SNOW NEWS UPDATED 30 November 2009
INTRODUCTION
The Espace Killy area in France, which includes Val d’Isere and Tignes, opened for the winter season this weekend. They enjoyed great snow conditions and with more snow falling this week the area is off to a great start to the season.
A big snowstorm over the Alps at the moment has dropped up to 50cm of snow in some places. Cervinia in Italy, Arosa in Switzerland and Les Deux Alpes in France all received around half a metre of fresh snow over the weekend. Of these three resorts it is only possible to ski at Cervinia and Les Deux Alpes this week and it should be fantastic with the fresh powder.
10cm of fresh snow fell on Trysil in Norway over the weekend. Conditions in Scandinavia are generally good, although the best riding can be found in Norway at the moment. It also snowed in Finland, with both Levi and Ruka receiving fresh snow over the weekend, helping keep the slopes in good condition.
Canada has some excellent skiing available. Silver Star opened on Saturday and it was a great opening weekend. Fresh snow and cold weather mean the pistes across the whole of British Columbia and Alberta are excellent.
Snow fell on the east coast of America over the weekend. 20cm of new snow was reported at Sunday River, and they were able to open two lifts over the weekend. These should be able to stay open during the week, with snow cannons keeping the snow in good condition.
AUSTRIA
It was snowing in Austria over the weekend and this continued into Monday.
Resorts in the west of the country have received the most snow, particularly Solden (0/100cm) where 20cm of fresh snow fell on the Rettenbach glacier on Sunday and into Monday morning. This greatly helped to improve the pistes at Solden as they were quite hard and icy prior to this snowfall. Unfortunately high winds forced the closure of all lifts on Monday. If the lifts are able to open on Tuesday morning the riding should be superb as more snow is expected to land before then.
The Stubai Glacier at Neustift (10/110cm) was also closed on Monday due to high winds. Light snow was reportedly falling on Monday morning on the glacier but not as much as at Solden.
Hintertux (0/170cm) was also affected by strong winds on Monday morning. Only six lifts were able to run but things were made better by light snow falling, although this did reduce the visibility.
FRANCE
Heavy snowfall was reported at most of our featured alpine French resorts on Monday morning. Many resorts received up to 20cm at resort level and more on the upper slopes.
It was a great opening weekend for the Espace Killy resorts of Tignes (20/70cm) and Val d’Isere (20/60cm). 36 lifts opened up in the whole area, although Tignes had the more lifts open that Val d’Isere. 15cm of fresh snow on Sunday made for some good skiing and more snowfall this week should ensure it remains that way. Visibility is poor due to the snowfall, so take care when out skiing.
Two more lifts opened at Val Thorens (40/70cm) over the weekend. Eight lifts were open on Monday morning in the immediate Val Thorens area but none of the links over to Meribel are open yet. Meribel and Courchevel are expected to open on Saturday 5th December, and it looks like the conditions will be great for the start of their season.
Another resort to open over the weekend was Les Deux Alpes (25/60cm). They received 20cm of fresh snow this weekend and more snow was falling on Monday morning. Only one lift as open in the area however, due to heavy snowfall and high winds affecting the region. When the weather clears it should be great.
SWITZERLAND
As with the rest of the Alps, lots of snow was falling at many of our featured Swiss resorts on Monday morning. High winds accompanied the snow, forcing lift closures too.
Saas Fee (25/69cm) closed all its lifts on Monday due to the poor weather. The good news is that it was snowing heavily on Monday morning and 21cm of fresh snow was measured on the pistes. More snow is expected during the week so when the lifts reopen it should be excellent.
Crans Montana (20/80cm) opened on Saturday. One lift was opened on the glacier but this is closed during the week. They should start daily skiing with more lifts running on Saturday 5th December and then have the full area open by Saturday 19th December.
The most snow so far has fallen at Andermatt (40/130cm). Their base depth nearly doubled over the weekend due to more than 50cm of new snow landing. Unfortunately they were closed for snowsports on Monday due to further snowfall but when they reopen there should be some excellent skiing on offer.
ITALY
Loads of fresh snow has fallen across most of Italy. Many resorts received over half a metre of snow on Sunday and most are expecting a lot more to fall during the first few days of this week.
40cm fell on the upper slopes at Cervinia (30/100cm). The accompanying high winds meant that only two lifts were able to run on Monday morning and it was only possible to ski using the Baby la Vieille drag lift, the other lift being the Breuil Plan Maison cable car to get you up to the glacier. A further 36cm of snow is expected to fall at the start of this week before a few days of sunshine. There should be excellent skiing once this storm has passed.
