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World Resorts NewsView all 153 headlines for World Resorts News. Little fresh snow in the Alps, but big dumps in the US, Scotland and Scandinavia.
Across the Atlantic there have been big snowfalls on both the East and west sides of North America. Although things have been quiet for the past three or four days, It snowed a lot last week in the French mountains with 13 powder alarms in the French Alps on Friday. Le Grand Bornand was one of the big winners with 75cm (2.5 feet) of fresh snow accumulated over seven days.  Le Grand BornandHubert Bon-Bétend Le Grand Bornand ski patrol chief told Skiinfo. “It had not snowed a lot in the beginning of the season but since early January, the resort has received regular snowfalls of 15 to 20cm. The snow coverage is very good with 100cm at 1200m and 170cm at 2300m. The snow depths are measured twice a day, once at 7:30am and again at 12:30. The avalanche risk is moderate now, but it was at maximum on Sunday because of mild temperatures. It was cold in the night from Sunday to Monday which helped stabilize the snow coverage. We trigger avalanches artificially when there’s 10-15cm of new snowfall when it is windy, otherwise we wait until 20cm. We now hope that the temperatures will not be too high so we can have a good end to the season." Other big accumulations of 45- 52cm (18-21 inches) were re4ported by La Clusaz, Val Thorens and Alpe d'Huez. Chamonix Mont-Blanc has the deepest snow in France with 4.2m (14 feet). Italy is reporting less favorable conditions with bad weather today, especially in the north and the centre of the country with warm temperatures bringing some unwanted rainfall this afternoon and more expected tomorrow. Unusually, conditions are better for skiing in Italy’s southern areas. There have been healthy snow accumulations over the past seven days at some resorts however, Courmayeur has had 75cm (2.5 feet) of new snow, Arabba Marmolada 70cm – it continues to claim the deepest snow in Europe, with five metres (nearly 27 feet) accumulated, La Thuile has had 55cm (22 inches) and Bardonecchia 40cm (16 inches).  Mammut Gultur, Austria!Austria got some new snow today with Sölden, Obertauern and the Ski Welt with Brixental, Söll and Ellmau getting 5cm (2 inches) each. Some snow had already been falling in St. Anton, Hochfügen (both 5cm) and Saalbach Hinterglemm (10cm) yesterday. In mountainous areas more new snow is expected in the coming days. The biggest snow accumulations in the country in the past week has been at Zauchensee (30 cm/a foot) and Sölden (29 cm/11.5 inches). The snow depth in the latter has “climbed” up to 202cm (6.6 feet), with some new snow falling almost every day (Skiinfo’s Snowfinder expects 13 cm of new snow in Sölden for tomorrow). Flachau had 25cm (10 inches) of new snow in a week. In Switzerland the latest powder alarms were issued last weekend with 30cm (a foot) in Nax as well as Champoussin. There’s been less new snow in the German speaking parts of the country but Engelberg and Lötschental are still on top of the list of biggest snow depths with 285 and 272cm (9-10 feet)of snow on their mountains. In Germany up to 10cm (four inches) of new snow was reported in Bavaria this morning. Oberstdorf has already had 10 cm yesterday at the mountains Fellhorn and Nebelhorn. Sierra Nevada continues to have the greatest snow depth in Spain with five metres on their upper slopes, equalling Arabba in Italy for the deepest in the world. There has been much less snow in Spain this week than last but new snow is expected over the next few days. The Pyrenees are still looking very nice with more than 1.5m of snow on the top of the slopes. Baqueira Beret has 175cm (six feet) of snow on top and 93km of runs open, Formigal up to 240cm (eight feet) of snow and 136 km of runs open. Andorra has also not seen fresh snow for nearly two weeks, but conditions remain relatively good thanks to a healthy base build up, with most areas reporting 1.2 – 1.8m (4-6 feet) on upper slopes. In Scandinavia it seems there's nothing holding back the snow right now. It continues to accumulate from last week causing problems for traffic and transport like buses and railways and leading to some roof collapses in the south of Sweden while at the same time adding to the great snow depths at ski resorts across the whole country. This means there are really great conditions from the north to south of the region, right in time for the second week of Sweden’s current winter holiday period. During the last week ski resorts further up north have had some serious amounts of snow fall as well. The small resort of Nalovardo got the most with 33cm (13 inches) followed by Branäs 27cm (11 inches), Tandådalen 17cm (7 inches) and Åre 10cm (4 inches). The forecast for the rest of the week looks really promising, especially in the north. Riksgränsen, which recently re-opened for its 2010 ski season through to June up in the Arctic Circle is expecting massive snow falls starting on Thursday. In Scotland the weather service recently confirmed it has been the coldest winter since 1962-3, nearly 50 years ago. Still more heavy snow has left all five centres fully open, with Cairngorm needing to blast terrain above the ski area for the first time to minimise avalanche danger. It’s the opposite conditions in parts of eastern Europe where mild weather has brought early spring to ski areas in Bulgaria, which are struggling to battle a rapid thaw and sticky snow as temperatures have almost reached double figures in the past week. Across the Atlantic there have been more serious snowfalls on both East and West sides of the continent. On the East Coast the “snowicane” that paralyzed the region for nearly a week has set many ski areas up to be skiing well into Spriong 2010. After ending February with nearly 2.4m (eight feet) of natural snowfall over five days Belleayre in New York state is primed for a monumental March. To the north Le Massif, an hour outside Quebec City in Quebec, Canada, reported 72cm (28 inches) of fresh snow too.  Whiteface Mountain, New York State On the western side of the continent nearly three feet (90cm) of snow has fallen at Beaver Creek and Vail, while Breckenridge received 28 inches (71cm); Heavenly, 25 inches (64cm), and Keystone was walloped with 20 inches (51cm). The heavens opened with 10 straight days of relentless snow in Colorado resorts and Pacific storms in the west.  Vail
