opening and its currently reporting great snow conditions ahead of opening day. It often manages to have over 100km of slopes open from day one, even in poor snow autumns.

France

The French ski season is due to get underway this weekend with both Tignes and Val Thorens (pictured above a few days before opening), which had planned to be the first in the country to open at the end of next week, bringing their opening dates forward by a week after receiving more than a metre of snowfall above 2,000m. The past week has, unfortunately, seen a bit of a set back as you might expect for mid-November with some fast thawing on lower slopes as well as rain and gales at times but Tignes still aims to open with 1300m of skiable vertical this weekend.

Italy

The choice of ski areas open in Italy has jumped this week with Livigno (above), Madonna di Campiglio and the Presena glacier by Passo Tonale all opening early and doubling the choice of resorts open already here. The move follows more than a metre of snowfall on higher slopes in the first half of November creating great early-season conditions on higher runs. You can now also ski on the Italian side of the border down from the glacier at Zermatt-Cervinia.

Switzerland

Swiss ski centres have seen another week of snowfall, if not so much as the previous fortnight, but things still remain good and more than a dozen areas are open this weekend (18-19 November), the most for any single country in Europe. Andermatt, Crans Montana, Grimentz and Laax were among the areas newly opening, joining the likes of Arosa, Davos, Engelberg, Gstaad, Murren, Saas Fee,  St Moritz and Zermatt.  Andermatt (pictured above) reported 80cm of fresh snowfall lying for its opening day.

Pyrenees

There’s been some snowfall on higher slopes in the Pyrenees but no ski areas are known to have opened for the season there yet and most targeting the first weekend in December in a fortnight’s time.

Scandinavia

It continues to be very cold in Scandinavia and daylight hours are dropping away quickly too with more northerly areas due to start a month or so without the sun appearing above the horizon in just a few weeks’ time. Big name resorts including Are in Sweden, which has the largest ski area in the region as well as Trysil in Norway are now open, but none of the dozen or so areas now open have much terrain available yet. The most, 7km of slopes, is on offer at Finland’s largest resort, Levi, where temperatures have been down to the -15 to -25C range this week. It’s Lapland neighbour Ruka is pictured above.

Scotland

Scotland’s season is edging nearer with another week of low temperatures and more snowfall on higher peaks in the Highlands. Nowhere’s open yet but centres have started to announce opening plans. Cairngorm say they’ll wait to Christmas week, by which time they hope the funicular, out of action once more, will be fixed. Glencoe will run their access chairlift and start making snow with their all-weather Snow-factory from the start of December.

Eastern Europe

There’s been more snowfall on high slopes in many mountain ranges of Eastern Europe. It’s currently looking particularly good at Slovakia’s largest resort, Jasna. There has also been snowfall reported for Bansko, the largest resort in Bulgaria. However most areas won’t be aiming to open until early December or later, although that’s now just a fortnight away.

USA

The US ski season continues to come to life but we’re yet to see the big snowfalls in either East or Western US that we’ve seen in the Alps and the last big snowfalls (1 foot plus) were recorded back in late October for most areas. Instead there’s been a lot of sunshine, some rain and not much snow yet. But resorts are opening with small amounts of terrain available, including the largest, Park City, as Utah’s season gets underway. On the East coast more centres have opened too, joining Killington, including Maine’s largest Sugarloaf (pictured above this week) and Sunday River, both offering top-to-bottom runs.

Canada

There’s still not a whole lot open for the 23-24 season yet in Canada, either in the number of resorts or the amount of terrain available at those centres that are open, and we’re really still waiting a big, prolonged, snowfall, but it is a gradually improving picture, especially in the west where about half a dozen resorts are now open with Sun Peaks (above)the first in BC to d so, pictured above, and due to be joined by the biggest in the country and North America, Whistler Blackcomb, in just a few days’ time.

 

**** Updated Saturday, 11 November, 2023 ****

Where is Good to Ski Right Now?

The main snow news this week continues to be from the Alps where some centres have reported another 30-60cm of snowfall following similar accumulations at the end of last week, so a growing number have now had over a  metre of snow on high slopes and it’s looking good for the start of the season. With that in mind, more resorts including big names like Cortina d’Ambezzo, Davos, Kitzbuhel and Verbier have now opened for 23-24 while the first French centres, Tignes and Val d’Isere will open next weekend, a week earlier than originally planned, thanks to the snow. Scandinavia continues to look good too and there’s been more snowfall, though nothing open yet, in other mountain ranges.

Across the Atlantic the US there’s not been much fresh snow but the country has leapt to first place for most areas open, the first to reach double-figures for the 23-24 season. Seven of these are in Colorado where Breckenridge and Vail just opened. California’s season is also underway with Mammoth among the first to open only 3 months after its 22-23 season ended in August.

Austria

Austria will most likely be the first European nation to have 10 centres open next weekend when Obergurgl (pictured above) is scheduled to open. It also has the ski areas with the most terrain open, topped by Solden, which has staged its winter opening this weekend and expanded its available slopes beyond its glacier to 60km of runs – far more than the less than 10km most of the 40 or so areas open worldwide can offer. Hintertux and Stubai have the 2^nd and 3^rd most in the world with over 30km of runs open each.  Kitzbuhel and Schladming opened at the weekend joining the seven glacier areas already open..

France

The snow keeps falling on the French Alps and to some extent, the Pyrenees with many resorts now posting over a metre accumulated in the past week above about 2,500m, but with snow down to around 1,400m in places. There remains nowhere open as yet but Tignes has now broken ranks and says it will open a week earlier than planned, next weekend (18^th) with skiing over 1300 vertical metres from day one, down from the glacier.

“We have snow down to Croisette at 1800m and temperatures are low. This is a great start to the season so far. There is more snow in the forecast for next week alongside these cool air temperatures and we are excited for our opening date of 9th December,” said Marlene Giacometti, Les Menuires Tourist Office Director.

Italy

Italian resorts have also seen plenty more snowfall in both the Alps in the west and the Dolomites. Cortina d’Ampezzo’s Col Galina area has opened joining already open Sulden. Madonna di Campiglio and the Presena Glacier are both expected to open early, next weekend, and Cervinia (pictured above), which now provides year-round access to the glacier skiing above Zermatt and is currently on the world ski racing stage as successive weekends of World Cup downhill racing are underway there, has announced that some runs on its side of the border will open this week.

Christina Demetz from Val Gardena Tourist Office comments, ” We have winter storms hitting Val Gardena this week and already we have 30cm of snow on the mountains. We are due to open on the 5th December and this cold weather and early snow is great to see.”

Switzerland

We have up to nine ski areas open in Switzerland now, although about half of these are only opening at weekends in November. Newly opened for 23-24 this weekend are Arosa (pictured top), Davos and Verbier (pictured above) with Adelboden opening some cross-country tracks but not downhill runs. They join already open Gstaad (Glacier 3000), Murren, St Moritz (Diavolezza Glacier), Saas Fee and Zermatt. All report great conditions thanks to abundant snowfall over the past week. Davos has skiing accessed by the  Parsenn funicular railway is taking skiers and boarders up to the ski area with the “Totalp”, “Rapid”, “Furka” and “Kreuzweg” lifts and their associated pistes all open. The summit lift is also in operation for freeriders, with the East summit having no groomed piste.

Pyrenees

There’s been more snowfall in the Pyrenees over the past week, particularly on higher slopes, but there remains nowhere open as yet.  Most centres plan to open on the first weekend of December.

Scandinavia

Scandinavia’s ski season is really starting to take off with more small centres opening across the region and big names like Are and Trysil set to open next weekend. It’s also stayed cold with more snow falling. Levi in Lapland (above) is already into the second month of its season and has been staging World Cup racing this weekend with the first women’s slalom races of winter.

Scotland

Scotland saw cold weather this week with overnight lows down to -8C in the Highlands. There has been precipitation too but not at the same time so that’s been fain at low levels. However Glencoe (above, cam pic credit Winter Highland) did hit the sweet spot and saw its slopes turn white down to quite low levels, others saw snow up high. Nowhere open yet although the all-weather snowmaking systems could really be fired up as soon as the centres like now.

Eastern Europe

There’s nowhere open in Eastern Europe yet but early signs are promising with more snowfalls. Serbia’s Kopaonik was among the latest to post fresh snow images on social media.

USA

A mostly dry and sunny week across the US but it has been getting colder again allowing snowmaking systems to fire up and there have been some snow flurries. California’s ski season got underway on Friday after a  couple of inches of snowfall there with Mammoth (pictured above) and Mt Rose opening. However Colorado is dominating with seven resorts already open, including Breckenridge, Loveland and Vail which opened Friday, Copper will be the eighth on Monday. Dozens more ski areas including the largest Park City in Utah, are scheduled to open later this week.

Canada

There’s been more light snowfall in western Canada where it’s a gradually improving picture but there’s not a great deal of change on a week ago. The third of Banff’s ‘Big 3’ ski areas, Sunshine, has opened joining Norquay and Lake Louise but Jasper’s Marmot Basin has delayed opening by a week. There are a handful of other areas open, each with just a few kilometres of runs so far, including one small centre in Quebec in the east thanks to snowmaking.

**** Updated Sunday, 5 November, 2023 ****

We’re back with our winter 23-24 reports and it’s great to be able to report heavy snowfall in the Alps for the start of November. We’re seeing up to 60cm (two feet) in 48 hours up on glaciers and snow falling right down to the valley floor for the first time this autumn. Against that we have to report another warm, dry early half of the autumn means there’s lost ground to catch up, but there are now more than a dozen glacier areas open, most in Austria or Switzerland. It’s been more consistently cold and snowy for longer in Scandinavia where half a dozen resorts are already open and there’s also snow falling, but no lifts spinning yet, in the Pyrenees and in Eastern Europe.

Across the pond North America’s 23-24 season is now underway with the first half dozen areas open in the Rockies, both in Colorado and up in Alberta, Canada. A few centres have also used snowmaking to open in Vermont, Quebec and the Midwest for a total of 10 resorts open so far, but that number is likely to double by next weekend.

Austria

We’ve seen some heavy snowfalls in Austria over the last few days, stepping up a transformation that began about a fortnight ago now as temperatures dropped after a warm first half of autumn.  Glacier areas reported up to 60cm of snowfall in just 48 hours at the end of the week and there was also the first snowfall down to valley floors. Seven glacier resorts are already open, mostly in Tirol and the most areas open in the world at present. They include Hintertux (above), Kaunertal, Pitztal, Solden and the Stubai, which have been open since October or before and the Kitzsteinhorn above Kaprun and the Molltal which opened this weekend.

France

French ski resorts saw snowfall down to the valley floor at the end of last week with a healthy covering of snow for resorts like Châtel (pictured above on Friday) and Megeve, up on high slopes there’s been much with the snow looking to be 20-50cm deep up above 2500m for resorts like Les arcs and Val d’Isere. But with Tignes deciding not to open until the end of this month this year, there remains nowhere open in France. Val Thorens and Chamonix also plan to open in the final days of November.

Italy

The Sulden ski area (above on Friday) opens on Monday, 6^th November, and from webcam images is in good shape for the season ahead.  Italy has also had a lot of snowfall on higher slopes over the last few days, with Livigno reporting 50cm there. You can also access the glacier skiing above Zermatt from Cervini and the two resorts will be hosting the first cross-border FIS World Cup Downhill races over the coming two weekends, weather permitting.

Switzerland

Swiss centres have seen some big snowfalls over the past week, so much so that the Glacier 3000 ski area near Gstaad announced it was delaying its planned season opening on Sunday until next Friday by which time it hopes to have fully prepped the slopes and dug out after several feet of snowfall. However, Mürren did manage to open some runs on the Schilthorn, joining already open Saas Fee, Zermatt and St Moritz (Diavolezza Glacier). Verbier says it will announce its season start imminently and has been prepping its slopes with groomers after the fresh snow, the first runs above Davos are also expected to open next weekend.

Pyrenees

The ski season in the Pyrenees doesn’t usually start until the final weekend of November with Andorra’s ski areas targeting December 1^st for opening day this winter. However, we have had snowfall on high slopes over the past few days. For many this is the second or third snowfall of the autumn to date, but for some the first and down to lower elevations too. If it continues to be cold with more snow some areas may open early as has happened in the past November, but a lot more snow is needed at this point.  Spain’s Baqueira Beret pictured above on Friday.

Scandinavia

Half a dozen ski areas are already open for the 23-24 season in Finland, Norway and Sweden.  The region has seen wintery conditions over the past month when it was much warmer in the Alps, and now northern areas are seeing snow showers and staying below-freezing days and nights. Open areas include Kvitfjell in Norway and Idre Fjall in Sweden (above). Finland’s Levi and Ruka which used snow farming to open runs a month ago are now in full winter mode with natural snowfall turning the surrounding mountainscape from brown to white.

Scotland

Scotland’s ski areas saw snowfall down as low as 300m above sea level this week and subzero temperatures. There’s nowhere planning to open until early December but several centres could open earlier if there’s a good autumn snowfall.

Eastern Europe

Most Eastern European ski areas won’t aim to open until the very end of this month or more likely the start of December but there has been some snowfall in the last few days on higher slopes up in the Czech and Slovak Republics and further east.

USA

The US ski season got underway in the final few days of October and more ski areas are opening by the day. Colorado’s Arapahoe Basin (above), Eldora and Keystone have all opened and more areas, including Loveland, Breckenridge and Vail are expected to open in the coming week. The first ski area on the West Coast, Mammoth, is also expected to open only three months after its 22-23 season ended last August. There are several centres open in the Midwest too. Killington opened at the weekend, the first in the east. It has been a sunny period in the west over the last few days after big snowfalls a week ago. In the East and Midwest, it is snowmaking that has allowed centres to open thanks to a temperature drop although there has been a little fresh snowfall too.

Canada

Canada’s 23-24 season got underway on Thursday, but unexpectedly it was Mont St Sauveiur ski area in Quebec that opened a run thanks to snowmaking as temperatures dipped. The first planned opening, Mt Norquay near Banff, had already been brought forward from Saturday to Friday and it was joined by Lake Louise opening a week early, then Nakiska opened on Saturday (initially weekends only), so we have four Canadian ski areas open so far, with Jasper and a fifth Albertan ski area, Sunshine, expected to join them later this week. They’re all opening as full winter conditions dominate in the west of Canada thanks to a quick transition from fall to winter. There’s been some snow in the east too but here there’s more of a reliance on snowmaking.

 

**** Updated Saturday, 22 April, 2023 ****

Where is Good to Ski Right Now?

Around 95% of ski areas in the northern hemisphere have now closed and by Monday we’ll be at 97%, but it has kept snowing, at least on higher slopes in the Alps, The Rockies and various other mountain ranges around the world.

The snowfall on high slopes in the Alps has been going on for about a fortnight now, with temperatures staying close to freezing. Remarkably, for this far into Spring, bases are still increasing, including the deepest in Europe at Tignes, up to 462cm now.  The season is over, or almost in Eastern Europe and the Pyrenees with all ski areas in Andorra, Bulgaria and Spain now closed.

In North America, it has been very warm in the east and most ski areas are closed, though half-a-dozen battle on. In the west, the great thaw, bringing with it fears of flooding, is underway and more areas have closed, but dozens have extended their seasons into May and there have been more significant snow showers on higher slopes here too.

Austria

It’s the final week of the season for some of Austria’s best-known resorts, including Ischgl, Obertauern and Obergurgl – each aiming to stay open to May 1^st and clock up their regular 5-month plus ski seasons. They’ve had more fresh snowfall on higher slopes in the last week so it should be a good final bash. The Arlberg region including St Anton closes this weekend but half-dozen Austrian glacier areas will stay open into May.  They include the Kaunertal, open another 5 weeks and pictured above with fresh snow this week.

France

French resorts have not seen the snowfalls reported further east in the last week, although a few light showers have registered. But Tignes continues to post the deepest base in Europe at over 4.5 metres (15 feet) up on its glaciers, and along with neighbouring Val d’Isere as well as Val Thorens, has plans to stay open for another fortnight. Les 2 Alpes closes this weekend but plans to re-open in just a week’s time for two months of glacier skiing, meaning there’ll be no end to the French ski season next month.  La Plagne is pictured above this week.

Italy

We are down to single figures for the number of Italian ski centres still open for the 22-23 ski season, but the snow keeps falling with ski areas in the Dolomites reporting snowfall to low levels on Thursday/Friday (Val di Fassa pictured above) and high-altitude Italian slopes above 2,500m seeing several snowfalls this week. Five Italian centres expect to stay open until May 1^st, or later, Cortina, the Presena Glacier above Passo Tonale and Livigno (which reported 26cm of snowfall in the previous 24 hours on Friday morning) remain open daily with Macugnaga opening for weekends.  Cervinia will be the last area still open a week later.

Switzerland

The centre is of course winding down in Switzerland as everywhere north of the equator and there are just over a dozen Swiss ski areas open this weekend, a number which will halve as we enter May in a week’s time. Davos and Verbier are among the areas where it’s closing weekend. As with the rest of the Alps, we’ve seen fresh snowfall on Swiss slopes above about 2,000m, with resorts like Zermatt posting up to 30cm of fresh in a 24-hour period. Swiss resorts open to May 1^st include Andermatt’s Gemsstock freeride area and Samnaun with its cross-border link to Ischgl. Then a week later on the 7^th, it’s Adelboden, the Diavolezza glacier near St Moritz, Engelberg and Glacier 3000 near Gstaad/Les Diablerets.  That will leave just Zermatt aiming to keep its glacier area, Europe’s highest, open all year round. Murren, pictured above and open to the 30th April, has been hosting the Swatch Nines event.

Pyrenees

The ski season in the Pyrenees is more or less over. All the ski areas in Andorra and Spain are believed to have ended their seasons, leaving Cauterets in France the only area still open – and its season end is expected to be this coming Sunday.

Scandinavia

Scandinavia comes into its own for spring skiing and while it has been a rather warmer week than usual in most of the region’s ski areas, most of the big resorts continue to have almost all their slopes open and most plan to stay open into May. For Lapland Ruka (pictured above) and Levi will continue a week into next month and Sweden’s “Spring skiing capital” Riksgransen will be open most of the month with 24-hour daylight arriving in just over a fortnight’s time. More than half of the region’s ski areas remain open (its less than 10% in most other countries), with the biggest, Sweden’s Are, still having 90% of its slopes open.

Scotland

Scotland’s ski season ended last weekend when Cairngorm gave up on its last few runs still open in the Ptarmigan basin. It had been the only centre with lift=p-accessed in-bounds terrain open. Glencoe, on the other hand, has been offering chairlift access to ski-touring terrain outside its borders. Even that high-altitude snow has suffered with a week of very warm, sunny weather in the Highlands. Next week should see a return to winter with fresh snowfall forecast.

Eastern Europe

Most ski areas in Eastern Europe have now closed, including all centres in Bulgaria. However several centres are planning to make it to the start of May, including Slovakia’s largest resort, Jasna, as well as Kanin on the Slovenian/Italian border which is famed for its late-season spring skiing into May.

USA

The US continues to see snow falling on high slopes in the Rockies and on the Pacific coast, although at the same time, the spring thaw is gathering pace with Utah declaring a state of emergency over flooding fears as a result. More ski areas have closed for the season but several dozen are staying open into May thanks to the huge snowpack, lying typically double its normal thickness for late April. Solitude in Utah (pictured above) is one of those with a month of the season remaining there, having already just made it to their longest season ever, passing the previous record of 160 days on Thursday.

Canada

Canada’s season is winding down but here too ski areas in the west have been reporting more late-season snowfall up high. The continent’s biggest, Whistler, has now closed Whistler Mountain for the season but will continue snow sports on Blackcomb until 22^nd May, which will probably be the last day of Canada’s 22-23 season, with Sunshine ski area near Banff also planning to close then Grouse Mountain, Mt Norquay and Marmot Basin at Jasper (pictured top) all planning to stay open another week to May 1^st and Lake Louise another week after that  The season is more or less over in the East only Sommet St Sauveur may keep a terrain park open at weekends into May, as it often does. It’s Tremblant’s (pictured above) closing weekend this weekend.

**** Updated Saturday, 15 April, 2023 ****

It’s been a remarkably snowy week on high slopes in the Alps with up to three feet (90cm) of snowfall over the latter half of this week and real midwinter conditions. Of course, all the snowfall is arriving just as most ski areas have already closed for the season, or will after this Sunday. But for those still operating their higher terrain, and there are still hundreds of resorts open, it’s been a fantastic late-season bonus.  There’s been fresh snowfall in Scandinavia too, where most resorts are still open, and in Scotland, where sadly they’re not, for skiing at least. Further south a few snow flurries up high for the final few areas still open in the Balkans and Pyrenees.

Over in North America, it is feeling springlike across the continent although there’s been some snowfall reported, lighter than it has been for the past six months, in the Rockies. Here too many ski areas have closed or will be closed this coming Monday. But more ski areas have been extending their seasons later into May too.

Austria

It’s slightly ironic that high slopes in the Austrian Alps have seen some of the snowiest weather of the season so far just as most of the country’s ski areas have closed for the season. It’s good news too though for those centres that are planning to stay open into May or beyond though of course.  Solden, which has been posting the country’s deepest snow for more than six months now has over 3 metres./10 feet lying after receiving more than two feet (60cm) of snow up above 3,000m over the past 72 hours.  The Molltal glacier, open to late May, posted a similar snowfall total but was closed Friday due to strong winds.  The year-round Hintertux glacier topped the snowfall table though with nearly a metre of snowfall since Tuesday on its highest runs.  Lech is pictured top this week.

France

It’s been a snowy week on higher French slopes just as more resorts wind down their seasons.  Initially, la Clusaz was posting the most snowfall with 30-40cm on its higher slopes just as it closed most down after the easter weekend, leaving the main Balme area open.  But the Chamonix Valley then posted a slightly higher 50cm total for its highest runs, eventually overtaken by Les 2 Alpes with nearly 60cm (2 feet) up above 3,000m altitude over 72 hours. The cold and snowy weather is continuing through the weekend and looks to be good news for those booked to ski areas open into May like Tignes (pictured above this week) , Val d’Isere and Val Thorens.

Italy

Most of Italy’s ski areas have now closed with more joining them this weekend, but like the rest of the Alps, and in Italy’s case the Dolomites too, there’s been fresh snowfall on the country’s slopes over the last few days – whether they’re still open or not.  The country’s deepest base has gone over 3 metres – 10 feet, for the first time this season thanks to the snowfall at La Thuile on the French border. It’s open for one more week. The Cervinia-Zermatt ski area, which stays open for the first week of May, is posting the most still-open terrain in the country though, albeit with some in Switzerland – around 130km (80 miles) of slopes.  Val di Fassa is pictured above on Friday.

Switzerland

Swiss centres have seen their share of snowfall too, just as more resorts there end their 22-23 seasons. Engelberg, which often has one of the deepest snowpacks in the Alps although not this year, has seen one of its biggest snowfalls of the year up on its Titlis glacier, getting more than 60cm (2 feet) of snow. It’s open well into May.  Davos (pictured above on April 14th), another ski area with high slopes and a long season, has had more than 45cm (18”).

Pyrenees

We are down to just three ski areas still open in the Pyrenees and that number will probably drop to just one from Monday.  The biggest – Andorra’s Grandvalira is among those into their final weekend, both with much-reduced terrain left open, Grandvalira having closed its Soldeu-El Tarter sector last weekend. It has actually been colder this last week with snow reported on the highest slopes. The only centre currently expected to stay open next week is Cauterets, on the French side of the ski area.

Scandinavia

Scandinavia continues to stand out as the destination where most ski areas remain open, and in most cases fully open. The largest centre in Scandinavia, Sweden’s Are, remains 90% open and Norway’s Trysil reported 30cm (A foot) of fresh snowfall on Thursday.  Hemsedal is pictured above.

Scotland

Scotland’s ski slopes have turned white over the past few days with some cold overnight temperatures and fresh snow. It’s not enough for terrain to reopen, and the coming week is set to be warm and sunny, but Nevis Range (pictured above on Friday) and Glencoe both offered sledging and the latter also highlighted their access to refreshed high-altitude ski touring terrain via chairlift. The only runs still open are a couple of trails on soft snow in the Ptarmigan Bowl above Cairngorm near Aviemore.

Eastern Europe

It’s the final weekend of the season for most ski areas in the Balkans that are still open, with the biggest, Bansko (pictured above on Friday), closing after Sunday. Further north in the Czech and Slovak Republics, some centres plan to continue for another week or so, with that plan boosted by cold temperatures and fresh snowfall.  Jasna has announced that it intends to stay open until May 1^st and still has nearly half its runs open and a nearly 2m base up top.

USA

Spring has sprung in the US and there’s been plenty of sunshine and warm weather right across the country and much less snowfall. The huge snowpacks that have built up in the west through five months of snowfall are finally starting to diminish. At the same time, more and more centres have been ending their regular seasons. Some though have announced they’re staying open longer.  The country’s biggest ski area, Park  City, now says it will stay open until 1^st May, making it the fourth Utah ski area to stay open until next month and joining five in Colorado also planning to make it into May along with a dozen or so more across other western US states.   Cannon, in the East, where temperatures are reported to have been reaching 80F, is pictured above.

Canada

About half of Canada’s ski areas are closed with more closing after Sunday but it has kept snowing with resorts in the Canadian Rockies posting up to 15cm (5″) of fresh snowfall in the past few days. Ski areas including Sunshine (above), Marmot Basin, Lake Louise and Whistler are all staying open into May. Over in the East, it’s been getting warmer but some centres are still open using their diminishing snowpack as a base. Massif du Sud reports it still has 100% of its terrain open for its final weekend.

**** Updated Saturday, 8 April, 2023 ****

We may have reached Easter weekend but Mother Nature doesn’t seem to want to let up on winter, in some cases perhaps realising she dropped the ball when it was supposed to be wintery …back in wintertime and now trying to cram the cold and snow into April. It’s obviously good news for still open centres and those skiers and boarders lucky enough to be out there for Easter week.

It is snowing again on higher slopes for the third weekend in a row in the Alps, further improving conditions at centres still open, particularly up high. It’s been snowing again too in North America, where some resorts would actually like it to stop so they can just enjoy a few weeks without having to once again dig our lifts and make slopes avalanche-safe and actually get to enjoy it all before closing day. More have been extending their seasons later into April or even May to increase the chance of that.

Elsewhere it’s a bit warmer in Scandinavia but conditions are still good with long daylight hours now.  Eastern Europe has had fresh snowfall this week. The Pyrenees have too but there’s a definite end-of-the-season feel there and in Scotland, unfortunately, almost everything is now closed.

Overall most ski areas will be closed after the easter week concludes but several hundred will be continuing on into the latter half of April and some beyond.

Austria

It’s a cold and often snowy weekend in the Austrian Alps, with many ski areas reporting 5-10cm of fresh snowfall on their higher slopes to start the Easter weekend. Most will be closing either from Monday or at the end of this week but a few dozen centres with higher altitude slopes including glacier centres will stay open into the latter half of April and even into May. Among them are Ischgl and St Anton, each open to May 1^st, which still both have hundreds of kilometres of slopes open for the final weeks of the season. Kitzbuhel is pictured above.

France

It’s a cold and snowy weekend in the French Alps too, with lots of centres posting some nice 5-15cm fresh snow top-ups for their higher slopes on Good Friday, perfectly timed. Most of the major French centres remain open with most still having 70-90% of their terrain open, but they’ll begin closing over the next few weekends, the last Tignes, Val d’Isere and Val Thorens in early May, although Les 2 Alpes currently plans to re-open for summer skiing in May and June after a brief closure at the end of April. French resorts continue to post the deepest snow in Europe with Les Arcs and Tignes both with snow lying more than  4 metres deep on higher runs.  Snow falling at Chamonix in France on Friday is pictured above.

Italy

Italy saw some snowfall at the end of the week too, with up to 15cm reported in the northwest, closer to 5cm in the dolomites, but everywhere seeing something. The next few days will be sunnier but remain fairly cold, especially above 2,000m.  Many Italian areas will close either on Easter Monday or at the end of the coming week, but a number plan to stay open into May including Cervinia and Passo Tonale.  Val di Fassa above,

Switzerland

Swiss ski areas saw a snowy start to the weekend as well, with plenty of fresh snowfall across the country, once again heaviest in the west and on higher slopes Gstaad’s local Glacier 3000 area (pictured above on Saturday) and another glacier at Saas-Fee both reported 7cm accumulations ahead of the weekend, for most other areas with slopes above 2000m it was just an inch or two. About half of the Swiss areas, mostly low-lying compared to the big-name areas, have already closed and here too many more will close after the easter weekend or the end of the coming week. But resorts including Andermatt, Zermatt and St Moritz will have at least some terrain open into May.

Pyrenees

There’s a definite end-of-the-season feel in the Pyrenees with most ski areas due to close after the Easter weekend. Baqueira Beret (pictured above), the largest in Spain, has a 20-60cm base and about a third of its terrain, mostly the highest runs of course, is still open and it’s a similar story at other areas that are still operating. Conditions did improve a little with a fresh snowfall on higher slopes earlier this week.

Scandinavia

The past few days have been predominantly sunny and dry across Scandinavia. It’s been a little warmer than it has been but with long daylight hours now and the snow still in good shape, conditions are generally excellent for the final three or four weeks of the season. Most Scandinavian ski areas are still open, with all lifts and runs accessible and many expect to stay so until the start of May. The coming week looks like a change to more wintery weather is coming with cold and snowy weather forecast.  Roldal pictured above and top.

Scotland

There’s very little open for the Easter weekend in Scotland unfortunately. The Lecht and Glenshee had both hoped to make snow with their all-weather machines for some nursery or snow fun slopes but have admitted defeat with temperatures too warm for it to be viable. Glencoe has chairlift access to ski touring terrain while Nevis range has hardly opened this season and is now in full mountain biking mode. So it’s just Cairngorm above Aviemore, with just a couple of runs still open at the time of writing.

Eastern Europe

It’s been a good week for Bulgaria with ski areas reporting up to 50cm of fresh snowfall at the start of the week on their higher slopes and temperatures cooler than they have been. For many, the upcoming Easter weekend is the final one of the season. Further north there’s been snowfall more recently up in the northeast of Europe with the remaining areas still open in Slovakia (including Jasna, above), the Czech Republic and Poland all reporting 5-20cm Good Friday snowfalls on higher slopes so again things are looking good for what’s for most here the final weekend of the season too.