Passo Tonale (10/130cm) also received 40cm of fresh snow on Sunday. The Presena Glacier is where the most snow fell but there has been snow down to resort level as well. Only two lifts could operate on Monday due to the adverse weather but those who braved the snow were rewarded with some fantastic powder to ski.
ANDORRA
All our featured Andorran resorts are closed for snowsports this week. An opening for Arcalis (10/40cm) and Arinsal (10/25cm) was planned for Saturday 28th November but warm weather melted most of their snow so they had to postpone it to Saturday 5th December.
The good news is that 10cm of snow fell on Monday at all four resorts and it should snow more on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
NORWAY/SWEDEN
More snow has fallen over the weekend and into Monday at many of our featured Scandinavian resorts.
Trysil (30cm) reported the most snow falling in Norway on Monday morning, with 10cm covering the area. Lillehammer (5/37cm) is now open on weekdays, which is great news for skiers in Norway.
Sälen in Sweden (7/15cm) reported the greatest amount of fresh snow falling in Scandinavia on Monday. 15cm of new snow was measured at the Lindvallen area in the morning, which provided good riding from the seven open lifts and pistes across the Lindvallen and Tandådalen areas.
More wintry weather is expected at our featured Norwegian and Swedish resorts this week, with the greatest amount of snow expected in Norway.
GERMANY
The weather on Monday was not great at the German resort of Garmisch (0/110cm). Thick clouds brought rain to the area. The good news is that the precipitation fell as snow on the higher slopes up on the Zugspitze glacier ski area. The snow is forecast to continue falling into Tuesday then the skies should clear for Wednesday. The skiing should be great then with good visibility allowing visitors to take advantage of the fresh snow.
Our other featured German resorts are yet to open for snowsports.
BULGARIA
All of the Bulgarian resorts we report on are yet to open for the season.
SCOTLAND
Cairngorm (10/15cm) opened for the first time this season on Saturday 28th November. Snow and cold weather last week allowed them to open two drag lifts over the weekend. These were the Ptarmigan Tow and the Ciste Tow. The fences to hold the snow in place did a great job and gave decent cover on the opened runs. It was a great first weekend for skiing in Scotland.
All other Scottish resorts are yet to open for the season.
USA
In contrast to the last four weeks, the most snow recently has fallen on the east coast of America. Sunday River (15/30cm) managed to open some lifts on Sunday due to the fresh snow. Two were running and the fresh snow provided some fun skiing. More snow and cold weather is expected this week so they might be able to get their season properly underway.
Timberline (163cm) also received fresh snow. 20cm of powder snow fell on Saturday, giving some great skiing. Their deep base depth for this time of year ensures that they should not have to close even if it does get milder, which it is forecast to this week.
It is currently quite cold in Colorado. This allows the resorts to run their snow cannons a lot to keep the snow in good condition. Vail (46cm) had six lifts running this weekend and it should stay that way over the week. It could be fairly cold at the end of the week, with -18°C expected at the top of the mountain on Saturday.
CANADA
Silver Star (83/104cm) opened for the season on Friday 27th November. With an upper base depth of over a metre, there is plenty of great skiing to enjoy. Four lifts are running this week which are the Comet Express, Silver Woods Express, Alpine Meadows and Silver Queen Chair. Light snow is forecast for most of the week so the conditions should remain excellent.
More terrain opened up at Whistler (189cm) at the end of last week. Blackcomb Mountain opened for snowsports on 26th November and more lifts opened on Whistler Mountain over the weekend. 17 lifts are now running in the area and the upper slopes are all in fantastic condition. On Monday they had 5000 acres of skiable terrain, which is 61% of their total area.
Mont Sainte Anne and Tremblant on the east coast are yet to open. They have set an initial date of Friday 4th December to open based on current weather forecasts, which predict snow and cold weather later this week. This should allow them to start the snow cannons again and hopefully this combined with natural snow will be enough for them to open a few slopes.
EUROPEAN WEATHER OUTLOOK
The snowstorm over Europe last weekend is expected to continue. Switzerland and Italy should receive the most snow, with over 80cm forecast at some resorts.
In the French Alps, Chamonix and Argentiere are expecting 68cm of new snow to fall by the coming weekend. Most of this expected to fall over Monday but Thursday and Friday are looking very snowy as well, with 38cm falling over these two days. It should also turn a lot colder by the end of the week, after a brief warm spell on Wednesday.
83cm of snow is forecast at St Moritz in Switzerland. As with the French Alps it is expected to be heaviest on Monday but more snow should fall on Thursday and Friday. It should be a great week of skiing across the whole of the country, with all the fresh snow.