It has snowed a lot on all the French mountains in the past week, but it is the Southern Alps that have benefited most from the new snow. 85cm (almost three feet) of snow fell, for example. in Puy Saint Vincent last week. Serre Chevalier received 71cm (2.4 feet) and Isola 2000 70cm. Olivier Saez chief operator of Puy Saint Vincent said, "The snow conditions are very good as we have had regular snowfalls since the end of December. The snow depth is 230cm on the upper slopes and 165cm on lower slopes. The 85 cm of fresh snow in the past week feel at a regular rate so were able to maintain the slopes without operating difficulties. The ski area is perfectly secure and the PIDA (Plan of Intervention Trigger Avalanche) is working. Avalanches are triggered using a CATEX - a cable which has explosives attached to trigger avalanches in zones where snow has accumulated. There is no risk to skiers who stay on the ski slopes, but we strongly advise against going off-piste because we have an avalanche risk of 4 /5." Chamonix Mont-Blanc currently has the deepest snow in France with 405cm (13.5 feet). Other resorts including alpe d’huez and Flaine have more than 2.5m (8.3 feet). Italy has also seen some big snowfalls in the past week with powder alarms issued for 24 hour falls as big as 50cm (20 inches), Courmayeur, La Thuile and Val Gardena issued alarms for 20cm. Limone Piemonte has received the most snow in Italy over the past 7 days with 110cm (nearly four feet) but Aprica and Arabba have both had a metre too. Arabba also has the country’s second deepest snow depth with 3.8m (13 feet) on the Marmolada glacier. The most is on the Presena glacier above Passo Tonale with 420cm (14 feet). Bormio has three metres (ten feet) of snow on upper slopes – the most of an Italian resort without a glacier. Though snowfalls have been more moderate than a week ago in the German speaking ski areas of Europe, many important resorts in Austria have received respectable amounts of new snow in the past week days. Sölden got 33cm (11 inches), Axamer – Lizum above Innsbruck as well as Nassfeld and the Stubai valley had 30cm (a foot) each. Similar snowfalls took place in Montafon and Kleinwalsertal. Many more resorts like Ischgl, Söll or the glaciers of Pitztal and Hintertux received at least 10-15cm (4-6 inches) of powder. A dozen Austrian resorts including Sölden and St. Anton now have snow depths of around two metres (nearly 7 feet) or more on upper slopes. The Mölltal glacier stays on top of the list with up to 350cm(nearly 12 feet). In Switzerland, Engadin - St. Moritz has accumulated 40cm (16 inches) of new snow over the past seven days and now reports two metres of snow on top of the mountain. Saas Fee and Klosters both also reported snowfalls of 23cm (9 inches) in seven days, Andermatt and Engelberg received 20cm (8 inches). As in Austria the avalanche danger has lowered a little in Switzerland and is generally at the mid-range level of 2-3. In Germany the ski resorts of Oberstdorf received the most fresh snow issuing powder alarms because of 20-25 cm snowfalls on Saturday. Lots of other resorts in the central uplands as well as in the Alps reported at least some new snow. Up in Scandinavia the last week has brought some serious amounts of snow in the southern parts of Sweden. Snowfalls up to 60cm (two feet) have been reported in some places. This has caused serious problems on roads and for the railways. The Swedish weather service have reported snowfall records for several cities and regions in the south of Sweden, some of which hadn’t been broken for over 30 years. For example the small ski resort of Mullsjö has a snow depth of 92cm (3.1 feet). However most ski areas in Sweden are located further north where it hasn't been snowing that much. In the north the small village of Gielas has had the coldest temperature of the winter with - 40.8C. For the north the most snow in the last seven days has been reported for Ski Sunne with 25cm (10 inches) followed by Kläppen with 24cm (10 inches) and Ramundberget with 15cm (six inches) which still has the biggest snow depth in Sweden, along with Vemdalen, both reporting 120cm (four feet). There’s been some good snowfalls in Norway too, the coastal resort of Voss posted a powder alarm with 25cm (10 inches) of new snow on Wednesday. Scotland’s remarkable ski season continues with more heavy snow this week, underling that for Cairngorm Mountain at least, this is probably the most consistent as well as deepest snowfall winters for three decades. The resort plans to celebrate by setting a world record for the most people skiing in kilts on the weekend of 6/7 March, with a line of kilted 500 skiers and boarders descend the main run at once the aim. In Spain Sierra Nevada continues to have the greatest snow depth in Spain with five metres (nearly 17 feet) on their upper slopes and is now opening a total of 101 kilometres of pistes. But also all Pyrenean ski resorts have reached snow depths close or over two metres (nearly seven feet). Weather conditions have dramatically increased the avalanche risk in all Spanish ski resorts making off piste skiing especially dangerous. Top Spanish ski resorts have reported powder snow. Formigal has up to 240cm (8 feet) of snow and 136 km open, with Boi Taull on three metres (10 feet). In Andorra it has been warmer and there’s no new snow but conditions are still reported to be reasonably good thanks to the snow base of more than a metre. On the French side of the Pyrenees Cauterets has the deepest snow with 290cm (nearly 10 feet). In Eastern Europe it has been warmer in the past week with little new snow reported anywhere. Conditions are reported to be holding up at most major centres, but colder weather and fresh snow is needed. Resorts across the US have been firing off powder alarms over the past 48 hours. Killington reported 28cm (11 inches) of new snow and neighbouring Vermont resort Mount Snow, 32 cm (13 inches). On the other side of the country Homewood in California received 20cm (8 inches) of fresh powder yesterday while nearby Alpine Meadows had 33cm (13 inches) taking its base depth to 338cm (11feet). Colorado’s resorts have also been receiving a lot of fresh snow. None more so than Silverton Mountain with 120cm (48 inches) during a weekend storm. It snowed three inches (7.5cm) an hour much of the weekend which left some extremely deep powder snow skiing.  Skiers lost in Silverton Mountain, Colorado Mt Washington in British Columbia has the deepest snow on the continent with 4.9m (16.3 feet). Great conditions in almost all resorts, except maybe Cypress Mountain.