Canada

Still fairly good conditions across Canada, where most ski resorts are still open, at least for Easter weekend. The main issue in the west this weekend is reported to be very strong winds which have raised avalanche danger levels and forced resorts like Whistler to limit the number of lifts open.  In the East of the country, there’s been fresh snow in Quebec but also some warm weather so it’s a mixed picture for snow quality in the final few weeks of the season. Some centres including Lake Louise, Sunshine, Whistler and Jasper’s Marmot Basin are open into May.

USA

The exceptional snowfall in the Rockies shows no real sign of ending even as ski areas begin to close for the season. There’s been plenty more fresh snowfall in Colorado and Utah over the last week, with some Utah centres posting over five feet of fresh snow and Alta and Snowbird now both having had more than 800″ (20 metres) of snowfall this winter, both at record levels. But all the snowfall continues to cause practical issues with both closed for several days midweek due to high avalanche danger.  Elsewhere the snow remains deep in California and along the West Coast and East Coast resorts have had more fresh snowfall up high, though rain at times on lower runs. Ski areas are now closing across the country but a  growing number have also announced season extensions into May.

 

**** Updated Saturday, 8 April, 2023 ****

It’s April and we’re coming up to Easter so it is no surprise that we’re seeing full springlike conditions across the skiing world. In the Alps, we had very mild temperatures again Midweek after snowfall to start the week, but it’s now got cold and snowy once more, with more significant falls expected over the next few days on higher slopes.

Springtime usually means heavier, wetter snow to higher elevations, however, is the norm and this year is no different in both the Alps and the Rockies. For lower altitude centres it can also mean the natural end of the season and again some of these centres will close this weekend, others after the Easter weekend and around 90% of resorts by the middle of the month.

(Park City, 1 April)

It has kept snowing with more snowfall records being broken in Western North America however and while many centres will still close with the snow lying deep and still falling over the next few weekends, ever more have extended their seasons to later this month, into May or later in the spring and some even into summer.

Austria

The warm weather that has been plaguing Austrian ski areas for much of March was finally banished at the start of this week when cold weather arrived at last, temperatures getting down to freezing right down to valley floors and there was plenty of fresh snow to low elevations too. St Anton posted pictures of snow lying quite thick on resort streets while higher altitude slopes up on the country’s glaciers posted 30-60cm (1-2 feet) of snowfall on higher slopes. This is all good news for the Easter fortnight, which will also see many of the country’s ski areas closing this weekend or next. Centres with higher runs like Ischgl and St Anton will then come into their own for the rest of April, along with the Austrian glacier resorts.

France

Some great snowfalls for French ski areas this week, the heaviest on Sunday-Monday when temperatures also dropped down to freezing right down to low valley floors. The base at Tignes, the deepest in Europe, has passed 4.5 metres, and Les Arcs has posted a metre increase in its upper slope base depth in just over a week. It’s one of a number posting 3m+ upper slope base depths and so looking good for the final weeks of the season. After the midwinter conditions to start the week temperatures did rise and the low-lying areas that have been suffering all season just got a brief respite, but it is now cooler and snowier again with more big snowfall totals forecast for the coming weekend.  Val d’Isere pictured on Saturday April 1 top.

Italy

There’s heavy snowfall in Italy to start April, at least on the country’s higher slopes and in the west of the country. Cervinia posted pictures of a full-on snowstorm on Saturday morning and La Thuile and Courmayeur both posted 25cm of fresh snow at the same time.  Lower Italian areas have seen rain in recent days and have begun closing but it is cold and snowy up high where most of the big destinations resorts offer their skiing so it’s looking good for easter for many.

Switzerland

Swiss ski areas are seeing some big snowfalls on their higher slopes. Saas Fee posted 70cm in 24 hours up high at the start of the weekend, Crans Montana got 35cm. It was a similar story across the country with temperatures dipping wat back down below freezing and more snow forecast through the weekend and temperatures expected to remain low next week.

Pyrenees

There was some snowfall at the weekend to end the weeks of fairly non-stop warm sunny weather, but it wasn’t really enough to stop the relentless thaw and end-of-season feeling. The region’s largest area Grandvalira (Pas de la Casa, ​Soldeu -​El Tarter) reports less than half of its terrain is now open for Easter and many smaller areas have closed for the 22-23 season.  Piau engaly in France says conditions are still good up high (pictured)

Scandinavia

Things are finally turning more springlike in Scandinavia with temperatures climbing to +5 or so at some resorts in the region, although overnight lows on higher slopes are still getting down to -10 to -20C. Conditions are really the best in Europe for the start of spring with most resorts still fully open and many planning to keep operating into May.  Ruka is pictured top.

Scotland

There’s not much open in Scotland for Easter alas. The past week has seen some low temperatures and fresh snowfall but, as has been the case since mid-January, warm periods too which have stopped much improvement in the limited areas available. The most, but still not a lot, is at Cairngorm with Glenshee having a few short runs created with all-weather snowmaking (although this weekend they’re saying just sledging on them). Glencoe has lift access to touring terrain but no in-bounds runs, Nevis range remains closed to skiers and The Lecht says it will use its all-weather snowmaking machine to make snow for an Easter nursery slope.

Eastern Europe

It’s been quite a warm and sunny week in the Balkans after a little snowfall earlier on. The warmth isn’t great news for snow cover down to low elevations and Bansko’s home run is reported closed at present. Further north in Slovakia, there’s been some fresh snowfall reported at Jasna where everything remains open. The forecast for Bulgaria is more promising with temperatures dropping back towards freezing and plenty of snowfall forecast for the new week.

USA

More snowfall records have been passed in the western US over the past week and ever more centres, particularly on the West Coast or in the Rockies, have announced extended ski seasons.  Mammoth has the most impressive numbers, passing its previous all-time seasonal snowfall to date earlier this week and reaching 700″ for the first time in a season in its history. It was already posting the deepest base in the world at over 8 metres and has extended its season at least into July. The past week has seen more snowfall across the west with multiple resorts reporting several feet more snow, but it has been getting warmer so the storms have had rain mixed in and even up high the snow is getting heavier to ski, particularly later in the day. More resorts have begun closing for the season too.

Canada

Another generally good week across Canada with snow showers reported at ski areas on both the east and west sides of the country. Tremblant in Quebec, the largest in the East, says the 6.6 metres (22 feet) of snowfall it has had this season is the most it has ever recorded and it has extended its season by a week to April 23^rd as a result. Most ski areas in Alberta and BC in the west are fully open although this is the time of year when most go from fully open to closing weekend over the next few weekends. Banff, Jasper and Whistler ski areas are staying open into May though.

**** Updated Saturday, 25 March, 2023 ****

It’s been a largely dry, sunny and once again warm week in the Alps. We are coming up to April and the Easter holidays of course, so it feels less unusual than it did earlier in the season. The warmth means that snow cover has been melting fast below about 1800 metres altitude and a growing number of resorts are giving up on trying to keep slopes open down to the valley. Up high though most ski areas are in good shape and as that’s where much of the terrain is for the best known resorts and the added good news is that high slopes are likely to get several feet more snowfall over the next few days.

Elsewhere in Europe conditions are good in Scandinavia and not bad at all in much of eastern Europe, but unfortunately almost all slopes are closed in Scotland now and there’s a battle for all but the biggest centres to remain open in the Pyrenees as the warm temperatures take their toll.

Austria

Austrian ski areas have seen warm weather this week, impacting snow cover on lower slopes. We are though into the final fortnight of the season for many of the country’s lower lying resorts. The country will see cooler temperatures and snowfall over the next few days, but lower centres may see rain and higher perhaps not so much new snow as further west. But higher resorts, famous for their spring skiing, like Obertauern, Obergurgl and St Anton still have great conditions up high. The country’s glacier resorts are also starting to come into their own, with Solden posting the country’s deepest base.

France

There’s a higher/lower slopes divide in France with things looking increasingly patchy below around 1800-2000 metres, but pretty god at higher elevations, which had some light fresh snowfall earlier in the week and after a few sunny days are now being dumped on with up to a metre more snowfall expected above 3000m by Monday/Tuesday.  That will fall as rain some of the time on those lower slopes though, speeding the thaw.  Up high though France is posting the deepest bases in the Alps and luckily most of the big ski regions like the 3 Valleys have most of their terrain up above 1800m.  Tignes pictured above.

Italy

The snowfall is arriving in Italy too, with western areas like the Aosta Valley expected to see the most over the next few days, then the snowfall continuing east and arriving in the Dolomites on Sunday/Monday.  As with other countries in the region, the snowfall is expected to be heaviest in the west and on higher ground, with rain possible in valleys. La Thuile, linked over the French border to La Rosière is currently posting the deepest base in Italy at 2.6m and it seems that might get above 3 metres up high this weekend.  It also reports more than 90% of its terrain still open.

Switzerland

Swiss centres have had the same warm week as the rest of the Alps and the lack of snow down to resort level in valleys is getting ever more pronounced – well we are at the end of March. But there’s snow starting to fall across the country through the weekend, expected to be heaviest in the west at resorts ,like Verbier, which may see the best part of a metre of fresh up on its glacier by early next week. However the downside is probably rain on any remaining snow lying below about 1600m. Most of the well-known Swiss resorts still have 70-90% of their slopes open and conditions above 2000m in particular remain good.  Andermatt above.

Pyrenees

It’s been mostly sunny in the Pyrenees which has impacted what terrain remains open increasing severely. A growing number of the less well known smaller areas have called it a day on their 22-23 ski seasons while the amount of terrain open at the better known, bigger, higher areas is typically down to 50-60% with bases at 20-60cm. The biggest, Andorra’s Grandvalira which includes Pas de la Casa, Soldeu and others, still reports 130 of its 210km of slopes open but describes the snow quality as ‘slush’. Spain’s Masella which reports its still 100% open is pictured above.

Scandinavia

Scandinavia continues to be the place skiers looking for fresher snow conditions should consider for spring skiing, thanks to colder temperatures here. There have been snow showers across the region with resorts including Trysil and Hemsedal in Norway posting 20-40cm of fresh in the last few days. The days are starting to get very long too so there’s plenty of daylight hours to enjoy it all.

Scotland

Alas the battle to keep slopes open in the Scottish Highlands is mostly a losing one at the moment. It’s turning more wintery over the next few days but the warm weather of the past week has removed a lot of what had been left of the winter snowpack on all but the highest slopes (and that hadn’t been enough to support any lift-served runs, except at Cairngorm which still has half a dozen trails open). Elsewhere there’s very limited skiing on all-weather machine made snow at Glenshee (Pictured above) while Glencoe provides chairlift access to ski touring terrain and lessons on its sledging snow slope at its base. Nevis Range has nothing open at present and The Lecht has closed down until the easter holidays or a return of enough natural snow.

Eastern Europe

It’s looking fairly good for late-March across Eastern European ski slopes.  The best conditions are to be found in the north where Jasna in Slovakia has enjoyed cooler temperatures than the Alps over the last week and reports its slopes still 100% open with the snow lying up to two metres deep.  Further south its warmer in Bulgaria but there have been some light snowfalls during cold spells and  Bansko (pictured above and top) still reports having its long descent back to its resort from the base of the lifts open, if only a few centimetres deep at the bottom.

USA

Resorts in western America continue to break their old records for snowfall totals and snow depths after the incredible winter of seemingly non-stop storms. Mammoth and The Palisades in California have both announced they’ll be staying open at least to July. Other have extended their seasons too, if not quite so dramatically. Haven’t has gone for 3 extra weeks through into May though.  The snow has kept falling the past week hasn’t been quite so heavy, with the upside of less blocked roads, buried lifts and resort closures. On the east coast things remain pretty good but warm weather has returned bringing unwelcome rain showers at times.  Crested Butte in Colorado pictured above.

Canada

There’s been fairly good weather across Canada and snow showers reported on ski slopes from coast to coast.  The only real negative has been some warm weather and rain at lower levels on the east coast which has led to a reduction of terrain available in Quebec, conditions best up high. Over in the west though most areas remain 100% open for a week or two more, with ski areas at Banff, Jasper and Whistler aiming to continue into May.  Marmot Basin above.

**** Updated Saturday, 18 March, 2023 ****

It’s been quite a week in the Alps after the largely snowless previous two months. The heavy snowfall that was accumulating as we posted last week’s report just kept falling with some areas clocking up 1.5 metres (five feet) of fresh up high by the end of the weekend. But there have also been yoyoing temperatures with highs getting to +17C in some resorts, leading to fast thawing of some of the snow that has fallen, and contributing to avalanche danger levels staying up at 3 or 4 on the scale to 5.

Elsewhere in Europe, there’s been more fresh snowfall in Scandinavia and Scottish ski centres continue to see promising conditions, if not quite enough cold weather and snow for much to reopen. The Pyrenees have been warm and springlike, Eastern Europe is a bit more mixed.

Austria

A mixed picture across Austria in terms of snowfall with ski areas in the west and north initially seeing big snowfalls at the weekend, then there was snowfall for much of the rest of the country (and more for the west) on Tuesday. In between, plenty of sunshine and some rather warm temperatures.  So there’s been several feet of snowfall in the Arlberg region, including St Anton (pictured top) with the Valluga slopes at the top the first in the country to post a 3m (10 feet) base up high.  Elsewhere more like 10-40cm for most areas, some of the lowest seeing rain at times.  Hintertux this week above.

France

It’s been a remarkable week for French ski areas considering how little snowfall there’s been over the previous two months. Up to 1.5-metre accumulations were reported in the first half of this week, with Europe’s deepest snowpack at Tignes jumping more than four feet (1.2m) in four days up on the glacier to 3.9 metres – great news for spring skiing and hopefully summer snow surviving this year too.

But snow depths jumped by a metre 0r so at many other big areas including Flaine, La Rosiere and La Plagne as well. Avalanche danger is of course up and the snow was heavy and wet down low but all in all, a much-improved picture as we start spring.  Avoriaz above.

Italy

Italy has had a good week for snowfall. Things were very snowy in the northwest last weekend with Cervinia posting a 1.5m (five foot) snowfall and several other areas, including La Thuile in the Aosta Valley also reporting more than a metre of snowfall.  The rest of the country was fairly dry however and the new week started warm, but then another front, this time covering a wider swathe of northern Italy, passed through on Tuesday.  Bormio was among the centres posting 30cm+ of fresh snowfall from that. Since then Italian areas have seen predominantly warm, dry and sunny spring weather, similar to other parts of the Alps.

Switzerland

A week of fluctuating conditions in Switzerland.  Saas Fee, for example, saw an incredible jump of 1.2m (4 feet) in its upper slope base depth and hit 3 m (10 feet) on its glacier, but then saw it drop back 20cm. Even more extreme perhaps, Zermatt went from no snow in the resort for months, to 50cm falling at the weekend, and then that stat dropping back to 15cm after temperatures of 16C were recorded at low elevations midweek. It’s sunnier and drier now and staying mild, although everywhere remains open, pretty much, for now.

Pyrenees

Springtime is definitely taking hold now in the Pyrenees with some very warm temperatures over the last week, reaching +15C at resort basses and +10C near the top of the slopes on some afternoons.  The conditions are particularly impacting the smaller, tower centres with a number deciding to end their seasons over the last few days.  The bigger centres – including Andorra’s  Soldeu where the World Cup Finals are currently underway – are still managing to keep quite a lot of terrain open.

Scandinavia

Scandinavian ski areas continue to report some of the best conditions in Europe right now. There’s been more fresh snowfall reported across the region with Norwegian areas doing well again, Hemsedal posting 20cm of fresh (pictured above). Temperatures remain close to freezing keeping the snow in good condition too, daylight hours are longer and most areas still have at least six weeks of the season to run.

Scotland

Scotland saw some very cold weather this week and snowfall too but not really enough of either to dramatically increase the amount of open terrain. Cairngorm continues to lead the way with more than a dozen runs open, towards half of what can open when conditions are good.  There’s just a handful still at Glenshee and The Lecht with Nevis Range still closed to skiers. Glencoe is hoping to reopen some terrain at the weekend.

Eastern Europe

There’s been some snowfall in northern parts of Eastern Europe at resorts like Jasna in Slovakia, although there have also been problems here with strong winds closing lifts. It’s back to sunny skies here now, however. That’s also the pattern further south with ski areas in Bulgaria reporting sunny skies and increasingly warm temperatures, making it tougher for Bansko to maintain its long thin run back to the resort from the base of the slopes. It’s currently reported to be down to a 5cm depth.

USA

The western US continues to be the main focus of extreme weather news beyond just excited ski news stories. Snowfall totals are now up around 7 metres (23+ feet) for the season at the snowiest centres and resorts in California have been posting pictures of channels cut through the drifts to allow chairlift chairs to move through (Kirkwood pictured above).  Deer Valley in Utah is the first to say it has now had an all-time record quantity of snowfall and is extending its season later into April as a result. On the East Coast, there have been more late-season snowfalls as another ‘Nor’easter’ moves in off the Atlantic, with some ski areas now reporting three feet (90cm) of snowfall in the last seven days – the most this season.

Canada

Good conditions across Canada as we near the start of springtime, when the northerly latitude of its ski centres helps to keep the snow in good shape. It has kept falling in both the east (Quebec) and west (Alberta and BC) with resorts reporting 7-day totals in the 20-40cm bracket and ever deeper bases. There are still two months of the season to go at resorts like Whistler Blackcomb and Banff Sunshine (above) and both are fully open and reporting great conditions.

 

**** Updated Saturday, 11 March, 2023 ****

Where is Good to Ski or Board Right Now?

It has been the snowiest week of the season so far in parts of the Alps with some huge weekend accumulations on higher slopes. The snow is falling across the mountains and some resorts could see 2-metre accumulations in 7 days by the latter half of this week.

Alas, the snowfall has not just floated down as light fluffy stuff, but has been accompanied by gale force winds and turned to rain at lower levels, the results have included slope closure while the worst of the weather blew through and the avalanche danger level rising to 3 or 4 on the scale to 5 (considerable to high). But on the plus side depths are greatly improved up high at those resorts that stay open to late April, May or beyond setting us up for a great spring skiing season.

Elsewhere in Europe the good snow conditions continue in Scandinavia and Scottish skiing is finally getting a bit of a boost with very cold weather and some snowfall, although more is needed still to really allow resorts to reopen terrain. On the southern side of the continent, the Pyrenees and Balkans have seen less fresh snowfall than further north but remain in generally good shape

Western North America has seen still more “Atmospheric rivers” off the Pacific bringing feet more snowfall although the latest deluge has a lot of moisture mixed in so has caused snow quality issues. Most centres remain fully open over on the eastern side of the continent, at least in the north.

Austria

It’s mixed news for Austrian ski areas as the storm develops, with most seeing a boost to their snow depths and just the good news of fresh cover, but also some including Kitzbuhel reporting rain in resort and on lower slopes. Up high though it’s looking good, Sölden, which has been posting the deepest snow in the country all season is now up to a 222cm base on its glacier, with another Tirolean glacier, Kaunertal, joining it in the 2m+ club.  Sportgastein in Salzburger Land is also now at 2m, with St. Anton on 190cm and about 80% of its slopes open.  Zillertal Arena pictured on Thursday above.

France

After missing out on snow showers for the best part of two months, northern French resorts have seen some huge accumulations over the past 48 hours and it’s still dumping. All the snow has seen road closures, lift closures (although that is more for high winds at times) and avalanche danger levels up to 4 on the scale …as well as a boost to snow depths. Tignes was the first to post a base of more than 3 metres (10 feet) up high in more than two months, the deepest in Europe. 24 hours later on Saturday that had leapt to 3.7 metres – a 70cm increase in 24 hours. The boost to bases is definitely good news for the final month or two of the French ski season, the only outstanding question is whether rain at lower levels will cause premature problems to low-lying resorts and slopes. That will become clear over the next few days but probably there’ll be a workaround, whatever the aftermath.  Bonneval is pictured above.

Italy

Western Italy has seen some of the biggest snowfalls of the past 72 hours with Cervinia (pictured above and top) reporting it has had 150cm (five feet) of snowfall from the storm so far.  It has another two months of the season to run there and aims to re-open for summer skiing so that’s a big boost at this stage in the year.  Less snow so far further east in the Dolomites but with less stormy weather, everything is open.

Switzerland

A big improvement in snow cover in Switzerland. Zermatt posted a video of deep snow on its resort streets on Saturday morning, which had been snowless for months. Higher up snow depth on the glacier there is finally improving which may be a step towards its managing to return to 365-day operations depending on how hot this summer is. For the remainder of the main spring season though it looks to be all good news with resorts like Verbier (pictured on Friday before even heavier snowfall, above) posting big jumps in snow depths.

Pyrenees

The Pyrenees got the best of the snowfall in mainland Europe in late February and early March but has seen more springlike weather and fewer snowfalls (although some have been reported on the French side) over the last week. Strong winds have been an issue at times though, closing higher slopes. Soldeu hosts the big World Cup Finals racing season close out and the Grandvalira region of which it is part, the biggest in the Pyrenees, reports 95% of its slopes are open.

Scandinavia

A mixed picture across Scandinavia with some resorts like Roldal posting powder conditions after 30cm in 24 hours midweek, while other Norwegian resorts like Geilo have posted little or no fresh snowfall in the last seven days. Another Norwegian resort, Trysil, posted 15cm of fresh midweek though, as pictured above. Conditions though, across Scandinavia remain, as they have been all season, generally good with much more of a winter feel than we’ve had for much of the season in the Alps. That said, the daylight hours continue to rapidly increase and temperatures are rising to positive numbers.

Scotland

Scotland has had its best week for a couple of months in terms of cold temperatures (very cold in fact, as low as -16C overnight recorded) and there has been some snowfall to turn slopes that had thawed to green and brown back to white. There has though not been enough natural snowfall yet for a big reopening of slopes, although some centres have opened more thanks to snowmaking being possible. Cairngorm has the most runs open, about a third of its terrain, with Glenshee (above) and The Lecht in the East having a few runs open each too.

Eastern Europe

It’s a mixed picture with ski areas in the north of the region, including Spindleruv Mlyn (pictured below) in the Czech Republic and Jasna in Slovakia both reporting 20-40cm of fresh snow this week and wintery conditions. Down in the Balkans, it has been much drier and more springlike but so far Bulgaria’s biggest resort, Bansko, has managed to keep its long home run back down to the resort open, albeit now with wafer-thin snow cover.

USA

The big snow news in the US this week has once more seen huge snowstorms moving in off the Pacific, as they have, generally several times a week, for over three months now.  On the one hand, they lead to impressive snow depth stats (more resorts are passing 500″/12.5m and approaching 600″/15m season-to-date snowfall totals) and amazing images of buried chairlifts (eg at Heavenly, pictured above), on the other they cause if anything greater problems than those ski areas in the eastern US that suffered from too little snow, by blocking roads and shutting down ski resorts. Further inland, snow in the Rockies has been drier and more like powder, Park City has announced a two-week extension to its season. Conditions continue to be among the best they’ve been all in winter in the North-eastern US with more snow falling and everything open now at most centres there.

Canada

Good conditions persist across Canada with generally good snow conditions dominating right across the country. There’s been more snowfall, mostly light to moderate showers but still a good slope cover refresh, from BC to Quebec. The season still has over two months left to run at big-name resorts like Banff and Whistler and conditions currently look good at both for skiing beyond mid-May.

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**** Updated Saturday, 4 March, 2023 ****

It’s been another week when the Western US has made the headlines for some incredible snowfalls. Some ski areas have had over 3 metres (10 feet) of snowfall there in the last week alone and the world’s deepest base, also found here this season, has topped 7.5 metres.

In Europe ski areas in the Alps and Dolomites have had some snowfall, mostly in the 5-10cm bracket but a little more in the southwest on the French/Italian border and northeast in Austria, here 20-40cm have been recorded. There’s been snow too in Bulgaria and the most in the Pyrenees – up to 60cm here, with temperatures down across Europe – so March has started cooler than February ended.

Elsewhere in Europe Scottish ski centres still have just very limited terrain available but things are looking good in most of Scandinavia with fresh snowfall across the region, longer daylight hours and temperatures remaining well below freezing in most areas keeping the snow in good shape.

Austria

It has been an unsettled week of weather across Austria with sunny periods interspersed with cloud and snow. The country’s ski resorts have seen cumulative snow totals of up to around 50cm, much of it falling at the start of the week. Temperatures have been up around +5 to +12C at lower elevations so some of the snow has fallen as rain at times in the valets, while up high, some of the best snow conditions for a month.  Most major ski areas remain 80-100% open. The Arlberg pictured earlier this week above.

France

At last, there’s been some snowfall in the French Alps, and a second week of snow showers in the French Pyrenees, where ski areas have seen some of Europe’s biggest snowfalls over the last few weeks, some reporting 50cm or more. Further north the most snowfall has been in the southern Alps with Serre Chevalier posting a 12cm increase in its upper slope base depth.  Reflecting the trend across the Alps though, its snow cover on its lower runs is down by about the same amount, reflecting warmer weather at low elevations. That said it is actually a little cooler at present than it was in the final fortnight of February. Most French ski areas have around 90% of their slopes open. La Tania this week above.

Italy

Most ski centres across Italy have also seen snowfall, but the amount has varied a good deal. The heaviest falls were reported along the north-western side of the country. Close to the French and Swiss borders, with Cervinia posting the biggest accumulations – 25cm in 24 hours into Tuesday. Further east and in the dolomites it was more like 5-10cm accumulations, except down in the Apennines where 20-30cm falls were reported.  Here too it has been cooler and also most of the country’s well-known resorts continue to have most of their slopes open.

Switzerland

One of the best weeks in a while on Swiss ski slopes with most areas seeing some snowfall and temperatures dropping back down to seasonal norms having been a little too warm of late. Verbier was among the areas posting fresh snow cover, getting about 10cm, while higher slopes at Zermatt got double that and the much-thinner-than-usual snow levels on the glacier grew a little for the first time in over a month. Most of the well-known ski areas in Switzerland continue to have most of their runs open, although snow cover at lower, more exposed resorts continues to diminish down at the base. Zermatt gained up top but according to its stats lost at the village level, for example.

Pyrenees

The Pyrenees have had some of the heaviest snowfall in Europe over the last few weeks with totals of more than half a metre for some areas from repeat falls. So it’s looking much better here than it did in mid-February, with bases deeper and maximum terrain open.  In fact, more and more centres have announced they’re back to 100% of their terrain open in the region.  This is all obviously good news for skiers booked for visits during the final months of the season. Baqueira Beret this week above.

Scandinavia

Scandinavian ski centres are generally in good shape with more snowfall reported right across the region. There’s a huge variation in temperatures with highs reaching +5C in more southerly resorts while still dipping down to -30C up in Lapland. Ski areas in Western Norway are posting the most fresh snowfall of the past few months in Europe, another 50cm or so this week. There are still two months of the season to go here and conditions are good with low temperatures and daylight hours lengthening.

Scotland

Unfortunately, there’s not much open in Scotland at present. Temperatures have dropped but warm weather for periods over the last month or so has thawed away much of the cover. At the time of writing, there was nothing really open at Nevis Range or Glencoe on the west and Glencoe has had to cancel its annual snow fest, although lifts can be used to access high ski touring terrain beyond the centre’s own slopes. Cairngorm has a little natural snow skiable on its upper slopes, otherwise, The Lecht and Glenshee have nursery slopes maintained by all-weather snowmakers. Snow and cold weather are forecast for the next few days so we may see some improvement.

Eastern Europe

It’s been a better week than expected in eastern Europe with temperatures lower than forecast and 20cm of fresh snowfall on higher slopes to start March at Bansko. As with most of Europe, snow depths are nothing to write home about but most ski areas in the Balkans now have the majority of their runs open and further north in the Czech and Slovak republics and Poland the bigger resorts like Jasna report they’re currently 100% open.

USA

The US has had another snowy week from coast-to-coast with some exceptional snowfalls reported on the Pacific Coast.  Many ski areas here have now passed the 500-inches-snowfall-total-to-date mark (that’s over 12.5 metres since last October) and The Palisades report it has had the most since the winter of 1969-70 over 50 years ago. Base depths at Mammoth, the deepest in the world this season, have passed 7.5 metres and snowfall totals in the last week have been up to 12 feet, with some areas posting up to 3 feet in 24 hours at the height of the storms!  There’s been a lot of digging out but the sun is now out again.  Lots more snow in the Rockies too (if not quite so much) and New England in the east has had a foot or so giving powder conditions there as well.

Canada

Canada has had a quieter week than its neighbour south of the border, but most ski areas across the country have seen some fresh snowfall and conditions are good almost everywhere. The Banff region has had more than 50cm of snowfall in the last seven days, the season still has nearly three months left to run here. Temperatures have mostly been in the range of -20C up to freezing. Most ski areas remain fully open including Tremblant, the largest in the East, and Whistler, the largest in the west and indeed the whole North American continent.

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*** Update 26 February 2023 ***

Where is Good to Ski or Board Right Now?

Hoorah! The snow is back in the Alps, and just as important, a return to cold wintery weather …just as springtime arrives, how typically ironic of Mother Nature!  The Pyrenees were the first in western Europe to see the return of the snow around Wednesday/Thursday but with fronts moving north and east from the southwest and south and west from the northeast, most ski areas are set to see snowfall soon, if they haven’t already. Scandinavia is the exception in all this, it has just kept snowing here throughout, particularly in western Norway.

Across in North America, the snow has been falling from coast to coast, and we’ve seen some huge accumulations, as well as blizzard conditions in places. There’s also a vast 100-degree range in temperature across the continents with some ski areas closing because it’s 30+ degrees below freezing, and other (non-ski) parts in the south are very hot despite it still being winter.

Roldal in Norway is pictured top on 25 February.

Austria

The hoped-for snow last week in Austria did not really materialise beyond a few flurries, but a new front, from the northeast again, is making inroads, bringing in some cloud and cooler temperatures and even some light snow flurries.  Despite the challenges of recent warm temperatures and the lack of much off-piste powder remaining, on-piste conditions remain fairly good across Austria and most slopes are open at the destination resorts, but cold and fresh snow will definitely improve things. Wildschonau after fresh snow on Saturday pictured above.

France

French ski areas are being approached by two fronts, one coming from the north, and the other from the south, which hopefully means most areas will see snowfall over the coming week. How much remains uncertain and the forecast changes daily from optimistic looking 20-30cm falls, to less inspiring but better than nothing 3-6cm falls. In any case, the other good news is falling temperatures – not quite back to the well-below-zero, 24-7, top to bottom temps of late January and early February, but getting that way and into double digits below up high. Down at the resort level, especially at lower levels, temperatures will continue to get into positive numbers in the afternoons, but not so high as they have been. Most of the country’s best-known ski areas continue to have most slopes open.

