Kiltarlity, Scotland, UK - European ski resorts across the Alps, Dolomites and Pyrenees report big and on-going snowfalls as record and near-record snows continue across parts of the American and Canadian West.
Hundreds of ski resorts are now planning to open for the coming weekend across the European continent with superb conditions, although freeriders are warned to beware of high avalanche risk off piste in many locations. More than 200 European ski areas are reporting snowfalls of more than 20cm (eight inches) in 24 hours, with Switzerland among the big winners. St Moritz and the Engadin Valley have received 1.3m (4.4 feet) since the weekend. Most other Swiss resorts have done well, too; Sedrun, for example, got a whole meter of new snow in 24 hours on Monday – the road to nearby Disentis was covered with snow.
Engelberg was virtually closed down by snow at the start of the week due to a massive storm that hit central Switzerland with over 90cms (three feet) of fresh snow, according to Eric Spongberg who is based at Ski Lodge Engelberg. The roads in and out of the village where closed down on Monday, and all the lifts were closed on Tuesday due to high avalanche danger.
”There was rumors of snow coming in, but we have virtually been covered in snow in the past 24 hours,” says Spongberg. "It is total chaos here, with plows running back and forth trying to clear the streets and the avalanche bombs thundering in the background. The snowpack has been looking thin lately, but this definitely means a white Christmas in Engelberg.”
Austria, which had great snow in late October and early November, but along with the rest of the Alps suffered a warm spell through the middle of last month, has also been receiving plenty of fresh snow, The Mölltaler glacier got 60cm (two feet) of powder and now have one of the deepest snow depths in the world at present with a 220cm (7.3-foot) base. Many other areas received between 20 and 50cm (8-20 inches) including Axamer - Lizum at Innsbruck, Sölden (52cm) and Obergurgl-Hochgurgl.
Lech Zürs has confirmed it will open lifts on Friday. Currently they have up to 55cm (22 inches) of snow on their slopes. Hochzillertal will open on the same day.
Silvretta Montafon (Nova and Hochjoch) now has 70cm of snow for their planned opening on Saturday.
“There’s been heavy snowfall down to 800 meters and we hope to begin operating the Zamang Bahn (the ski lift for Hochjoch) and Versettla Bahn (for Nova) on December 5th,” said Frank Peters of Silvretta Montafon Mountain Railways.
It’s good news once again in France, where more resorts are opening after good snowfalls across the country’s ski areas. Lans en Vercors and Collet d'Allevard are opening their ski lifts today as a result and La Clusaz will operate its Nordic ski area, "Les Confins".
Many more plan to open at least partially this weekend, including Meribel, Alpe d'Huez, the Grands Montets at Chamonix, Montgenèvre, Les Arcs and probably Courchevel 1850, Le Grand Bornand and La Clusaz (only this weekend and just the "Massif de Balme"). Val Thorens, which is already open, has reported 40cm of fresh snow and has one of the deepest bases in the country with a meter of snow lying on the ground.
It’s a similar picture in Italy where the powder alarms continue to be issued. Bormio has the deepest base in the country at 1.9m (6.6 feet), much of it falling in the past week. Other resorts reporting big snowfalls include Madesimo with 90cm (three feet) and Alagna, Cervinia, Livigno and Monterosa resorts reporting at least 50cm (20 inches) of new snow each. Italy’s ski resorts enjoy a long ski weekend to Dec. 8, so it’s great timing. This weekend, many ski resorts will officially start the season including Monterosa Ski, Dolomiti Superski, Limone, Courmayeur, resorts on the Milky Way pass like Sestrire and Sauze d’Oulx, Adamello (some lifts are already open at Passo Tonale and Pontedilegno).
Forty-eight hours of heavy snowfall over the Pyrenees has left Formigal more than ready to open this weekend. Spain’s largest resort has 160 cm of snow on the higher slopes, around a meter on the lower pistes and more is predicted to fall over the next few days. For bookings made before Dec. 15 there is free ski or snowboard hire for everyone and throughout the season there is a free child lift pass for every pre-booked adult lift pass.
There’s fresh powder, too, at Baqueira (40-70 cm), Cerler (20-125cm), Panticosa (70-130cm) and Sierra Nevada (10-30 cm). All the country's main ski resorts will open on Friday for a four-day holiday as Dec. 8 is a local holiday in Spain, too. For Spanish skiers and boarders, this "Purísima Feast" is a must every year and represents the official opening of the winter season.