Mt Washington, the Vancouver 2010 Olympic training site close to the Games sites is currently leading the world with the greatest reported snow accumulation of 4.6m (15.3 feet) to date. Mount Washington also had the most snow in the past week with nearly 90cm (three feet) more. In the US all 50 states reported snow lying at some point on their terrain during Valentine’s day. In Europe, Chamonix, France, Passo Tonale, Italy and the continent’s most southerly major resort, Sierra Nevada on the Spanish Mediterranean coast each have around 4m of accumulated snow. There has been much less snow in Europe this week than last, but that is expected to change in the next few days with more snow coming, and in any case conditions are generally excellent because of the accumulations already there. In Asia, the Japanese resort of Niseko reported ‘shoulder deep’ powder with one local advising visitors planning to ski it to make sure they had brought a snorkel. There has been limited fresh snowfall in the Alps over the past five days, but that is expected to change in the next few days and the first few powder alarms for 20cm (8 inches) of new snow in the past 24 hours have been issued this morning by several Swiss resorts. On Thursday last week heavy snowfalls of up to 60cm (two feet) were reported from Austria. Since then the high avalanche risk has been lowering again (though still considerable in some regions like Tirol or Steiermark) and today lucky skiers and boarders across the country are enjoying good skiing conditions with sunny slopes in many places. Last Thursday brought 30 powder alarms to Austria. The biggest snowfalls took place in Carinthia where 60cm (two feet) was reported from smaller resorts like Flattnitz or Petzen. Bad Kleinkirchheim and Dachstein West also had 20-30cm in 24 hours. The Mölltaler glacier has the most snow in the country at 3.5m (nearly 12 feet), with St. Anton am Arlberg second with 240cm (eight feet). In Switzerland the most snow was reported from Eigenthal with 90cm (three feet) in seven days. Beatenberg also had 60cm (two feet). Bigger resorts like Laax, Saas Fee, Zermatt and Davos usually had 8-15cm (3-6 inches) during the week. Today there’s a dozen Swiss resorts reporting snow depths of two metres or more, including Saas Fee, St Moritz and Laax. Engelberg is on top of the list with 255cm (8.5 feet). In Germany many resorts have seen 20-35cm of new snow in seven days. The resorts in the uplands of the East, Southeast and the Centre were reporting bigger snowfalls than the German Alps. Grasgehren and Oberstdorf - Nebelhorn in the Allgäu both have 190cm (over six feet) of snow on their upper slopes though and the top snow depth is at the Zugspitzplatt with 205cm (6.5 feet). Elsewhere in the Alps it has been ‘quiet’ for new snowfall in France and Italy, although Serre Chevalier has reported 12cm (five inches) of new snow so far today, and Chamonix continues to have some of the deepest snow depths in Europe, with more than 3.8m (Nearly 13 feet) lying on upper slopes. In Italy more snow is expected in the coming days. Arabba has had the most snow in the country for the past seven days with 45cm accumulated and it has some of the deepest snow in the country too, although the glacier at Passo Tonale continues to boast the deepest snow depth in Europe with 4.2m (14 feet). In Spain it's snowing again in Madrid and the novelty of that is wearing off after multiple snowfalls in the Spanish capital. It’s good news for skiers wanting to visit the nearby ski hills too and has increased business at the city’s indoor snow centre as people think more about winter sports. More snowfall is expected through the remainder of the week in Spanish ski resorts. Sierra Nevada to the south is now reporting up to four metres (13.3 feet) of snow on its upper slopes (the deepest snow in Spain and close to the deepest in the world) and has 99 km of runs open. The weather conditions have meant a dramatic increase in the avalanche risk in Sierra Nevada making off piste skiing especially dangerous. In the Pyrenees Baqueira just inaugurated a new snowpark for boarder and skier fun, it has up to 195cm (6.5 feet) of snow and 110 km of piste open. Formigal has the most piste open in the country, with 136km and snow depth up to 220cm (7.6 feet). Most other ski areas have between 1.5 and 2.2m (5-7.3 feet) of snow lying . Conditions are reported to be generally good in Andorra too with some fresh snow and upper slope base depths of 1-1.8m (3.3-6 feet). At the other end of Europe, Scandinavia has seen more snow, if not so much as previous weeks. There’s been some new snow in Sweden with Åmål and Ramundberget ski areas both receiving 15cm (six inches) and the leading resort Åre 11cm (four inches). The country’s greatest snow depth is in Tänndalen with 120cm (four feet). But this will soon change since Riksgränsen, the worlds northern most ski resort known for its midnight sun due to open in two days. They also have 120cm (four feet) at the moment. So great skiing conditions all over the country and more snow is expected in the middle of Sweden on Friday. Across the North Sea, Scotland’s ski areas have had a good top up of snow over the past 36 hours and its still falling, more than a foot of new snow is on the slopes meaning the ski centres are continuing to have one of the best winters for 30 years. Down in Eastern Europe conditions are the best so far this season in many resorts, following ggood snowfalls over the past week. Bulgarian resorts are now reporting up to 1.8m (six feet) of snow accumulated after a thin start to the season in several centres. Across the Atlantic, with fresh snow right across North America, it’s the US and Canada that have seen the most fresh snow of the past seven days anywhere in the world. Falls have been particularly heavy on the West coast and while there has been rain at lower elevations causing major headaches for Olympic organisers, Whistler has actually seen some of the most snow in the world in the past week with 68cm (2.3 feet) accumulated on middle and upper elevations. Other western resorts reporting big falls include Jackson Hole, Vail, Big Sky, Breckenridge and in Alaska, Alyeska, all of which have received more than 60cm (two feet). There’s been snow on the east too, with the excellent ski area of Mt Sutton in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, for example, receiving more than 40cm over the weekend. Cold weather has also allowed for snowmaking at many resorts in the East. www.Skiinfo.co.uk reports that heavy snow across North America, dubbed ‘Snowmaggeddon’ by media there, has resulted in travel chaos, but has also seen the country’s highest accumulated snow depth at Kirkwood in California overtake Europe’s deepest non-glacier accumulation for the season to date at Chamonix, both a few centimeters over four metres (13.3 feet).