Italy

Italian ski areas are seeing or should soon see a slope refresh with snow clouds arriving from both the south and west and north and east through the weekend and the final few days of February. Temperatures are also cooling back towards freezing. It’s clearly good news although most of the country’s bigger ski areas were 70-100% open anyway, including the largest, Dolomiti Superski, which is running at 97% despite the fairly thin cover. Sunshine returning and slightly warmer weather from the start of March on Wednesday.

Switzerland

There’s some change in the air for Swiss snow centres with a front moving into the East and west sides of the country. These are bringing much colder temperatures than we’ve seen for the last fortnight or so as well as snow showers to refresh slope cover, along with less welcome weather factors at times including fog and gales. Snow showers have already been reported bringing 5-20cm of snowfall in the East of the country into the weekend and they’re expected to become more widespread. The cold and snowy weather should continue at least to the start of March but temperatures look like they’ll climb back up above freezing, although hopefully not get as warm as they have been. Despite the recent warm weather though and thin bases at valley level, most larger Swiss areas remain fully open, or more or less so.

Pyrenees

The Pyrenees actually had some snowfall a fortnight ago when parts of the northern Alps had already gone several weeks (and until now more than a month), since last seeing snow. But these were the first mountains in  Western Europe to really see fresh snowfall this week, with around 5cm on Thursday morning, then another 15cm on Friday on the Spanish and Andorran side of the range, with resorts on the French side reporting up to 40cm ready for the weekend. It’s a great refresh on thin bases, although most slopes had stayed open anyway through the warmer temperatures. It should stay cold with snow showers for the week ahead.  Action at Boi Taull in Spain pictured above.

Scandinavia

Scandinavia – particularly Norway – continues to post good snowfall figures. Up to 50cm of fresh in the last week and some of the deepest bases. Riksgransen up in the Swedish Arctic opened for its 2023 season this weekend.  Roldal pictured above.

Scotland

It’s been colder in Scotland over the last few days and is due to remain so into the start of March, but unfortunately, much of the natural snow cover has gone from the mountains and recent snow flurries have not yet been enough to replace it. So there are currently not really any runs open above Glencoe or Nevis Range in the west unless you count ski touring terrain and across further east Glenshee (pictured above this weekend), The Lecht and Cairngorm have just nursery slopes open, using snow made by their all-weather snowmaking machines.

Eastern Europe

It’s pretty good at the major resorts across Eastern Europe at present although the region’s smaller, lower-lying areas continue to battle warm weather and there was rain reported again for many which fell as snow higher up. But Slovakia’s largest resort, Jasna, reports a lot of fresh snow and its slopes are 100% open and most runs remain open at Bulgarian ski centres.

Canada

Great conditions across Canada with fresh snowfall reported on ski slopes in both the East and West of the country thanks to storms blowing in from both the Pacific and the Atlantic simultaneously. The only real weather issue has been a return of severe cold – down to -30C at times – reported again on both sides of the country, with Sunshine in Alverta delaying opening to 10 am some mornings until things go a little warmer.  Whistler pictured above on Saturday 25 February.

USA

The US is once again where much of the snow action of the past week has been taking place. Almost every ski area in the country has seen a good snowfall in the last seven days ranging from a foot or two on the East Coast and Midwest through to a metre or more for some resorts in the Rockies and on the Pacific Coast where major snow storms have been blowing in and resorts are battling to open access roads and dig out lifts.  Heavenly is pictured above on Saturday. The world’s deepest base at Mammoth is back up from 5.9 to 6.6 metres and it is still dumping. The news isn’t quite all good though, ski areas in the Southeast (Blue Ridge mountains) have seen two weeks of record warm temperatures and some have been forced to end their seasons early, in February. But over in the west, by contrast, resorts have been posting record snowfalls.

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Update 19 February, 2023

It’s been another sunny week for much of the Alps with conditions feeling ever more springlike. Some ski areas in the west of the region – particularly in parts of France and Switzerland – have now not had any fresh snowfall for over a month. There has been more snow for parts of Austria in the last day or two though, where there had been heavy snowfall just a fortnight ago.

The warm, dry weather has been dominant in much of the rest of Europe too, including the Pyrenees and the Balkans, although there’s been more snowfall in Scandinavia as well as in Scotland, although here warm fronts between snowfalls have stopped much fresh snow building up.

The big snowfalls of the last seven das have been further afield, over in North America, particularly up in the Pacific Northwest corner of the continent, and in the Rockies, where resorts already posting the snowiest conditions in the world this winter have had several feet more snowfall.

Austria

In a small repeat of a fortnight ago, Austria is the only country of the Alpine big four to see some snowfall in the past week, with clouds moving in on Thursday/Friday while the rest of Western Europe has stayed sunny …other than Eastern Switzerland and north-eastern Italy. “Small” because the snowfalls so far haven’t been great, a few centimetres for most areas although some in regions like Salzburgerland have reported 10cmm or more. It is looking more changeable here though with much more cloud than further west, light snow showers possible and heavier falls expected later this week.  Obergurgl is pictured above this week.

France

It’s been wall-to-wall sunshine for most French ski slopes over the past week with temperatures rising to +10C at resort bases as the freezing point rises to 3000m during the day. This has not seriously impacted snow cover however with most resorts maintaining 85-95% of their slopes open during the busy French February half term period, but bases, particularly on lower slopes, are quite thin and have diminished further this week. Some areas in the northern French Alps including the Portes du Soleil have not now seen any real snowfall for five weeks.

Italy

Italian ski areas are posting similar conditions to ski areas to the north – warm daytime temperatures, particularly on lower slopes, as the afternoon arrives then back to overnkight freezing lows down to the valley floor. There has been a little thawing as a result but for the majority it is just a few centimetres over the last week and while that’s not great news with bases thin in the first place, most centres remain 70-95% open here as well. Val Gardena is posting 98% of its slopes open so is one of the best by that measure. The deepest snow continues to be right over on the Slovenian border at Sella Nevea where it’s over two metres deep.  Cervinia is pictured above, this week.

Switzerland

Switzerland has had a small division over the past few days with the dominant sunny weather of the Western Alps covering much of the country, but some ski areas in the east like Arosa and Davos seeing cloudier skies and some light snowfall.  Otherwise things are similar to the rest of the Alps with freeze-thaw conditions impacting low-lying slopes, but not enough for any cut in the amount of terrain open so far. The coming week should see more widespread cloud, lowering temperatures and more snow showers across the country.  Davos is pictured top.

Pyrenees

The Pyrenees have had similar weather to the Alps over the last seven days with lots of sunshine. There was snowfall here the week before though, unlike many parts of the Alps, so the snow that’s there is more recent. But bases aren’t huge in the Pyrenees this year so warm weather in February may not be good news for later in the season, unless we see a return to cold and snowfall. The good news is that so far Pyrenean ski centres have been able to keep most of their slopes open and there is indeed a return to cold and snowy weather forecast for the latter half of the week.

Scandinavia

A real mix of conditions in Scandinavia over the last week with sunny spells, wild winds when Storm Otto blew through on Friday and some more fresh snow – resorts in Norway posting up to 30cm of fresh just in time for the weekend. Myrkdalen ski area near Voss on the Norwegian Coast is posting Europe’s second deepest base at present at 2.4m (8 feet), and that snow is much fresher than that lying at the deepest – Tignes, which has 2.7m (9 feet) up on the glacier.

Scotland

Scottish centres continue to see big weather changes, heavy snowfall on Wednesday night, violent gales on Thursday night, temperatures fluctuating between -5C and +10C, so it’s an ongoing battle to open. Glencoe has terrain suited to advanced and intermediate level skiers available on its upper slopes.  Cairngorm also has similar terrain and some runs suited to beginners. For Glenshee and The Lecht its beginners only and Nevis Range is currently closed for snow-sports.

Eastern Europe

The cold and snowy weather of the last few weeks in the Balkans has ended but all the snowfall and snowmaking has left the slopes in good shape. Most resorts in Bulgaria and Romania are now 80-90% open. Further north in the Czech and Slovak Republics and Poland things are looking great with everything open at resorts like Jasna in Slovakia., the region’s biggest, which is also expexcting fresh snowfall.

USA

US ski areas, particularly in the Rockies, have been posting the biggest snowfalls of the past week with some receiving up to three feet (90cm) of fresh snowfall in 72 hours, so plenty of powder at present. Mammoth on the West Coast hasn’t had so much fresh snowfall but continues to post the world’s deepest snowpack at around  20 feet (6 metres).  Jackson Hole is pictured above this week. It’s not been so good on the East coast though with a return of the warm temperature and rain that dogged the region earlier this winter, leading some smaller, more southerly areas in states like New Hampshire to temporarily close down until colder weather returns.

Canada

Pretty good conditions across Canada, in the west the Freeride world tour was in Kicking Horse at the end of last week and there were more snowfalls on ski slopes across Alberta and BC. Big White is pictured above this week. In the east ski areas seem to have escaped the too-warm temperatures reported to the south in the Eastern US and instead posted 30-60cm (1-2 feet) more snowfall leading to several reporting they had sold out of lift tickets at the weekend.

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Where is Good to Ski or Board Right Now?

Update 11 February, 2023

It’s a sunny half-term week for much of the Alps with temperatures also rising a little from the very cold temperatures of the past month. At low valley resorts, we may see the mercury hit +10C in the afternoons although it should stay cooler higher up. In the Eastern Alps, the big snowfalls of just over a week ago remain fairly fresh but in the west, some areas have seen little or no fresh snowfall for a month. But, in terms of prepared pistes, there’s more terrain open than there has been all season with most of the big areas like the 3 Vallees and 4 Valleys close to fully open. The weather in the Pyrenees is similarly sunny but here there was a little fresh snowfall in many areas last week. In the Balkans, it’s an improving picture still and it is staying cold so far. Scotland continues to face challenges from warm, windy weather and Scandinavia keeps getting dumped on and maybe posting the deepest snow in Europe by this time next week as it’s set to carry on there.

Across the Atlantic, the very cold weather in the Northeast has eased and it is just 10 below freezing with fresh snow falling. It keeps snowing in the west too where the snowpack is the deepest in the world this winter.

Austria

After all the snowfall in the week up to a week ago, things have turned sunny and a little warmer across Austria. Really the conditions are among the best in the Alps here at present, with the snow only a week old, compared to nearly 4 weeks old in some parts of the western Alps. The avalanche danger has dropped a little in most areas too, from 3 or 4 to 2 or 3 – still considerable but not so bad.  Most Austrian ski areas remain fully open and after a metre of snow for some a week ago, bases on higher runs are now among the best in Europe, with Solden among those posting over 2 metres.

France

France has seen a sunny week again and the week ahead, one of the busiest of the season as half-term weeks get underway, looks largely sunny again. However the cold weather of the past month, which saw food and hot drinks go cold within minutes for anyone sitting outside on a terrace to soak up the rays, has finally ended, for now at least, and we’re seeing resort-level temperature highs in the afternoons of +5 to +10C. That’s not impacting the snowpack much though and most of the big ski regions have 85-95% of their slopes open for the peak February Half term weeks ahead with the 3 Valleys having the added excitement of the Alpine skiing World Championships at present.

Italy

Sunny weather for Italy too and some of the warmest temperatures forecast at resort level for some lower Italian ski villages too – potentially seeing +15C in the afternoons by Wednesday! But most will see highs staying in single figures and lows remaining below freezing. Anyway, most Italian slopes are open and most people skiing them are happy to be doing so in the sunshine.  The giant Dolomiti Superski region has more than 90% of its slopes open, for the Milky Way on the French border it’s more like 75%.

Switzerland

Swiss slopes are sharing in the sunshine that is currently shining across the Alps. Most of the country’s ski areas are running at 80-90% open, the 4 Valleys around Verbier at the higher end of that./ It’s just a week since ski areas in the east of Switzerland, in particular, saw good snowfalls, but some in the west have not had fresh snow for nearly a month and the surface is getting pretty tired and in need of a refresh,  though unfortunately there’s nothing really in the forecast.  It’s getting a little warmer too, again like the rest of the Alps, with temperatures getting to 5 or 10 degrees above freezing in resorts in the afternoon and a degree or two into positive numbers higher on the mountain too.

Pyrenees

There was some snowfall – about 15cm – reported in Grandvalira (Soldeu, Pas de la Casa) in Andorra in the middle and latter half of last week giving a nice refresh to the slopes. Otherwise, it has been similar to the Alps with plenty of sunshine and warming temperatures. Ski areas remain 75-90% open so far, however, although bases are not that deep.

Scandinavia

With the snowfall largely ending in the Alps, Scandinavia, and particularly western and northern Norway, is once again where the snow has been dumping over the past week. It looks like ski areas around Voss could be posting the first 3 metres (10 feet) base in Europe this winter by next weekend if it keeps falling as forecast over the next seven days. Myrkdalen currently has 2.4m (8 feet) lying.

Scotland

Scottish ski centres are battling to open terrain for the February half term but while one day there’s fresh snowfall, the next temperatures spike and gales blow in wiping away a lot of the gains. Glencoe still has some high terrain open at the time of writing, with most other areas operating a handful of runs using their all-weather snowmaking machines.

Eastern Europe

It’s an ever better picture in Eastern Europe where temperatures have stayed low and not climbed in the way they have this weekend in the west. So it is still mostly sub-zero. In the north of the region, Slovakia’s Jasna has hit a 1.8m Base depth and is 100% open. In Bulgaria, which had a terrible warm and no snow start to the season, it continues to get better with Bansko now about 80% open. Strong winds have been a problem this past week but are reported to have eased off

USA

Fairly good conditions across the US following the very low temperatures, particularly in New England in the east, a week ago. It has kept snowing in the Rockies, where ski areas in Utah continue to post the best conditions, and in the east and ski resorts on the West Coast continue to post the deepest snowpacks in the world, led by Mammoth Mountain with the snow lying 6.2 metres (nearly 21 feet) deep up top.

Canada

After the ultra-cold temperatures just over a week ago, which saw temperatures as low as -50C and centres closing for safety reasons, Canada has “warmed up” to a more acceptable freezing down to -15C range. There’s also been more fresh snowfall across the country. Conditions are probably the best they’ve been all season, particularly in the East where everything is now fully open, or nearly so, after a problematic first half of the season. The cold and snowy weather has been more reliable in the west and Whistler now has north America’s biggest ski area 100% open.

 

 

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Where is Good to Ski or Board Right Now?

Update 6 February, 2023

It’s been an interesting week in the Alps with heavy snowfall all week in Austria – some ski areas seeing more than a metre of snowfall over the last 7 days – but most of the rest of The Alps getting nothing, staying dry and sunny. Along with snow Austria got strong winds and resulting high avalanche danger leading, sadly, to multiple incidents and a number of deaths among off-piste skiers and boarders. The danger level remains very high away from opened, prepared runs.

Like the western Alps, the Pyrenees have also been mostly dry but here, as in France, Italy and Western Switzerland conditions do remain largely very good, on the groomed runs at least, thanks to earlier snowfalls leaving almost everything open.  Cortina in Italy is pictured above.

In Bulgaria and south-eastern Europe, there was more catching up to do after a poor season start there but they have now had more and more snow and ever-improving conditions. Something of the reverse in Scotland alas where rain, wind and warm weather have severely damaged the snowpacks, although the past few days have seen some recovery. Scandinavia, meanwhile, remains cold and snowy as it has been all winter.

Across in the US, the big issue was ultra-low temperatures in the northwest of the continent over the end of last week which shut down ski areas in Quebec and New England for safety reasons as lows got into the -40s C/F, but since then conditions have stabilised and it has been snowing again from coast to coast.

Austria

Austria has been the place to be for fresh snowfall over the past week, it has been dumping here while the rest of the Alps have remained largely dry. Up to a metre of snowfall has been reported in some areas, though for most it’s more like 1-2 feet. The news isn’t all great in the short term though, there were strong winds that closed lifts at times and some regions including the Arlberg around Lech and St Anton hit very high avalanche danger levels due to the mix of conditions. This led to a high number of deaths among off-piste skiers at the weekend in multiple incidents.  Pitztal glacier pictured above.

France

(Bonneval pictured above)

France has had another largely dry and sunny week with temperatures a little warmer though, getting back into plus temperatures at bases.  Some areas have just reported a few centimetres of snowfall up high.  So it’s a bit of a holding pattern, bases are dropping slightly and slowly as it settles with a bit of thawing at low elevations but basically everything remains fully open (or nearly so). Avalanche danger has dropped but sadly so has the chance of finding much fresh powder left.

Italy

Italy has had a mostly dry week, like France, although light snowfall was reported in some northern areas and in the Dolomites. Actually, though some of the last heavy snowfall in the Western Alps took place just under a fortnight ago at resorts like Sestriere so some of the conditions remain at the best in the country here. But really, things are pretty good almost everywhere with most runs open and on-piste conditions fine. It’s just off-piste powder that’s hard to find.

Switzerland

Eastern and central Switzerland saw some of the snowfall that covered neighbouring Austria over the past week and sadly some of the off-piste avalanche deaths as well. The west of the country, other than an occasional snow flurry, stayed largely dry, however. Glacier 3000 near Gstaad is now posting the country’s deepest snow at 1.8 metres (6 feet) but base depths are well down on the highs of 4-6 metres we’d normally see on high slopes across the Alps by February. Most swiss resorts have almost all of their terrain open though.

Pyrenees

It has been back to dry, mostly sunny weather over the past week in the Pyrenees, but the late-January snowfall and cold have re-set the season to some extent and most ski areas remain 80-95% open, although bases are rather thin for the time of year. The Freeride World Tour was in Andorra at the weekend.

Scandinavia

It has continued to be cold and snowy in Scandinavia even as temperatures rise a little from the -20s and -30s in recent weeks and daylight hours lengthen. Some Norwegian ski areas have reported up to90cm (three feet) of snowfall in the past week and Myrkdalen (140/240cm / 56/96”) near the west coast has put on more than half-a-metre of snow depths in the last seven days to take the ‘deepest reported snow depth in Scandinavia this week’ title.  Norway’s Trysil pictured above.

Scotland

Unfortunately, mild weather in the Highlands has severely impacted the snow cover on Scottish slopes. Most centres still have a few runs open but they vary a good deal. Glenshee has lower runs open maintained with all-weather snow, at Glencoe it’s more intermediate/advanced terrain left. Things have turned a little colder and snowier since the weekend.

Eastern Europe

It’s been another good week in Eastern Europe for skiers, with snowfall reported across the region bringing ever-improving conditions. Things were already fairly good in the Czech and Slovak Republics but they’ve shared in the snowfall from the north that impacted Austria and now everything is open with fresh snow. Ever more snowfall in Bulgaria too and improving conditions there with lower runs to Bansko now open.

USA

The Northeastern US largely shut down at the end of last week and the start of the weekend as temperatures dropped down to the -40s Fahrenheit, unsafe for machinery to operate and for humans to be outdoors for long. It’s since warmed up and started snowing again giving some of the best conditions of the season so far in the east and continuing to be excellent in the west.  Copper Mountain pictured above.

Canada

(Massif du Sud, Quebec, on Sunday)

Good conditions were reported on ski slopes across Canada with almost everything open. The only downsides have been a very high avalanche danger in the BC backcountry and extreme cold,  at the weekend, in Quebec in the East, which closed down most areas due to dangerous levels of cold – getting into the -40s, which can result in frostbite in minutes.  Things have warmed up a little since then though and we’re seeing plenty of snowfall on slopes across the country.

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Where is Good to Ski or Board Right Now?

Update 29 January, 2023

It’s been another largely cold and sunny week in the Alps, at least after fresh snowfall in southern France and along the Austrian/Italian border eased in the middle of last week. But things are starting to change, at least in the north and east initially, with more snowfall arriving in Austria and Eastern Switzerland from the north.  Elsewhere in Europe, there’s been cold weather and some fresh snowfall in the Pyrenees and down in Bulgaria too, so it’s an improving picture there also.

Across in North America, the weather extremes seem to have settled a little in North America. The last few days have seen healthy snowfalls on both the east and west sides of the continent, but the warm weather spikes that have plagued the east and the violent gales in the west have been much less.

In the wider world ski areas in Japan have been reporting the return of “Japow” there after a fairly average start to the season with some centres reporting a metre of powder dumping in just 48 hours at the weekend. Myoko Kogen, below, one of them.

Austria

The cold temperatures that have dominated in Austria for the past fortnight are continuing into February, but after a week that saw quite a lot of sunshine and the odd snow shower, snowfall is now back as Arctic Air moves down from the north and it’s a wintery-looking week ahead. Most of the country’s leading ski areas were already operating 80-90% of their slopes but conditions continue to improve with Kitzbuhel announcing that more valley runs were opening for the weekend.

France

French ski areas have been enjoying some sunny days for much of the past week but the weather is starting to change with fresh snowfall expected this week. It has been cold – generally below freezing and getting as low as -25C up high – for a fortnight now and that’s enabled most of the lower ski areas that had problems opening some of their runs to open most of their terrain now, while higher areas like the 3 Valleys are up to about 95% open, the most of the season so far. Avoriaz is posting the deepest snow in Europe at over 3 metres (10 feet) up high.

Italy

Italy has also had another cold week with heavy snowfall in the west that’s greatly improved conditions along the French border, the Milky Way (Sauze d’Oulx, Sestriere) doubling its base depths and now about 2/3 open. There was snow for the Dolomites too but it’s now back to cold, sunny weather and that’s the pattern here for the week ahead. Further north and west though, the snowfall moving in from northern Europe looks set to make an impact with some significant accumulations through the latter half of this week.  Livigno pictured above.

Switzerland

Swiss ski slopes are, on the whole, in great shape. Parts of the country, and some famous resorts including St Moritz and Zermatt, have not had a great season for snowfall so far, but they’ve still got most of their terrain open and the good news is that fresh snow is now expected across a wide area over the coming week. The snowfall will most likely be heaviest in the eastern half of the country with some ski areas expected to receive more than 60cm (two feet) by the weekend if things play out as per the current forecast. In the meantime, it remains cold and most Swiss ski areas are mostly open. The 4 Valleys has about 90% of its runs open now.

Pyrenees

An improving picture for the Pyrenees too thanks to cold weather and fresh snowfall.  A growing number of resorts in France and Spain are reporting their ski areas are 100% open at last with fresh snow. Baqueira Beret has been staging Freeride world tour events over the past few days.

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is where winter was hiding earlier this month and it is still there, even though the days are getting longer and temperatures warming just a little on the -20s and even -30s Celsius some areas have been posting over the last few weeks.  The most snow continues to be in Western Norway where bases are nearing 2 metres at the snowiest spots near Hemsedal and Voss. Less snow but everything is open further east in Sweden and north in Finland and Lapland.  Idre Fjall pictured above.

Scotland

Scottish centres have had to deal with the usual ups and downs of the weather with temperatures too warm over the past week to maintain much of the lower terrain at the five Highland centres in skiable shape, other than areas where the machine-made snow has been piled high. Most do still have some higher runs open however and the forecast is for colder conditions over the coming week.

Eastern Europe

It’s been another much more positive week for snow in Eastern Europe after the terrible start to the season in countries like Bulgaria, Romania, Bosnia and Greece. It’s stayed cold and many resorts like Bansko have reported periods of heavy snowfall.  As a result most ski areas in the region now have at least half of their slopes open from next to nothing at the start of January. Further north it’s been cold and snowy too with the largest centre Jasna, which had been about 2/3 open already, now fully open.

USA

There have been some decent snowfalls right across America over the past week as the extremes of weather that saw too much snowfall (if such a thing is possible!) and violent gales in the west and too little snowfall and warm, wet weather in the East both settled down to something more reliable and cold on each side of the country. So Jay  Peak in Vermont and Discovery in Montana both posted about two feet (60cm) of fresh snowfall at the weekend and they were typical of what’s been happening over a wide area.  Sunday River pictured above, Windham top.

Canada

Fairly good conditions across Canada, with resorts including Panorama in BC (pictured below) reporting powder days at the weekend while on the East Coast ski areas across Quebec reported cold and snowy conditions, with base depths continuing to grow there.  Whistler Blackcomb is into its second full week of being fully open having the most terrain in North America currently skiable.

 

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Where is Good to Ski or Board Right Now?

Update 24 January, 2023

It’s the best week of the season so far almost everywhere across the skiing world thanks to different factors in different places.

For much of Europe – the Alps, Dolomites, Pyrenees and Balkans – the big improvement is consistently low temperatures (below freezing) following fresh snowfall, allowing lower slopes to open and creating great snow conditions on higher runs.  Conditions had already been good in Scandinavia.

In North America where the western side of the continent has seen the best of the world’s snowfall over the first half of this season, it’s actually good news that the seemingly endless cycle of violent storms that piled snow up to 6 metres (20 feet) deep on the mountains of California have eased and resorts there can take a breather, dig out and open more terrain under sunny skies. It’s also an improving picture on the east Coast which has faced similar issues to lower resorts in the alps – warm and wet – in the early winter. Here New England and Quebec have been more consistently cold and snowy.

Further afield a huge storm is currently hitting northern Japan bringing very low temperatures and heavy snowfall.  Here are the details.

Austria

The snow kept falling in Austria for longer than it did further west and another 20cm had landed (and was still coming down) by the time of the 83^rd running of the Hahnenkamm above Kitzbuhel on Saturday. But the time Dave Ryding scored his silver 24 hours later on Sunday though it was glorious blue skies. There are great conditions now with most of the country’s ski areas open, generally with 60-95% of slopes skiable and sharing in the low temperatures currently prevalent across the Alps.

(Skiwelt pictured above this week, Lech in Arlberg pictured top)

France

It’s been mostly dry and sunny in France since the big snowstorm that dumped up to a metre of snow there ended last Wednesday/Thursday. As a result of that most resorts are now almost fully open, including those that were reported closed or almost completely closed during the “no snow in the Alps” media storm earlier this month.  French resorts like Avoriaz and Flaine are posting the deepest snow in the Alps up at around the metres/10 feet mark up high.

Italy

Italy is on a bit of a dividing line for weather systems in the Alps at present with more northerly and westerly resorts in the country sharing in the dry and sunny weather following the snowfall, but more southerly and easterly areas in Trentino and the Dolomites enjoying a snowy start to the week with 20-40cm accumulation totals expected by Friday. Conditions are good across most of the country either with recent snow and sunshine or fresh snowfall daily though and most slopes in The Dolomites are open.

Switzerland

Great conditions across Switzerland following all the snowfall last week, it’s now mostly sunny but as with the rest of mainland Europe, remaining cold, getting to the minus 20s up high, closer to freezing in resort. Big regions like the 4 Valleys are 80-90” open and snow depths – while still below average below 2000m altitude as they are across the Alps, are nearing two metres at resorts like Glacier 3000, Andermatt and Saas-Fee. Low-altitude areas like Gstaad and Villars that had been highlighted in media reports earlier in the month for limited snow slopes open in the warm weather are now in much better shape.

Pyrenees

There’s a big improvement in conditions in the Pyrenees which had been facing similar issues to the Alps on lower slopes with warm weather thawing thin cover and diminishing amounts of terrain open. That’s thankfully now all changed though with lots of fresh powder and consistently cold temperatures. Big resorts like Soldeu / Pas de la Casa (Grandvalira) and Spain’s Baqueira Beret have gone from having dropped to only half of their terrain able to open to 70-80% again now.

Scandinavia

Staying wintery in Scandinavia with the deepest snow reported in Norway at resorts like Hemsedal and Voss where it’s lying 1.5 – 2 metres deep.  The daylight hours and now increasing fairly rapidly and everything is open.

Scotland

After a promising start to the season and start to 2023 with last week cold and snowy,  the regular curse of Scottish snow sports is with us – mild and windy conditions coming in from the West this week.  The five centres had great conditions at the weekend and hopefully have snow cover to see them through until colder weather returns. Currently, it’s ‘soft snow’ though and the amount of terrain available is diminishing.

Eastern Europe

It’s a much-improved picture across Eastern European ski slopes with some big snowfalls reported over the past few days. The biggest improvement is in Bulgaria where there was little open due to the warm weather until a few weeks ago, Bansko and Borovets now have about a third to a half of their terrain open.  Further north it is still improving in the Czech and Slovak Republics with the largest area Jasna reporting ever better conditions.

USA

There’s been a lull in the series of huge snowstorms that have been hitting the Western side of the US, much to the relief of resorts there. They’re all sat on big snow depths now but have had difficulty opening much terrain often as every time they dig out from one storm the next moves in. So less snowfall is actually good news in the west now and the current drier conditions, sunny in California, are being welcomed. In the East, there’s also an improvement with lower temperatures and more snowfall. In New England, it has been too warm and wet up to now, but this week, colder, snowier weather has brought the best conditions of the season so far.

Canada

Fairly good conditions across Canada with consistently cold temperatures from coast to coast, if not much fresh snowfall recently. North America’s largest ski area Whistler Blackcomb is almost fully open and it’s been snowing heavily in the East in New England and Quebec which had previously been suffering similar warm temperature issues to the Alps across the ocean in Europe. Now though they’re enjoying the best conditions of the season so far.

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Update 19th January, 2023

It’s a much brighter picture in the Alps this week than it has been all season.

There’s been heavy snowfall in the Western Alps (France and Western  Italy and Switzerland) and good snowfall, if not so much, further east in Austria and Eastern Italy and Switzerland.

Some higher French resorts have reported their upper slope snow depths up by more than a metre on a week ago with a number, including Alpe d’Huez (above) and Avoriaz (below), now saying they have over 3m/10 feet of snow lying up high.

But the really good news is for low lying ski areas which have been at the centre of the frenzy of “no snow in the Alps” stories that have been filling world media, ignoring the fact that higher slopes have had average cover or better all winter.

Most low ski areas have had 30-60cm (1-2 feet) of snow leading to widespread and ongoing reopening of runs. The most dramatic change is probably at Les Gets which had been forced to fully close its ski area during the warm spell when most others managed to keep a sad run or two open.  It went from nothing to fully re-opened on Wednesday, including the Portes du Soleil links.

Perhaps a little ironically, or just how it is, it is also immediately posting a “high” (level 4 on the scale to 5) avalanche danger level which is an increasingly common danger rating, particularly of note to freeride off-piste skiers and boarders across the western Alps at present, with most areas posting level 3 (“considerable”) if not at 4.