Livigno in Italy should receive over 80cm of snow through this week. Colder weather should move into the area by the end of the week, hopefully making the powder even better. Heavy snow is expected across the whole of the Italian Alps this week.
Lots of snow is expected in Western Austria but over in the east it will be fairly dry unfortunately. The east will benefit from the colder weather later in the week but only 6cm of snow is expected at Obertauern this week. 60cm of snow is expected in the Arlberg regions, giving them a great boost for their planned opening this coming weekend.
NORTH AMERICAN WEATHER OUTLOOK
In contrast to Europe, it should be a fairly dry week across the whole of America. The most snow expected in the country is at Big Sky in Montana, where 13cm should fall by Saturday.
Colorado should be dry, sunny and cold this week. The end of the week and weekend will be especially cold, with expected highs at resort level of -10°C at Vail. The cold weather means they can all run their snow cannons during the day and night, helping to keep the snow coverage in good condition.
The recent cold snap on the east coast should come to an end this week. A midweek rainstorm is expected at Smugglers’ Notch, potentially undoing all their hard work with the snow cannons. 11°C and heavy rain can be expected on Wednesday and Thursday. Fortunately some more cold weather is expected for next weekend.
Up in Canada it should be a generally snowy week. The temperature is also expected to drop considerably by the end of the week, bringing -22°C to most resorts at summit level the windchill making it feel nearer to -40°C. Jasper in Alberta is expecting the most snow in Canada, with 23cm expected by the end of this week. Whistler should receive a rather modest 6cm of snow this week, far less than the recent storms brought.
INTRODUCTION
The Espace Killy area in France, which includes Val d’Isere and Tignes, opened for the winter season this weekend. They enjoyed great snow conditions and with more snow falling this week the area is off to a great start to the season.
A big snowstorm over the Alps at the moment has dropped up to 50cm of snow in some places. Cervinia in Italy, Arosa in Switzerland and Les Deux Alpes in France all received around half a metre of fresh snow over the weekend. Of these three resorts it is only possible to ski at Cervinia and Les Deux Alpes this week and it should be fantastic with the fresh powder.
Canada has some excellent skiing available. Silver Star opened on Saturday and it was a great opening weekend. Fresh snow and cold weather mean the pistes across the whole of British Columbia and Alberta are excellent.
Snow fell on the east coast of America over the weekend. 20cm of new snow was reported at Sunday River, and they were able to open two lifts over the weekend. These should be able to stay open during the week, with snow cannons keeping the snow in good condition.
AUSTRIA
It was snowing in Austria over the weekend and this continued into Monday.
Resorts in the west of the country have received the most snow, particularly Solden (0/100cm) where 20cm of fresh snow fell on the Rettenbach glacier on Sunday and into Monday morning. This greatly helped to improve the pistes at Solden as they were quite hard and icy prior to this snowfall. Unfortunately high winds forced the closure of all lifts on Monday. If the lifts are able to open on Tuesday morning the riding should be superb as more snow is expected to land before then.
The Stubai Glacier at Neustift (10/110cm) was also closed on Monday due to high winds. Light snow was reportedly falling on Monday morning on the glacier but not as much as at Solden.
Hintertux (0/170cm) was also affected by strong winds on Monday morning. Only six lifts were able to run but things were made better by light snow falling, although this did reduce the visibility.
FRANCE
Many resorts received up to 20cm at resort level and more on the upper slopes.
It was a great opening weekend for the Espace Killy resorts of Tignes (20/70cm) and Val d’Isere (20/60cm). 36 lifts opened up in the whole area, although Tignes had the more lifts open that Val d’Isere. 15cm of fresh snow on Sunday made for some good skiing and more snowfall this week should ensure it remains that way. Visibility is poor due to the snowfall, so take care when out skiing.
Two more lifts opened at Val Thorens (40/70cm) over the weekend. Eight lifts were open on Monday morning in the immediate Val Thorens area but none of the links over to Meribel are open yet. Meribel and Courchevel are expected to open on Saturday 5th December, and it looks like the conditions will be great for the start of their season.
Another resort to open over the weekend was Les Deux Alpes (25/60cm). They received 20cm of fresh snow this weekend and more snow was falling on Monday morning. Only one lift as open in the area however, due to heavy snowfall and high winds affecting the region. When the weather clears it should be great.
SWITZERLAND
As with the rest of the Alps, lots of snow was falling at many of our featured Swiss resorts on Monday morning. High winds accompanied the snow, forcing lift closures too.
