Snow Update (19 November 2009)
INTRODUCTION
Many more resorts in Europe and North America are opening this weekend.
Obertauern in Austria opened for the winter season on Thursday 19th November. Despite the current mild weather the snow is holding up well and has allowed them to open a number of lifts and runs.
Several resorts in Switzerland are also opening this weekend. Flims/Laax has already opened for skiing and offers a good variety of terrain. Sunny weather this week will make for some good skiing.
Over in Canada, Whistler’s massive snowstorm continues and 221cm of snow has fallen since Thursday last week. They are rapidly heading towards their all time record for fresh snow in November, which was set in 2006. Incredibly deep powder can be found all over the upper half of the mountain.
Most of the available skiing at the moment in the USA is in Colorado. Vail opens its ski area on Friday 20th November and with plenty of manmade snow it should be good fun skiing at the resort. Resorts on the east coast of America are trying to open but warm weather is hindering their snow making progress.
Despite the warm weather over Austria at the moment the snow is holding up well and this week more resorts are opening.
Thursday 19th November was the first day of the season for Obertauern (25/45cm). Five lifts were opened and these are the Grünwaldkopf, Panoramabahn, Seekarspitzbahn, Kringsalmbahn and Hochalmbahn. Skiers are advised to stick to the marked open runs as snow cover is thin elsewhere.
Obergurgl (25/61cm) is also open. An upper base depth of over half a metre ensures good snow conditions on marked runs. An impressive 17 lifts are running at Obergurgl at the end of this week which is excellent for this time of year and there is plenty of skiing available.
Parts of the winter ski area at Solden (0/81cm) are now open. Nine lifts are open on the Rettenbach glacier and a further seven are open elsewhere in the Solden area. 3cm of fresh snow fell on the glacier on Wednesday night, further improving the ski conditions.
Six lifts and seven pistes are open at the Val Thorens (40/70cm) and due to the altitude the snow conditions are good, despite the mild weather elsewhere. It is advisable to stick to the marked runs as the cover off piste is very thin.
11 lifts are open at Tignes (15/50cm) this week, with most of these being on the glacier. It is still possible to ski down into Val Claret on the Double M piste. As with Val Thorens it is best to stick to the marked runs as there are uncovered rocks off piste. Light snow and colder weather is forecast for Monday which should help further improve the snow.
An updated depth measurement from Saas Fee (19/155cm) now shows there is over a metre and a half of snow on the glacier. Their measurement on Monday showed the depth to be less than half a metre. 8cm of snow fell on Wednesday night on the upper slopes so there is a nice layer of fresh on top of the groomed snow. This combined with the sunny weather provides enjoyable skiing at the end of this week.
Flims/Laax (0/80cm) has opened for the winter season. Six lifts were running on Thursday, mostly from Crap Sogn Goin upwards. 5cm of snow fell on Monday which is still providing good slope conditions. More lifts could open on the Vorab Glacier this weekend.
The little resort of Zinal (5/60cm) near Zermatt (4/70cm) is open at weekends. The resort opens five of its lifts every Saturday and Sunday until
Saturday 12th December when they should open daily.
More resorts in America have opened this week. Solitude (56cm) in Utah and Winter Park (46cm) in Colorado are now both open. Winter Park has the most skiing available of the two, with seven lifts running this week. Two are running at Solitude and the base depth of more than half a metre provides some good skiing.
Elsewhere in Colorado, Vail (46cm) plans to open on Friday 20th November. A largely manmade base depth is typical of Colorado in the early season but this means on piste conditions will be good for opening day. There isn’t a lot of snow off piste so stay on the marked runs.
It has gone warm on the east coast again. A temperature of 12°C is expected at Mount Snow this weekend bringing rain to both the upper and lower slopes. This isn’t good news as many of the east coast resorts should be opening around the end of November.
Western Canada, particularly Whistler (189cm), continues to receive truly huge amounts of snow. The resort has seen 221cm of fresh snow fall on its upper slopes since last Thursday and another 211cm is forecast to fall before next Tuesday. This brings their total for the season so far to nearly four metres and this is before their original scheduled opening date of 26th November. If the snow in the forecast is correct, they should break their all time record for fresh snow in November. Due to all the snow the powder skiing is phenomenal but do take extreme care as the avalanche danger is high to extreme.
It has also snowed a lot at Jasper (94/110cm) in Alberta. The resort has received 85cm of fresh snow since Thursday last week so there is plenty of great powder skiing at Jasper. Six out of a possible nine lifts are running giving great access to the powder snow.
Some of this snow also fell at Banff (66/94cm), where Sunshine Village and Lake Louise are currently open. Most recently, 11cm of snow fell at Sunshine Village on Tuesday night. Light snow is forecast over the weekend which should help keep their snow conditions excellent.
EUROPEAN WEATHER OUTLOOK
The mild weather in Europe at the moment is forecast to continue for the rest of this week. However the general trend is for colder and snowier weather to move in by Monday next week. It won’t bring large amounts of snow but it will be welcomed by all the resorts.
This weather trend is true for Austria. Hintertux is expecting the most of the snow when it arrives on Monday. 13cm alone should fall on Monday which will give a great boost to their skiing. The freezing level will also drop from around 3600m on Saturday to 1400m on Tuesday.
Les Deux Alpes in France is also expecting light snow on Sunday and Monday, amounting to around 13cm over both days. The snow should come coupled with a noticeable drop in temperatures, from 12°C at base level on Friday to 0°C by Tuesday.
NORTH AMERICAN WEATHER OUTLOOK
Apart from Timberline in Oregon and Jackson Hole in Wyoming, it should be fairly dry across the whole of America.
78cm of snow is forecast to fall at Timberline, predominantly over Friday and Saturday when 55cm will land. The snow will bring lower temperatures with it but once the snow has passed away, warmer weather will follow.
Jackson Hole should see 31cm of snow fall by Tuesday next week. Sunday and Monday is when the snow should be heaviest, and it will come as a welcome relief before the resorts planned opening day. You can expect temperatures of -16°C at the summit of Jackson Hole over the weekend and a more modest -9°C at the bottom.
No new snow is expected for resorts in Colorado over the weekend but it should remain cold. Night time temperatures in Vail will down to around -15°C which is plenty cold enough for the snow cannons to run.
The east coast of America is unseasonably warm still. Heavy rain is forecast for many of the resorts in that area, both on the upper and lower slopes. They desperately need colder temperatures to be able to resume their snow making as their opening dates are fast approaching.
Loads of snow continues to fall on the west coast of Canada. Whistler has received phenomenal amounts of snow already this season and the snowstorm is still going strong. A further 211cm of snow is expected to fall on the upper slopes by Tuesday next week which should mean the resort breaks its record for the snowiest November ever. The record currently stands at 416cm which was set in 2006 and they are currently on 362cm so far this month.
If you are planning a skiing holiday, let us advise you of the best locations and properties for your holiday. You can call us on +1865 398130 to talk to a travel consultant.
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