Regardless of the amount of snow that’s fallen a common and welcome change across the Alps , and indeed much of Europe, is a big temperature drop to something more normal for winter in the mountains. That means the freezing point dropping well below resort level for most areas and temperatures getting as low as -20C up at about 3000m.

Although the forecast is for the snowfall to ease off in most areas, and it already has in most parts with the sun breaking through for the weekend in the west, temperatures should stay low and overall conditions ae excellent, the best they’ve been all season so far.

Elsewhere in Europe

There have been similar improvements in the Pyrenees, not so much snowfall but some at least and lower temperatures. Bigger resorts like Grandvalira and Baqueira Beret now have more than half of their terrain back open again. 20-30cm of fresh snowfall widely reported in the last few days.

There have also been improvements in the Balkans with cold weather and some fresh snow after resorts in Bulgaria could hardly open a run with no natural snow and temperatures too warm for much snowmaking.  It’s now improving, though still with a lot of catching up to do and Bansko is hoisting World Cup competition this weekend. Further north in resorts like Jasna conditions have not been so bad and are now much improved by fresh snowfall.

Scottish ski centres are also seeing their best conditions of the season so far after a cold and snowy week here. Glencoe is almost fully open, Cairngorm about 50% open, the rest reporting a third or so of  their runs open. Alas temperatures look to be warming from the weekend but hopefully not too much damage will be done.

In Scandinavia it remains cold and snowy as it has been all month.

North America

More amazing records being set on the North American West Coast and Rockies where more and more ski areas are passing the 10 metres (400 inches) of snowfall season-to-date total. Mammoth’s world deepest snowpack has now passed 6 metres (20 feet) and further north of the Pacific Coast Whistler has reached 2 metres on its highest runs.  The East Coast continues to lag behind for snow cover unfortunately and warm temperatures continue to be an issue in New England but it’s more consistently cold and snowy further north in Quebec.

Keystone, Colorado, pictured above and top.

 

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Where is Good to Ski or Board Right Now?

Update 10 January 2023

The snow is finally here across the Alps. It began falling in the west, in the French, Italian (Bardonecchia pictured top and below) and Swiss Alps on Sunday and has continued moving north and easterly over the past 48 hours, bringing snowfall to most areas.

Naturally the snowfall is heaviest up high, with 60cm (2 feet) accumulations reported up at 3,000m already at some areas and with the snow expected to continue through midweek before easing off, some may see a metre of snowfall by Thursday.  It should remain colder than it has been with more snow showers later in the week.

Of course areas above 2000m were already in pretty good shape with ski areas like Paradiski above la Plagne and Les Arcs and the 3 Valleys about 75% open due to all their high altitude terrain, so the focus id on lower altitude ski areas like Les Gets and Gstaad which have been hard hit by the warm and sometimes wet weather over Christmas and New Year. They have all been reporting snowfall down to low levels and from the pictures posted it looks like 10-30cm rather than the metre up high, as you’d expect. It’s also cold enough to fire up the snow cannons.

It’s too soon to know how much the new snow will improve things, that’ll become clear later this week, but it’s looking promising for at least some re-opening of terrain.

The avalanche danger levels are already creeping up however. Areas in the Western Alps have hit level 3 on the scale to 5, considered the most dangerous level in some respect as more skiers and boarders tend to ignore the danger, leading to accidents, at level 3 than at 4 or 5.

Elsewhere the Pyrenees, which have been facing similar problems to the Alps, have also had some fresh snowfall and a drop in temperatures, although not quite such a dramatic change as further north and east in the Alps.

It’s also good news in the Balkans where ski areas in Bulgaria too are at least seeing a temperature drop and snow showers hopefully enabling them to soon open more terrain too from the very limited amount that has so far been possible.  Bansko is pictured below on Tuesday.

Snowy weather in Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic is also improving the conditions there, allowing more resorts to open more terrain.

Further north Scandinavian ski centres continue to post the most ‘wintery’ conditions in Europe as they did through the warm spell further south. Norway has done particularly well with fresh snowfall in the past seven days heading towards the metre mark up high at resorts like Geilo and Hemsedal with more forecast.

Not quite such dramatic snowfalls but an improving picture in Scotland too where most centres have at least a few runs open and there’s more cold weather and snow forecast.

North America

In Western Canada still more huge storms have been moving in off the Pacific coast, where ski areas in California, Oregon and Washington had already been posting by far the world’s deepest snowpacks after months of the same. Mammoth has the world’s deepest at nearly 5 metres. The snowfall has continued west so the Rockies are in great shape too, with Park City in Utah, America’s biggest area, fully open.

West Coast resorts would probably appreciate the snowfall easing a little now as the endless storms make it difficult for them to actually open terrain, due to the work involved digging out, making access roads safe and reducing avalanche danger.

Further north not quite so much snowfall in Alberta and BC, Canada, but most ski areas in the region are full open

A less snowy picture in the East although there has been some fresh. But as with the Alps on the other side of the Atlantic ski areas in New England and even north of the border in Quebec have been battling periods of warm weather and rain and few are fully open.

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Update 2 January 2023

If you’re looking for fresh snowfall (and who isn’t?!), the place to find it in abundance continues to be Western North America where still more mega snow storms have been moving in off the Pacific, dumping several feet more snowfall with Mammoth Mountain continuing to post the deepest snow in the world. The Palisades (above on Jan 1st, 2023) posted 95cm (3 feet 2 inches) of fresh snow in 24 hours to start the New Year. There’s been lots more snowfall in the Rockies too with Steamboat reporting its snowiest December in over a decade and Park City up in Utah, with America’s biggest ski area, fully open.

The news isn’t all good though unfortunately with the snowfall driven in on gales of up to 100mph and sometimes accompanies by freezing rain. Ice build up, deep snow and temperature fluctuations have also led to high avalanche danger among other storm related issues. .

Europe

In Europe Scandinavia is the place to go for fresh snowfall (Hemsedal above on 31 December, 2022) as the Alps continue to be divided by altitude, predominantly, with fairly good conditions on slopes above 2,000m (which thankfully most large destination resorts have plenty of), but increasingly challenging at lower levels. The 3 Valleys for example have three quarters (about 450km) of their 600km of terrain open. Other big areas typically have 60-80% of their terrain open too, however it is lower at those like the Portes du Soleil down at Les Gets and Morzine or at the separate areas around Megeve and La Clusaz.

There was more rain at the weekend down below and the freezing point rose to 3000m to start the New year but it has since got a little cooler and there have been light snow showers up high.

Unfortunately there’s no clear sign of anything much changing in the coming week when we really need a proper start to winter here at last.

The Pyrenees have had some snowfall but are facing similar challenging conditions to the Alps.

It’s also not good news in more southerly parts of Eastern Europe with warm, dry and sunny weather dominant and ski areas in Bulgaria, Bosnia, Serbia and nearby only able to open very limited terrain – a run or two with machine made snow – so far. Further north in the Czech and Slovak Republics and Poland it’s a much more promising picture.

The Dolomites continue to be something of an exception with virtually everything open at all altitudes and none of the rain issues here. Conditions aren’t perfect but they’re not far off at resorts like Val Gardena.

Elsewhere in Europe it does feel like winter in Scandinavia where many resorts have been seeing -5 to -20C temperatures and plenty of fresh snowfall.  Not quite so cold in Scotland but it was quite a cold December overall and there’s been more snowfall in the past week. Four of the five Highland ski centres have some terrain open, albeit not yet very much at any of them, mostly thanks to the limited areas they each have covered by all-weather snowmaking machines with the natural cover elsewhere not yet deep enough.

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Update 28 December 2022

Alas, the current conditions in the Alps are a very mixed bag rather than the perfect end of year/start to 2023 we’d all hope.

A big part of the problem is altitude – higher slopes are generally in good shape – above 2,000m (Avoriaz is pictured on Tuesday this week, the Molltal Glacier in Austria below) – but at lower altitudes warm weather and rain has severely impacted the snow cover.

Despite these challenges most leading ski areas actually have more terrain open than a week ago, opening all they can for the busiest weeks of the season and most destination resorts have 60-80% of their terrain open.

There has been fresh snowfall up high, with some resorts posting 30-60cm (1-2) feet of fresh snowfall up above 2,000m, unfortunately though there’s been rain for many resorts at lower levels.

As a result some lower resorts like Les Gets are offering lift pass discounts due to having limited terrain open. Some others like Laax are warning that some of their runs are narrow.

The Dolomites are reported to have some of the best conditions, mostly as they’ve missed the rain that impacted much of the Alps to quite high altitudes at the weekend.

The Pyrenees are facing similar issues to the Alps and although most resorts are open, most only have 30-50cm (12-20 inches) of snow lying and the amount of terrain open has been dropping. Spain’s Baqueira Beret has dropped below100km of slopes open for the first time since the start of the season there over a month ago.

(Stranda, Norway)

The best conditions in Europe are currently up in Scandinavia where reports have posted up to 50cm of fresh snow  since Christmas and temperatures have been well below freezing.

Across the North Sea Scottish ski centres are also seeing improved conditions. Not enough snow yet to really open up but machine-made snow on short runs, topped up with natural cover, has allowed Cairngorm, Lecht and Glenshee to open, with Glencoe and Nevis Range aiming to join them asap

It’s actually a similar scenario on the other side of Europe down in the Southeast with ski areas in the Balkans most severely impacted by the warm weather. Bulgarian resorts have scraped a few short runs together with overnight snowmaking and new package holiday destination Sarajevo reports just a 500 metre slope open.

(Eaglecrest, Alaska)

North America

It’s a very different picture across the Atlantic where yet another series of major storms slamming into the West Coast of North America with up to eight feet (2.5 meters) of snowfall possible by the start of next week.

The region currently has the deepest snowpacks in the world, with over 3 metres lying at some resorts. But all the snowfall is causing some issues – burying lifts and bringing high avalanche danger, limiting the terrain open while the storms blow through. There have also been very strong winds, with gusts of up to 100mph reported. But between these weather extremes, conditions are great.

This latest snowfall comes after Storm Elliot blew through at the weekend, bringing exceptionally low temperatures across the continent and major snowfalls to the Midwest and East Coasts which had been lacking much cover until now.  But there’s been powder skiing in the East since (Jay Peak, Vermont, pictured below this week).

 

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Update 21 December 2022

We’ve reached the winter solstice so the days are drawing out from now on and we’re into wintertime by both the astronomical measure of the seasons and the meteorological one.

But what about the snow? Well (as so often), it’s a mixed picture!

In the Alps and many other parts of Europe most of the major destination ski resorts are open now and the majority have about 30-60% of their slopes open and will be aiming to open more for the busy Christmas and New Year’s weeks coming up.   So on the whole things are fairly good so long as you want to ski on the groomed pistes and particularly if your resort is quite high altitude.

The factor working against progress in opening more has been below average snowfall and, particularly this week, above average temperatures. This has particularly hit lower altitude ski areas where its been harder to create cover.

But still, there’s a lot open. Over 300km in the 3 Valleys for example and many of the other big areas around Verbier, Zermatt, Grandvalira, Baqueira Beret, the Skiwelt, Ischgl-Samnaun (pictured above this week) Alpbach, Dolomiti Superski (the list goes on…) have at least 100km of slopes open already and in many cases double that.

Less Good News

The European region doing the worst at this early stage in the season is down in the southeast where Bulgarian ski areas are struggling with warm weather to open much at all. Bansko and Borovets each have managed just a run a piece opening in the past few days.

Scotland is facing its usual battles with borderline weather conditions. The first half of December was very cold and double-digit sub-zero temperatures were recorded, but it was also very dry so snow for runs was mostly machine made when several areas opened at the weekend. Precipitation did arrive at the start of this week, along with gales, but there was also the 10+ degree jump in temperature so a lot of it was snow-destroying rain and warm winds that closed areas again. Temperatures are dropping and ski centres are re-opening with limited terrain.

Elsewhere in Europe

It’s a similar picture to The Alps in The Dolomites and Pyrenees, in more northerly areas of eastern Europe – countries like the Czech and Slovak Republics and Poland it’s a much better picture than further south and there’s more and more terrain open.

Conditions in Scandinavia, where resorts in the north are now in 24-hour polar night and temperatures in the -20s have been reported, are much more wintery. Most of the region’s leading areas are now open include Are, Hemsedal and Trysil.

North America

The main ski news stories in North America this week are a decent dump of snowfall, at last, on the East Coast (Sunday river pictured top last weekend, Whiteface above after things have settled and grooming don), which has dramatically improved the previously poor early-season conditions there. It’s been drier in the west after the successive snow storms there through November and December but here the most snow in the world is lying, Mammoth Mountain in California remaining the only resort reporting a base of more than three metres (10 feet) at present.

The other big ski holiday news story has been very low temperatures in parts of Western Canada into the -30s. Along with advice to cover up exposed skin, layer up and watch friends for signs of frostbite, skki areas in the Alberta/Eastern BC ski regions have been closing more exposed lifts and in some cases entire resorts, until things warm up a bit – expected by the Christmas weekend.

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Where is Good to Ski or Board Right Now?

Update 14 December 2022

As the start of the main ski season is just about upon us, it is good to be able to report generally  good conditions in almost all major ski regions.

Europe

It’s an ever improving picture in the Alps with several fronts moving across the range from the south and west. Ski areas in the French Alps and in Western Switzerland and Italy have done particularly well with two snowstorms since the weekend bringing up to two feet (60cm) of fresh snow.  Chatel, one of those that got particularly heavy snowfall, is pictured above.

Along with ever improving snow depths the snowline levels have been dropping down to valley floors meaning better conditions for low-lying ski resorts and valley runs, as well as those up high.

There’s been snowfall too in the Pyrenees, at Sierra Nevada in southern Spain and over in Northeastern Europe for ski centres in countries like the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland.

In Scandinavia it’s getting darker, with sun dropping below the horizon at Finland’s largest ski area of Levi earlier this week and not due to re-appear until January 1^st, but floodlit slopes keep things moving for those happy to be skiing on pristine powder at -10 to -30C.

Scotland’s first ski slopes opened for 22-23 on Monday with Glenshee taking advantage of the current cold weather in the UK to open several runs. The other four Highland ski centres plan to open this weekend on next week.

Really the only area that has been reporting warmer temperatures than they’d like is Bulgaria, where Borovets delayed its planned opening last weekend, but things are improving here too.

North America

There have been more incredible snow storms in western North America, with up to 5 feet more snow reported in California.

Mammoth Mountain (pictured above on Tuesday) is the first ski resorts in the world to report a 10 feet/3 metre base on its upper slopes already this season.

All the snow in the Rockies and on the Pacific Coast has set the continent up for the entire ski season ahead.

However it remains a very different picture in the East unfortunately with warmer, drier weather upto now making even snowmaking challenging. Here too though cold weather and some natural snowfall is now in the forecast.

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Update 9 December 2022

As we reach the second weekend in December about 90% of the world’s leading ski areas have already opened for the season (or will do this weekend).

In most areas conditions are fairly good for this early point in the season. Western North America is having an amazing start with a rapid series of storms dumping huge amounts of snow, with more on the way.  It’s very different on the Eastern side of the continent though where its more of a battle to open runs whenever the weather is cold enough for snowmaking.

That’s a similar picture for low-lying ski areas in Europe, which haven’t had much snowfall yet. Fi the bigger, higher ski areas though it’s an ever improving picture at present with another 1-2 feet of snowfall expected this weekend.

North America

Western North America continues to see fantastic early-season conditions with some resorts in the Colorado Rockies already reporting over 100 inches (2.5 metres) of snow has fallen this season already while in California Mammoth Mountain is posting the deepest base in the world at 2.7 metres (9 feet).  All the snowfall is causing short-term logistical issues opening access roads and with high avalanche danger in places leading to some resorts closing on some days as the worst of it is managed.

Europe

The snow has started falling in the Alps again after a largely dry and sunny week, with just light snow showers.

Temperatures will be below freezing down to low levels too so snowmaking systems should be able to work. More big name resorts are opening this weekend including Meribel and Les Menuires completing the links in the 3 Valleys.

Most ski centres are now open in the Pyrenees and have in fact been posting the most terrain ope in Europe so far with Baqueira/​Beret the only one to go above 150km of runs open already and Andorra’s Grandvalira not far behind on over 100km.

Many of Scandinavia’s ski centres have now opened for the season with larger centres like Are and Hemsedal among the latest to do so.

It has been cold and (particularly in the East) snowy in Scotland with centres using all-weather snowmaking systems to create small snow areas. Glenshee (pictured below on Wednesday) they intend to open the weekend after next, others may follow suit.

Eastern Europe’s ski areas have been enjoying some of the coldest and (for comparatively low lying mountains compared to the Alps), snowiest, December weather, at least on their higher slopes, and centres have begun to open here too.  Slovakia’s Jasna has the most open so far with Bulgaria’s ski season expected to start this weekend.

 

*******

Update 1 December 2022

The ski season continues to gather pace across the Northern Hemisphere with the North American Rockies seeing the best conditions so far and people beginning to ask when was it last this good this early in the season?  Many resorts have had another foot or more of snowfall in the past few days.

(Crested Butte. Colorado, 29 November, 2022)

Hundreds of ski areas are open coast-to-coast across the continent, in fact unlike Europe or Asia, more big-name resorts are already open for the season in Canada and the US than are yet to open.

They include the biggest in the US, Park City in Utah, which already has over 100km of slopes open, and the biggest in Canada and north America,  Whistler Blackcomb in BC, although it hasn’t opened much of its vast terrain as yet.

Europe

Good to Ski Right Now?

There are about 100 ski areas open already in Europe, most in the Alps but with about a quarter in Scandinavia and the first for 22-23 – Baqueira Beret – open in the Pyrenees since last weekend.

Those numbers will double, perhaps triple this coming weekend as many more open including big French names like Alpe d’Huez, Les 2 Alpes and Val d’Isere.

There’s also a battle to open more terrain for early skiers and boarders. Ischgl – Samnaun on the Austrian-Swiss border only opened last weekend but already has more than 100km of slopes open and Cervinia – Zermatt (pictured below) on the Italian – Swiss border has announced it will also offer more than 100km from this coming weekend.

There was more snowfall, heaviest up high, earlier this week and more forecast next week, but currently its mostly dry, frequently sunny but still cold for most areas.

Lots more resorts plan to open in the Pyrenees this weekend as well as in the Dolomites and the first for the season in Eastern Europe, including Slovakia’s Jasna.

Scotland has seen cold but dry weather with nowhere known to be planning to open soon, in Scandinavia some big name resorts will open this weekend.

Asia

Good to Ski Right Now?

Unfortunately it hasn’t been that snowy yet in Japan and a number of areas that had planned to open this weekend have decided to postpone, some saying for a week, others until they know things are looking better.

The good news is that the weather does now appear to be changing with Japan’s normal non-stop snowfall through winter showing signs of getting underway.

 

 

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Update 26 November 2022

Good to Ski Right Now?

The past week has seen hundreds of ski areas open for the 22-23 ski season and plenty of snowfall too.

For most areas it’s now looking quite promising for the season ahead after the nervous wait through war, dry conditions in October and the first half of November. Along with the natural snowfall it has been cold enough for snowmaking systems to be set to work building bases.

(Bonneval, France this week)

Europe

Good to Ski Right Now?

In Europe there are now about 50 ski areas open, more than half of them in Austria and Switzerland, but we’ve also seen the first resorts open in France at Tignes and Val Thorens and more big-name Italian centres open including Cervinia, and Courmayeur.

Most have had at least a foot of fresh snowfall over the past week and snow down to low levels as well.

It’s not just the Alps though. The season is underway in Dolomiti Superski in Italy at Cortina d’Ampezzo and several other resorts and the first centre has opened for the season in the Pyrenees, Baqueira Beret on the Spanish side of the mountains.

Some big-name ski areas have been opening in Scandinavia as well, including Norway’s Kvitfjell and Geilo, joining already open Finnish centres like Levi, Ruka and Yllas. Here it’s a very wintery picture with lots of snow falling.

There’s been snow too in places where resorts haven’t opened yet, but will be soon, including across eastern Europe in countries like Bulgaria, closer to home in Scotland and even countries with just one or two ski centres like Croatia, Algeria and Portugal.

North America

Good to Ski Right Now?

It’s over in the USA and Canada where over 100 centres have now opened, helped by mostly low temperatures and some good natural snowfalls. Aiming to open ahead of the big US Thanksgiving holiday weekend was an extra incentive for many.

The best of the snowfall has been in the West where Mammoth in California reports they already have 2 metres lying on their highest slopes. Lake Louise had to cancel the first Men’s Downhill ski race of the season planned for there on Friday due to heavy snowfall.

Most big-name resorts across the country are now open with the largest, Canada’s Whistler Blackcomb, opening on Thursday.

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Update 17 November 2022

North America

Good to Ski Right Now?

Canada and USA continue to have the best early season conditions. Resorts continue to open early for the 22-23 season across the continent with some reporting up to six feet (1.8 metres) of snow in the past three weeks.

Most of the snowfall so far has been in the West where the first BC resorts open in Canada last weekend and Big White and Silver Star and others will join them this weekend.

Kicking Horse won’t open for a while yet but posted the picture below of the powder those who hiked up could enjoy.

Temperatures have now dropped on the Eastern side of the continent too with not much snow yet (though plenty forecast now) but snowmaking systems fired up. The first centre in Quebec opened for 22-23 yesterday and Sunday River is the first in New England, pictured top, opening today in Maine.  Stowe and Killington in Vermont plan to open this weekend.

We estimate there’ll be at least50 and perhaps as many as 100 North American ski areas open coast-to-coast this weekend.

Europe

Good to Ski Right Now?

Some snow down to about 1500m and consistently colder this week but more snowfall is needed.

It’s a fine line – the French season has been put a further week back with Val Thorens delaying its planned opening this weekend to next, but Obergurgl in Austria has managed to open and despite only having 5-20cm of snow lying, has opened 30km of runs.

Also opening this weekend are Andermatt and Kitzbuhel, both thanks to snow farming, while Obertauern appears to have delayed their opening too.

The forecast looks unsettled, but cold, so we all have to hope for bigger and better snowfalls soon.

Scandinavia looks more wintery. Levi in Lapland hosts Alpine World Cup ski racing this weekend and more leading Finnish ski areas including Pyha and Yllas are due to open.

In the wider world it has been increasingly snowy in Japan and temperatures in Scotland have dropped from record November highs a week ago to the likelihood of snow above about 300 metres this weekend.

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After a mere 2 years, 8 months pandemic break, our regular snow updates are back!  It’s looking good in Western Canada and the US and we’re trying not to get too tense as we wait for more snow in the Alps. 

About 40 ski areas in nine countries on three continents are already open for their 22-23 ski seasons…  

North America

Good to Ski Right Now?

(The Palisades, California)

The best of the snowfall so far this month has been in Western North America.

Ski resorts in the Rockies have reported up to a metre (over three feet) of snowfall over the past fortnight leading to several opening early for the season.

About a dozen centres are already open in Canada and the USA and more plan to join them in the next few days.

Already open areas include Mammoth in California, which reported a powder day on November 9^th after more than two feet of snowfall in the previous 24 hours, its first of 22-23.

Winter Park and Arapahoe Basin are already open in Colorado (as is Loveland, pictured top) with Breckenridge, Copper Mountain and Vail due to join them in the next few days. Further north Utah’s Solitude say they’ll open early too.

In Canada the season is already underway at Lake Louise and Sunshine near Banff in Alberta Canada. Marmot Basin near Jasper to the north opens on Thursday 10^th and Big White say they’re opening early from the 17^th, potentially the first to open in BC.

It’s been warmer in the East but temperatures are now dropping and snowmaking systems operating overnight.

Europe

Good to Ski Right Now?

There are about 20 ski areas open in Europe already for the 22-23 ski season, most of them offering high-altitude glacier skiing.

After some fresh snowfalls in recent weeks conditions on glaciers are pretty good, but with the start of the main season only a few weeks away, resorts are hoping for colder, snowier weather very soon now.

Austria has the most centres open – seven so far – including the Solden, Stubai, Hintertux, Kitzsteinhorn and several other glaciers.

You can also ski at Murren, Zermatt, Engelberg and Saas Fee in Switzerland with Verbier and glacier 3000 near Gstaad opening this weekend.

Most centres have only small areas open up high so far. There’s only one centre open in Italy and none in France as yet.  Val Thorens maybe the first to open there in just over a fortnight, although Tignes could open soon too.

If you’re looking for winter in Europe look up to Lapland. The two leading Finnish ski areas of Levi and Ruka have been open a month already.  They started in early October by using snow-farming, re-using snow from last season stored under cover through the summer, to create new runs. But it’s been cold enough for fresh snowmaking and there’s been natural snowfall on top.

Most other ski regions iN Europe like the Pyrenees, Dolomites, Scottish Highland and Balkans have all had some autumn snowfall but don’t have any areas open yet – it’s a bit too early.

 

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Our last report before the first of the pandemic lockdowns in March 2020 is below, but now we’re back baby! See above…

It has been another of the strangest ski season weeks of all time.  After most of Europe and North America’s ski areas shut own a week ago, some of the few countries that were still mostly open – including Scotland and Finland – have closed, and the last few ski areas still open in Canada and the US have shut down.

But, at the time of writing at least, you could still ski in Sweden, Iceland and Japan, if you’re there already. And one bit of light at the end of the tunnel, ski areas in China began re-opening after they ended their lockdown almost two months to the day after it began.  You need a health certificate to be allowed to ski at most areas there for now though.

If, and it’s a big if, we are in for a two months shutdown it could mean the stated hope of some ski areas that are usually open in late May or June or later, like Killington, Hintertux and Breckenridge, to re-open later this season, could still happen.

Anyway, regardless of that dream, it is, of course, the start of Spring! In normal years millions of skiers and boarders would be enjoying the longer days and spring sunshine on the slopes.

This week though has been snowier more than sunny in many areas with fresh snow reported in the Alps, Pyrenees, Dolomites, Japan, Rockies and in Scandinavia. So a wintry start to the season for many.

Snowfall this morning in Grandvalira, Andorra…

 

Sweden

Good to Ski Right Now?

With Finnish ski areas opting to end their seasons this week, Sweden is the one major ski nation left in Europe where you can still hit the slopes at most resorts. Shops and restaurants also remain open (at time of writing) with the onus on social distancing and hand hygiene.  Most resorts there have reported fresh snowfall in the past week, with around 40cm for northerly Riksgransen, where it is still dumping.  Nearby Bjorkliden (pictured above and top), which has also had lots of fresh snow, is pictured above and top.

Japan

Good to Ski Right Now?

The ski season continues as normal in Japan despite an on-going state of emergency over the virus. Although the slopes are open, the number of infections and new cases in the country seems very low at present, even though the virus has been identified in the country for several months.   Niseko reported that Wednesday marked its last evening of night skiing (below) but said it planned to keep the slopes open through to May 6^th.  There’s been plenty pf fresh snowfall reported in the past week in Japan too – good news for this late in the season.

China

Good to Ski Right Now?

We reported earlier this week that ski areas in China were beginning to re-open in many parts of the country after the national lockdown was eased.  Some won’t as their season normally ends late March anyway.  The country’s indoor snow centres have also re-opened.

However one of the oldest and biggest, Yabuli, has re-opened but with the kind of limitations on social proximity and increased cleanliness requirements exercised in Sweden at present.  Shops, restaurants, theme parks, almost everything has restarted in China.

And where’s not open?

Fresh snow at Sunshine, Banff, this week.

Almost everywhere, unfortunately.

The last ski areas open in Canada and the USA have closed since Sunday and all of the ski areas in Scotland and (we think) all in Finland – which were all still open a week ago – have also now closed.

As mentioned above, Scotland and Finland are among the latest European countries to end skiing in the past week.

They join all ski areas in the Alps, Dolomites and Pyrenees to have closed.  Most now approaching the end of their second week in lock down, for Italy the third week.

There has been fresh snowfallinf many areas though with ski areas in Italy’s central Appenines mountains reporting some of the biggest falls – around 30cm in the past few days.

Eastern Europe saw some of the biggest snowfalls of the past week with up to 50cm in Slovakia and 25cm in Bulgaria. Here’s quarantined Bansko in Bulgaria today courtesy of the Bansko Blog.

 

Over in North America many of the country’s mountains have been seeing fresh snowfall.

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Report Below from weekend Ending 19 March, 2020

Good to Ski Right Now?

Well, there has never been a week last this past week in the skiing world. But whilst the virus has brought many ski resorts to a standstill, the snow is still falling on the slopes and the sad truth is that most would be very good to ski right now – it’s just that they’re not open and if they were you couldn’t get to them and in any case they haven’t been prepared.

Well that’s most places, not everywhere, and we may as well celebrate the resorts that are still open, if only to give us something to inspire ourselves with and to be jealous of the lucky folk who live in resort and are still able to go out skiing and boarding if they want to.

So where IS open this week (even if we can’t, or shouldn’t, get there!)  and how is it looking?

Scotland

Good to Ski Right Now?

All five Scottish Highland centres are open and continuing to enjoy some of the best conditions of the past few seasons.  Glencoe in the West had more fresh snow on Wednesday night and Glenshee further east (pictured above this morning) began operating one of its lifts for the first time this winter on Thursday. All centres stress stringent cleanliness procedures and social distancing initiatives. All say they could close at any time due to increasingly strict government requirements.

Finland

Good to Ski Right Now?

Finland seems to have taken a position so far that it’s Ok for ski centres to keep operating and all the main centres remain open at the time of writing. What’s more they’re posting great conditions with a little fresh snowfall and everything open.

Sweden

Good to Ski Right Now?

Whilst Norwegian ski areas decided to close because of limited medical facilities if they do have an epidemic, Swedish centres are so far staying open.  Riksgransen in the north now has the deepest snow in the world, for an open resort, with 4.4 metres lying. It, like many Swedish resorts, has also had some good snowfalls in the past few days with a foot (30cm) or so of fresh snow.

Canada

Good to Ski Right Now?

Canadian ski areas have now almost all closed, but a few in BC in the West were still operating yesterday.  Earlier in the week several resorts like Marmot Basin up near Jasper were stressing they hoped to stay open to May as planned saying they had wide open spaces and a very healthy environment to offer, but the Albertan government shut-down all still-open ski areas midweek, following a move from Quebec earlier in the week.  Manning Park, above, was one of the last to close for the season.

USA

Good to Ski Right Now?

The US has seen some great snowfalls in the past week, particularly in the West with ski areas in California like Squaw Valley (above) seeing several metres of snowfall.  There’s more on the way over the next few days too, rightly across the country.