Saas Fee (25/69cm) closed all its lifts on Monday due to the poor weather. The good news is that it was snowing heavily on Monday morning and 21cm of fresh snow was measured on the pistes. More snow is expected during the week so when the lifts reopen it should be excellent.
Crans Montana (20/80cm) opened on Saturday. One lift was opened on the glacier but this is closed during the week. They should start daily skiing with more lifts running on Saturday 5th December and then have the full area open by Saturday 19th December.
The most snow so far has fallen at Andermatt (40/130cm). Their base depth nearly doubled over the weekend due to more than 50cm of new snow landing. Unfortunately they were closed for snowsports on Monday due to further snowfall but when they reopen there should be some excellent skiing on offer.
USA
In contrast to the last four weeks, the most snow recently has fallen on the east coast of America. Sunday River (15/30cm) managed to open some lifts on Sunday due to the fresh snow. Two were running and the fresh snow provided some fun skiing. More snow and cold weather is expected this week so they might be able to get their season properly underway.
Timberline (163cm) also received fresh snow. 20cm of powder snow fell on Saturday, giving some great skiing. Their deep base depth for this time of year ensures that they should not have to close even if it does get milder, which it is forecast to this week.
It is currently quite cold in Colorado. This allows the resorts to run their snow cannons a lot to keep the snow in good condition. Vail (46cm) had six lifts running this weekend and it should stay that way over the week. It could be fairly cold at the end of the week, with -18°C expected at the top of the mountain on Saturday.
CANADA
Silver Star (83/104cm) opened for the season on Friday 27th November. With an upper base depth of over a metre, there is plenty of great skiing to enjoy. Four lifts are running this week which are the Comet Express, Silver Woods Express, Alpine Meadows and Silver Queen Chair. Light snow is forecast for most of the week so the conditions should remain excellent.
More terrain opened up at Whistler (189cm) at the end of last week. Blackcomb Mountain opened for snowsports on 26th November and more lifts opened on Whistler Mountain over the weekend. 17 lifts are now running in the area and the upper slopes are all in fantastic condition. On Monday they had 5000 acres of skiable terrain, which is 61% of their total area.
Mont Sainte Anne and Tremblant on the east coast are yet to open. They have set an initial date of Friday 4th December to open based on current weather forecasts, which predict snow and cold weather later this week. This should allow them to start the snow cannons again and hopefully this combined with natural snow will be enough for them to open a few slopes.
EUROPEAN WEATHER OUTLOOK
The snowstorm over Europe last weekend is expected to continue. Switzerland and Italy should receive the most snow, with over 80cm forecast at some resorts.
In the French Alps, Chamonix and Argentiere are expecting 68cm of new snow to fall by the coming weekend. Most of this expected to fall over Monday but Thursday and Friday are looking very snowy as well, with 38cm falling over these two days. It should also turn a lot colder by the end of the week, after a brief warm spell on Wednesday.
83cm of snow is forecast at St Moritz in Switzerland. As with the French Alps it is expected to be heaviest on Monday but more snow should fall on Thursday and Friday. It should be a great week of skiing across the whole of the country, with all the fresh snow.
Livigno in Italy should receive over 80cm of snow through this week. Colder weather should move into the area by the end of the week, hopefully making the powder even better. Heavy snow is expected across the whole of the Italian Alps this week.
Lots of snow is expected in Western Austria but over in the east it will be fairly dry unfortunately. The east will benefit from the colder weather later in the week but only 6cm of snow is expected at Obertauern this week. 60cm of snow is expected in the Arlberg regions, giving them a great boost for their planned opening this coming weekend.
NORTH AMERICAN WEATHER OUTLOOK
In contrast to Europe, it should be a fairly dry week across the whole of America. The most snow expected in the country is at Big Sky in Montana, where 13cm should fall by Saturday.
Colorado should be dry, sunny and cold this week. The end of the week and weekend will be especially cold, with expected highs at resort level of -10°C at Vail. The cold weather means they can all run their snow cannons during the day and night, helping to keep the snow coverage in good condition.
The recent cold snap on the east coast should come to an end this week. A midweek rainstorm is expected at Smugglers’ Notch, potentially undoing all their hard work with the snow cannons. 11°C and heavy rain can be expected on Wednesday and Thursday. Fortunately some more cold weather is expected for next weekend.
Up in Canada it should be a generally snowy week. The temperature is also expected to drop considerably by the end of the week, bringing -22°C to most resorts at summit level the windchill making it feel nearer to -40°C. Jasper in Alberta is expecting the most snow in Canada, with 23cm expected by the end of this week. Whistler should receive a rather modest 6cm of snow this week, far less than the recent storms brought.
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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