Snow Report, 29th of March, 2010

INTRODUCTION
Conditions are a lot better in most of Europe now after the heavy snow that fell in the Alps over the weekend. Loads of snow fell in France and parts of Switzerland and lighter snow fell in Austria too.
Val d’Isere and Tignes in France received some of the heaviest snowfall. The Ski Club rep in Tignes reported 50cm of fresh snow on Saturday 27th March. Awesome skiing can be found, particularly on the upper slopes.
20cm fell on the upper slopes at Zermatt in Switzerland. This gave a fun powder day although the lower slopes are slushy, where rain and wet snow fell.
Not so much snow fell in Austria but it was enough to boost their conditions a little. The Ski Club rep in Mayrhofen said that although it rained in the valley, it was snowing up on the mountain and there was some fresh snow to ski.
Over in America, Colorado enjoyed a snowy weekend. There was plenty of powder to ski in most resorts, including Vail. Their base depth is pretty good now and the powder over the weekend made for some excellent skiing.
Big White and Silver Star in British Columbia, Canada, received the biggest dump of their season so far on Friday night. 35cm of fresh snow gave an awesome day on Saturday. Their base depths are at the deepest they have been all season which bodes very well for the remainder of the season.

AUSTRIA
It snowed in Austria over the weekend, mainly on the upper slopes.
A dusting of snow fell at Mayrhofen (0/80cm) on Saturday, 27th March, which helped refresh the upper piste conditions. The Ski Club rep in the resort said that the fresh snow made for some excellent skiing up top. 10cm also fell on Friday night so in general the skiing here is a lot better than it was during last week.
Obergurgl (37/145cm) received some snow too, most recently 5cm on Sunday 28th March. The temperature was mild over the weekend but cold enough to produce the fresh snow, and the piste conditions on the upper slopes are excellent. Very low down the runs get a bit soft in the afternoon, but on the whole it’s excellent at the moment.

FRANCE
Winter made a big return in France over the weekend, dumping loads of snow and lowering the temperature.
50cm of fresh snow fell at Tignes (110/195cm) on Saturday which was one of the biggest dumps of their season so far. Loads of powder could be found, even down to the village level, and on Monday conditions were superb. Most of the lifts in the Espace Killy are open so you can ski over to Val d’Isere (100/195cm) and enjoy their snow too.
Lots of snow also fell on the upper half of the mountain at La Clusaz (20/270cm). Their base depth increased by 50cm over the weekend and webcams showed some awesome conditions on Monday. The best skiing is up high as it is still quite mild lower down, but this is nothing abnormal for the end of March.

SWITZERLAND
Winter returned to the mountains in Switzerland over the weekend and most resorts received some good snowfall with it.
20cm of fresh snow fell at Zermatt (6/169cm) on Sunday 28th March. The fresh snow was fairly wet down at village level resulting in slushy lower slopes, but high up it was superb. The Ski Club rep in Zermatt said they had a great day enjoying the powder on the upper pistes. The milder weather low down is to be expected at this time of year.
Some resorts are warmer than others however. Les Mosses (25/115cm) is one of the warmer ones. 6°C was the temperature there on Monday 29th March but they did receive fresh snow over the weekend so there is good spring skiing to be enjoyed.

USA
It snowed quite a lot in Colorado over the weekend, with many resorts receiving up to 30cm of fresh snow. The most snow fell at Telluride (203cm) where 56cm of snow fell on Saturday 27th March. This made for an awesome day on Saturday and also on Sunday. Telluride has plenty of steep terrain, providing amazing riding with over half a metre of fresh snow.
Timberline (343cm) in Oregon received some fresh snow as well. 32cm fell, also on Saturday, which boosted their snow conditions once again. With nearly three and a half metres of snow on the slopes, it looks good for the spring period ahead.
Unfortunately it has become warm again on the east coast, after the recent short cold spell. This caused Attitash Bear Peak (26/76cm) to announce a closure for the first two days of this week. There is no skiing there on Monday 29th March and Tuesday 30th March. They should reopen for the weekend although they are scheduled to end their season on Sunday 4th April.

CANADA
Many resorts in western Canada received a big bump of fresh snow on the night of Friday 26th March. After a reasonably slow second half of the season this was excellent.
Big White (231cm) received 34cm of fresh snow on Friday night, giving a great powder day on Saturday 27th March. This was their biggest dump of the season so far and has pushed the base depth to its deepest of the season so far too. Plenty of powder can still be found off piste, especially in the trees.
It’s been snowing at Whistler (325cm) too. They received 18cm of fresh snow on Sunday 27th March and with nearly a metre and a half expected to fall this week it should be amazing. Plenty of powder can be found in the upper bowls and in the trees.
The colder weather is still persisting on the east coast as well. It’s 0°C at Tremblant (40/80cm) which is keeping the snow in good condition. Across at Mont Sainte-Anne (90/100cm) the 30cm dump they received last week means skiing is good. The snow is being well maintained and plenty of good skiing can be found.

EUROPEAN WEATHER OUTLOOK
It should be snowy, on and off, in Europe this week. Most of the French resorts we report on are expecting between 30cm and 40cm of fresh snow but a few are expecting more than that.
Alpe d’Huez should receive around 44cm this week, with most of this falling on Tuesday and Wednesday. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday should be quite cold too, with the temperature not rising above -9°C on Wednesday 31st March.
Zermatt in Switzerland should receive 56cm this week, with the heaviest falls expected on Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday should be cold as well, with a temperature no more than -12°C.
It’s going to be a snowy week in most of Scandinavia as well. Geilo in Norway should receive 45cm of snow between Tuesday 30th March and Tuesday 6th April. It should be cold as well, with night time temperature of -18°C so the snow should be in excellent condition.

NORTH AMERICAN WEATHER OUTLOOK
Another snowstorm is expected in the Tahoe region on Tuesday 30th March. The freezing level should drop down to 1100m which is well below the base of Heavenly. This should make for some great skiing during the week, especially with the 45cm of fresh snow forecast.
Unfortunately the weather on the east coast is much more akin to summer than winter. Heavy rain is expected at Sugarbush on Tuesday 30th March. Then sunny weather with temperatures of 21°C is expected from Wednesday onwards. This is likely to obliterate their remaining snow. The same is the case at Attitash Bear Peak and the mild weather is forecast for their closing weekend. The perfect party weather!
Contrary to the warm weather in the east, western Canada is expecting to get colder and snowier. Kicking Horse is expecting 53cm of fresh snow this week and the temperatures should drop to -8°C during the day. Whistler is expecting heavy snow all this week and the colder weather means a lot of snow should fall, right down to base level. The upper slopes are expecting nearly a metre and a half of fresh snow.
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