The resort closures here began days after Europe and it’s a more fragmented picture with first corporations, then some states and finally individual resorts deciding to close. T this point about 95% of US areas are closed but a dozen or so still operate, stressing their lack of crowds, health protection measures and that they think skiing is good for people.

Japan

Good to Ski Right Now?

Japan has taken a different approach to most of the rest of the skiing world and all Japanese ski areas remain open.

It hasn’t been the best of ski seasons there to date of course, too often too warm and wet but the past week has actually been colder, and snowier, on the whole, to the delight of skiing locals.  Appi Kogen is pictured above.

Anyone else trying to fly there from outside Japan now has a two week quarantine awaiting on arrival.

And where’s now NOT open?

All resorts in the Alps, The Dolomites and The Pyrenees and Norway as well as most ski areas in Eastern Europe, Canada and the USA are all shut down due to the virus.

In many European countries now any outdoor activity including ski touring, cross-country skiing or similar where you might injure yourself and need to use hard-stretched medical facilities are also banned.

No one knows when ski areas will be able to re-open in these places, but some hope that it may be possible in late May or June at some that have glaciers and normally open in late spring and summer.

 

***(Report Below on 13th March, 2020) ***

With coronavirus dominating the news you may be forgiven for forgetting that the ski season continues (except in Italy and now large parts of Austria and Norway as well as limited areas of Switzerland and the Spanish Pyrenees) and the snow keeps falling.

*** Please note in terms of open ski areas this report was posted at lunchtime on Friday 13 March, 2020 and things are changing fast) ***

In fact it has been a rather good week, again, or snowfall, with ore big dumps in the alps as well as significant snowfall in the Pyrenees, Eastern Europe, Scotland, Scandinavia and indeed the now ‘closed’ Italian Dolomites.

True it has warmed up a little recently, and there were complaints of rain to high altitudes earlier this week, an occasional problem this season, but it is getting cooler and snowier again now in most places.

Let’s hope that we can continue to get to most ski areas for the remainder of the season.

Austria

Good to Ski Right Now?

Austria has some great snow conditions at the moment, even after temperatures climbed at some resorts to double-digits above freezing in the latter half of this week. Big snowfalls last week and before those in February, mean most areas have good base depths (more than four metres at the deepest, St Anton, in fact, and some higher altitude areas like Solden have been reporting 20cm+ of fresh snowfall when others have had some rain.  Sadly those two are among the resorts in Salzburgerland and Tirol that close early for the season this weekend.  At time of writing on Friday morning, ski areas like Schladming in Styria and Bad Kleinkirchheim in Carinthia were still open. – The Dachstein Glacier, one of the resorts there, pictured above.

France

Good to Ski Right Now?

France has seen more big snowfalls in the Alps over the past week and also the biggest snowfalls of 2020 so far down in the Pyrenees, where Cauterets reported over three feet(95cm) of snow into last weekend. In the French Aps conditions are generally excellent with everything open although during the sudden warm snap in the latter half of this week some rain was noted up to high altitudes, it’s getting cooler again now though and the snow has kept falling with many higher areas reporting 10-30cm more in the past day or two.  La Plagne and Val Thorens among others have reported 20-25cm or so of snowfall in the last 24 hours.

Italy

Good to Ski Right Now?

Italy has had one of its snowiest weeks of the season and was reporting excellent conditions in most areas when all ski areas were forced to close on Monday this week. The Dolomites, which had not had much snow this year, got up to 90cm (In Cortina d’Ampezzo) at the end of last week.

Switzerland

Good to Ski Right Now?

It’s been a good week for snowfall in Switzerland too, with the Lotschental region reporting another metre plus of snowfall in the past week and the deepest base in Europe right now at about 4.6 metres. There was snowfall here earlier in the week and again in the past 24 hours as temperatures have cooled again after a warm spell mid-week.  Most of the country’s ski areas are fully open, including Andermatt, pictured above this morning.

Pyrenees

Good to Ski Right Now?

The Pyrenees are seeing some of the best conditions of the year so far after lots of snow fell last week. Resorts in Andorra posted up to 70cm of fresh snow and on the French side the falls were even bigger with 95cm reported by Cauterets (pictured above last weekend).  Another big snowfall is expected on the Spanish side of the mountains over the weekend with up to 50cm more snow expected for resorts like Formigal which unfortunately is among the ones closing.

Scandinavia

Good to Ski Right Now?

It’s a little ironic that just as the Norwegian resort of Roldal posted the deepest snow in the world this week, reaching a 5.4 metre (178 foot) snow depth and overtaking the deepest snow level in North America, it has closed for the season, along with most Norwegian ski areas, due to coronavirus concerns.  Generally though conditions are good across Finland and Sweden, where ski areas are still open for now. Most areas there have had some fresh snow and have all slopes open. Ruka is pictured above and top this week.

Scotland

Good to Ski Right Now?

Scottish ski centres continue to enjoy some of the best conditions for years, and as of Friday 13^th Narch there had been zero reported coronavirus positive tests in the Highland region where they’re largely located.  The usual issues with strong winds and occasional rain or sleet when temperatures rise have come up over the last seven days but the current 48-hour period is sunny, fairly still, and comes after more fresh snowfall midweek. Glenshee is pictured above this morning.

Eastern Europe

Good to Ski Right Now?

The coronavirus impact has closed ski areas in the Czech and Slovak Republic but ski areas in Bulgaria are so far remaining open, despite a ‘state of emergency’ being declared on Thursday due to the virus.  That’s good news for skiers as there’s been some of the best snowfalls of the season here in the past week – 60-8-0cm in fact, and more big falls are forecast this weekend after a warm and sunny few days.  Borovets pictured above this week.

Canada

Good to Ski Right Now?

There’s plenty of snow on Canadian slopes at present, with the West getting more decent dumps in the past week.  Resorts on both sides of the country have reported up to 20cm of snowfall in the past few days. There was a hiccup in the east earlier in the week with a return to unseasonably warm weather and rain, but it has got colder and snowier again now.  Banff Sunshine pictured.

USA

Good to Ski Right Now?

The USA does have the coronavirus and Aspen has in fact been declared a bit of a hot spot with several likely positive cases but ski areas there are not showing any signs of shutting down so far, just a few larger events cancelled. What may shut ski areas in California down for a few days is a huge snowstorm forecast to hit the West coast over the weekend, potentially bringing several feet of snow. It’s been snowing, more, in the Rockies (Breckenridge pictured above). In the East, which did have a warm and wet spell earlier in the week, it has been colder and snowier in recent days.

 

**** Report From 06.03.2020 Below ****

Where is good to ski right now? 

Snow, snow and more snow has been the order of the day for much of the past week in the alps – and indeed many areas of the skiing world.  Resorts have reported up to 1.5 metres (five feet) of fresh snow in the past seven days, giving great powder conditions at many areas, and also a much needed slope refresh for the final weeks and months of the season too.

Most of the alps had of course seen quite a lot of snow in February anyway, but most noticeable this past week is that areas that missed out last month to a large extent – the Southern Alps, the Pyrenees and the Dolomites have seen good snowfall to start March this time.

Further afield there’s been snowfall in Eastern Europe as well and closer to home, conditions in Scotland are about as good as they’ve ever been this weekend with almost everything open and sunny skies.  Scandinavia has seen snowfall over a wider area than it has much of this winter too.

So all in all it’s a positive picture to the start of springtime so far as snow conditions are concerned.

Across the Atlantic it’s looking good too. The biggest news of the past week has been heavy snow in the east further improving conditions in New England and Quebec, but the Rockies are still looking good with more fresh snow and some resorts posting record February accumulations. Further west there’s been fresh snow in California (another of those regions that missed out earlier in the year) with the world’s only 5m+ snow bases still in the Pacific Northwest.

Austria

Good to Ski Right Now?

Snowy across Austria for most of this past week with St Anton becoming the first resort in the country to reach a four metre snow depth there, ahead of the country’s glaciers, which have just a few centimetres less and look good for their late spring and summer ski seasons. There have been sunny periods in between the snowstorms but generally a very white picture across the country to the delight of skiers, boarders and resort operators.

France

Good to Ski Right Now?

It has been exceptionally snowy in France with little respite all week. La Plagne has moved to post the deepest base in Europe at 4.9 metres, which is also third deepest in the world at present. France now has more ski areas, including Avoriaz, Flaine and Les Arcs too, with more than 4 metres (13 feet) lying on their higher slopes than any other country.

Italy

Good to Ski Right Now?

Italy may be battling a perception problem with coronavirus at present, but it’s also seeing some of its snowiest conditions of the season so far. It’s been dumping again on areas like to Aosta Valley with Courmayeur reporting the most snow in the world over the last week – a total of 1.5 metres (five feet), but perhaps more worthy of note in the country is some good snowfalls too in areas that haven’t had so much this year, like the Dolomites and Piedmont to the south.  Resorts at both had been mostly ‘OK’ thanks to be early season falls, but will be pleased with all the fresh snow now.  Bardonecchia pictured above after a 50cm fall there.

Switzerland

Good to Ski Right Now?

Swiss ski areas have largely dominated snowfall totals over the past week and in the last few days there have been reported snowfalls here of up to 60cm (two feet).  Over seven days that doubles to 1.2 metres (four feet) for some parts of the 4 Valleys.  So it’s generally a great picture across the country for the start of March. Andermatt has finally lost its status as having the deepest snow in the alps, with the Lötschental region, after 58cm of snow in the past 48 hours, going up to 4.6m, ten  centimetres more than Andermatt. Crans Montana, which reports 50cm of fresh snow, is pictured above.

Pyrenees

Good to Ski Right Now?

The Pyrenees are in snowy mode in March after the ‘mostly dry’ past few months.  There’s been up to a metre of snowfall reported in the French Pyrenees and smaller but still significant falls on the Spanish side and in Andorra. It’s a great refresh to slopes that have not had much fresh snowfall since late January – although at the main centres all the snow lying from that and earlier falls meant everything was open anyway.  More heavy snowfall is forecast through the weekend.  Cauterets is pictured above.

Scandinavia

Good to Ski Right Now?

Western and Northern Scandinavian ski areas have largely had a good winter 19-20 but not as much more central and southerly areas that have suffered at times from warmer temperatures than normal. The good news there this week tough has been snow over a bigger area, including these regions, leading to some of the first powder alarms for 20cm+ of fresh snow they’ve had all season.

Scotland

Good to Ski Right Now?

Conditions have kept getting better in Scotland and are now amongst the best they’ve been at any time in the past few seasons. It has kept snowing and although gales do still cause centre closures, it’s not as constant as it was in February. More and more runs are open across the five centre and most now have snow lying several feet deep on upper runs, with Glencoe claiming over two metres there. It’s almost filly open, the other centres have all or most of their terrain open too now.  Glenshee pictured above earlier this week.

Eastern Europe

Good to Ski Right Now?

It has probably been the snowiest seven days of the season so far in many ski areas in eastern Europe – just a bit of a pity we’ve had to wait until the start of spring for the really good snowfalls!  Ski areas in Bulgaria reported a foot (30cm) of fresh snow at the end of last week and great powder skiing at the weekend when the sun was the dominant factor of 2020 until then, returned. It stayed sunny for the first half of this week before a second wave of heavy snowfall began bringing still more powder. Bases are now buried up to two metres in snow at some areas so it’s looking good for the final weeks of the 2020 season.  Borovets pictured above.

Canada

Good to Ski Right Now?

 

There are the best conditions of the season in Eastern Canada at present after some huge snowfalls in Quebec and Ontario last weekend gave many ski areas there a least 50cm of fresh snow.  Mont Sutton in Quebec in the video above this week.  Coming on top of some decent snowfalls in the few weeks before that it looks like the last half of the season there is going to play out far better than the first half. Over in the west conditions have been far better all winter anyway and the past week has seen more small to moderate snowfalls keeping things fresh.

USA

Good to Ski Right Now?

Snowy times for much of the US too with some big snowfalls on the east Coast over the weekend, followed by some good dumps in California, Colorado and Utah at the start of this week too.  Perhaps the two areas most worth talking about are California – with snow as far south as Mammoth, as they hadn’t had so much so far this year (though everything was open thanks to good falls at the end of 2019) and the East which started badly but has got better and better as more and more snow has fallen over the past month.  Smugglers Notch in Vermont is pictured above and top.

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Where is good to ski right now? 

Report Below on 28 February 2020

The big news in the skiing world this week – in terms of snowfall at least – is the big snowfall currently underway in the Alps. Some resorts have already had a metre of snow in the first 48 hours of the snowfall and whilst there’s a bit of a lull expected into the weekend, it’s looking like it will stay snowy over the coming week, most of the time.

 

Resorts are warning of the inevitable increased avalanche risk with all the snow though, and many areas are fully or partially closed due to poor visibility and at times strong winds linked to the snowstorm.

But back to the good news and there’s more fresh snow too in the Dolomites, Pyrenees, Eastern Europe and Scotland – all of which need a top-up, and Scandinavia is staying snowy too.

In North America, the East Coast is currently being dumped on, after the Rockies at the weekend and here too most areas are in good shape for the start of March.

Pictured top: Val Thorens 26 February 2020

Austria

Good to Ski Right Now?

The snowstorm is impacting Western Austria the most, with southern and eastern parts of the country seeing little or no snowfall so far. Most of the country will get some over the next few days though, although it may only be 10-20cvm for some areas, whilst it looks like The Arlberg, home to Lech and St Anton and already one of the deepest bases in the country at 3.5 metres, could get as much as a metre more.

France

Good to Ski Right Now?

France is currently in the middle of a big snowstorm which looks set to deliver more than a metre of snow to some areas by the weekend. It is in fact expected to ease off in many areas through Friday and Saturday before ramping up again for the start of March. Lots of areas have had 30-70cm of snowfall so far. La Plagne, which already had the country’s deepest base, still does, with another 45cm so far taking it up to 3.7m. It is a similar picture everywhere in the French Alps though.  Tignes pictured above today.

Italy

Good to Ski Right Now?

Italy is in the news more for the coronavirus outbreak in Lombardy and Veneto regions that for its snowfall at present, but snow it is getting and the forecasts are that the country will get more this time than most of the recent February dumps which tracked north and missed large swathe of the Italian mountains. This time though, 30-60cm is widely forecast in all but the most southerly resorts and even the Dolomites are expecting a good dump.  Livigno pictured above earlier this week.

Switzerland

Good to Ski Right Now?

Swiss resorts have posted the biggest snowfalls of the latest storm system so far (A metre in the first 48 hours for Crans Montana), and still have the deepest bases in the Alps (4.5 metres at Andermatt), and there’s much more snow forecast. Conditions are good across most of the country, Verbier, for example, has more than 40cm of fresh snow so far, a 3.5-metre base and (once the storm clears) almost all of the 410km of the 4 Valleys open – so looking good for the start of spring and the last two months of the season.  Davos is pictured above earlier this week.

Pyrenees

Good to Ski Right Now?

 

They’re getting excited in the Pyrenees at present as it’s snowing here for the first time in a month for many places. In truth the lack of fresh snow hasn’t been a huge issue (except for powder hounds perhaps) as big December and January snowfalls set the area up and everything has remained open, but then everyone likes a fresh snow top up every so often. About 30cm (a foot) is expected in most areas by the weekend.

Scandinavia

Good to Ski Right Now?

It ‘s been a snowy week in Scandinavia, one of the best in the season so far with most areas across the region seeing fresh cover.  Roldal in Western Norway has really been sticking its measuring stick in deep and now reports a 4.5-metre base, equalling the deepest in Europe at present reported by Andermatt in Switzerland.  Riksgransen up in the Swedish Arctic (pictured above prepping for the season earlier this week) opens for its 2020 season – which runs through skiing under the midnight sun in May to midsummers skiing in June, this Friday.  The snow there is reported to be the deepest in decades for the start of the season.

Scotland

Good to Ski Right Now?

Conditions continue to improve in Scotland with the gales of the past three weeks easing over the past few days, but the snow still falling with the winds swinging around to easterlies, and temperatures on the mountains staying below freezing since last weekend, not suffering the temperature rises that are frequently a factor.  As a result, the five Highland ski areas have more and more terrain open, and the forecast is currently for conditions to stay cold and for more snow to fall over the coming week. Glencoe currently has the most terrain open with almost the whole mountain skiable, the other four centres have more limited terrain open.

Eastern Europe

Good to Ski Right Now?

 

Here’s been fresh snow falling in Bulgaria over the past 24 hours as temperatures drop about 10 degrees below zero – 20-30cm is forecast by the end of Friday.  This seems to be a bit of a blip in otherwise usually warm and sunny weather though, and it looks like we’ll be back to that for the weekend – but with lovely fresh snow.

Canada

Good to Ski Right Now?

There have been some good snowfalls in Canada over the past week with first the West of the country and in the past few days, the east seeing some significant accumulations of 30-50cm.  Things have calmed down now though and it looks like a fairly quiet week ahead for snowfall.  But the picture remains good across most of Canada with decent depths everywhere and fresh snow too, particularly marked in the East after the long wait for good conditions there, all resolved now.  Sun Peaks in BC pictured above.

USA

Good to Ski Right Now?

It’s currently snowing in New England and the wider Eastern side of the US, with resorts in Vermont and Maine expecting up to 40cm/16 inches of snowfall through the weekend. Conditions here are great after the shaky start to the season, with everything op. Over in Colorado Breckenridge set a February snowfall record and hit 7.5 metres (300 inches) snowfall this season to date stat earlier this week as the Rockies saw another big snowfall.  Further west it’s described as “springlike” in California (well it is nearly spring), meaning dry, warm and sunny though. But bases should see the areas here through the remainder of the season. Further north it has kept dumping on Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, still the only are reporting a 5 metre plus snow base (521cm at Alpental in Washington State).  Sunday River in Maine pictured top.

 

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Where is good to ski right now? 

Report below published 20 February, 2020

It’s been a quieter week in the Alps after three big snowfalls over the previous three weeks.  There has been some fresh snow at the start of this week for most areas, but just 5-20cm, not the big 50cm+ falls of those earlier dumps. Now though the sun is out almost everywhere It looks like a sunny (and sometimes rather warm) weekend before cooler and more unsettled weather returns next week.

Not everywhere though, it has been, and continues to, dump down in Scotland and much of Scandinavia and there’s snow expected down in Bulgaria over the last few days of this week too.

Over in North America it’s a good picture almost everywhere. The Northwest and the Rockies have seen the biggest snowfalls of the past week, again, with 50-120cm reported there but things look ever better in the Easy too – New England and Quebec.  Not so much as further West but nice 10-30cm top ups now everything is open there.

Austria

Good to Ski Right Now?

There were still some fresh snow reports in Austria up to Thursday morning, with the Arlberg and Silvretta region among those posting 20cm of fresh snow then, but the weekend ahead looks totally sunny, and at times a little war, in Austria.  Snow conditions continue to look good across the country with the deepest up on glaciers (around 3.7 metres now lying on the Stubai and above Solden), whilst the big areas like the Arlberg, Saalbach (pictured above this week) and the Skiwelt are fully open.

France

Good to Ski Right Now?

The sunshine is out now in France but it was moderately snowy in many parts to start the week, and indeed right through to Wednesday.  Chamonix posted 11cm of fresh on Monday, Avoriaz, 15cm on Wednesday morning. Base depths remain good from top to bottom at most of the country’s destination resorts with everything open. Although its’s looking unseasonably warm at the weekend, they should get through that and there’s cooler weather following next week.  Meribel is pictured above and top.

Italy

Good to Ski Right Now?

 

There’s not a lot of change on Italian ski slopes this week compared to last, with very little fresh snowfall again, just a few centimetres on Tuesday/Wednesday.  The sun is out now again here too and it’s looking a little warmer than it should be at this time of year at the weekend, before colder weather returns next week. Some of the country’s smaller, lower more southerly areas are suffering in the warm, dry conditions but most of the large, destination resorts are fully open and in good shape. Some areas did see rain earlier in the week, which left slopes icy the next day, but once groomed and then with the fresh snow on top, all is looking much better again. Cervinia, La Thuile and Madesimo have some of the deepest snow in the country.

Switzerland

Good to Ski Right Now?

 

It’s generally good conditions across Switzerland at present with everything open and some fresh snow. Indeed the snow kept falling longer than expected, with Glacier 3000 near Gstaad reporting 20cm on Thursday morning when sunshine was being forecast just a day before, and snow may now continue to fall in to Friday, before warmer, sunnier weather arrives.  Crans Montana hosts three days of world cup racing from Friday so they’ll want the clear skies.  Andermatt still has the deepest base in the Alps at 4.5 metres.

Pyrenees

Good to Ski Right Now?

The Pyrenees saw some colder weather and fresh snowfall to start this week and were keen to promote the fact after a video of a helicopter dumping snow to patch up a run at one of the region’s smaller, lower resorts went viral.  The reality though is that the snow is pretty god and everything open at all the bigger areas in Andorra, Spain and most spots in France. The very biggest, Grandvalira, reports every run open and every lift turning with all 240km of groomed terrain skiable.

Scandinavia

Good to Ski Right Now?

Plenty of fresh snow in Scandinavia over the past week and lots of social media posts of skiers and boarders enjoying the powder. Indeed the region, specifically Western Norway, again posted the most snow in Europe, with up to 1.5 metres (five feet) more there.  But right up to Lapland most of the region’s destination resorts are reporting they’re fully open with good snow conditions and rapidly lengthening daylight hours.

Scotland

Good to Ski Right Now?

Scotland has seen some big snowfalls over the past week, especially heavy in the west, but unfortunately also gale force winds (especially strong in the west) which has closed slopes more often than they’ve been able to open.  The week ahead looks like a similar picture again.  There’s less snow and fewer runs with adequate snow cover to open in the Central and Eastern Highlands but Cairngorm and Glenshee have been able to open runs more often. Cairngorm has had to close its slopes to more skiers on several occasions in fact as it has reached capacity.  Glencoe is pictured above on ‘the good day’ last Thursday.

Eastern Europe

Good to Ski Right Now?

There’s been more fresh snowfall in Bulgaria over the last few days and there’s more on the way over the next few days too, before blue skies return, if the forecasts are correct. It’s still not a vintage winter, with green valleys and the best conditions up high, but most of the centres are mostly open at present.

Canada

Good to Ski Right Now?

Good conditions from East to West coasts in Canada at the moment. That’s perhaps most noteworthy in Quebec after the poor start to the season there, but regular snowfalls over the past few weeks have left powder snow there.  It’s looking good still in Alberta and BC as well.

USA

Good to Ski Right Now?

Most of the US reports good snow conditions on ski slopes at present. The country’s Northwest corner, including Alaska, has again seen the heaviest snowfall of the past week and continues to report the world’s deepest snowpack in Washington state where it’s lying up to 5.2 metres (over 17 feet) deep.  But there’s been more good snowfalls in the Rockies too and on the east coast where everywhere, at least the leading destination resorts, are fully open with fresh cover.

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Report below from 13 February 2020

It has been a snowy week for most of Europe over the last seven days. Storm Ciara also brought strong winds between Monday and Wednesday, but even without the storm, the snow has kept falling and whilst most areas look set for a dry weekend, the snowfall is expected to return at the start of next week to many areas.

Away from the alps it has been snowy too in eastern Europe, Scotland (Where conditions are currently the best they’ve been all winter) and much of Scandinavia. Not so much on the southern side of Europe – the Pyrenees and Dolomites.

It’s been a mostly good week across North America too with the stand out snowfalls in Colorado and Utah – because there was just so much snow – up to 1.5m (5 feet) in 72 hours reported, and in Quebec, just because they’d had a lacklustre first few months of the season there but it now looks much more ‘normal’ at last.

Austria

Good to Ski Right Now?

 

Austrian ski areas got some of the biggest snowfalls from the storms at the start of this week, with several areas reporting more than three feet (90cm) of snowfall, whilst most others posted 30-60cm (1-2 foot) accumulations.  Most of the country’s ski areas are fully open and there’s more snow expected at the start of next week after a dry, sunny (and perhaps at times a little too warm) weekend for most.

France

Good to Ski Right Now?

It’s looking good across the French Alps this weekend after another foot or so of snowfall for most during the storms earlier this week. It wasn’t quite so good for those actually in resort as the storms hit, because many slopes were closed, and in some cases including Avoriaz entire ski areas, but now everything is open again, it’s looking good. Bases are even deeper too, with La Plagne now reporting 1.5m (five feet) at it’s base, three metres (10 feet) lying up high.  It’s snowing again in many areas to end the week so it looks like bases will get even deeper.

Italy

Good to Ski Right Now?

Little change for Italy compared to a week ago with little fresh snowfall except up on the country’s northern borders, as the storm system passed a little to the north, although some resorts were impacted by strong winds. Conditions remain good for major resorts across Italy though thanks to the decent bases built up fro m earlier falls in December and January.  Most resorts are fully open. Pila is pictured.

Switzerland

Good to Ski Right Now?

Swiss ski areas did do well from the recent snowstorms this week, at least when they re-opened slopes after the wind-eased. Some centres reported up to 60cm of fresh snow, next best after Austria, although others did report rain at times.  It’s now snowing again but generally the picture is very good across the country and Andermatt continues to have Europe’s deepest base although it is down another 10cm (despite reporting 10cm of fresh snowfall) to 4 metres

Pyrenees

Good to Ski Right Now?

The Pyrenees have not had many of the storm issues faced in the Alps to the north and east, nor the snow that has come with it.  What they have had is about three weeks of mostly sunny conditions now, and all the larger resorts are fully open thanks to the big snowfalls received in January and December.  It is a little warm though and some fresh snow would be nice again now. Currently it looks like there should be a little fresh cover at the start of next week – just a few centimetres/inches refresh.

Scandinavia

Good to Ski Right Now?

Although some ski areas in the alps posted ore than a metre of snowfall this past week, Western Norway’s Voss went better again, posting a total of 1.8 metres (six feet) of snow in the last seven days – similar to totals every week this season so far.  This week though most of Scandinavia is posting a lot of fresh snow – not just the West and North as has been the case some weeks. As the days get longer conditions just keep getting better and better.

Scotland

Good to Ski Right Now?

It’s the best conditions this season, and equalling the best for the past few seasons, on Scottish ski slopes at present. After the slopes were closed by gales from storm Ciara until Wednesday once crews could access the hills they found lots of snow had been left by the storm too and now more than half of the country’s 100+ ski runs are open for the first time this winter… Glencoe is almost fully open. More snowfall forecast this weekend and temperatures staying low.

Eastern Europe

Good to Ski Right Now?

Snowy times in eastern Europe as conditions continue to improve.  Bansko, the biggest resort in Bulgaria snow was reported on Thursday right down to the village and the other leading ski areas in the country, including Borovets and Pamporovo, have been posting ‘winter wonderland’ images all week.

Canada

Good to Ski Right Now?

The snow is lying up to three metres deep in Wester Canada and there’s been more snowfall there in the past few days, but the main news was a 30cm+ snowfall for Quebec in the east (as forecast last week), the best of the winter so far and enabling areas like Mont Sainte Anne that had been struggling to open to finally fully open all runs this week.

USA

Good to Ski Right Now?

Snow, snow and more snow for much of the US the past week. Not always good news as some resorts struggled with opening terrain (Vail had to apologise for the massive lift queues when it could only open one key access lift), avalanche danger and other issues like extreme wind chill and tree well danger in various locations.  But, overall, good news of course with the Rockies really dumped on with up to five feet of snow reported for areas like Alta and Breckenridge. Ski areas in the Pacific Northwest corner got even more, again, and have the deepest snow in the world, still, at over 5 metres. Conditions in the northeast continue to look good with low temperatures and more fresh snow there.

 

 

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Report Below From Week Ending 7th February, 2020

The Alps are in excellent condition following heavy snowfall on Tuesday and Wednesday that brought up to a metre of fresh cover across most of the region.

The snow – the second big fall in a week – marked a continuing switch to more changeable conditions in February, then January, although before the fresh snow rolled in there was the downside of that – a brief period of very warm weather and rain to start the week.

The sun is shining again now though and most areas have near perfect conditions for the weekend, although a third successive weekly snowstorm is forecast to roll in in the middle of next week. Hopefully it won’t get too warm in between times this time.

(La Plagne on Wednesday)

Elsewhere, the Pyrenees have been dry and a little too warm but bases are holding up. Scandinavia remains divided in to good (north and west) and bad (south and East), Eastern Europe has had some good snowfalls and its and improving picture (again) in Scotland after the latest reset.

In north America it’s a generally good picture across the continent with the world’s deepest base reported passing the5 metre mark in the last few days, more fresh snow and a big storm due to bring a lot more over the weekend.

Austria

It has been a roller coaster week in Austria.  Following fresh snow then great conditions a week ago the warm weekend weather brought rain to many areas, as it did across the Alps, before heavy snow moved in from Monday to Wednesday. The result, now the sun is shining is again, is great conditions across the country – the best of the season so far for many.  Mayrhofen is pictured above at the height of the snowstorm on Tuesday.

France

Great conditions in the French Alps after 20-50cm more fresh snow reported here, helping to build on already well-established bases.  Most of the country’s leading areas now have 2 metres plus lying on higher runs and everything open. Even low-lying valley resorts have snow all the way down, albeit a little thin down low. Off piste avalanche danger is generally at level 3 “considerable” still but on the piste the sun is out and conditions are great (Val thorens pictured top and above this week).

Italy

Italy’s Westerly and northerly ski areas saw the biggest snowfalls from the midweek storm, picking up 20-40cm of snow. Cervinia reported the most.  Less snow elsewhere although the Dolomites picked up a few centimetres and the SellaRonda was briefly closed by low visibility issues. Sunny again now across most of the country though, here too some snow is expected in the middle of next week.

Switzerland

Great conditions for Switzerland after the country picked up some of the heaviest snowfall in the midweek storms. The sun is out again now and skiers are enjoying playing in up to a metre of fresh snow as slopes gradually re-open as lifts are dug out and avalanche danger assessed.  Andermatt now has the deepest snow in Europe at 4.3 metres. it’s the first time base depths have gone up above 4 metres on the continent for six weeks.

Pyrenees

It has been too warm in the Pyrenees over the past week or two with temperatures staying largely above freezing and sometime touching double figures, but it’s not a big problem on the slopes, thankfully, as the big snowfall a fortnight ago and earlier big December snow storms means the base is generally good and everything is open. Colder weather in the forecast now and maybe a little snowfall next week.

Scandinavia

Ski areas in western Norway continue to post regular snowfalls, as they have all winter when it was dry in the Alps, and bases have now reached the 2 metre mark at a number of centres – very deep for Scandinavia. There’s also been some good snowfalls across the region although conditions remain best in the west and north of the area.

