Cauterets, French Pyrenees, with great snow this week...
Pyrenees the place to be in Europe, with northwest North America getting the best snow (and quite a bit of it) on that continent.
The Snow Headlines - March 27th
- Snow keeps falling in the Pyrenees giving best conditions as ski areas start to end seasons.
- Europe's most southerly resort (Sierra Nevada, Spain) posting continent's deepest snow.
- Almost no skiing is available in Scotland.
- Most ski areas in the Western Alps post 5-15cm of fresh, but Serre Chevalier reports 61cm.
Snow forecasts worldwide.
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World Overview
It's very much spring conditions across much of mainland Europe at present with wet snow on lower runs, the snowline climbing higher, and precipitation falling as rain on lower mountains too, but still some decent conditions to be found up high and even fresh powder in the Western Alps if you time it right.
It's the southwest of the continent that's again seen the most wintery weather with ski areas in the Pyrenees reporting their best conditions of the season just as it nears its end.
Europe's most southerly resort, Spain's Sierra Nevada, is remarkably now posting the continent's deepest snowpack.
The continent's big ski areas will be open through the Easter Holiday period (excepting those with low-lying terrain).
Across in North America it's a similar story. Here it's the northwest corner, rather than the southwest, that's been seeing lots more snowfall, the East Coast suffering from warm, sometimes wet conditions at times as spring continues to take hold (although there's been quite a lot of snowfall there in the past 48 hours!).
Europe
Austria
More than half of Austrian ski areas have already closed for the 24-25 season, although those are largely smaller, lower centres.
The big destination resorts are mostly hoping to make it through to at least mid-April and a few to the Easter weekend and beyond.
There's been some snowfall reported this week but it's mostly been light 5-10cm totals and generally well above 2,000m (with rain on lower slopes).
Solden described its resort-level snow as 'wet' and its glacier snow, the deepest in the country at 225cm, as powder!
The week ahead looks much the same with some parts expecting heavier snowfall at the weekend.
France
Unsettled conditions in the French Alps for much of the last week, although the past few days have seen a return to more consistent snowfall. However, the snow showers have added up to some quite significant accumulations over the past seven days.
In the Southern Alps, Serre Chevalier reported several feet (58cm) from Friday to Monday. It's one of the areas reporting more than 90% of its slopes open, along with Tignes, Val d'Isere and Paradiski (La Plagne and Les Arcs) among others, but some big areas have dropped to 70-80% open as the season winds down.
The sunshine of recent days is expected to continue until the weekend when a fresh front is likely to bring more snowfall at the weekend.
Italy
One of the better weeks for snowfall this season in Italy with ski areas across the country reporting a snowy weekend, heaviest for most on Sunday-Monday but with snow showers (sometimes falling as rain and sleet on lower slopes) continuing through the week since, interspersed with sunny spells.
Accumulations of up to 50cm over the past seven days have been reported with Cervinia one of the big winners posting 25cm in 24 hours at the weekend.
Sestriere wasn't far behind with 22cm but there were accumulations of similar amounts in the Dolomites too. It's looking drier, sunnier and even warmer for the week ahead.
Switzerland
Swiss ski areas have had similar conditions to the rest of the Alps, with mostly dry conditions, but with some weak fronts moving through bringing small snowfall accumulation to high slopes, especially in the west of the country, rain and sleet at lower elevations.
Verbier noted that it has had over 30cm of snowfall up high over the past week, but 0cm at resort level.
As elsewhere, smaller, lower Swiss centres have started ending their seasons, the better-known bigger, higher centres continue to have most slopes open and will mostly continue through to the Easter weekend, some going on into May.
J2Ski were enjoying the piste skiing (think Spring bases with a thin layer of fresher snow on top - enough for some fun) in Arosa this week, and we'll have a full report on the resort shortly.
Scandinavia
Some good snowfall in Norway over the past few days bringing powder conditions to ski areas including Hemsedal.
Overall it's been mostly dry across the region, with temperatures remaining fairly cool, keeping the snow in good shape.
Most resorts in the region are at 75-100% open with the largest single-area, Sweden's Are, at 98% so the most in Scandinavia.
Myrkdalen near Voss, famous for its freeriding, has the deepest base in the area, the only one over 2m.
Pyrenees
It's been another great week in the Pyrenees with reports of up to 40cm more snowfall.
One centre on the French side of the mountains remarked that conditions were the best they'd been all season, but said that almost no one was there to enjoy it – making it especially brilliant for those that were.
Smaller, lower centres in the region have already started closing for the season.
The region's largest resort Andorra's Grandvalira (Soldeu, Pass del Casa etc) is now posting both the most terrain open (95%/205km) and the deepest snowpack (2 metres) up top in the Pyrenees.
Scotland
No great improvement to the situation in Scotland with plenty more mild late March weather.
Up to last weekend, Cairngorm had runs open in the Ptarmigan Bowl at the top of the funicular but that closed when wet and windy weather at the weekend ended the calmer period last week, breaking up the cover.
Eastern Europe
It's the final week or two of the season coming up for most ski areas in Eastern Europe and there's a definite end-of-the-season feel on slopes there.
The amount of terrain open at resorts is starting to drop although major centres like Bansko and Jasna are stressing the season is still going and Jasna even announced extra terrain open for last weekend.
Conditions have been quite unsettled over recent days with sunny spells and rain/sleet/snow showers.
Temperatures have been down a few degrees compared to recent weeks but have still been up to +10C or higher at lower elevations in the afternoons.
North America
Canada
There's been a bit of an East/West divide in Canada. The West is still seeing low temperatures and more big snowfalls, while the East was impacted by warmer weather and spells of rainfall rather than snow last weekend (although it's got cooler again since).
Whistler Blackcomb has posted one of the world's biggest snowfalls this week, some 80cm, and all across Alberta and British Columbia ski areas have been reporting very wintery weather. There's more in the forecast through the weekend and into next week.
Eastern Canada has been mostly dry since the weekend with plenty of sunshine and temperatures back down to low single figures. There's some snowfall expected this weekend but otherwise, it will remain predominantly dry.
USA
The Pacific Northwest corner of the US has again posted the most snowfall in the world over the past week with several ski areas in Oregon and Washington states reporting over a metre of new snow.
That's put the avalanche and tree well danger levels up high and Mount Baker ski area actually closed for a few days this week when the danger was at its max.
Between the snow showers and further east there have been some springlike temperatures (evidenced by the warm weather at the Alpine Skiing World Cup Finals in Sun Valley) but overall conditions are excellent, most runs open and the snow is deep almost everywhere in the western US.
In the Rockies Copper Mountain and Winter Park both went through the 300" seasonal snowfall total mark this week.
Over on the East Coast, it was a largely dry and warm week until Tuesday when temperatures dropped and snow started falling with up to 12" reported now in the northern half of the region.
There's more snow, sleet and rain forecast there for the weekend.