Re-publication :- our Snow Report Summary, being the text up to "The Alps", is free to re-publish, but must be clearly credited to www.J2ski.com with text including "J2Ski Snow Report" linked to this page - thank you.
Snow Report Summary
Merry Christmas!
We're sending out our weekly report a day early this week... and with it our very best wishes for a peaceful and happy few days, whether you're out in the mountains or elsewhere.
Fair to say this has not been the best of Xmas weeks for snow conditions, but a change is on the cards with some juicy looking snow in the forecast for the coming weekend.
Current forecast for La Clusaz - this will change, but note the temperatures...
This Week's Headlines
- Limited skiing in the Alps for Christmas week, particularly at low altitudes.
- Up to a metre more snow in Scandinavia, airports closed by too much snow.
- Several feet more snow in the Rockies.
- Still good cover in the Pyrenees
- Scottish snow cover washed away.
However positive we try to be, it's sadly one of the worst Christmas weeks in recent memory in the Alps. Too little natural snowfall and too warm temperatures for snowmaking are obviously not a happy combination for ski resorts. The result has been limited terrain opening which, combined with peak season, means overcrowded pistes and long lift queues. To add to the Festive joy, conditions have been spring like with freeze/thaw weather.
Few European resorts have top to bottom skiing open right now, beyond those above 1800m like St Moritz, Val d'Isere and Val Thorens. Some areas like La Plagne and Les Arcs have cut lift ticket prices to reflect the limited terrain open, many others haven't.
Most other skiing regions are looking good - snow conditions are excellent in the Pyrenees and Scandinavia and the majority of North American areas continue to see great conditions after regular snowfalls.
The Alpine situation is set to change, however, with temperatures dropping well below freezing from Christmas day and beyond. Significant snow, much-needed in many areas, is expected at the weekend and in to next week.
In the forecast
Widespread falls of 20-30cm are expected, with localized heavier accumulations approaching 50cm through the weekend. The exact tracks of the snow storms are a little unclear at the moment but we would advise anyone travelling this weekend to keep a close eye on the forecasts and to be prepared for significant disruption to travel and transfers in many parts of The Alps. It will be cold, and whatever snow does fall will be doing so to very low levels (airports, valley roads and autoroutes may all be affected at times).
Check the J2Ski Forecasts regularly for the latest updates - the forecasts are still very dynamic.
The Alps
Austria
There's been some fresh snow that has freshened up cover at most Austrian areas, but a lot more is needed for a 'normal' winter to begin. As has been the case for over a month now, it's the high elevation areas that have the best cover and are fully operational. The glacier areas of Pitztal, Hintertux, Kaprun and Kauntertal all still have 1.5-2m have good snow depths still and the Kitzsteinhorn (above Kaprun) reported a food of snow on Sunday. But some of the big areas like the Ski Welt, St Anton, areas around Innsbruck (except the Stubai), Bad Kleinkirchheim and Kitzbuhel still have fairly dire coverage in the 5-30cm bracket. As for the rest of the Alps, a huge snowfall and sustained low temperatures are badly needed.
France
Again the higher resorts are looking the best bet in France with only limited terrain open at some of the big name areas. Les Arcs and La Plagne are among them, with around 40% of their terrain open, but not the Paradiski link. However they are offering reduced ticket pricing as a previously unprecedented Christmas gesture. The Grand Massif area has not opened and the ski slopes at lower resorts in the Portes du Soleil are closed. Better news from Val d'Isere which has top-to-bottom skiing available, and likewise at Europe's highest resort, Val Thorens.
Italy
It's a similar picture in Italy to the other members of the big four Alpine nations. Again there are high altitude areas like Cervinia with top-to-bottom skiing available and healthy base depths reported, while Livigno has 40 – 140cm, Pila 25 – 110cm, but the majority of areas have the same limited areas open. In the Dolomites it's generally between 0 and 20-40cm on the slopes. On the Milky Way around Sauze d'Oulx and Sestriere it's 20-40cm. Passo Tonale claims the deepest snow in the world still with 3.4m up on its glacier and 40cm at the base of the runs.
Switzerland
It's the same situation in Switzerland – a few higher resorts have top to bottom cover, but most areas have limited terrain, crowded with Christmas week visitors. On the nice list are Saas Fee with 170cm at the top and 20cm in resort, St Moritz with 90cm on the mountain, 5cm at the base of the slopes, Davos with 80cm on the mountain in resort and 10cm in resort and Zermatt with 5cm in resort, 85cm up top. There's also top to bottom skiing at Arosa and Lenzerheidde. Those with limited cover include the Jungfrau, where just a handful of runs are open up high shared between the three resorts, and a 25cm base. Villars, Leysin, Diablerets and others also have less than a foot of snow at the top.
Pyrenees
No fresh snow in the Pyrenees in the last week but the snow conditions remain better than most resorts in the Alps thanks to snowfall earlier in the month. There's top to bottom skiing at most areas, with base depths of 30-70cm. The largest area in Andorra, Grandvalira, is almost fully open with 90 of its 118 runs open and 58 of its 66 lifts operating.
Scandinavia
It's kept snowing heavily in Norway, Voss reports another metre of snow and now has a 165cm base, Geilo has had another foot and Hemsedal has fresh snow too and now has an 85cm base. Resorts in Finland and Sweden have had an average of 15cm of fresh snow in the past week, most have bases around the 50cm mark.
Eastern Europe
There's been some fresh snow across Eastern Europe improving conditions at some areas – although more snow would be welcome as base depths remain in the 20-40cm bracket at the top of ski areas with little or nothing at the bottom. Bansko has the most runs open in Bulgaria with 6 of its 18 trails open.
Scotland
Scottish slopes had a set back at the weekend with mild conditions and heavy rain washing away much of the cover at all five areas, particularly at lower elevations. However Cairngorm and The Lecht do still have limited terrain open.
North America
Canada
The snow has kept falling across Canada as the good winter there continues. Up to two feet of fresh snow has been reported in the last seven days (at Whistler), with most areas reporting 15 to 45cm. Fernie, Revelstoke, Big White, Silver Star and Red Mountain all had 30-40cm of new snow and all have bases of 1 – 1.4m. On the East Coast the Quebec Mont Sainte Anne is looking good too, there's been 20cm of new snow and the base is up to 1.4m here also.
USA
The season continues to be excellent in most US resorts, particularly in Colorado and Utah where another series of storms have brought 60-90cm of new snow in the last week. Jackson Hole, which got 75cm of new snow in the last week, has the country's deepest snow base at 165cm. It's not 100% good news, here's been some rain in New England and the Pacific North west continues to have its second difficult season in a row with warm temperatures and rain.