Snow has also been falling in Andorra, where resorts first opened early in November after heavy snowfalls at the start of the month, but then had to postpone opening on the scheduled season start date last weekend due to a thaw. It’s now looking good for this weekend in Andorra.
On the French side, La Mongie and Bareges reported 60cm (two feet) on Tuesday, and Piau Engaly 30cm (a foot). Piau-Engaly expects to open this weekend with its "Rock on Snowboard Tour" event.
Although the focus of recent snow reports has been on mainland Europe, conditions remain good in most Scandinavian ski areas to the north. Resorts in Norway reported up to 50cm (20 inches) of new snow in the past week, and this weekend there will be 38 ski resorts open including the big ones of Trysil, Geilo, Hafjell, Kvitfjell, Skeikampen and Hemsedal, which has the most snow in the country with a 94cm (3.2 foot) base. There are also a lot of opportunities for people who want to go cross country skiing, with 13 ski resorts that have more than 30km of tracks groomed.
There´s been some fresh snow in Sweden, too, where Lindvallen reports 15 cm and Tandådalen 7cm of new cover. In addition, the cold weather over large parts of the country makes for ideal conditions for snowmaking. Further up north the resort of Kittelfjall has opened with a snow depth of 46cm. Dundret, 100km north of the Arctic Circle, has opened with a snow depth of 35 cm.
Elsewhere in Europe the ski season began in Scotland on Saturday when Cairngorm Mountain opened runs at the top of the ski slopes, attracting about 600 hardy souls who enjoyed the first turns of winter despite 45 mph winds and a much stronger wind chill factor.
There’s no information yet regarding ski areas opening in Eastern Europe, but temperatures have finally fallen with Bansko in Bulgaria reporting several days of sub-freezing temperatures and snow falling.
Across the Atlantic the prolonged warm spell that prevented virtually all of New England’s ski areas from opening for Thanksgiving weekend has finally ended, and many resorts are reporting some snowfall and temperatures cool enough for the region’s mammoth snowmaking arsenal to fire up. Sugarloaf in Maine and Whiteface in New York State are among those planning to open this weekend.
Further north in Eastern Canada, where Toronto recently declared last month the driest November in 70 years without a snowflake, conditions have improved greatly. Mont-Sainte-Anne in Quebec expects to open this weekend after several postponements, with at least four runs available on the north side. It reported 12cm (five inches) of snow over the weekend, when Mont Sutton in the Eastern Townships near Vermont received 43cm (17 inches) of snow.
In the west it's a different story and Whistler’s November snowfall total officially passed 5.6m (18 feet) by the month end, with a 1.92m (6.5 feet) base, by far the biggest ever for this early in the season and indeed the biggest ever monthly snowfall for the resort.
The good snow news isn’t just restricted to the 2010 Winter Olympics host, however, as most of Western Canada’s resorts have great snow cover, and several more resorts opened early over the weekend, or announced they’d be opening earlier than planned in coming weeks, including Fernie and Kicking Horse. Revelstoke, which now has North America’s largest vertical drop, opened upper slopes for a "taster weekend" and will open permanently from next weekend.
Silver Star has also opened, “To the delight of us all, the winter skies have opened up and delivered over 40 cm of the white stuff needed to make the jump from Nordic skiing to alpine. With the alpine base now over 100 cm the Comet Express, Silver Woods Express, and the Silver Queen Chair," said a resort spokesperson.
The world’s attention has however been on Alberta, for the Lake Louise Ski Area is hosting its annual Winterstart World Cup Races last weekend and this coming. The men’s races took place Nov. 28 and 29 and the women race this coming Dec. 4 through 6. The WinterStart Festival takes place over the two weekends and includes the World Cup Alpine Ski Racing followed by a festival within a festival, Christmas in the Rockies, which runs Dec. 5 and 6.
All the lifts are open at The Lake Louise Ski Area and Sunshine Village, with more available at Mt. Norquay today. The North American chair is open morning offering access to the infamous Lone Pine run.
“This is the best snow we’ve seen in 30 years, allowing the backside of Lake Louise and Goat’s Eye at Sunshine Village to be open already, offering tons of terrain, fresh tracks and a lot of powder,” said a Ski Big 3 spokesperson.
This Thursday, the newly renovated Sunshine Mountain Lodge at Sunshine Village will open 30 new eco-luxurious rooms.
Back south of the border in the Western U.S., temperatures are low for snowmaking but precipitation has been rather limited, meaning that bases remain modest and open terrain is little changed from last week.