Scotland

It’s still not a great winter in Scotland but there has been some fresh snowfall and temperatures have stayed low so after last weekend’s frustrating thawing of snow that fell a week ago before it could be skied as storms closed lifts, it’s looking more promising for the end of this week – although there are more storms on the way of course. Glencoe, Nevis Range (pictured above on Thursday 6^th Feb) and Glenshee all have more than just the small areas maintained by all-weather snowmaking open.

Eastern Europe

The best week of the season so far with heavy snow at last for Bulgarian slopes, transforming conditions there. In the Tatra mountains further north in Slovakia there have been some big 50cm+ accumulations at top resorts like Jasna too – so all in all the region has been transformed after the snow shortages at the start of the season.

Canada

Great snow conditions in the West, again, with resorts in Alberta and BC reporting up to 50cm of fresh snow in 24 hours over the last few days. And its not like they’ve not been reporting similar falls all winter so far. More troubled times still in the East with limited snow in Quebec although an improving picture on just a few weeks ago. The good news is a significant snow storm is forecast in the next few days which could bring a ‘transformative’ 30cm+ to many areas there.

USA

Great conditions in most parts of the US, at least in terms of the main international ski areas. In the West there’s been more snow for the Rockies and Mt Hood Meadows in Oregon posted a 5m+ base depth – the deepest in the world at present. On the East conditions remain the best they have all season following recent falls and a big new snowstorm is set to dump more snow over the weekend here.

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Report Below to 3o January 2020

The Alps have been the focus for snowfall news this week with some big accumulations over the past 72 hours – most resorts have had at least 30cm (a foot) of snow, some as much as 60cm, (two feet) and a few have gone beyond 90cm (three feet) and even over the metre mark. It’s the biggest snowfall in the region since before Christmas and it come after even bigger falls for parts of the Pyrenees last week.  The heaviest falls so far have been in the Western Alps but the snow is falling everywhere and the start of February I starting to look much snowier after the largely sunny, dry January – although it’s early days.

Elsewhere in Europe it’s stayed snowy in Western Scandinavia and Scotland’s West coast ski slopes are in some of the best shape they’ve been this season.  There’s been a little snow down in Bulgaria too.

Across the Atlantic the snow has stayed heavy on the Pacific Coast with some resorts there reporting more than a metre of snowfall and the world’s deepest base (4.5m/15 feet) at Mt Baker in Washington State. Snow too on the east which is good news for both Quebec and New England.

Austria

Austria has had a snowy few days with the Arlberg region amongst those seeing the biggest falls since Tuesday – with more than 60cm (two feet) reported there. It has now eased off and there are some great conditions with the fresh snow, but the week ahead is looking like a more mixed picture with snowfall some days and sunny days others.  So it’s early days but February may prove different to dry February. A little earlier this week:

France

French ski areas have seen some of the biggest snowfall of the past few days and with the sun now shining again it’s a case of everything open, deep fresh snow and near perfect conditions in most areas. Bonneval posted the biggest fall – 90cm/3 feet in three days although La Rosiere say they’ve had a bit more in the past week in total. The French Pyrenees which got up to 1.5 metres (5 feet) last week also got another 30cm (Foot) earlier this.  But in short, it’s good pretty much everywhere. Les Menuires in the 3 Valleys pictured.

 

Italy

Italy has had some fresh snow too – just not so much as further north in most areas. The exception is the Aosta Valley (Cervinia, Courmayeur and others) along the French/Swiss border where resorts have reported up to 60cm of snowfall so far, and it’s likely a little more before the storm fully ends. But most areas have had perhaps 10-30cm of snowfall right across the country over to the Dolomites in the east and that has given a great refresh to the already fully-open ski areas without needing area to shut runs or close completely due to too heavy snow and gales.  Campiglio pictured above on Wednesday.

Switzerland

It’s been a very snowy few days in Switzerland too with many of the country’s ski area closed – at least partially and in some cases completely – due to the combination of strong winds and heavy snow causing blizzard conditions at times. By the close of Wednesday several ski area in the country’s western Valais canton had posted 90cm (three feet) accumulations, some of the greatest anywhere in Europe.  But even where the falls haven’t been so big, most of Switzerland’s slopes have had a good refresh. They’re also heading toward the deepest bases in Europe again with Andermatt back up to a 4 metre base.  Saas Grund pictured.

Pyrenees

The conditions are generally regarded as the best they’ve been all winter in the Pyrenees following the big snowfalls last week. Bases have almost doubled at some areas, there’s still fresh powder off piste, the sun is back out and everything is open, a great start for February.  Andorra’s Grandvalira, the biggest ski area in the region with 210km of slopes, all currently open, is pictured above today.

Scandinavia

It’s a mixed picture in Scandinavia with Western Norway continuing to post the most fresh snowfall in the region, as it has since Christmas (in fact most weeks it had the most snow in Europe). A less happy picture at lower, more southerly ski centres in the region (generally it has too often been warm and wet rather than cold and snowy) although most of the big resorts are full open, or nearly so.

Scotland

As most weeks, Scottish ski areas have seen sun, rain, cloud, blue skies, gale force wind, still periods, subzero temps and unseasonably warm temps, it’s a great achievement that the centres manage to keep operating. This week the resorts on the West – Glencoe and Nevis range – have had to best of the snowfall and have been able to open quite a lot of terrain, although both were closed by the gales midweek. However the weekend, despite temperature rising again, is believed to be looking good. There has been less snowfall and consequently there’s less open in the East, with little beyond the areas created by all-weather snowmaking skiable at the country’s other resorts so far.

Eastern Europe

It’s still not the best of winters in eastern Europe with very little natural snowfall so far this season for many resorts. That said the majority of the region’s bigger centres have most of their runs open thanks in part to heroic snow management and snow movement efforts. There’s also been a little fresh snowfall in Bulgaria. Temperatures continuing to vary between well below and well above freezing.  Borovets pictured above on Wednesday.

Canada

The focus has been on western Canada for most of this season with rather troubled times in the East (Quebec and Ontario) with often warm or wet weather in the early season, then freezing rain rather than snow. But the past few weeks have seen big improvements and now most areas are largely or even fully (in the case of Mont Sutton) open with thin bases growing thanks to fresh snow. It had been the same on the country’s Pacific Coast but there have been huge snowfalls there all January with past week no exception and Whistler is now fully open. Alberta and Eastern/Central BC have had a good winter since the tart and its been another good week here with more snow.

USA

Conditions are good across much of the US at present. The heaviest snow has continued to fall on the Pacific Northwest corner of the country where Mt baker has the world’s deepest snow at present (4.5 metres/15 feet), but there’s been lots of snow in areas more commonly visited by international travellers too including Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Vermont.  Stowe is pictured above this week.

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This Report from 23 January 2020

After nearly a month with little change in the weather in Western Europe there has been snow in the Alps and the Pyrenees in the last week.

The snowfall in the Pyrenees has been particularly dramatic with ski areas on the French side of the mountains reporting up to 1.5 metres (five feet) of snowfall this week.  In the Alps the falls last weekend were more like 20-60cm in most areas.

Elsewhere it has kept snowing in Western Scandinavia and there was snow in Scotland too, although unfortunately very warm weather soon after.

Other than the Pyrenees, the heaviest snowfall in the world this week has again been in North-western North America with ski areas on the Pacific Coast reporting metre-plus accumulations for a third week in a row.

Austria

The sunshine is back out again in Austria after a snowy weekend, the heaviest falls reported on Sunday.  It has turned sunny again since the weekend so we are back to how it was – everything open at all the big resorts, a bit too warm at times, but with a fresh coat of snow! More snow is forecast, although probably lighter, at the weekend and next week looks more changeable with snow expected later in the week.

France

There was some snowfall in the French Alps last weekend giving a great refresh of the slopes. Alpe d’Huez reported one of the biggest snowfalls with 40cm of snow, but it’s the French Pyrenees that has been making snowfall headlines with some of the biggest dumps of the season completely transforming conditions there. The sun is out again though now and there are perfect conditions on the groomed runs and a bit of off piste powder in places still too.

Italy

Italian ski areas did not see quite so much snow as ski areas in Austria, France and Switzerland at the weekend but most areas got some at least and there was quite heavy snowfall at resorts in the Westerly Piedmont region.  As with the rest of Western Europe most of the country’s big resorts are fully open and there are early signs of some big snowfalls, particularly in the west of the country, around the middle of next week.

Switzerland

 

A similar story in Switzerland to the rest of the Alps with some fresh snowfall at the weekend giving a nice refresh to the slopes, which were all already open at almost all areas. Since the weekend it has been back to wall to wall sunshine for most areas though and a little warm at lower elevations, but generally excellent conditions. More snow is expected here in the middle of next week.

Pyrenees

 

The Pyrenees was where the snowfall has been at over the past 72 hours with huge snowfalls right across the region. The volumes of snow combined with stormy weather at times, led to a number of centres closing for a time, but most have now re-opened with remarkable powder conditions.

Scandinavia

Western Norway was snowy once again this past week, if finally eclipsed by the Pyrenees after being the snouiest spot in Europe for the previous month. Vosss now has a base of nearly two metres and most other ski areas are looking good in the areas. Further east and south in to Sweden its not quite such a good picture with dry and warm weather impacting ski areas there.

Scotland

The week started well in Scotland, particularly on the West coast where Glencoe and Nevis Range had a lot of terrain open following last week’s snowfalls. But then warm weather arrived again melting much of it. Next week looks good again though, particularly on the west once more, with a lot of snow forecast.

Eastern Europe

Another week of mostly dry, often sunny weather in much of Eastern Europe, and temperatures a little too warm again. Bansko (pictured above) has most of its terrain open but other Bulgarian areas have more limited terrain skiable. Some snow up in the Slovak Republic at the weekend so things there are looking better at biggest resort, Jasna.

Canada

The biggest snowfalls in North America this week have been in Western Canada with a number f resorts reporting over a metre more snow. Whistler Blackcomb has gone from having only a fraction of its runs open for Christmas to all 200+ today. Inland resorts like Revekstoke (pictured) have had snowy times since November and northing has changed there. Colder and drier over in Alberta but resorts there have plenty of snow lying. Good news too for the east of the country where there’s been a decent dump, at last, in Quebec.

USA

It’s been another snowy week for much of the US. Again the snowfall was heaviest in the Northwest corner as it has been since Christmas, and several areas got a metre more, further building bases that are already currently the world’s deepest at more than 4 metres. The West Coast snowfall moved further south this week and after a dry spell Mammoth Mountain was back to being filled with powder turns and pristine groom runs after 9-10” overnight on Friday. The snow conditions were followed by bluebird skies in the forecast. The mountain is reporting a current season total at 135” at Main Lodge and 158” at the summit.  There was snowfall too over on the East Coast further improving conditions there with some 10-20 inch accumulations.

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Report below from 16 January, 2020

It’s been dry for a fourth week in the Alps. That’s not bad news for most skiers happy to ski freshly groomed runs in the sunshine each morning as most of the continent’s famous resorts remain fully open thanks to all the snow they got in the autumn, which is still lying on their slopes. It’s less good news for anyone after powder or for smaller, low lying resorts which didn’t get much snow and where it has often been too warm for snowmaking if they have the equipment.

It wasn’t dry across Europe this week though. After three weeks the Pyrenees got some snow at the weekend and it has stayed snowy in much of Scandinavia. It has also got colder again with some fresh snow in Scotland turning hills white again.  There is also snow forecast across much of the Alps this coming weekend, at last.

In the USA it is still dumping in the West, particularly on the Pacific Coast which had such a warm wet autumn. After a second successive week of five-foot plus snowfalls there it’s now home to the deepest snowpack not only in North America but also overtaking the deepest in the Alps for the deepest in the world.  There have been some good snowfalls too further inland on the Rockies again as well as over on the East Coast.

Austria

It’s been another dry week in Austria with conditions little changed on a week ago., The main destination resorts remain in generally good shape with all runs open but fresh snow, particularly on lower slopes, is needed now after nearly a month. The good news is there is some forecast – probably 20-40cm, all being well, across the country from Saturday.  Saalbach pictured top, St Anton above.

France

It has been another sunny week in most French mountains, with snow depths dropping a little as they usually would in the spring as the snow settles and thaws, but still, for most destination resorts on-piste conditions remain great, with all runs open and all lifts operating. Only smaller, lower resorts that never had much snow in the first place continue to suffer. Not much off-piste snow left either although the avalanche danger is pretty low.  There was snow in the French Pyrenees at the weekend, however, freshening things up there. The French Alp and Pyrenees are finally due to see a change this coming weekend with 20-40cm of snow forecast across the country. Avoriaz pictured above at the start of this week.

Italy

 

Italy has seen little change in the dry and sunny conditions this week too but slopes here as well are mostly looking good thanks to autumn accumulations staying intact and again nearly all the major centres are fully open. Snow is forecast here too this weekend but perhaps not quite so much as further north and with just a few centimetres for the Dolomites.

Switzerland

It’s been sunny again in Switzerland too and after a cold start to the week a little warm in the past few days too, although here as well as a big temperature drop and snow is expected through the weekend, with 20-40cm expected in most areas. In the meantime here too base depths are mostly good, higher slopes best and everything is open at the bigger resorts.  Verbier pictured this week above.

Pyrenees

The Pyrenees did get some fresh snow last weekend to refresh cover with 5-15cm for most areas, and they’re due to get a second weekend of snow this coming weekend too with, hopefully, a little more than last weekend. In between, dry, sunny, and a little too warm here too, but again most of the region’s main ski areas are fully open and on-piste conditions generally excellent.

Scandinavia

One part of Europe has seen lots of snow whilst the rest has been dry and sunny and that’s Western Norway.  The past week has seen snowfall here just get heavier with ski areas around Norway’s coastal town of Voss (above) reporting up to 1.3 metres (over four feet) of snowfall in the past week. Other areas in the region have had less snow, but still, most have had some.

Scotland

Scottish slopes are in about the best shape they’ve been for nearly a month thanks to cold temperatures on the mountain and hill snow. Resorts have been closed through the week by severe gales and those winds have blown snow off the top of the mountains but areas including Glencoe say they have pretty good mid-mountain snow cover and they hope to open terrain this Friday on.

Eastern Europe

Another dry, sunny week in the east of Europe too, a bit too warm down in the valleys. So the snow has been there a long while now and is largely machine-made on lower slopes with the best conditions up high. Bansko (pictured above this week) is due to stage World Cup racing next week and has maintained its top to bottom ski run.

Canada

There’s been lots of snow in western Canada, and some for the East too, with a generally good picture now across the country. Starting in the Far West, where it was too warm and wet up to Christmas, resorts like Whistler are now more than half-open. It has also continued to dump down inland, where it has been snowy all winter in Central and Eastern BC as well as in Alberta, and now still more snow has left deep powder lying.  But it has been cold too, Marmot Basin near Jasper is currently closed for safety reasons as temperature hit -35C  Further east, where Quebec also had a bad a season start, it’s now much better, with bases finally building, although there have been problems with freezing rain again.  Sun peaks in BC pictured above this week.

USA

There have been more incredible snowfalls in the US west for a second successive week meaning several resorts have now had more than 2 metres of snowfall this year already, Jackson Hole has had more than three metres, a record for the start of a year.  There’s been snow in the east too, on higher, more northerly slopes, although lower and more southerly areas have had more rain and are struggling to open much terrain.  Sunday Rover in Maine pictured above.

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Snow report below published 10th January, 2020

Europe has seen its second mostly sunny week in a row, leaving most people out skiing for New Year’s week pretty happy with what they found.  There were bumper crowds so the main complaint was busy slopes and lift queues but with nearly every run open and the sun shining, many said it was their best New Year week in years, or ever.  Now those holiday crowds have gone and conditions remain good thanks to the November and pre-Christmas December snow. 

True, lower slopes are suffering a little (in a few places a lot) from above zero temps and little or no snow cover, but for most destination resorts the slopes are open top-to-bottom.  Those who like their powder may be hoping for more fresh soon though, but unfortunately there’s not a lot in the forecast at present with more of the same expected for the week ahead.

Scandinavia has actually posted the biggest snowfalls in Europe of the past week with up to 60cm (two foot) of new snow in Norway. Scottish areas are battling warm, wet, windy weather and there’s an improving picture in Eastern Europe.

Things are also looking ever better in North America where the northwest has seen some huge snowfalls (over 150cm/5 feet in one case) and nearly everywhere has had at least some fresh snow!

Pictured top: “ghost hunting” in Sun Peaks, BC, Canada on Jan 8, 2020.

Austria

 

It’s been a largely warm and sunny week in Austria where all of the country’s leading ski areas are fully open.  The rather warm January temperatures has led to some rain down on lower slopes but has fallen as snow up high.  Overall the picture is good on the groomed runs though, especially now the New Year crowds have moved on and the week ahead promises more of the same.

France

Splendid conditions across the French Alps for a third week and now all the new year revellers have moved on the slopes are empty too. As with the rest of the Alps, almost all major centres are fully open with good snow depths top to bottom, but the best conditions up high. It has clouded over a little to end this week and 5-10cm of snow is forecast for Friday/Saturday which should freshen things up.  La Plagne pictured this week.

Italy

 

Italy has also had a dry, mostly sunny week across the country. As with the rest of western Europe skiers are largely happy to find almost all terrain open and great conditions, only powder hounds may be missing the diminishing amount of off piste powder to be found now that several weeks have gone by since the last snowfall in many areas. There’s no snowfall in the forecast at present either, perhaps just a few centimetres along the French border on Friday.

Switzerland

It’s a similar story in Switzerland – everywhere open, decent snow depths, but snow up high, mostly sunny conditions but the chance of a small snowfall to end this week before a return to more of the same. Any snow will most likely be in central and western parts of the country, not the East.  Andermatt (pictured above) reports a 4 metre base up top – joint deepest in the world with Trentino’s Presena glacier.

Pyrenees

 

The Pyrenees have had another largely dry week with no fresh snow to report and there’s not much sign of any in the forecast either.  But most resorts in the region are fully open – that means more than 160km of runs skiable at Spain’s Baqueira Beret and more than 200km at Andorra’s Grandvalira shared by Soldeu El Tarter and Pas de la Casa.  There’s no snowfall in the forecast at present.

Scandinavia

Scandinavian ski areas have seen the most fresh snow this past week, with consistent snowfalls across the region, several areas reporting 20-25cm in 24 hour periods. So it’s a snowy picture here and definitely the place to be at present if you like your snow newly fallen!  Ruka in Lapland above.

Scotland

It has been snowing again on Scottish mountains to end the week after another topsy turvy week with double digit temperatures and gale force winds at times. All five highland centres are still open though thanks to their special snowmaking machines which can create snow even when it’s above freezing. The open terrain is limited top nursery slopes and a few short runs at present though until things get more consistently cold and snowy.  Cairngorm pictured 9 Jan above.

Eastern Europe

There’s been fresh snow in parts of Slovakia this past week with Jasna reporting about 50cm of news snow since the start of the week. In Bulgaria it has been snowmaking allowing resorts to open more terrain this week as it has been sunny but generally cold. Some fresh snow is expected here on Sunday though.  Borovets pictured above on Jan 9th.

Canada

In Canada Whistler Blackcomb has posted the most snow this week with nearly a metre (39 inches) of fresh snow.  Here too it had been a very bad start to the winter and the resort, with North America’s largest ski area, had only been able to open a small part of it up to Christmas as it was too warm and wet. It now reports a 1.7 metre base and is moving towards having half of its terrain open.

Further inland conditions in Central and Eastern BC and in Alberta have, in contrast, been good for months already. Things are also improving over in the East in Quebec with colder temperatures and fresh snow at last.  Big White, pictured above this week, with 30cm (a foot) more snow in the past few days now has the country’s deepest base at 2.1 metres (seven feet) with Revelstoke in second spot on 201cm.

USA

Snow depths have passed the three metre (10 foot) mark in Western USA after heavy snowfall hit the region. Ski areas have reported up to 2.3 metres (nearly eight feet) of snow in the past 7 days, the biggest accumulation reported by Mt Baker, in northern Washington state close to the US border.  It is also posting the deepest base on the continent at 3.1 metres (10.3 feet).

Mt Baker holds the record for the most snow ever reported in one season, and for the most snow on average each season (both unofficial records); 29 metres / 95 feet set in winter 98/99 and 16.3m / 54 ft respectively. But it, and the rest of Northwestern North America, had had a poor start to the season and very little snowfall up to Christmas, with many in the region delaying opening. So it is a relief there that conditions have improved dramatically. Jackson Hole has posted the second most fresh snowfall with 108cm (nearly four feet) of snow this week.

Conditions are improving on the east Coast too with up to 50cm (20 inches) reported by resorts in Vermont this week.  Smugglers Notch there pictured above.

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Post Below from 3 January, 2020

It has been predominantly sunny weather in the Alps, Pyrenees and Dolomites for the past week giving glorious conditions for those lucky enough to be in the mountains for New Year.  The weather is changing a little now with some light snowfall to freshen things up as the slopes now quieten down after the busy holiday period.  Saalbach is pictured top this week.

Elewhere in Europe it’s a much improved picture in the Balkans and Tatras with low temperatures allowing snowmaking systems to fire up and resorts in Bulgaria have much more terrain open now.

In Scandinavia it continues to look good with more fresh snow whilst Scottish centres have used their all-weather snowmaking machines to keep some terrain open during a record warm end to December.

Over in North America it’s an improving picture on east and northwest coasts which had had a warm start to the winter but are seeing plenty of snow now, whilst the Rockies are getting dumped on once again but north and south of the border.

Austria

It has been a good week for skiers and boarders in Austria with plenty of sunshine after the pre-Christmas snow. Most of the country’s ski areas are now fully open (or nearly so), with decent snow depths, the deepest up on the glaciers.  There’s some fresh snowfall expected in to the weekend which should freshen up snow cover. Picture above, Saalbach by Mr G Williamson.

France

Splendid conditions in the French Alps and Pyrenees this week with almost all areas fully open, great snow depths and sunny skies. Val Thorens in the 3 Valleys is in fact now posting the world’s deepest snow depth of over 3 metres on lower slopes, over 4 metres up high.

Italy

Italy too has had a largely sunny week with great on-piste conditions., The only real complaint has been lift queues with so many skiers and boarders trying to get out on the slopes to enjoy it. Almost all runs are open in the huge Dolomiti Superski region and the snow is lying up to four metres deep on the country’s glaciers.  National hero Dominik Paris became the four time winner of the Bormio World Cup downhill at the weekend.

Switzerland

It’s been  a beautiful week on Swiss lopes with sun shining, cold temperatures and fresh snow. Most of the country’s areas are fully open, or nearly so, and Andermatt says it now has a 4 metre snow depth on upper runs, the deepest in the country. There was some fresh snow (10-230cm) to end last week and it looks like a similar volume should freshen up cover across the country this weekend too.  Zermatt is pictured top during a snow shower at the end of last week.

Pyrenees

 

The Pyrenees have had a mostly dry, sunny week as well and here too the snow that fell consistently before Christmas in December and back in November means that most of the region’s larger ski areas were able to open pretty much all of their terrain for some great conditions to start the new year. Grandvalira (Soldeu and Pas de la Casa), the biggest area there, has more than 200km of runs open.

Scandinavia

It is looking fairly good across Scandinavia as we head in to the new year with most resorts somewhere between 60-100% open, reporting fresh snowfall, and reasonable base depths. There have been small to moderate fresh snowfalls here over new year and its set to stay cold and occasionally snowy over the week ahead. Are, the region’s largest resort, has a 60vcm (two foot) base and about three-quarters of its runs open.  Iso Syote is pictured above.

Scotland

Alas it is not looking good in Scotland at present after record warm temperatures to end the year saw double digits above freezing and much of the hill snow in the country disappear.  It’s getting cooler now and there are hopes of new snowfalls if it does get cold enough but in the meantime what’s open is limited to mostly beginner areas created using the centres’ all-weather snowmaking machines.  Cairngorm is pictured above.

Eastern Europe

A big change for the better in eastern Europe compared to a week ago. Borovets that was hardly open at Christmas is now fully open and Bansko (pictured above) has opened its snow road down from the ski area to the resort. This is all thanks to snowmaking made possible by very cold temperatures.

Canada

The Canadian Rockies have seen still more huge snow falls with Sun Peaks in Eastern BC also getting dumped on – reporting more than 60cm (two feet) of snow in 48 hours this week. The country’s pacific coast, where resorts including the continent’s biggest Whistler Blackcomb have had a poor start to the season (warm and wet) are now seeing snow and are making up for lost time. The east has also had a tricky start and freezing rain this week hasn’t helped but more recently it has been fresh snow.

USA

It has been yet another very snowy week in the US Rockies with some resorts reporting a metre of snowfall over seven days up to the middle of this week, and now after a few quiet days it is dumping once again with another 20-40cm reported in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming etc.  The week started less well on the east coast when freezing rain coated lifts with ice, but here too there’s been up to a foot of fresh snow in the past few days so it’s looking much better there now.

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Report below from 27 December, 2019

It’s looking like a great start to 2020 next week in much of the skiing world. The past week has seen more big snowfalls across the Alps with some resorts reporting more than a metre more snow and most at least 30cm (a foot).

The only important note to make is that as a result of all the snow, and sometime windy and mild periods too, the off-piste snowpack is unstable and the avalanche danger generally high to very high.

The Dolomites, Pyrenees and Scandinavia all look good too, and even in Eastern Europe, where it had been too warm and many areas had been forced to postpone opening, it has now got colder and snowier.  Up in Scotland all five centres are open, albeit with limited terrain and after Glencoe suffered a Christmas fire at its base buildings.

Across the Atlantic there has been plenty of snow too in the West with again some areas getting more than a metre (it’s particularly good in Alberta and Eastern BC) and most several feet of snow. the northwest corner, where resorts like Whistler Blackcomb was suffering a poor start to the season (again too warm and wet), is also seeing improving conditions now too.

Austria

 

Austria has had a very snowy Christmas period and whilst the snowfall in the western Alps was largely over by Christmas Eve, here it kept snowing through to Boxing Day, with Saalbach Hinterglemm reporting another 20cm for Boxing Day. Generally conditions look good across the country with up to 3 metres of snow lying on the glaciers but snow down to valley floors thousands of metres below now too.

France

It looks like this week should end with lots more snowfall, just like the past two weekends in France. Indeed last weekend was one of the snowiest of the season yet with most resorts posting at least 30cm of fresh snow and some including higher slope at Les Arcs reporting more than a metre over 72 hours. Les Contamines is pictured above. All in all its looking like a great start to 2020 in the French mountains with bases on higher slopes approaching three metres now.

Italy

Italy too saw some big snowfalls in the run up to Christmas and many areas in the West of the country have seen 5-15cm more snow in the past 24 hours. Generally conditions are really great across the country with most terrain open and fresh snow too.  Livigno, pictured above and top, opened a run for powder skiing only just in time for Christmas with 30cm of fresh snow on it. The run is left ungroomed when conditions are good like they are currently. The avalanche danger is higher here also though -m generally around level 3 – so going off piste is not advised for now.

Switzerland

Swiss ski areas have seen some of the biggest snowfalls of the past week with Belalp claiming 172cm (nearly six feet) of now has fallen there in the past week.  That generally means great conditions and almost every slope in the country open, but it does mean high avalanche danger too, which was witnessed at Andermatt at Christmas when an avalanche crossed a groomed piste there.  Andermatt has the deepest base in the country too at 3.8 metres. Disentis is pictured above.

Pyrenees

An ever improving picture in the Pyrenees where most resorts now have bases above the metre mark. The region’s largest ski area, Greandvalira in Andorra (pictured above) has more than 100 runs open now adding up to most of its 200km+ of trails now skiable.

Scandinavia

Mostly light snowfall across Scandinavia over the past week following heavier snowfall earlier in the month. Here bases typically build by centimetres, with the usually fine powder snow at these latitudes compares to the 10cm at a time with heavier snow in the Alps. But one resort, Vaset in Eastern-Norway, has passed the metre mark with 1.1 metres of snow now lying. Generally though it’s looking good across the region with most runs now open for new year.

Eastern Europe

A much improved picture in Eastern Europe over the past week with colder temperatures and plenty of fresh snowfall, heaviest as usual on higher lopes. In Bulgaria Bansko has opened more terrain and Borovets, which had delayed opening though much of December, has now opened some terrain – it’s not brilliant but a lot better than it was. Cold but dry now so snowmaking systems are hard at work.

Scotland

You couldn’t claim conditions are brilliant in Scotland, but thanks to cold weather, some natural snowfall and snowmaking with all-weather machines, all five of the country’s Highland centres are open for the Christmas and New Year holidays. Most have nursery slopes, snow play areas and in some cases small terrain park feature available. Several including Glencoe, Glenshee and Nevis Range a few longer ‘proper’ ski runs too with thin cover.

You couldn’t claim conditions are brilliant in Scotland, but thanks to cold weather, some natural snowfall and snowmaking with all-weather machines, all five of the country’s Highland centres are open for the Christmas and New Year holidays. Most have nursery slopes, snow play areas and in some cases small terrain park feature available. Several including Glencoe, Glenshee and Nevis Range a few longer ‘proper’ ski runs too with thin cover.  Glencoe (pictured above) had a big set back with a base fire over Christmas but is heroically re-opening none the less.

Canada

Good to Ski Right Now?

Most of BC and Alberta have had another great snowy week with several resorts (Panorama in BC and Sunshine in Canada) posting 1m+ snowfalls in 7 days.  Further west on the Pacific Coast which has had a very poor start to the winter (too warm and wet) it is colder and has been snowing too although Whistler still has some way to go to get back on track.  In the East it is colder at last but there’s still not much snow, or much forecast, but at least snowmaking systems can now operate.

USA

Good to Ski Right Now?

It has been a snowy week in much of the western Us with Mountain High in Southern California reporting 1.3 metres of snowfall in the last seven days. Ski areas further north have also seen some good snowfall and are continuing to regain ground after a warm start of the season delayed openings pre-Christmas.  Lots of snow further east in the Rockies too with several feet of snow reported in the last 72 hours in Colorado. Mammoth still has the country’s deepest base at 2.3 metres.

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Report Below From 19 Dec 19

It’s looking like one of the best Christmas/New year holiday fortnights in the alps so far this century as snowfall after snowfall has bolstered bases over the past two months, so the snow is lying 1-2 metres deep at 2000 metres and as much as 4 metres deep up at 3000m. 