Not every part of north America is experiencing great snow cover, unfortunately one of the few losers in the current snowy forecast is 2010 Winter Olympic snowboarding and freestyle skiing venue Cypress Mountain, close to Vancouver, which is battling with warm weather and a resulting lack of snow. Whistler, further north, has declared itself Games ready. In Europe conditions have quietened a little after heavy snow at the end of last week which means conditions are generally excellent across most of the continent. However avalanche danger is high in many areas off piste, with Italy suffering a number of deaths, leading to the possible introduction of legislation to levy large fines for those who ski or board in areas with an avalanche danger warning and of imprisonment for people who also set off avalanches. Greater death tolls were reported in Iran (8 people) and India (17 soldiers) after extreme weather conditions brought heavy snow followed by strong winds creating unstable conditions. In Europe, it has snowed a lot on the French mountains throughout the past week, with the heaviest snow leading up to the weekend. The snow is continuing today and is expected to continue for the next few days. Up to 60cm (2 feet) has been reported over the last week with resorts like Meribel, La Plagne and le Grand Bornand all reporting big falls. The Vosges region, one of the lower mountain area for ski resorts in the country has received a particularly notable covering of up to 50cm (20 inches) at 1,200m. At Gerardmer, one of the region’s leading ski areas, Fabrice Clair, manager of the resort, told Skiinfo, "It has snowed more than 50cm on one day, greatly increased the snow depth which had been very thin at the beginning of winter. It’s now 1.2m (4 feet) in place thanks to artificial snow, but there is an average layer of natural snow from 50 to 60cm over the entire ski area." Across France as a whole Chamonix Mont-Blanc has the top snow depth of 4m (13.3 feet) with Oz en oisans and Vaujany below Alpe d’Huez at 3.2m (10.6 feet), Flaimne and La Clusaz have 2.9m. Switzerland also witnessed snowfalls last weekend. Arosa and Klosters in Grisons were among those issuing powder alarms on Saturday. Even more snow fell in the Valais with Champoussin receiving 60 cm (two feet) in only 48 hours. The resort issued just another powder alarm this morning because of a further 30cm (one foot) snowfall, as did its neighbour in the giant Portes du Soleil ski region, Morgins. The Swiss WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF expects 10-20 cm of new snow for Switzerland’s’ northern slopes and for Lower Valais this afternoon – but also “widespread considerable avalanche danger”. The deepest snow depths in Switzerland are at Lötschental and Engelberg with 262cm/245cm (8-9 feet) respectively . Andermatt, Saas Fee, Laax and St. Moritz each have two metres or more. All of them had some new snow in the last week. Austria too has had a lot of fresh snow in the past week. Martha Schultz of Mölltal glacier’s lift compay told Skiinfo the ski resort had 40cm (16 inches) of new snow last weekend so there were “very good conditions” on the slopes. “But please don’t ignore the current avalanche situation,” she added. On Sunday 30cm (a foot) of new snow in 24 hours had caused a powder alarm for the glacier, which currently has the greatest snow depth in Austria – three and a half metres *12 feet). Willi Krüger of Pitztaler Gletscherbahnen told Skiinfo, “On the Pitztal Glacier the snow cover, which was already great, was topped by 30cm of fresh snow in 48 hours at the weekend. You can only call this ideal conditions”. Sölden got 27 cm of new snow last week. They have a snow cover of 192cm (over six feet) on the glacier today. For this afternoon and for tomorrow more new snow is expected in Austria. To the north, the heavy snow falls of last week lessened a bit in Germany last week. Still there was up to 53cm (nearly two feet) of new snow in seven days in Upper Bavaria. Ofterschwang in the Allgäu region had 33cm (13 inches) in a week. Yesterday snow started falling again in Germany and weather forecasts say there is more snow to come today and tomorrow. Italy has had a good deal of heavy snow across the country, leading to great powder conditions, but high avalanche risk. Monterosa has had some of the biggest falls of the past seven days with 72cm (2.4 feet) accumulated. The Pyrenees are still looking very nice with more than 1.5m (five feet) of sbnow on the top of the slopes in Andorra. More cold weather and snowfall are expected through the week there and in Spain, where the top ski resorts have reported powder snow conditions. Formigal has some of the deepest snow in the area with 220cm depths and 136km of slopes open. It will celebrate the Pirineos Sur Winter Formigal this weekend, a fusion musical Festival with performances from the School of Samba da PraÇa, Dj Wagner Pa and Jazz Rap Band US3. Sierra Nevada in the south of the country has the deepest snow in Spain however and is reporting 300cm (10 feet) on upper slopes and 99 km of runs open. Scandinavia saw some of the biggest falls at the start of this week. In Sweden 11 resorts reported between 15 and 25cm (6-10 inches) during the past 7 days. The most was at Kappruet with 25cm but the region’s largest ski resort, Åre was only just behind on 24cm. The biggest snow depth in the country at the moment is in Ramundberget with 117cm followed by Vemdalen with 115cm. The weather forecast looks promising with more snow in the south and far up north. Sween’s most popular radio show, Rix Morronzoo broadcasts live from Åre this week from 10-13 Feb. In Eastern Europe there’s been a few inches of fresh snow at most resorts and conditions are now good at most areas across the region with up to 1.5m (five feet) of snow on upper slopes at Bulgaria’s Bansko. In Northwest Europe there’s still snow in Belgium and the Netherlands. The recent snowfall (this morning) led to mega traffic jams in Belgium of up to 900km, in part because trucks blocked tunnels in Antwerp and Brussels due to snow on the road and in the Netherlands the was a 380km traffic jam which is longer than the distance from the very south to the northern border of the country. Snow Fun can still be found in the East and Southern part of Belgium where Nordic and Alpine resorts have built up to a 40cm (16 inch) snow layer. Alpine resorts Spa and Baraque Fraiture are leading, together with the Nordic resort Losheimergraben. Across the North Sea all five Scottish ski areas remain open, with most receiving some new snow in the past week and Cairngorm continuing to have the deepest snow, although all resorts have