There’s been a new wave of heavy snow fall in the Alps with ski areas around the Aosta Valley reporting particularly high snowfall totals over the past 36 hours. The ski area of Pila (pictured below this morning) reports a metre of snowfall since yesterday.
Ski resorts which were cut off by avalanches or closed access roads and their ski slopes due to avalanche danger are being forced to do the same again in some cases.
The avalanche danger warning is at the maximum level 5 out of 5 in a number of areas including southern Switzerland and parts of France and Italy. France saw a rare ‘code red’ avalanche danger level announced in some areas yesterday and ski patrol are reporting danger levels as ‘off the scale’
However outside the core area of very heavy snowfall, operations are a little more normal.
Val Thorens reports the road up from Les Menuires is closed this morning due to avalanche mitigation work.
Cervinia’s reported another 50cm of snowfall overnight today ski slopes remain closed and the ski area largely cut off by all the snow there.
Elsewhere in the last 24 hours snow reports include 40-60cm more snow at the various areas within the 3 Valleys, 55cm at La Plagne and 30cm at Valloire.
Accumulations are typically smaller (20-30cm) at ski areas further from the central snowy area which is concentrated in the region where Switzerland, France and Italy meet.
However there are other extreme weather factors at play – Kitzbuhel has announced most of its facilities are closed today due to winds of up to 100kph.
There has also been more snowfall reported in the Dolomites and Pyrenees.
Forecasters are predicting calmer conditions later this week in the Alps.
