It has been moderately snowy in much of Europe this past week with healthy snowfalls reported in France, Switzerland, the Pyrenees, Dolomites, parts of Eastern Europe and even Finland. Across the Atlantic the biggest snowfalls were on the East Coast for a change, although in the last 36 hours huge snowfalls have returned to the West too.
Elsewhere – Austria, Norway, Scotland …it has kept snowing too, just not quite so much.
Heavier snowfall is expected in many areas through the coming week.
Austria
20-40cm of fresh snow in the past week across Austria and conditions are generally good. The snow cover is a metre or two deep on the country’s higher slopes and most resorts now have good cover at village level too. The Stubai is pictured above.
France
French resorts saw the most snow in Europe in the last week with 65cm of snow at Tignes, 75cm of snow at La Plagne and 85cm at Avoriaz. Bases are looking very healthy too with up to 4m on upper runs at Chamonix – the deepest on the continent.
Italy
Italy has seen snow on both sides of the country, with more much needed snow in the Dolomites. Livigno is pictured on Friday morning and here’s a snow report from earlier in the week from Inghams in Cortina.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4muGgOjnu-o
Switzerland
25-45cm of fresh snow in Switzerland in the past week with Saas Fee, Verbier, Engelberg and Gstaad seeing the biggest snowfalls. Conditions are good across the country and similar falls are expected next week. A Powder Extreme report from Verbier earlier this week:
Spain and the Pyrenees
There’s been fresh snow in the Pyrenees – about a foot of it – and even down at Sierra Nevada (pictured above and top) in the south of the country which had had almost no natural snowfall all winter until this week.
Scandinavia
The most fresh snow this week has been in Finland where resorts report around 30cm – unusual as usually it stays cold, so no thawing, but the fine snow doesn’t often add up to much. There’s also been snow in Sweden but, unusually again, less in Norway, although bases there remain good. Riksgransen in Northern Sweden, pictured above prepping the slopes, opened this weekend for its season which runs to Midsummers Day. It has a 120cm base.
Scotland
All five Scottish Highland ski areas are open and have reported largely stable weather conditions. Cairngorm has had to suspend lift ticket sales on several days this past half term week as it was too busy.
Eastern Europe
Bulgarian bases remain around the metre mark although there’s been no fresh snow reported. Further north there has been 20-40cm of fresh snow, one of the best falls this winter, in many Eastern ski nations including Romania and Slovenia. Krvavec is pictured.
Canada
The big news in Canada this week has been some big snowfalls – nearly half a metre in fact – in Quebec in the East, which hasn’t been having a great winter to date. Tremblant, above, got more than 40cm in 24 hours at one point. Some snow in the West too where the snow is up to 2.5m deep.
USA
Some huge snowfalls in the Western US in the past few days with Heavenly in California reporting 60cm/two feet in 24 hours on Thursday. There have also been some good snowfalls in New England with up to 45cm of new snow in the last even days reported there. Alyeska, pictured above, in Alaska has now had 14m of snow this season.