Snow Report, 18th February, 2010
Despite it being one of the busiest weeks of the year in the Alps, many resorts have minimal lift queues and excellent snow conditions to go with it.
Fresh snow fell in the western half of the Alps on Wednesday and in many resorts the snow continued on Thursday too. The southern areas of the French Alps received the greatest amount of this fresh snow. Serre Chevalier received around 30cm of snow over Tuesday 16th and Wednesday 17th February.
The snow hasn’t yet arrived in Austria but it is heading their way. Ski Club reps in Austrian resorts report excellent conditions, particularly at Obergurgl where the pistes are being well maintained.
Nevis Range in Scotland reported up to 40cm of fresh snow on Wednesday 17th February. This is excellent news for Scottish skiing, which is experiencing its best season in many years.
Snow continues to fall in Colorado. The good news is that it is due to get even heavier. Earlier in the week Breckenridge received 30cm of fresh powder which made for one of their best powder days of the season so far.
Skiing in Canada is also good at the moment. Despite reports of a lack of snow at the Winter Olympic areas, Whistler has over three metres of snow and with around 90cm falling since Thursday 11th February there is plenty of powder to be found.
AUSTRIA
There have been some excellent conditions all over Austria this week, which is good as it is one of the busiest times of the season at the moment. The sun has been shining all week so far while the coming weekend is promising some fresh snow.
It’s been sunny all week at Obertauern (125/160cm) and with low temperatures; the runs are in excellent condition. All of the lifts have been open this week and they should all remain open over the weekend too. Despite it being half term, lift queues are minimal so you can enjoy maximum time on the snow.
Over at Ischgl (25/90cm) the Ski Club rep in resort reports excellent conditions. The upper slopes are in the best condition due to the cold weather but snow making systems have kept the lower slopes in good condition too. If you plan to head off piste, pick your area carefully as some of the lower sections have a lot of rocks showing through and the snow conditions are very varied.
There is lots of great skiing on offer in France at the moment. Half term week means many resorts are very busy but these queues can be avoided in most cases, if you know where to go.
A dusting of snow fell on Wednesday night at Avoriaz (150/200cm). The Ski Club rep who is currently in Avoriaz says the pistes offer some great skiing, especially higher up. As the weather has turned warmer the lower slopes are softer but still good fun. The off-piste terrain is tracked out and they need more fresh snow to turn it back to powder.
Most of the fresh snow recently has fallen in the southern French Alps. Resorts like Serre Chevalier (105/225cm) received around 30cm of fresh snow over Tuesday night and into Wednesday 17th February. This is enough to transform the pistes and all the backcountry areas too. Light snow continued to fall on Thursday so it should be a good weekend.
SWITZERLAND
After a sunny week in Switzerland the snow was starting to fall in some places on Thursday morning, although at most of our featured resorts it was just cloudy.
St Moritz (80/200cm) received just over 10cm of fresh snow on Thursday morning, 18th February, and the snow is expected to continue on Friday too and this would further improve the conditions. On Thursday the pistes were covered in a layer of soft snow and the off-piste cover was also freshened up by the new snow.
Not all resorts are snowy however. Andermatt (70/220cm) hasn’t received any significant snow since Thursday 11th February. This doesn’t mean conditions are bad though as most of their pistes are in great condition, particularly higher up.
CANADA
With all the press coverage about the rain at Whistler (301cm) you might expect their skiing is bad. It is in fact the complete opposite, with plenty of fresh powder on the upper slopes and temperatures around -9°C. Over three metres of snow covers the mountain so the off-piste skiing is every bit as good as it is on piste. All the alpine bowls are full of powder, thanks to 86cm of fresh snow since Friday 12th February. Lower down the slopes are a bit hard but still offer great skiing, especially for carving turns.
It snowed a few centimetres at Revelstoke (196cm) on Tuesday 17th February. Their whole mountain is fully open and offering some awesome skiing. The resort never gets very busy so there are still plenty of fresh lines in the upper bowls and in the trees down lower.
The little resort of Blue Mountain (100cm) near Toronto offers some good on-piste skiing. A metre of largely artificial snow lies on the slopes but cold weather means the snow is in good condition. Off-piste skiing is extremely limited due to the terrain and lack of deep snow.
EUROPEAN WEATHER OUTLOOK
The coming weekend should be a fairly snowy one with a fair amount of fresh snowfall forecast for France, Switzerland, Italy and Austria.
In Italy, Cervinia should receive 50cm of snow by the middle of next week. The snow should be heaviest on Friday 19th and Monday 22nd February and a dry weekend is expected. The next snowstorm should move over after Wednesday 24th February.
In Austria, rain is possible at the lowest slopes. Mild temperatures will bring wetter snow or rain to the villages of resorts like Saalbach, St Wolfgang and Ellmau. Further up, snow is expected to fall though which should make for some fun skiing.
40cm of snow is expected at Voss in Norway by Friday 26th February. Most of the snow is expected to fall next week but Sunday could see heavy snow too. A drop in temperature, down to -17°C at Voss, should be followed by milder weather of around -6°C.
NORTH AMERICAN WEATHER OUTLOOK
The recent snowfall in Colorado isn’t expected to stop and if anything it should get even heavier. Aspen is expecting nearly 60cm of fresh snow by Thursday 25th February which should make for some awesome skiing. The temperature is expected to remain between -7°C and -10°C for the week ahead so the fresh snow should be of great quality.
Down in California, another snowstorm is fast approaching. Snow is expected this weekend at Mammoth but the main snow event is expected to be early next week. 34cm of snow is expected on Tuesday night which is great news and with a temperature well below freezing there should be some good powder around.
Wintry weather is still dominant on the east coast. The area can be plagued with warm spells but there isn’t one expected any time soon. Light snow and cold weather is expected over the weekend and then all the way through next week.
Brought to you by The Ski Club of Great Britain