good cover. Cairngorm staff were rewarded this week with a special commemorative bottle of whisky from a local distillery in recognition of their efforts to ‘dig out’ the ski centre from the heavy snow in January. Next week the resort will be organising torchlit descents to celebrate the Olympics. In North America there have been snowfalls at most resorts, particularly on the US West Coast in California and further north in Alaska, where Alyeska has had the biggest snowfall in the world over the past 7 days – 107cm or 3.6 feet. Other resorts across the West have had big falls of 2-3 feet, although the snow hasn’t been quite as abundant in Colorado and other ski areas in the Rockies, although most have had good falls there too. More unusually large falls have been reported in South eastern US states like Virginia where ski areas have reported 50cm (20 inch) accumulations an there have been similar large falls in other southern US states to the west like Arizona and New Mexico. Whistler, host venue for the men's and women's alpine skiing competitions, will athletes training on the Olympic courses from today. The first alpine competition is the Men's Downhill on February 13th, the first day of Games competition. "International Olympic Committee delegates recently skied the course and were very pleased with the results," says Tim Gayda, Vice President of Sport for the Olympic organisers VANOC. "From the beginning of the season, VANOC and Whistler Blackcomb crews have worked hard together to prepare the courses to create a very dense base of snow that involved a massive snowmaking effort. Add to that the incredible amount of natural snow that has fallen in Whistler this season, and we're now ready to deliver an Olympic-class alpine skiing venue that will live up to the reputation that the renowned Dave Murray Downhill course holds the world over. We look forward to debuting the spectacular new woman's course on Franz's Run. We're in to the home stretch on our final preparations." Deep snow at Whistler Blackcomb is not unusual, but reaching the average annual snowfall (10.13 metres/ 33 feet) this early is truly unique. Since snow reporting began in the 1979/80 season, this is the first time that Whistler Blackcomb has received this much snow by the end of January. The prior record was set in 2006/07 when 945 centimetres or 31 feet of snow fell by January 31. The news is not so good at Cypress Mountain, the Olympic venue for snowboarding and freestyle events, is continuing to battle to be Games Ready however, although Olympic organisers insist it will be. Cypress is close to Vancouver which has been unseasonably warm all year and most of the snow at resort level has melted. The venue has been using hay bales to build structures like the half pipe and has been trucking in snow to cover them, rather damaging the ‘green’ reputation the Games have been striving for. With no good news on lowering temperatures as the Games get closer the organisers are now using a Sikorsky S64 Skycrane, the second largest helicopter in the world, to transport snow onto the Olympic competition areas. Snow from the upper regions of the mountain will be moved by the helicopter and transported to the areas they are needed. www.Skiinfo.co.uk reports that it’s cold across Europe and it’s been snowing, often heavily, right across the continent, with hundreds of powder alarms (snowfall at an individual resort of more than 20cm/8 inches in 24 hours) released to subscribers over the past five days. The snow is still falling and conditions are excellent at almost all major resorts, but beware of avalanche danger conditions off piste.
www.Skiinfo.co.uk has released more than 50 powder alarms for French resorts since last Friday. The Pyrenees have seen the heaviest snow, with one resort reporting a metre (3.3 feet) of snow in 48 hours over the weekend. Vincent Doutres Business Manager of Espaces Cauterts in Pyrenees told www.Skiinfo.co.uk "In Espaces Cauterets we have a superb snow. This week it snowed a metre in 48 hours. The ski area was entirely safe this weekend but we closed 15% of the terrain for security reasons. Those runs are in a slightly sensitive area. Our guests must beware of off-piste skiing as the avalanche risk was 4 / 5 in all stations of the Pyrenees because of heavy snowfalls in recent days. The snowpack needs a little time to stabilize. The snow conditions are ideal for the 20,000 skiers expected next week for the February vacation."  Cauterets, Pyrenees There have also been large snowfalls in the Northern Alps with Avoriaz reporting 60cm (two feet) of new snow. Chamonix Mont-Blanc reports its base remains the world’s deepest at4.2m. Alpe d'Huez now has 3.2m (Nearly 11 feet), Flaine 282cm (9.5 feet) and La Clusaz 2.7m (9 feet). To the east, Swiss resorts have reported huge snowfalls over the past few days, led by Filzbach - Kerenzerberg which has received two metres (Nearly 7 feet) of new snow in the past week. Andermatt has the second deepest snow depth in Switzerland at present with 2.4m (8 feet) on the mountain and 150cm (5 feet) in the valley. On Friday the resort issued a powder alarm and has also reported 45cm (18 inches) of new snow in seven days. “At the moment there is more than enough snow to enjoy all kinds of winter sports here in Andermatt. Freeriders will also get what they want. On the slope with its beautiful new snow it’s a real pleasure to enjoy the great skiing and boarding.” Peter Heinzer, managing director of Andermatt-Gotthard Sportbahnen, told Skiinfo’s Pascal Bovee. Most of the leading resorts have reported between 30 and 60cm (1-2 feet) of new snow over the weekend, including Crans Montana, the Four Valleys and Saas Fee. Italy has seen plenty of snow in the past week too, if perhaps a little less than the northern Alps. Falls of 30-50cm (12-20 inches) over the past week have been reported by resorts like Andalo and Piancavallo. The Marmolada glacier has a 3.8m (nearly 13 foot base), Bormio 3m (10 feet) and Courmayeur up to 245cm (8 feet). In the Central and Eastern Alps, Austria has been seeing some big snowfalls too, right across the country. St Anton has reported another 15cm (six inches) of snow today which follows on reports of 20cm (8 inches) yesterday in the SkiWelt, Kitzbuhel, St Johann and many other Austrian resorts. Over the past week Austrian resorts have accumulated up to 80cm (2.7 feet) of powder, with the Kleinwalsertal region reporting 75cm (2.5 feet) of new snow and St Johann 60cm (two feet). Germany to the north is absolutely drowning in powder at the moment with www.skiinfo.co.uk issuing more than 100 powder alarms, for snowfalls of 20cm (8 inches) in less than 