OK, it’s not perfect, it’s too warm at times which has meant much less snow low down and sometimes destabilising rain on snow, there have been gales too and another big storm is hitting Western Europe this weekend, but the start of Christmas week should be very pleasant in most places with a foot or two of fresh snow too. What’s most noticeable compared to past years is just how much terrain is open already with many areas already fully open when some Christmases they’ve struggled to open a dozen or so runs.

Elsewhere its looking good in the Dolomites, Scandinavia keeps getting dumped on and in most of North America.  Scotland’s five centres  have all opened, but with thin cover so far. The less good area over there include Quebec and coastal BA, which had warm weather until recently. It’s now sunny but dry in Quebec but it is dumping on BC’s Pacific Coast.  So Whistler is on catch up there. Across the Pacific Japan is having a pretty disastrous season start, again too warm and wet, but normal Japanese snow is now forecast from about Christmas Eve.

Austria

Good to Ski Right Now?

It has been a rather worryingly warm week in Austria with some of the countries bigger, lower altitude ski regions like Saalbach-Hinterglemm (pictured above this week), the Skiwelt and Kitzbuhel, battling temperature of +5 to +10C at resort level and sometimes well above zero at the top of the slopes too. They’re doing a good job though, keeping lots of terrain open and the good news is its due to get colder. The snow is much deeper, as you’d expect, up[ on the glacier. More snow is forecast for parts of the country, particularly the south and east, this weekend, as well as up high on those glaciers again.

France

Good to Ski Right Now?

It has been a fairly dry week in the French Alps, often overcast, following snowstorms last weekend, but more snow will start falling from Saturday through to Monday which should see 30-60cm of Fresh now on top of what are already good bases for this early in the season at most French resorts. The stormy conditions that the snow will arrive on may mean a number of ski areas are closed at the weekend for periods, particularly on Saturday.  It’s looking good from Monday on though with sunny skies and fresh snow for Christmas week.  Lans en Vercors, pictured top, will start its 19-20 season on Sunday rather than Saturday because of the forecast storm.  Val Thorens pictured above on Wednesday.

Italy

Good to Ski Right Now?

Italy missed out on some of the big snowfalls of the past few weeks, except at the resorts on the French and Swiss borders, but that wan’t really a problem due to accumulated snow from the big November falls. Some of the deepest snowbases ion the world at present are in Italy. Anyway the next 72 hours should see the snow back across northern Italy from east to west with higher slopes expecting several feet (60cm+) before the weather calms down from Monday just in time for Christmas.  Livigno pictured top.

Switzerland

Good to Ski Right Now?

Swiss ski areas have seen some of the biggest snowfalls of the past week with Belalp claiming 172cm (nearly six feet) of now has fallen there in the past week.  That generally means great conditions and almost every slope in the country open, but it does mean high avalanche danger too, which was witnessed at Andermatt at Christmas when an avalanche crossed a groomed piste there.  Andermatt has the deepest base in the country too at 3.8 metres.  Disentis is pictured above.

Pyrenees

Good to Ski Right Now?

 

It’s looking good in the Pyrenees after more snow fell this week – with more forecast into the weekend. Most resorts in the region ate now operating almost at capacity as we enter the Christmas/New Year fortnight. Ski resorts on the French and Spanish sides have up to 1.7 metres of snow lying now, in Andorra its up to a metre and nearly all runs open at Grandvalira (Soldeu/Pas de la Casa) and Vallnord (Pal Arinsal).  Video is from Piau Engaly in the French Pyrenees.

Eastern Europe

Good to Ski Right Now?

It has, unfortunately, been rather warm in much of Eastern Europe, particularly in Bulgaria where temperatures have reached double digits above freezing. Ski areas have continued to operate with bases built up through the autumn, although obviously the best snow is to be found high up at present. Winter is supposed to return early next week with some fresh snow deliveries expected in time for Christmas.  The pic above was taken very carefully at Bansko a few days ago.

Scandinavia

Good to Ski Right Now?

It’s staying snowy in Scandinavia with plenty of fresh falling, particularly in Western Norway where Voss in particular (pictured above this morning), keeps reporting 10-20cm more almost daily. The days are very short here now but start getting longer again from Sunday, and in the meantime the floodlighting does a good job!

Scotland

Good to Ski Right Now?

All five Scottish ski areas have been open this week following another week of mostly low temperatures and more fresh snow. Terrain open so far is limited but all five areas have beginner slopes and snow fun areas thanks to all weather snowmaking systems and some, including Glencoe (pictured above earlier this week), have enough natural snow cover to open more terrain.  Unfortunately it has warmed up since  Thursday with Glenshee closing so far to preserve remaining snow cover.

Canada

Good to Ski Right Now?

A mixed picture in Canada with great conditions inland in BC where it keeps dumping at resorts like Fernie and Revelstoke a well as over the Alberta border in Banff and Jasper.  It’s less good news further West though where coastal BC resorts like Whistler have had a very warm and wet autumn BUT the lack of snow cover is now, hopefully, ending as temperatures have dropped and snow is rolling in and this is expected to continue (one of these, Cypress Mountain) is pictured. It was a similar problem in the East for Quebec and unfortunately here it’s still pretty bad as although temperatures are now sub-zero it is also clear and sunny with little natural snowfall still so far.

USA

Good to Ski Right Now?

There’s deep powder in the Rockies this week following the big snowfalls in recent weeks. There have been off-piste avalanches in Colorado (Steamboat) and Park City (Utah), the latter resulting in a fatality as freeriders are tempted to head off the groomed slopes in to the out-of-bounds powder.  Most of the country’s slopes are in good shape for Xmas with snow in the East too (if not so much) to freshen up the slopes and in California. The country’s Northwest corner which had warm and wet conditions until this week is currently receiving huge snowfalls expected to add up to more than a metre by the end of the weekend.

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Report Below from 13 Dec 2019

It has been a largely snowy-seven days in most of the skiing world as we build up to the start of the main 2019-20 season which really begins this weekend by which time nearly all of the world’s leading ski area will have opened and the first tour-operator charter flights will be heading off to the Alps.

After a fairly dry fortnight up to 70cm of snow fell in the Alps on Monday and Tuesday and similar falls are forecast over Friday/Saturday to end this week meaning some area will have had more than a metre of snowfall in a week by Sunday.

Elsewhere… the Pyrenees have also seen 20-50cm more snow this week and up in Scandinavia it has been snowy too with 20-50cm for many area but more than a metre of snow reported at one Norwegian area.

Scotland has had a thaw, the storms, but the past few days have been snowy and several centres will open this weekend. In Eastern Europe the season started to get underway last weekend with dozens of areas opening there.

In North America it is currently dumping big time in the west of the continent, with California and Colorado getting several feet more snow. The snowfall is especially needed up in the pacific northwest – one of thew few major ski regions not to have seen much so far this autumn. Whistler Blackcomb wasn’t looking great but has now had at least 10cm of snowfall and counting.

In Asia Japan’s season has also started slowly with temperatures too warm but there has been a lot of snow in the north (Niseko) this past week, still some falling as rain further south though.

Austria

Good to Ski Right Now?

Austrian ski areas had a snowy start to the week with the Arlberg area (pictured above) of Lech and St Anton reporting up to 50cm of fresh snow. the snow also fell down to low elevations, great news for lower, newly-opened ski areas like Saalbach.  There’s more snow due in Austria over the next 72 hours meaning it’s looking like a really great start to the main season here.

France

Good to Ski Right Now?

20-40cm of fresh now to tart the week in France and here too the snow fell right down to the valley floor, so improved cover from top to bottom on slopes that had been becoming rather hard packed. the last of the country’s big ski areas including La Plagne and Les Arcs are due to open for their 2019-20 seasons this weekend.

Italy

Good to Ski Right Now?

Italy was the only country in the Alpine big four that did not really post major snowfalls to start the week. That was a big contrast to November when Italy saw the biggest falls of all, leaving it with some of the deepest bases on the planet at present, including the only reported 4m depth on the Presena Glacier in Trentino.  However the country should get big snowfalls too over the next 72 hours through the weekend – particularly in the Northwest – the Dolomites, it is forecast, not so much.

Switzerland

Good to Ski Right Now?

Switzerland reported the biggest snowfalls in the Alps in the Monday-Tuesday snowfalls at the start of this week. Verbier is pictured above but it was the Gstaad region that reached a 70cm snowfall total, and another 40cm of snowfall is forecast there this weekend meaning its 7-day accumulation i s likely to pass the metre mark. but there’s been plenty of snowfall almost everywhere in Switzerland this week.

Pyrenees

Good to Ski Right Now?

Conditions are looking pretty good in the Pyrenees following more fresh snowfall.  Actually the biggest falls (30-50cm) this week have been reported on both the French and Spanish sides, rather than in Andorra, but Grandvalira still has a huge amount of terrain open already, despite reporting the snow base only at 30-50cm so far. Baqueira Beret in Spain is nearly fully open with almost 160km of runs open.

Eastern Europe

Good to Ski Right Now?

Lots of the main ski areas in Eastern Europe opened last weekend with Jasna in Slovakia and Bansko in Bulgaria two of the bigger names. The season has also got underway in the Czech Republic, Poland and even Bosnia, among other countries though. Typically this early in the season the best snow is up high with Bansko reporting an 80cm base on upper runs.,

Scotland

Good to Ski Right Now?

After a warm spell at the end of last week followed by several stormy days to start this which closed ski centres before the season had started, it has been cold and snowy in Scotland the past few days and Cairngorm, Glencoe and The Lecht all plan to have some terrain open this weekend – if only limited areas with thin cover so far.  It’s a start!

Scandinavia

Good to Ski Right Now?

It has been a good week for Scandinavian ski centres with up to a metre of fresh snowfall reported (at Voss on Norway’s West coast, pictured), that’s more than anywhere in the Alps has reported this week.  Other resorts have had plenty of snow too if not quite so much. With low temps the powder is in prime condition.

Canada

Good to Ski Right Now?

Great conditions in Eastern BC and Alberta in Canada where there’s been another half metre of so of snow since this time last week. The only part of Canada that had been suffering is the Pacific coast where Whistler Blackcomb is located and it had only about 5% of its terrain open due to lack of snow. That does seem to be changing now though, at last, with 10cm of snow so far and counting. Pictured in Cypress Mountain to the south. Another resort in the region, Red Mountain, had been due to open for the season today but has delayed.

USA

Good to Ski Right Now?

Conditions are looking increasingly good in the US with more snow falling across much of the country. Loveland, pictured above, in Colorado, expects several feet (60cm) of fresh snow by the end of the weekend.  Mammoth Mountain in California has the most terrain open in the country so far, over 2,000 acres.  It’s looking good in the East too.

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Published 5 Dec 2019:

After the very snowy November in the Alps, the tap seems to have been temporarily turned off this week, in most areas at least.  That said several centres got another 50cm or more at the start of the weekend and many are now showing the latest round of snowfall just starting.

It’s been snowier in Scandinavia and across the Atlantic where last weekend saw snowfall across much of the US with California and Utah ski areas doing especially well, seeing as much as 1.5 metres (five feet) of snowfall in 48-72 hours.

More and more big name resorts are opening in both Europe and North America and the best of the snow on both continents remains on higher slopes this early in the season.  In the Alps, above about 1800 metres, things are looking very good for the start of the main season.

Austria

Good to Ski Right Now?

It has been mostly clear and sunny this week in the Austrian Alps and looks set to remain so through the weekend before snow arrives at the start of next week, bringing 20-40cm to mot areas. Base depth are great above 2000 metres, less good lower down but it is early – Saalbach (pictured above today), which he the biggest area in the country, opens this weekend.

France

Good to Ski Right Now?

Like Austria it has been a fairly dry, sunny week for most French ski area that are already open. Val d’Isere was one of the big name resorts opening last weekend. Avoriaz, pictured above and top, opened for a preview weekend and will do again this coming weekend ahead of its main opening on the 14^th because, they say, the snow is so good.  In fact everywhere in France above 1800 metres the snow looks to be good.  The next wave of snowfall is expected in France too early next week.

Italy

Good to Ski Right Now?

Things have quietened down  a little in Italy after the heavy snow of November, although most areas did get another 20-50cm of fresh snowfall over the past week. The country also continues to claim the deepest base in the world at present – 4 metres lying on the Presena Glacier near Passo Tonale. More major areas including most in the Dolomites opened at the weekend and conditions are generally good for this early in the season across the country.

Switzerland

Good to Ski Right Now?

Swiss slopes are in good shape in common with the rest of the Alps and especially higher up.  The upper slope bases at resorts like Andermatt and Engelberg above 3000 metres is already at more than three metre. Glacier 3000 near Gstaad say they’re opening their famed 7km long black run this weekend and Zermatt/Cervinia already has more than 200km of slopes open, probably the biggest area in the world skiable so far this season. Pictured above is Zermatt where the Mont Fort should be skiable from this weekend.  Snow expected here too from Monday on.

Pyrenees

Good to Ski Right Now?

After a dry week or so it is snowing again in the Pyrenees, and some ski areas on both the French and Spanish sides of the mountains have reported 10-20cm of fresh in the last 24 hours. Andorra’s ski centres did open at the weekend and have a moderate amount of terrain open with 20-50cm of snow lying so far.  Snow depths are deeper at some resorts in France and Spain with Baqueira Beret reporting over 100km of slope open already.

Scandinavia

Good to Ski Right Now?

More and more Scandinavian centres have opened in the past few weeks and those that are open already are adding more and more skiable terrain. The good news is it has been snowing here through the week in many area when it stopped in the alps so though the dumps here are almost never as big as down in the Alps, the cold temperatures keep the snow in great shape. Sweden’s Are, the region’s biggest area, has nearly doubled its base to around 70cm.

Eastern Europe

Good to Ski Right Now?

Eastern Europe’s season is nearly upon us with several resorts due to open this weekend including big names like Jasna in Slovakia whilst most others, including Bulgaria’s Bansko, plan to wait until the 14^th. The snow did keep falling,. Lightly, east of the alps over the past few days. Currently snow depths are typically 40-60cm above about 1600 metres, below that there’s not yet much but snowmaking systems are powering up when temps are low enough.

Scotland

Good to Ski Right Now?

Scotland’s five Highland ski centres expect to open over the next few weeks, in fact Cairngorm is ‘kind of’ opening this weekend.  The problem is that it has been very warm and wet the past few days so there’s not much natural snow left. The good news though is that all five centres now have all-weather snow machines so there is some snow, and the coming week looks much colder and snowier so hopefully things will look a lot better by this time next week.

Canada

Good to Ski Right Now?

It’s a mixed picture across Canadian slopes – too warm and wet in the Far West with Whistler only able to open a small part of their terrain so far.  At least 30 degrees colder at times further east in  Alberta where Lake Louise, currently staging world cup Downhill racing, has over 100 runs open.  More BC resorts have opened in between the two posting conditions that are also somewhere between the two – in other words more snow and runs open than Whistler so far, less than Lake Louise. Jasper to the north reported 19cm of snowfall on Wednesday and there’s much more forecast.

USA

Good to Ski Right Now?

The US saw some of the biggest snow storms this autumn over their Thanksgiving holiday period at the end of last week.  The snow fell on slopes across the country but the heaviest was in California and Utah where several centres reported nearly 1.8 metres (Six feet) of snowfall.  Thanks to thanksgiving there are more US areas open than any other country by some distance but most so far have only limited terrain open for the early season.

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Where is good to ski right now? 

Update below posted 29 November, 2019

The snowy November in the Alps has continued for another week with heavy snowfall at the weekend in the Western Alps, then snow falling again since Wednesday after a  few days’ lull. Bases have now reached 4 metres and some resorts have had more than 3 metres of snow up high this month. So it’s looking like a good start to the season – albeit with the bests now up high.

Elsewhere in Europe some of the bigger areas in the Pyrenees have now opened and the coming weekend sees a lot more areas in the Dolomites open.

Scandinavia is looking good after more snowfall there and the first Eastern European centres should open for 19-20 this weekend too.

Across the Atlantic there’s a great improvement after the mostly warm and dry or west November and ski areas in California, Colorado and Utah have reported up to 60cm (two feet) of fresh snowfall in the last few days. This is good timing as the big Thanksgiving public holiday long weekend is underway and more than 100 US areas have opened.

North of the border the first areas in BC including Sun Peaks and Whistler Blackcomb, have opened.

The ski season is getting underway in Japan now but it’s a slow start with below average snowfall so far and some areas like Niseko have delayed opening.

A bit of novelty snow news before the individual country reports. It’s the start of the southern hemisphere’s summertime on Sunday but there was fresh snow reported at closed ski areas in Australia and Chile on Wednesday and a New Zealand area, Whakapapa (pictured above last weekend), plans to open a slope for the first day of summer, and its last day of operations too.

Austria

It has warmed up a little on Austrian slopes this week, with above zero temps down low, but there was more heavy snowfall last weekend so overall, things look great!  St Anton and Ischgl are among the big name resorts starting their seasons this Saturday whilst Saalbach will unveil its latest mega-gondola lift.

France

Plenty of fresh snow for France, so much so that Avoriaz has announced it will open some terrain this weekend – a fortnight earlier than planned. Meanwhile Tignes has seen several days of 20cm+ snowfalls so things are looking great there, and several more resorts have opened for winter 19-20 including Alpe d’Huez, Montgenevre and Val Thorens./ Some, like Avoriaz, just at weekends for now though.  Vars is pictured above.

Italy

Italy saw the biggest snowfalls in the world last weekend with ski areas reporting up to 145cm (nearly five feet) of snow in 48 hours. The heaviest snow was in the West of the country at Ski areas like Cervinia, Sestriere (which is pictured above on Monday and is opening some terrain early this weekend as a result) and Prato Nevoso. Italy’s Presena glacier is posting the deepest base in the world at present – the first to reach 4 metres so far in winter 19-20.

Switzerland

Swiss ski areas are in great shape too and can claim both the biggest lift-served vertical open in the world so far – 1800 metres at Saas Fee, and the largest ski area open so far – 138km at Zermatt over in to Italy at Cervinia. There was more heavy snowfall there last week with some stormy winds too that closed roads, lifts and caused some damage to buildings on a few mountains.  It has calmed down since but stayed snowy with Zermatt reporting 20cm of fresh on Friday morning.

Pyrenees

The season is in full swing in the Pyrenees with ski areas in Andorra as well as more big resorts in Spain including Baqueira Beret now open. Further south, Sierra Nevada (pictured above on Monday), has also opened for 19-20.  Over all things are looking good with most areas reporting at least a metre of snow lying already on upper slopes. More French areas will open this week including Grand Tourmalet and the main ski slopes above Cauterets, which already has the deepest base in France at 1.8 metres.

Scotland

Alas, warm and wet weather in the first half of the week has washed off much of the snowcover built up[ through the first three weeks of November on Scottish hills. However all five Highland areas now have all weather snowmaking systems and these have been working away to produce snow despite the plus temps, and lower temps and natural snow is reported to be on the way so some early December openings may still be possible.

Scandinavia

The ski world focus was on Levi (pictured top and above) last weekend for the FIS World Cup slalom racing.  Then, and ever since then, it has mostly been snowing in Scandinavia.  Several dozen ski areas are now open across Finland, Norway and Sweden with many reporting fresh snow on their bases and great conditions for the start of December.

Eastern Europe

Fresh snow in Eastern Europe last weekend raised spirits in the region and the first centres are expected to open this weekend, though most not until closed to Christmas.  There’s been more fresh snow since on higher slopes but it has been too warm at times down at resort level for anything but rain to fall.

 

Canada

BC’s ski season has got underway with first Sun Peaks then Whistler Blackcomb ski areas opening this week. Big White, Silver Star and Fernie are also opening. They’ve joined already open areas around Banff and Jasper in Alberta where temperatures are now double digits below zero. There’s been some fresh snow and Lake Louise is gearing up to stage World Cup racing this weekend, the first downhills of the season.

USA

After something of a ‘limbo’ month in November with little snowfall, it has finally been dumping the past 48 hours in the west, following some good snowfalls at the weekend – so some areas have now had more than two feet (60cm) of snow.  Over 100 US areas are now open, many opening earlier than they might as this is the big thanksgiving holiday long weekend.

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Post Below on 22 November, 2019

Where is good to ski right now?

It has been a remarkably snowy November in the Alps and there have also been some big snowfalls in the Dolomites and Pyrenees.  Scandinavia is also looking good.

Runs up to 9km long over more than 1,800 metres of vertical are already open.  So all in  all it’s looking pretty good for the start of the season.  Chamonix and Val Thorens open this weekend.

It’s a rather different picture in North America so far. There was heavy snow in the Rockies in October but since then it has been rather warm and dry in the West.  It is now snowing again there now, if lightly so far. In the east October was warm and dry but it’s now colder and there’s been some natural snowfall.

Altogether more than 100 ski areas have opened worldwide.  More big snowfalls are forecast for the Alps this weekend.

Pictured top is Luz Ardiden in the French Pyrenees (image (c)Luz Tourisme), a region that is seeing great early season snow with several areas already open ahead of the previously planned season start date.

Austria

Austria has seen some of the biggest November snowfalls with some resorts receiving more than two metres of snowfall this month so far and bases up above 2.5 metres at a number of areas.

The Stubai glacier, pictured above, has some of the deepest snow. Unfortunately more extreme weather forecast there this weekend means a World Cup competition planned there has had to be cancelled although the resort should still; be open for recreational skiing and boarding.  About a dozen Austrian areas are already open for the 19-20 season.

France

Half a dozen ski areas are now open in France after some smaller areas in the Alps and Pyrenees opened early to join already open glacier centre Tignes. The first of the big guns to join Tignes will open this weekend though with Chamonix and Val Thorens (pictured above earlier this month) opening terrain, the latter reporting a 90cm base up high already.  More ski areas are planning to open in the french Pyrenees too, including Cauterets.

 

Italy

Italy too has had its share of big November snowfalls, in fact some of the biggest in the world. Cortina d’Ampezzo, which opened for the season early, is pictured above. More big snowfalls are forecast for the coming weekend too with some areas like Prato Nevoso in the West of the country likely to see up to 1.5 metres (five feet)( of snow in 48 hours of forecast are correct.

 

Switzerland

Swiss ski areas have seen still more snowfall in the past week and many are in line for another metre or so over the next 72 hours, forecasters are predicting. Around a dozen Swiss areas are now open for the season with Saas Fee now having more than 40km of runs open including the longest on the planet so far open for 19-20, a 9km long, 1800 vertical metre descent.

The Pyrenees

A mixed picture across the Pyrenees although most areas have 50-100cm, of snow lying and half a dozen areas on the french and Spanish side of the mountains have already opened, as has Sierra Nevada to the south on the Spanish coast.  Ski areas in Andorra should be opening in a week’s time.  Cauterets, opening this weekend, has a 1.8 metre base already, the deepest reported in France.  La Mongie in the French Pyrenees, which also opens in a week’s time, is pictured above.

Scandinavia

It’s getting darker and colder in Scandinavia as we move towards mid-winter in a month’s time./ More areas are opening and up to 50cm of fresh snowfall was reported this week in Norway. However the weekend focus will be on Levi in Finland (pictured above today) where the first World Cup slalom races of the 19-20 season are due to take place.

Eastern Europe

There’s nowhere really open in Eastern Europe yet but the snow has been falling on and off over the past month, the latest accumulations in just the past 24 hours, so with snowmaking systems fired up, it’s looking promising.  Centres are expected to start opening over the next few weekends although the majority not until nearer Christmas.

Scotland

Scottish hills have been white and snowmaking systems fired up for most of November but as yet the country’s centres are saying there’s not enough snow cover yet to open.  Some people have been hiking up to ski down however.  Temperatures are set to rise a little but hopefully not so much that there’ll be a thaw and fingers crossed that forecast precipitation over the coming week falls as more snow, not rain.

Canada

Most of the snowsports centres so far open in Canada are in Alberta, where all three Banff centres are open along with Marmot Basin near Jasper (pictured above earlier this month).  They’ve had fresh snowfall this week too. Mew areas opening have been in Ontario and Quebec but there’s still so far only about 10 areas open across the country.

USA

With Thanksgiving a week away, which in the US is still a bigger holiday than Christmas, there’s been a push for ski centres to open, despite rather lacklustre snow conditions at present.  More than 60 areas are already open – that’s more than half the world total at present – with many more set to join them over the next 48 hours ahead of the holiday weekend next week.

It has been a warm, dry November in the West so there’s been some excitement at the arrival of colder, snowier weather over the past 24 hours and up to 23cm of snowfall has been reported in the Colorado Rockies as well as smaller falls in California. But it’s the most snow for a month.

In the East resorts like Stowe are the latest to open.  It has been colder here with some fresh snowfall too.

 

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Post Below on 27 April, 2019

Where is good to ski right now? 

Winter 2018-19 is drawing to a close with 95% of the northern hemisphere’s ski areas closed after Easter Sunday.

But more than 150 are still operating to this weekend and more than 50 will remain open next week into May.

The centres that are still operating mostly offer high altitude skiing and the good news in the Alps and the Pyrenees this week has been some quite wintery weather above 2000 metres (with rain below), so almost all of Europe’s glaciers have been dumped on and it’s actually looking like an end-of-season powder weekend for some.  Cervinia and Zermatt have reported plenty of fresh snowfall and the nearby Monterosa region in Northwest Italy, where a few lifts are still operating on higher slopes, up to 90cm of snowfall has been reported in the past 72 hours up high!

This will be our final weekly report of winter 2018-19 so here’s a quick list of the ski areas staying open to May 1^st: Are, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Ischgl, Kitzbuhel, Livigno, Oberstdorf, San Isidro, Sunday River, Finland’s Yllas and Germany’s Zugspitze.

A lot more areas remain open to this coming weekend and will close on April 28^th.

And here are the ones staying open beyond that to include the first weekend in May before closing at the end of Sunday the 5^th: Alpental, Andermatt, Cervinia, Chamonix, Gstaad Glacier 3000, Heavenly, Hemsedal, Jay Peak, Kanin, Lake Louise, Levi, Loveland, Marmot Basin, Masella, Mt Hood Meadows, Pitztal Glacier, Ruka, Sierra Nevada, Solden, St Moritz – Diavolezza, Sugarbush, Sugarloaf, Tignes, Val Senales, Val Thorens, Slovenia’s Vogel and Poland’s Zakopane.

There are others open now and staying open beyond May the 5^th. In Europe they include the Hintertux, Kitzsteinhorn and Stubai glaciers in Austria right through May and the Kaunertal and Molltal Glaciers until the 12^th; along with the Presena glacier in Italy and Engelberg (which still has snow lying 7 metres deep on its glacier, the deepest in the Alps) and Zermatt in Switzerland.

Sweden’s ‘Spring Skiing Capital of Europe’ Riksgransen will hopefully be open into June as will Norway’s three glacier ski areas although only one of these has opened so far, Folgefonn, the other two (Galdhoppigen and Stryn) opening next month.

Across the Atlantic there’s some fresh snow in Western Canada and more snow due in the North East after a warm, wet spell which closed ski areas in Quebec over the Easter weekend.

Resorts in the US due to stay open to the end of May or later include Arapahoe Basin and Breckenridge in Colorado; Mammoth Mountain and Squaw Valley in California’ Mt Bachelor and Timberline in Oregon and Killington in Colorado.

In Canada’s Banff Sunshine Village closes after staging its annual Slush Cup celebration on the 20th And Whistler a week later on the 27^th, although it will re-open in early June for Summer glacier skiing and boarding.

For all these resorts whether in Europe or North America expect changeable conditions this week and in to May as winter tries to hold on At these northerly latitudes and high altitudes but late spring inevitably increases its grip day after day.

So there may be summer-type days of full sun when the slopes only skiable in the morning until the snow is slushy by noon, or, as has been the case over the past few days in the Alps, more wintery conditions.

 

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Where is good to ski right now? 

Report below April 18th 2019

It is coming up to the last day of the ski season for many of the resorts that are still open, with most of those closing at the end of the day on Easter Day or Easter Monday.

So there’s a real “end of the season” feeling this weekend in the Alps and the Rockies, although excitement is building in the southern hemisphere with the 2019 season only a month or so away.

However, over 100 will stay open for another week after Easter to the last weekend of April (27^th/28^th) and dozens of those will stay open into the start of May.

(Fresh snow at Fernie, BC, last weekend, just before it closed for the season)

There’s been very little fresh snow reported anywhere this week.  The biggest falls have been 10-20cm in total since last weekend and they’ve been recorded in Western North America at resorts in states like Colorado and Montana, and the provinces of Alberta and BC north of the Canadian border.

In Europe it has been mostly a mix of cloud and sunshine, some fog and gales, but mostly “Classic spring skiing” with overnight freezes, hardpacked slopes in the early morning, softening rapidly by lunchtime.

Looking at 7-day totals so taking the snowfall search back to include last weekend there are some bigger numbers to report. Some ski areas in Utah, including snowbird, open well into May, report 75cm in total (2.5 feet) and a few of Europe’s glacier areas including the Stubai (open to June – pictured top at the weekend and above), reported 50cm of fresh snow (20 inches) up high.  So did Italy’s Presena glacier.

It’s the final weekend for most ski areas in the Pyrenees and there’s actually Easter skiing in Portugal after heavy snow in early April there allowed the sole Serra de Estrella ski area to re-open there.

In Scotland, Glencoe is the only ski area open, just.  It says Easter Monday will most likely be its last day of the season, although it says it could stay open longer if enough people arrive to make it worth maintaining the slopes. The Lecht says it may re-open if there’s a good late snowfall, but there’s no real sign of that in the immediate forecast.

Most ski areas are still open in Scandinavia and the Folgefonn summer ski area has opened for its 2019 season this week, posting an 8 metre base on opening day, the current deepest in Europe.

Most ski areas in Eastern Europe are, by contrast, closed for the season, including all in Bulgaria, but a few including Slovenia’s Vogel plan to stay open into the start of May.

Over in North America, as mentioned, most of the fresh snow has been falling in the West.  Most resorts have already closed for the season there, or will do after this weekend, but the freshen up is welcome for those still open and several dozen will stay open to at least the start of May, including several posting fresh snow this week.

Besides Snowbird, these include Mammoth and Squaw Valley, both with snow lying around 5.5 metres (18 feet) deep, both having had 5-10cm (2-4 inches) of fresh snow and both open to June.

There was some snow in the east too, along with rain. Here Mont Tremblant (pictured above this week) is posting North America’s deepest base at over 6 metres (20 feet), but it closes for the season after this weekend.

