(Sunday River, Maine)
It’s turning colder in the Alps after the warm start to December and the snow is starting to fall again, albeit not in huge volumes so far, but it’s a step in the right direction! The continent’s snowmaking systems are also working around the clock. The ski areas of Scandinavia are seeing colder weather too and are getting some significant natural snowfall. Eastern European areas are opening with top to bottom cover and Scotland has fresh snow again after losing much of its previous cover in a thaw. Across the atlantic the East/West divide continues with huge snow falls once again on the pacific side of the continent and ski areas sustained by snowmaking on the atlantic side.
Austria
Around half of Austrian ski areas will be open by the end of this weekend. The best conditions remain on the glacier and altitude slopes – where there’s around a metre lying. Lower slopes have suffered from the recent thaw, but it has now turned colder and snowmaking operations are in full swing. Solden has the largest ski area open so far with nearly 100km of piste open.
France
It has turned colder in France and there have been a few inches of snow at some ski areas. There’s no off piste until more fresh snow arrives – hopefully next week – but on the pistes and in the parks conditions are generally good. More resorts open this weekend including Avoriaz and la Plagne and most areas are now open. Tignes’ terrain park is pictured above this week.
Italy
Most Italian areas will be open this weekend too, including La Thuile, pictured above. Western Italy is in a similar position to the rest of the Alps with adequate to good on piste cover but in need of fresh snow, in the Dolomites there’s been little natural snowfall so a big fall would be welcome. That may come next week as it’s colder now. In the meantime Dolomiti Supertski has announced its famous Sella Ronda circuit will be fully open this weekend as part of 450km of terrain opened thanks to snowmaking.
Switzerland
Swiss resorts are in a similar position to the rest of the Alps – in need of fresh snow ideally, with nothing much since November and no skiable off piste remaining, but with temperatures dropping and conditions more mixed it’s looking more promising for some snow in the coming week. In the meantime its great on the pistes, at least on higher slopes. Saas Fee is pictured above.
Pyreenees
The picture above is Grandvalira in Andorra this week, where, although there’s been no natural snowfall for a week on piste conditions remain pretty good. It’s a similar picture across the mountain range where most leading ski areas are now open with 450-100cm base depths. No snow is expected here before Christmas unless things change but snowmaking systems keep topping up cover.
Scotland
Scottish ski centres are edging closer to opening @Glencoe says it is re-opening its access chairlift a week earlier than planned, today, after a half-million pound upgrade, so tourers can reach the snow more easily, but the ski area itself is not properly open (no groomed runs or other lifts running). Here’s Glenshee yesterday.
Scandinavia
It’s got colder and snowier in the latter half of this past week with up to 30cm of fresh snow falling in many areas of Norway since Thursday. Hemsedal, one of the largest resorts, is pictured above. So hopefully the snow will continue to fall and more centres will now be open to more slopes as the busy season starts here this weekend.
Eastern Europe
The first Eastern European resorts are due to open this weekend and conditions are fairly good for early December. Jasna in the Czech Republic is pictured above. Most leading Eastern European ski areas have top to bottom snow cover with a mix of natural and machine made snow and bases of 10-50cm.
Canada
Real weather extremes on either side of canada continue with areas iN quebec struggling to open thanks to snowmaking whereas in the West it just keeps dumping, with several resorts in BC reporting a foot of snow in 24 hours on Thursday/Friday – and that part of ongoing snowfall that’s still continuing as we publish, with much more expected in the coming week. Revelstoke, pictured above, reports 420cm of snow since the start of November.
USA
It’s more of the same in the US with more spectacular snowfalls in the west – Squaw Valley in California (above) was typical with a 17 inch (43cm) accumulation in 24 hours on Thursday/Friday. The East Coast continues to face the challenge of limited snowfall to date but snowmaking means most of the larger centres are open (eg Sunday River in Maine pictured top).