24 hours, since Friday. In the Allgäu the resorts Alpsee Bergwelt and Grasgehren reported half a metre of new snow on Sunday. The latter has 180cm (six feet) of snow on its upper slopes now. Oberstdorf's ski resort got 20-30cm yesterday. The biggest snowfalls of the last few days were reported from the Sauerland (Central Uplands) though Giller-Hilchenbach topped the list with 70cm in 24 hours this morning. Medebach had reported the same yesterday. It still hasn’t stopped snowing with 19 new powder alarms where issued so far this morning, especially in the Bavarian Forest and the Sauerland in North Rhine-Westphalia. Balderschwang in the Allgäu has reported nearly 1.4m of snow in the last week. Werner Fritz of Guest Information Balderschwang told Skiinfo the current snow depth there is between 100 and 150 cm. “At the moment we have ‘champagne powder’ that couldn’t be any better. The slopes are perfectly prepared”, he said. As mentioned above, the Pyrenees are seeing lots of snow, and that goes for Spain and Andorra as well as France. The top Spanish ski resorts have reported powder conditions with snow depths of up to 225cm (7.5 feet) on their side of the mountain range. The country’s two largest resorts Baqueira (120-185cm) and Formigal (105-220cm) have 110-124km of piste open respectively. Elsewhere in Spain there’s up to three metres (10 feet) at Sierra Nevada. Pirena 2010 Grand Prix Affinity Advance will finish next Saturday in the ski resort of La Molina. The 20th edition of Pirena, the white route of the Pyrenees, started last January 23 with the official Presentation of the teams in Zaragoza. Pirena is an international sleddog crossing-race and one of the most outstanding in the world. During 15 days men and dogs cross the Pyrenees, a natural border between Spain, Andorra and France, from West to East (Itinerary). Pirena 2010– Grand Prix Affinity Advance is one of the races that count for the International Sled dog Sports Federation –IFSS- World Cup. Pirena also counts for the European Sled dog Racing Association –ESDRA- Europe Cup. Ski conditions in Norway are great right now with constant low temperatures and big falls of snow at most resorts. This week 50 ski resorts have had some fresh snow, with resorts in the west of the country like Strandafjellet and Stordal reporting a full metre of snow in the past seven days. Over to the east in Sweden all ski resorts are now open an most of them have at least 80% of their slopes and lifts open. According to Skiinfo’s Snowfinder service, more snow is coming the next four days. It has been snowing in large parts of the country the past seven days with Nalovardo getting the most with 23cm (9.5 inches), Hassela 20cm, Bjursås and the largest, Åre 16cm. Temperatures have dipped as low as -20C in recent days in the north of the country and it remains below freezing in the south too. More snow is expected through the rest of today and Thursday, especially in the south, where forecasts say up to 20cm will fall. So ski slopes in Sweden are in great condition all over the country at present. It’s still a mixed picture in Eastern Europe however. While resorts in the Czech and Slovak Republics have issued plenty of powder alarms in recent days, Poland hasn’t had a great start to the winter, but has had some good snowfalls in recent days, Ms Teresa Kęsek from Polskie Koleje Linowe told skiinfo.pl, "After a long wait, skiers can finally ski in Kasprowy Wierch, part of Poland’s leading Zakopane ski area. At the moment one slope in open in Kocioł Gąsienicowy. We’re now waiting for the snow depth to build to 50cm when we will be able to run the Kocioł Goryczkowy chairlift. The very late opening of the slopes is because of adverse snow conditions and there being no possibility of using snowing system in area of Tatra National Park in Poland" Dwie Doliny Muszyna - Wierchomla has the deepest snow in Poland with a 120cm (4 foot) base. Bulgaria to the south has had fresh snow this week – bases at the main resorts there currently range from 30 – 120cm (1-4 feet). Not one of Europe’s best known ski destinations, Belgium’s ski slopes in the country’s southern Ardennes region are currently reporting excellent conditions, with falls of up to 35cm (14 inches) at once. The heavy snowfall wasn’t good news for everyone though, trucks got in trouble driving the E25 Route du Soleil through the Belgium Ardennes. Some trucks didn´t make it up hill, and blocked the road, with a major traffic jam with over 500 trucks as a result. Most truckers and also private car drivers had to sleep in their vehicles before the road reopened next day. Belgian resorts including Mont Spinett, Signal de Botrange, Mont Rigi, Baraque Michel, Rocherath Eifel Ski Zentrum and Ovifat Alpine Resort received up to 50cm (20 inches) of snow in the last week. The same resorts claim the deepest snow depth in the country with 40cm (16 inches) of snow.  Ovifat Alpine Resort, Belgium “it’s a long time since we´ve seen a snowy winter like this one, people - locals and tourists alike, are enjoying the fresh snow cover in the natural environment,” commented Lennert Van Loo, country manager for Skiinfo.be Scotland’s ski areas have continued to receive more fresh snow although Cairngorm, which has the best conditions, has revised its accumulated total down to 150cm (five feet) at the top. All five areas are open and ready for the school holiday period over the next fortnight. In North America the news is generally good too, with cold weather predominant on both West and East coasts at present, and many resorts reporting 6-18 inches of new snow in the past week on both sides of the continent. Conditions at Whistler with the Olympics just over a week away are reported to be excellent, although snowboard and freestyle venue Cypress mountain is still battling an unseasonal thaw, currently trucking in snow to top up diminishing cover. The Flying Kilometre at Les Arcs, two hours’ drive from Geneva, offers you the chance to ski fast – faster than you’ve probably ever driven (unless you’re Michael Schumacher!) by Alf Alderson Exceed 70mph in Britain and it’s inevitable that you’ll eventually be clocked by a speed camera and made to pay for your sins. Do the same in the French ski resort of Les Arcs and you’ll get a medal. But you’ll be doing it on skis rather than in a car – and when you consider that the world speed skiing record is 251.4kph (approx. 156mph), you’ll still be a bit of a slowcoach if you’re only moving along at 70.  