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Where is good to ski right now? 

Report Below From 12 April, 2019

Ski areas across Europe are seeing a very snowy end to the season with some receiving as much snow in the past week as they have had all year.

The heaviest snow fell at the end of last week when some Italian resorts claimed as much as 2 metres of snow fell in 72 hours, but it has kept snowing in many areas ever since, just not so heavily.

The heavy snow fell across most of central Europe and down in the Dolomites too where the 1 metre of snow that some resorts in the Dolomiti Superski region reported falling in 24 hours was almost as much as they had had all season.

The sun is out again there now, here’s the Dolomiti Superski on Wednesday this week:

Several big name resorts reported a metre of snow, or more including Andermatt, Engelberg, Serre Chevalier, Val Gardena and Verbier.  Engelberg’s snow took their base depth up over 7 metres on their upper runs, the first time this season any ski area anywhere in the world has passed the 7m snow depth mark.

All the snowfall wasn’t entirely all good news though.  The avalanche danger rose from very low to high in many areas, although it has dropped back down again to level 1-3 (low to moderate) in most.

The snowfall this week has also been accompanied at times by (depending where you are), rain, strong winds, low cloud or fog, so skiers have to pay back something for the pleasure of fresh powder in mid-April.

This was Davos on Tuesday:

That said the sun has been back out in the Western Alps (France and Western Switzerland in particular) most days this week giving great conditions there with the fresh snow, albeit more like classic spring skiing with lower slopes getting sticky by lunchtime.

And against all these weather trends are the reality that we are getting further in to the final month of the season for most areas and more and more resorts are closing each weekend. Most ski areas in Eastern Europe have already closed.

Elsewhere in Europe there’s been snow falling in plenty of other areas too. The Pyrenees have seen more fresh snowfall so far in April than they did in all of March. Formigueres in the Frech Pyrenees reported 40cm of snow on Thursday.

Even out in Portugal, at the country’s one ski area, Serra de Estrella, Europe’s most westerly, they’re hailing the most snow they’ve had all winter and hope to stay open to Easter weekend at least.

Scottish ski areas also got a good snowfall to end last week – up to 50cm accumulated – but have unfortunately (for skiers) seen warm weather at the start of this week which has once again thawed a lot of the new snow cover.  At time of writing though four ski areas (Glencoe, Cairngorm – pictured below today, Nevis Range and The Lecht) had at least some terrain still open.

Across the Atlantic ski areas tend to close a little earlier than in the Alps and most will be ending their seasons this weekend if, like Jackson Hole, Telluride and others, they have not already.

There are however still more than 100 areas open.

The most snow in North America for the first half of this week was reported in Quebec where most of the still-open areas have reported 20-40cm of fresh snow.

More recently there’s been heavy snow in the Western US again with Utah seeing up to 60cm of fresh powder, as pictured above at Alta on Wednesday.

The deepest snow remains in California where half a dozen areas have 5-6 metres of it lying and several have said they’ll stay open to late spring or early summer, there’s been a little fresh snow here and at other Western ski areas in the past week.

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Report below from 04.04.19

Where is good to ski right now? 

It has been a remarkable few days for snowfall in the Alps, particularly when you consider we’re into the start of April and some resorts have already closed for the season last weekend, a chunk more will do so this coming weekend.

Ski areas in Austria, France, Italy and Switzerland have all reported huge snowfalls, some as much as 2 metres between Wednesday and Friday this week.  For most, it has been more like 30-60cm, but wherever you look, it has turned to midwinter with lots of fresh, deep powder.

Engelberg, which already posted the world’s deepest snow base a week ago at 6.3 metres, has increased that total to 7.3 metres after more than a metre of snow fell there.  It’s open through to the end of May and with the snow depth in the village increasing to 80cm it looks like top to bottom skiing over its full 2000m lift-served vertical may remain skiable right to the end.

Andermatt, which has had 1.2 metres (4 feet) of snow is pictured top, Solden, which got a metre in 24 hours, above.

All the snow has caused resorts some issues opening and clearing access as well as setting the avalanche danger up to level 3 or 4, – considerable to very high – for off-piste areas.

Ski areas in the Dolomites have also had heavy snowfall with Alta Badia, Val Gardena and Val di Fassa among the areas reporting at least a metre of snow by Friday morning.  For some, this was more than the total snowfall in the first three months of this year.

Pictured below is a mountain restaurant in the Fassa Valley on Friday.

Elsewhere in Europe it has not been as snowy but there has still been considerable snowfall in the Pyrenees and even down at Sierra Nevada on the southern Spanish coast, Europe’s most southerly resort.  So here too there’s been some fresh April powder.

There’s been lots of snow in Scotland too, enabling Cairngorm, pictured below on Wednesday, and The Lecht which had closed after a thaw last week to re-open their slopes for the start of the Easter holidays.  Glencoe and Nevis Range on the West were still open anyway having survived the thaw.

Scandinavia has had fresh snow too in the West and North in particular with Riksgransen reporting a 4-metre depth, the region’s deepest.  It hopes to stay open to late June and offer skiing under the midnight sun in May, and so far that’s looking promising.

Across the Atlantic it has been a less snowy week than in Europe, that is after ski areas in Utah got about a metre of snow last weekend.  There’;s also beena lot of gloruious suinshine, such ats here at Marmot Basin in Alberta where the season still has a month to run.

Resorts have begun closing there and big names like Crested Butte and Jackson Hole are due to end their seasons this weekend.

There has been more fresh snow, particularly in the West, and there’s more forecast for the week ahead, but so far nothing major.

*******

Where is good to ski right now? 

Post Below on 27 March, 2019

Even though we’re moving deeper in to spring, and some ski areas are even starting to close for the season, It has been a snowier and cooler week over the past seven days than it has been for the previous two.

Snow arrived back in the Eastern Alps (Austria, Easter Switzerland, southern Germany and northeastern Italy) at the weekend and ended up depositing up to 50cm of fresh cover on the mountains. Resorts like Laax, St Anton, Saalbach and the Zugspitze all posted a foot (30cm) or more of fresh snow in the 24 hours up to Tuesday morning.  St Anton, pictured top and below, reports the snow depths on its highest slope (Not part of the official measurement) are at nearly 7 metres.

 

At the same time temperatures, which had been reaching double digits above freezing dipped the other way and we saw some -15Cs again 3000m up on the slopes and temperatures staying sub-zero, or almost, down in resort too.

It’s now warming up and returning to more regular springlike conditions with overnight freezing of the snowpack and daytime thawing, but it’s good to have the fresh cover on top.

There’s been no fresh snow to talk of in the western Alps (France, Western Italy and Western Switzerland) but bases remain good here to  see out the season.

Elsewhere in Europe the Pyrenees got some fresh snow, just a few centimetres, over the weekend. Some smaller, lower resorts are struggling to stay open through to the end of the season due to the thin base there and rapid thaw and at least one has opted to close a week early, last weekend, for the season. However in Andorra there’s a thick snow cover and all runs are open as we head towards the Easter holidays.

It’s a similar issue in the Dolomites with little fresh snow here and thin bases in places, but skiers are still enjoying some glorious sunny days on the pistes with everything open.

For consistent fresh snow Scandinavia is the place to be, again, with lots of 20-30cm daily falls reported in resorts like Voss and Hemavan.  The biggest accumulations have been reported up at Riksgransen in the Arctic Circle which only opened for its 2019 season a few weeks ago and aims to stay up to midsummer in late June.  It’s had more than 40cm of snowfall this week.

Scotland has also had fresh snow but unfortunately it arrived after another period of rapid thaw at the end of last week which unfortunately wiped out most of the cover at Cairngorm, Glenshee and The Lecht and the new snow isn’t enough to allow them to re-open. Glencoe and Nevis Range have survived the thaw however, and in fact Glencoe (pictured above on Monday) has some great conditions with more snow forecast this weekend.

Over in North America the Eastern side of the continent saw some heavy snowfall over the weekend with the biggest accumulations in Vermont where up to 90cm fell over the three days.

More recently there’s been snow in the west with Californian ski areas seeing another 30cm+ fresh snow on top of their huge bases, and fresh snow from BC up in Canada (Where Apex in BC in prictured above on Tuesday this week) down to Colorado too, so it’s a snowy end to the season here.

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Where is good to ski right now? 

Week ending 21st March…

After a snowy end to last week, the weather in the Alps has been fairly settled with some glorious, sunny, spring days for skiers and boarders to enjoy.

Of course for those looking for fresh powder that news isn’t always good news, but we are now in to spring, with just a week or so of March left and, well, like it or not, winter has to end eventually!

That’s not to say it isn’t easier the find powder this week compared to last. The heavy snowfall that ended last week (and continued in to the start of this at some areas) brought up to 1.5 metres (five feet) of fresh snow cover in the Alps and there are plenty of shaded powder pockets remaining if you have a good guide to take you to them.

Most resorts got at least 50cm of fresh snow up high; Verbier reported 70cm, Saalbach and the Zugspitze more than a metre.  Alpbach is pictured below after fresh snow there.

For the majority that stay on the piste the news is that the fresh snow revitalised the groomed runs too and took the deepest bases back over the three-metre mark at resorts like Les Arcs and La Rosiere, the first time the snow depth has been more than 10 feet for some time in France.

Swiss depths remain the world’s deepest though with more than 6 metres (20 feet) still lying at Andermatt and Engelberg.

The avalanche danger is mostly at level 2, moderate, in the French and Western Swiss and Italian Alps but in the East including eastern Switzerland, Italy and Austria it’s at level 3, considerable, in many areas.

Eastern Europe is seeing similar conditions to the Alps.  Jasna in the Slovak Republic is pictured above.  Generally temperatures in the valleys are getting as high as double digits above freezing in the afternoon so a thaw is well underway and precipitation is often back to falling as rain when it arrives, and as snow higher up.

However most areas either have deep enough snow on their slopes down to resort level or are ab le to push snow down the mountain to fill any gaps that appear sop continue to offer top to bottom skiing.

Down in the Pyrenees there’s been a little fresh snow in recent days.  Our top image is from the Spanish resort of Baqueira Beret which reported 10cm of fresh snow on Wednesday.

Up in Scandinavia it has been very snowy with plenty more snow in Norway, Sweden and Finland is also in the best shape it has been all winter.  Levi, now fully open, is pictured below.

The same can be said for Scotland which has re-opened more slopes this week than it has had open all season up to now, thanks to three weeks of cold and often snowy weather since the big February thaw.  It has been rather warm again the past few days which may be a minor set back but colder weather and more snow is forecast for the weekend.  The Lecht is pictured below this week.

Across the Atlantic it has been a quieter week for snowfall in both Canada and the USA.  Indeed a rapid thaw has led some resorts in traditionally warm states like New Mexico to begin closing but then New Jersey’s Mountain Creek area has, unusually, extended their season to the end of the month. The East Coast is due to get a lot of snow over the next few days right up to Quebec though, with up to 50cm/20 inches forecast.

On the west, there’s a return to snowier weather expected but it has been warm and the avalanche danger risk has been set at ‘very high’ by official bodies in regions like BC, Canada due to the instability of a rapidly thawing snowpack.

The far North West, Alaska, is the one part of north America that has seen big snowfalls this past week with more than six feet of snow for Alyeska, pictured below.

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Where is good to ski right now? 

Week commencing 14th March 2019?

It has been the snowiest week in the Alps for some time with some resorts reporting almost a metre of snow already, and it’s currently dumping down again meaning five-day totals at some Swiss areas may get up towards 1.5 metres (five feet).

The snow is falling over a wide area from the Southern French Alps in the west across to the Northeastern Alps and the Tatra mountains of the Czech and Slovak Republics as well as Poland.

Heavy snow has been reported in Jasna in Slovakia for example, but the weather is changeable with strong winds blowing in at times, leading to the evacuation of higher slopes in Alpe d’Huez at the start of the week with some non-skiing visitors in mountain restaurants needing to be brought down on snowcats as high lifts were closed.

https://fb.watch/gIJxCLh_AF/

 

 

Whilst it has been generally cold on the ski slopes there have also been reports of rain at times down in low valley ski resorts as spring starts to take hold at lower elevations.

But higher up the snow is good and it’s getting deeper, Engelberg just overtook Andermatt for the first time this season to post the deepest base in Europe (and the world) at 616cm (20.5 feet) after 30cm of snowfall in the past few days there.

Elsewhere in Europe, there has been some fresh snow in the Pyrenees but otherwise, conditions are distinctly springlike with top to bottom skiing but in the valleys, the only snow left is what’s pushed down on the slopes.

It was a similar picture in the Dolomites although here snow forecast may turn things much whiter over the next few days if it falls as promised and right down to the valley floor as snow.

Scotland’s stop-start-stop ski season is starting again with lots of snow showers through March so far after the warm February thaw (Glencoe pictured above).  Ski areas have been re-opening slopes in the past week with all five centres open again for the first time in nearly a month since Wednesday.  There’s a limited but increasing amount of terrain open and the main problem has been the strong winds of late, which has caused lift closures at times. In between when the wind has dropped and the sun come out conditions have been superb.

Scandinavia has seen some good snowfalls too and resorts on Norway’s coast like Voss (pictured top after the snow) reported some big 50cm accumulations earlier this week – some of the biggest of the season so far in fact.  But there was also snowfall across the region so almost all Scandinavian ski centres have plenty of fresh snow to groom or for off-piste powder.

In North America the unending snowy deluge in the west seems to have finally, well, if not ended, certainly eased. Squaw Valley popped to the top of the world greatest snow depth table after the latest huge snowfalls last week hitting 6.3 metres (21 feet) at the start of this week but has now dropped back down under 6 metres after the snowfall finally eased and people could go out and enjoy the snow under clear skies at last.

It is still snowing in parts of Colorado, Utah and the Pacific Northwest but this week they’re measuring it in inches rather than feet.

 

*******

Where is good to ski right now? 

Report below from 8 March 2019

There’s a big change in the weather in the Alps for the start of March with snow falling across the region after the three-week dry spell through the latter part of February.

The snowfall has also reached down the Dolomites, and in the past 24 hours to the Pyrenees, where it had been dry for a month.  Vallnord in Andorra is pictured below as the snow clouds rolled in.

So the result is that much of mainland Europe is getting a fresh snow top up, welcome by most.  The only downside beyond the low visibility snowfall normally brings, is that the change in the weather has also brought strong winds at times, which have closed some higher lifts and runs.

The snow is expected to continue pretty much everywhere for the week ahead. There are some fears that at lower elevations it may fall as rain, but at higher resorts like Obergurgl and the higher parts of the Chamonix Valley, there may be as much as a metre of fresh snow by this time next week if forecasters are correct.

So far resorts reporting 20-30cm overnight accumulations in the past few days have included Bonneval in France, Bormio in Italy (pictured below yesterday), St Moritz in Switzerland and Saalbach (on three separate days in the past week) in Austria.

Closer to home the picture has also changed in Scotland after the record warm temperatures of February and slopes in the Highlands are turning white again. At the time of writing it was still only limited terrain open at the base of the slopes, just for beginners really, at a few areas, but it is a rapidly improving picture and Glencoe for one says they expect to open full runs on the upper mountain this weekend.

 

It’s a snowy picture in Scandinavia too with the snow falling over most of Norway and Sweden’s ski areas and many posting regular 5-20cm overnight accumulations to provide fresh powder each morning.  Voss on Norway’s coast reported 35cm in 24 hours to Friday morning – pictured below after the snow.

Across the Atlantic, more snowfall records are being set in the US and it is still dumping down in the West.  Squaw Valley has announced it will stay open to July 7^th and Winter Park in Colorado has said it will stay open into May (joining Breckenridge, pictured below on Thursday, which already announced would be open to the end of May). In fact, Colorado has been at the heart of severe weather over the past 48 hours with ski areas reporting up to 2 metres of snowfall in the past week, leading to road closures and in the case of Arapahoe Basin on Thursday, the whole resort closing due to ‘severe avalanche danger.’  In fact, the avalanche danger in Colorado is currently at its highest level: 5

 

There’s been snow right across the US though, including on the East Coast leading to severe weather warnings across the country and thousands of flight cancellations.

North of the border in Canada the weather has been less dramatic with just moderate snowfalls at ski areas from coast to coast.  Tremblant has the country’s deepest base at 496cm.

******

Report below from 28 February

Where is good to ski right now? 

The snow is falling again in the Alps, hoorah! Of course it was hard not to enjoy the sunny, warm days on the slopes that have dominated much of February but for those who like fresh powder, or even freshly groomed slopes, spring had come a little too early and it’s a relief to get back to more winter-like conditions – even if these are arriving just as spring itself is supposed to start on March 1^st (the meteorological version that is).

In the Alps, the snow is expected to be heaviest in the North and West although the full region should get at least some.  We’re talking 10-30cm in Eastern and southerly areas and 30-70cm in Northern and western part. The biggest falls are expected in France on Friday, then a bit of a lull before another wave of heavy snowfall at the start of next week – if the forecasts get it right.

In the meantime, it has been another warm, sunny week across much of the continent – very like late March/early April often is, less like what February should be like, but still quite pleasant on the pistes until it gets a bit too sticky in the late afternoon. But then that’s all history now anyway with the snow returning and cold weather with it.

There was some snow at the end of last week in parts of Austria though, Dachstein West (below) reported 20cm of snow, Saalbach 30cm.

The Dolomites and Pyrenees will probably have to wait until the middle of next week before the snow reaches them. And whilst current forecasts are for 40-80cm in the Western Alps (France and Western Italy and Western Switzerland) and 20-40 on the eastern side (Austria and Eastern Switzerland), so far it’s looking like 10-20cm for the Dolomites and Pyrenees, but of course that could change before the snow arrives next week.

Closer to home Scottish ski areas have continued to suffer as we’ve basked in record warm days for February in the UK but here too a return to winter is forecast from this weekend as we enter spring and its hoped enough snow will fall along with cold weather for snowmaking for some of the main ski runs to re-open alongside the beginner areas kept open with all-weather snowmaking at Cairngorm, Glencoe and The Lecht.

Scandinavia should see more fresh snow and Bulgaria, where there was a foot of fresh snow at the weekend, continues to look good with bases actually increasing here to nearly 3 metres (10 feet) at the snowiest resort, Pamporovo.  The other Bulgarian centres have plenty of snow too though – Bansko is pictured above on Saturday when World Cup races were postyponed due to the snowfall.

It should stay snowy in Canada next week where ski areas across the country reported up to 60cm of fresh snow over the past seven days.  The week ahead doesn’t look AS snowy but up to 30cm is still expected in Quebec (again) and around Banff in Alberta.

The US has seen another week of very snowy weather to round off February with more huge snowfalls this week in states including California and Wyoming, both seeing resorts post more than 1.5 metres (five feet) of snowfall since Sunday.  That’s on top of similar huge snowfalls through February giving resorts like Mammoth, Jackson Hole and Squaw Valley their snowiest ever Feb. All the snow, accompanied by strong winds at times, has caused problems for some areas opening, but once the weather calms down the powder is incredible.

 

*****

Where is good to ski right now? 

Report below from week ending 23 February

It has been the second week with little or no snowfall for most of Europe’s ski areas with blue skies and perfect conditions on the piste at most resorts for the February half term holidays.

Heavy snowfall earlier this month and in January means that despite warm temperatures and spring-like conditions a little earlier than they should be, most have the snow depths to withstand the warmth and have everything open.  Here’s Morzine this week.

Some have reduced their depth totals by 10-20cm this week, reflecting the thaw, but as most have at least 2 metres lying on upper runs, and some like Andermatt and Engelberg, around six metres, that’s not a big issue as yet.

Of course whilst its great on the groomed runs, the chance of finding any fresh powder are diminishing by the day until there’s a fresh snowfall.

There’s not a huge change on the horizon still so far, although some colder weather has crept in from the East in recent days bringing light snowfall and subzero temperatures back to parts of Austria and further afield in Bulgaria.  But most of the Western Alps, Pyrenees and Dolomites look set to stay dry into a third week next week.

 

The only part of Europe which has seen regular snowfalls over the past week has been Scandinavia where most resorts have had 10-20cm of snowfall in the last 7 days and some on Norway’s western coast, including Voss, getting nearer to 50cm.

Closer to home though on our side of the North Sea it is not looking good in Scotland.  The BBC News reported a village in Aberdeenshire set an all-time February warmth record at over 18C on Thursday, 21^st February – and that’s very close to the five Scottish ski areas which hadn’t had a deep snow covering as it was and that’s now pretty much all disappeared. Glencoe (pictured above), The Lecht and Cairngorm are still managing to keep small snow areas for beginners and sledges open though thanks to their new all-weather snowmaking machines purchased this year.

Across the Atlantic, it’s a very different picture with snowfall reported almost everywhere and in California, it has continued to be exceptionally heavy snowfall with several resorts now setting February all-time snowfall records, amongst them Squaw Valley and Mammoth each reporting more than 5 metres of snowfall this month alone. Mammoth has now had more than 13 metres of snowfall so far this season, has it lying 5.7 metres (19 feet) deep and is looking good to stay open to July as it plans.

Pictured below are a ‘before’ and ‘after’ picture of a ski hut at Sugar Bowl ski area in California which has reported an average 30cm/foot a day of snowfall every day this month.

As mentioned it’s not just the far West though, there have been more good snowfalls in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, as well as on the East Coast and up across Canada where they’ve been getting excited that temperatures are ‘warming up’ to just below freezing.

There’s plenty more snow in the forecast across the continent with the biggest snowfalls expected in the Rockies over the coming week.

**** REPORT BELOW DATED 15 FEBRUARY 2019

Where is good to ski right now? 

After a mostly snowy first six weeks of 2019 in one region or another the weather has calmed down across the Alps (and indeed the Dolomites and Pyrenees) with predominantly sunny days and great conditions for skiing and boarding.  Obergurgl in Austria is pictrured top this week.

All that snow through January to mid-February has left deep cover at most resorts, with almost all the centres you can book a package holiday to reporting at least a 2 metre base depth and some as much as a six metre base depth.

The snow in the Alps is fresh too, there was another big dump last weekend and into the start of this week which gave 30-60cm more snow to most resorts in Austria, France and Switzerland.

Meribel is pictured last weekend below:

With all the sunshine this week it has also been getting warmer and it will be feeling ‘springlike’ in many resorts this weekend and into the main half-term week next week. Temperatures may well go well above freezing at village level and even up on the slopes.

There’s no real sign of change on the horizon at present either with just the odd centimetre of snow forecast here and there by the snow forecasting agencies, but mostly just more sunshine.

The avalanche danger rose up to level 3, considerable, for off-piste skiers and boarders with that heavy snow but has since eased in some areas.

There hasn’t been any significant fresh snow in the Dolomites or Pyrenees for nearly two weeks now but conditions remain good after all the snow that fell in later January and early Feb, with deep bases again and all runs open.  A light dusting of snow is expected in the Pyrenees at the start of next week which should freshen things up nicely.  Spain’s Baquerira Beret is pictured above this week.

Conditions are looking pretty good in Eastern Europe too, where the snow has continued falling and temperatures stayed lower through the past week.  Bases are also looking very healthy and again pretty much all runs are open.

Further north things are looking a little less promising. In Scandinavia, there has been fresh snow but there’s also been a wild mix of weather with temperatures going from below -20 at the start of the week to above freezing with rain, and periods of fog and gale force winds have also impacted skiers.

In Scotland, the warm British weather has had a bad impact and the number of runs open which peaked at over 60 midweek is now down below 10 across the five areas and with warm weather expected to continue into next week it’s not looking promising at present.

Across the Atlantic there has been no let up in the heavy snowfall in Western North America with more massive accumulations in California and along the Pacific Coast, which has continued over to provide pretty huge snowfalls (60cm instead of 120cm further west) in states like Utah and Wyoming.  Mammoth Mountain has now had more than 11 metres of snowfall and is sitting on a 5m+ base so has already announced that it’s staying open to at least July 4^th this year.  Cars at the summit at Snoqualmie in Washington State are pictured above.

There’s been fresh snow north of the border in BC too and over in the east some big snowfalls in New England and Quebec (includiong at Mont Tremblant below).

**** REPORT BELOW DATED 8 FEBRUARY 2019

Where is good to ski right now? 

Ski areas around the world seem to be taking a breath this week after huge snowfalls up to last weekend and, in North America, the first half of this week.

Resorts in the Alps posted snowfalls of typically 50cm to as much as 2 metres by the end of last weekend and similar numbers were reported in the Dolomites (Alta Badia pictured below) and Pyrenees over the same period with the most snow – up to 3 metres (10 feet) reported in California between Saturday and Tuesday.

So in mainland Europe, after those huge snowfalls, this week has seen people simply enjoying all the snow.  There have been blue skies in the French Alps, for example, leading to endless social media posts of “fabulous conditions.”

That said, in the past 24 hours things have been turning snowy again in the Alps with a fresh band of snow clouds crossing the area over the weekend with the heaviest snowfall expected on Sunday/Monday.

Snow depths are very healthy indeed with most of the continent’s leading ski areas having at least 2 metres of snow on upper slopes, some as much as 3 or 4 metres and a few, including St Anton, Engelberg and Andermatt, above 5 metres.  That should take a while to melt in the spring.

It has been a great week in the French Alps with lots of sunshine and skiers in the mountains there over the past few days reporting ideal conditions.  The snow clouds have moved back in at many resorts now though.

Elsewhere in Europe, there were huge snowfalls at the end of last week in the Dolomites. This was particularly welcome as the Italian mountains had not had much snow at all this season until then, although they did have most of their terrain open thanks to near 100% snowmaking coverage. Now the snow is lying deep across the region.  Cortina and Val Gardena posted some of the biggest accumulations.

Further east still there’s been a lot of snowfall in Bulgaria over the past few weeks and conditions are good here with a deep base developing.

On the other side of Europe, the Pyrenees saw their second week of heavy snowfall leading to resorts in the French Pyrenees now posting deeper snow base depth stats than resorts in the French Alps – although both mountain ranges have healthy numbers.  Like the Dolomites, the snowfall has been very welcome after a fairly dry first few months of the season before it arrived.

Looking north conditions are again fairly good across much of Scandinavia.  It’s been cold and clear so far at Are for the Alpine Skiing World Championships in Sweden with will see Axel Lund Svindal and Lindsey Vonn’s final professional races in the next few days. There has been some fresh snow though with Norwegian coastal ski area Voss reporting 30cm of fresh powder this week.

In Scotland, it has been a constantly improving picture through February with bases building and all five areas opening terrain beyond the previously only-beginner terrain available.  The Lecht is pictured above this week.  Temperatures are rising and it’s a windy weekend ahead which could see some damage to the thin snow cover but hopefully not.

In North America, there have been huge snowfalls on the West side of the continent as mentioned above.  The biggest falls were in California (Kirkwood pictured above) but 1-2 metre accumulations were reported across the western side of the US and it has hardly stopped snowing in Utah where the Freestyle World Championships are underway.  Some resorts there have had two metres of snow this week.

Elsewhere there has been a bit of a lull since the snowfall was heaviest on Sunday/Monday but a fresh front hitting the West Coast this weekend is expected to bring at least another 50cm by the start of next week.

ends

**** REPORT BELOW DATED 1 FEBRUARY 2019

Where is good to ski right now? 

Well for the Start of February the good news is that the snow conditions are looking great almost everywhere.

The extremely heavy snow in the Eastern Alps (Austria and Eastern Switzerland) that caused disruption in the first half of January has now eased leaving most areas fully open.

The snow is lying deep across the region now, in fact, the world’s deepest snow base is 20 feet (six metres) deep at the resort of Andermatt in Switzerland, Engelberg isn’t too far behind and St Anton (above) recently pushed through the 5-metre mark for its upper snow depth earlier this week.

At the same time The Western Alps (France, Western Switzerland and Western Italy), which had been doing fine but really needed more fresh snow, have had just that over the past 10 days with most resorts receiving several feet (60cm+) of fresh snow but some as much as 1.5 metres of snow.

The snow is still falling and expected to continue to be quite heavy through the weekend at many areas, so that could cause travel issues.

The snow has also pushed the off piste avalanche danger up to level 5, one below the highest level, 5, meaning it is very dangerous to ski or board off piste at present.

The Pyrenees needed fresh snow more than the Alps and in some areas, until about 10 days ago, ski areas were only partially open because of a lack of snow.  That has changed big time with the biggest snowfalls in the world over the past fortnight in the Pyrenees.

Some ski areas there have had over three metres (10 feet) of snow.  So there are amazing snow conditions at present in the French and Spanish Pyrenees, as well as Andorra.  Pictured below is digging out at Formigueres in the French Pyrenees.

Again the volume of snow, still falling in some places, may cause travel issues and has pushed up the off piste avalanche danger so its vital to be aware of and respect closed slopes and other safety advice.

The Dolomites too had not had much snow until recently although pretty much all their groomed terrain was open thanks to their massive snowmaking arsenal.  But it is due to snow heavily this weekend here too for a good start to February.  It looks like 50-100cm of snow may fall over the next 72 hours, more than most areas there have had all season so far, so that should transform conditions here too.

Most of Eastern Europe is looking good too.  Large parts of the Northeast of the continent (Czech and Slovak Republics, Germany and Poland) shared in the huge snowfalls in the eastern Alps of early January and there have been several big snowfalls in Bulgaria over the past few weeks leaving the snow nearly two metres deep there.

Scandinavia – where the biggest ski competition of the year – the FIS Alpine Skiing World Championships – kick off next week in Are, Sweden, it is mostly good.  Finland had a warm start to the season but it is cold now and most areas are fully open. In Norway there have been some substantial snowfalls this week with 50cm of fresh at Norefjell.

The only area struggling to open much terrain so far in Scotland, although here too it’s a rapidly improving picture after mostly cold and sometimes snowy weather over the past fortnight. The five Highland areas should all have some runs iopen this first weekend of the month.

Across the Atlantic the big news from North America has been the super cold weather (-50F wind chill at its most extreme) in the centre of the continent.  This led to the closure of dozens of ski areas where it was too cold for them to operate safely.

However most of us head to ski areas on the West or East side of the continent where it has been cold, but not so much.  The East has had the most snow over the past week but there was already a good base from big snowfalls from November on in the west and more fresh snow is arriving this weekend and into next week there.  Revelstoke in BC has had more than 7 metres of snowfall so far this season.  Panorama in BC is pictured top.  Tremblant in Quebec below.

Finally, Japan – a fairly classic winter it seems with plenty of deep powder and Niseko passing the 7-metres-snowfall-to-date tally already.