(Marmot Basin in Alberta, Canada after 19cm of fresh snow on Tuesday)
It has been a snowy week in the Alps with up to six feet of fresh snow reported in Switzerland and up to a metre in France, so things are looking good for the Easter weekend, particularly if the strong winds that have accompanied the new snow die down.
There’s also been good snow in Scotland, Scandinavia, New England and some snow in the Rockies but it’s been very hot in the Pyrenees and sunny in most Eastern European destinations too – fortunately the snow bases there are mostly deep enough to cope!
Austria
St Anton (pictured above) has reported 20-30cm of fresh snow a day for the past three days and it and Ischgl are up at around the metre-of-fresh-snow mark for the past week. Across the rest of Austria most areas have reported 30-60cm at least and much more is forecast. Some areas have already closed for the season however or will do after this weekend but then Austria also has glacier resorts like the Stubai and Hintertux that are open at least until June.
France
(Paradiski)
French resorts have perhaps seen the most fresh snow of the past week, with most areas reporting at least 50cm of fresh cover, some as much as a metre. The snowfall peaked early in the week and there have been smaller falls or sunny skies in the past few days at most resorts. Conditions are generally good across the country with a healthy base for the final month of the season.
Italy
(Sestriere)
Some fresh snow in Italy with up to two feet of new cover on the Alps in the West and up to a foot in the Dolomites to the East. Generally cover remains good and on the glacier at Passo Tonale which should stay open until June at the top, its more than 4m deep. Dopwn at resort level the snow is gradually getting thinner though – it’s down to 10cm in Cortina, 20 cm in Bardonecchia.
Switzerland
(Zermatt)
Andermatt is claiming to be the first resort reach a 6m snow depth in the world this winter after a reported 175cm of new snow in the last week. It was previously the only area posting more than 5m snow depth and looks unlikely to be caught this late in the season. Many other Swiss resorts have reported more modest snowfalls, although Sass Fee. There’s been four feet (1.2m,) reported for Davos, 90cm (three feet) for Verbier – all in all impressive numbers, though much of the snow is up high. But all in all conditions are very good in Switzerland.
Pyrenees
(Vallnord)
It has been a warm week in the Pyrenees with no fresh snow and at times temperatures reaching double digits above freezing so sticky snow by the afternoon. Accumulated snow depth means that cover should be good through to the end of the season though.
Scotland
Snow showers, strong winds and sunny periods have been the order of the day all week on Scottish slopes. Glenshee and The Lecht remain closed due to incomplete runs although The Lecht says it is close to re-opening. On the west there’s been several feet of fresh powder and conditions are good – so long as it’s not too windy to run the lifts.
Scandinavia
(Hafjell)
Some fresh snow has fallen in most parts of Scandinavia in recent days, and temperatures are still below freezing up in Lapland. Bases are genera;ll;y good and should see most areas through to their traditional May closing dates.
Eastern Europe
There’s been some snow in North Eastern Europe but the skin nations further south including Slovenia, Romania and Bulgaria have had dry sunny conditions on the whole. In Bulgaria that’s not too big a problem due to the big base built up from March snowfalls but the base is now thawing to pretty thin in other areas.
Canada
A snowier week in Western Canada than the average with 20-30cm of fresh snow at many areas – although most do close this weekend or next. However Lake Louise, Marmot Basin, Whistler and sunshine are all open through to May. On the East there’s been fresh snow at Mont Ste Anne and Tremblant too.
USA
(Aspen pic by Nathaniel Wilder)
The mass of US resorts tend to close over the first two weekends of April and along the West coast, where a fourth year of drought has meant it was a mostly lacklustre season, many have closed early already. But it’s not all bad news – there’s been up to a foot of fresh snow in Colorado and even more than that at some areas in New England on the East Coast.