After speed skydiving (in which it’s apparently possible to travel in excess of 483kph/300mph), speed skiing is the fastest non-motorised sport on earth. And at Les Arcs it’s possible for anyone who can ski to give it a go. You don’t even have to be that accomplished a skier, since all you do is literally tuck into a ski-racer stance and plummet downhill in a straight line as fast as you possibly can. Speed skiing is more about having nerves of steel and an adrenaline addiction than being the world’s most stylish skier – if you can ski red runs confidently, you can take on the Flying Kilometre. You can’t miss the Flying Kilometre (or Kilomètre Lancé) when you’re skiing at Les Arcs. The course thrusts down towards the cafés and ski lifts of the Arc 2000 village like the long, smooth tongue of a man-made glacier. And a very steep glacier at that – the maximum gradient is 76% (think the wall of your house), although this is right at the top, where the professionals start – you’ll be making your record attempt considerably lower down where things aren’t quite so vertical. Speed skiing actually originated more than a century ago when bored miners in the Rocky Mountains got their winter adrenaline fix by straight-lining it down steep snow slopes. Today, things are considerably more organised – although there are still only about 30 speed-skiing courses in the world, and just a handful of pro speed skiers in comparison with all the other branches of the sport. All speed skiing courses are one kilometre in length (hence the none-too-original name of the course at Les Arcs) and many are at high altitude to reduce air resistance. Competitors, looking like a cross between Darth Vader and an Olympic swimmer in aerodynamic full-face helmets, latex ski suits and leg fairings, use the 400m or so of the steepest upper section of the course to gain speed, and are then timed over the following 100m, while the final 500m is used to slow down and stop. Simple really… Of course, you don’t get to wear all the fancy kit unless you’re a pro, but you do have to use special super-long skis designed to be stable at high speeds. You’re provided with skis up to 240cm long to do the run, and when you get them up to full speed you’ll actually be riding them on a tiny cushion of air that forms between the skis and the snow. So, you’ve got your skis and you’ve also been provided with a speed-skiing helmet. You’ve listened to a brief talk on how to ski the run safely from one of the course’s pro skiers. All that’s left now is to head downhill – very fast. So what is it like to take on the Flying Kilometre? Hugh Rhodes, who has worked for several seasons in Les Arcs and recently skied the course, claims that it’s actually quite easy: “Nothing can go wrong unless you do something stupid, you just need to overcome the fear factor and be able to stay in a tuck for the length of the run.” Yes, but the fear factor, what’s that like? “Well, it is pretty scary when you look down from the top of the run, but the marshals don’t give you time to stand there reconsidering it – they basically check all your kit is set up properly and send you off. And the course is so superbly groomed that it’s smoother than anything you’ll encounter when skiing on resort pistes, so you’re not likely to catch the edge of a ski on ruts or bumps – I’ve skied fast down red runs that have been more hazardous.” And what about when you’re going flatout? (Hugh reached 121kph on his run). “It’s like sticking your head out of a moving train – the sense of speed is amazing, it’s a genuine adrenaline buzz,” he says through a wide grin. But whatever ski-crazies like Hugh may say, things can go wrong. The most likely mishap occurs if you rise from your tuck position too soon after passing the second timing gate – at high speed, the air resistance you’ll encounter will simply blow you over backwards. Ski racers travelling at full speed have also been known to melt their Lycra suits on the snow in a fall – recreational skiers are likely to just break a bone or two. Nice. But these are very rare instances and, if you have the nerve, the Flying Kilometre offers you the chance to travel faster on a pair of skis than most people drive on the motorway. SPEED FACTS The Flying Kilometre Length: 1,740m Altitude at start: 2,710m Altitude at finish: 2,145m Vertical drop: 565m Maximum gradient: 76% Record breakers •The current world record speed is 251.4kph (156mph), set by Simone Origone at Les Arcs in April 2006. •The youngest skier to exceed 120kph was just seven – by the age of 14 he’d reached 203kph! •One-legged skier Michael Milton of Australia reached 213.65kph in April 2006. Speeding fine •Recreational skiers recorded at a speed of over 110kph are awarded a bronze medal; over 130kph and you get silver and over 150kph you get gold. Prices •One run: €13 •Two runs: €20 •Three runs: €25 Speed-skiing helmets, goggles and skis are provided. Budget Tips • Use a snowboard with folding bindings and pack two boards in one case to save on room and travel costs • Go in the off-peak times, not during school holidays as they are often more expensive • If you're taking ski lessons, remember that a lift pass is often included in the price • Book a private chalet to save on costly hotels Check out the bmibaby website or Yeahbaby to find out more information on some of your favourite snowboard and ski destinations and how to holiday on a budget. Thanks also goes to Alf Andersen for the article and Ink Publishing. Related links: www.lesarcs.com Garmin Speed Test Centres Griz the legendary Fernie giant is due to make an appearance at the resort in British Columbia shortly.  Intrawest, once the world’s leading ski resort operator and still owner of nine major ski areas including next month’s Olympic host Whistler Blackcomb has had its “assets seized” by lenders after it reportedly failed to make repayments on a $1.4 billion loan at the end of last year. The new rocksresort in Laax, Switzerland has been awarded best 'New Ski Resort' in new Design Awards by the prestigious Wallpaper magazine. The Awards highlight what Wallpaper’s editorial team and its global network of editors, photographers and writers consider the 'best of' design from the last 12 months across all design disciplines.
Wall Street financiers say they are going to put the Whistler Blackcomb resort up for sale while the facility is hosting Winter Olympic events next month. www.Skiinfo.co.uk reports that the Alps, Scandinavia, Scotland and on both Eastern and Western sides of North America have again all reported heavy snow in the past seven days over New Year, building on last week’s accumulations. Colder weather in the Alps has meant snow at lower elevations which had previously reported rain. Even Mexico report temperatures dropping to -2C, it’s a shame they only have an artificial surface ski slope.
Skiinfo has released more than 100 Powder Alarms in the past few days to subscribers for resorts reporting at least 20cm (8 inches) off new snow in 24 hours. The heavy snow has continued to mean the avalanche risk is high off the marked piste and there have sadly been more widely-reported avalanche deaths in the past week in several countries. In Austria, Kitzbühel issued a powder alarm on Saturday. Christoph Hirnschall of Bergbahn AG Kitzbühel told me: “The 20 cm of new snow on Saturday helped the winter’s atmosphere very much as they added a layer of natural snow to the already well-prepared slopes.” Kitzbühel had up to 45 cm of artificial snow on their mountain slopes before. Now the snow depths reach 65 cm on upper and 30 cm on lower slopes with 51 lifts in operation. Today Bad Kleinkirchheim got 10 cm of new snow. Mölltaler Gletscher, Kleinarl and Montafon had the biggest snowfalls in 7 days with 31-35 cm. The last two days Skiinfo has issued another dozen powder alarms in Switzerland with the biggest snowfalls in Diemtigtal - Wiriehorn (50cm in 48 hours) and Gstaad - Château-d'Oex (40cm on Tuesday). Top snow depths in Switzerland are at Lötschental 235cm (7.5 feet), Andermatt-Gotthard 220cm (7.3 feet) and Les Marécottes - Salvan 220cm (7.3 feet) with Leukerbad and Celerina both saying 200cm (6.3 feet). The most snowfalls in the last 7 days has been at Vercorin, which has reported the biggest falls in Europe in fact, with 180cm (six feet) and Evolène 170cm (5.7 feet). Italy continues to report the deepest snow depths in the world with the Marmolada glacier at Arabba and the Presena Glacier above Passo Tonale and Pragelato on 3.8m (12.7 feet) andd 4.1m (13.7 feet) respectively. Aranbba has reported another 50cm (20 inches) of new snow in the poast week as has fellow Dolomites ski area, Cortina. However Courmayeur in the West has reported the largest snowfall in the country for the paast week with 60cm (two feet) off new cover. Snow depths are also building in France with Flaine now at 2.7m (9 feet) on upprer slopes, La Clusaz on 2.5m (8.3 feet) and Orcieres on 2.1m (7 feet). The French Alps have also seen some of the heaviest falls of the past week with St Gervais reporting accumulations of 90cm (three feet) and the Paradiski region of La Plagne, Les Arcs and Peisey 70cm (2.3 feet). Most other areasd have reported at least a foot of new snow. On Monday 35cm (14 inches) fell at Serre-Eyraud and 30cm (a foot) at Pra Loup in the Southern Alps as well as atSainte-Foy in the Northern Alps. As a result of the new snow the snowdepth has already almost doubled since the end of 2009 at many French resorts. In Austria, Kitzbühel issued a powder alarm on Saturday. Christoph Hirnschall of Bergbahn AG Kitzbühel said, “The 20cm of new snow on Saturday helped the winter’s atmosphere very much as they added a layer of natural snow to the already well-prepared slopes.” Kitzbühel had up to 45cm of artificial snow on their mountain slopes before. Now the snow depths reach 65cm (2.2 feet) on upper slopes and 30cm (a foot) on lower slopes with 51 lifts in operation. Top snow depths in Austria are still on the Mölltaler, Pitztal and Hintertux glaciers which all have base depths over two metres (6.7 feet). Snowfallk is continuing with Bad Kleinkirchheim reporting 10cm (four inches) of new snow today. Conditions have improved dramatically in Spain and the Pyrenees after warmwer weather bvrouigh rain and storm conditions to resorts around Christmas week. “The snow in Formigal has been falling all week and there are fantastic depths of up to 130cm and beautiful powder snow.” said Formigal’s Catherine Dolan, “The predictions are for yet more snow to fall and at heights as low as 400m.” The resort currently has some of the deepest snow in Spain at 130cm (4.3m) on upper slopes and the biggest single area open with 122km of slopes. However big falls at Boi Taull make itr the first Spanish resort to reach a snowpack depth of two metres (6.7 feet).  Formigal, January 2010 Sierra Nevada is reporting 20-150cm (.6-5 feet) of powder and 39km of runs, however due to extreme weather conditions in recent days upper station lifts remain closed until storm damage is repaired.  Sierra Nevada, January 2010 Andorra has benefited from some of the new snow although depths remain quite modest on lower slopes. But Pal/Arinsal added another foot (30cm) taking its base up towards a metre (3.3 feet). In Scandinavia more heavy snow over New Year casued two avalanches to set off in the East and West Ravines at the region’s most popular resort, Åre in Sweden, on Saturday. These are the two most popular off piste runs in Åre. Three people were caught but luckily there were no serious injuries – just a dislocated shoulder. The avalanche warning during the day was set to 3 on the 5 grade scale. Otherwise it´s is really cold in Sweden right now, in common with mopst of the worldd’s morre northerly latitudes. The resort of Idre reported temps as low as -35C and the forecasts are for even colder temperatures in the mountains today and on Thursday. In the south off Sweden more snow is expected again today with up to 20cm (8 inches) and the mountains can expect still more snow at the end of the week. Norway also has lots of fresh snow. Indeede the small area of Stordal has reported 70cm (2.3 feet) of new snow in the past week – the most in the country, although many other areas have reported 30—60cm (1-2 feet). Belgium’s biggest Alpine resort Baraque de Fraiture in the province of Luxembourg still has all slopes open. Last weekend 11 nordic ski resorts in the country could re-open again after 10cm (4 inches) of fresh snow. The on going cold temperatures have kept snow conditions in the Ardennes Forests good and 10-15 cm (4-6 inches) of new snow is expected for next weekend. In Eastern Europe the more northerly ski countries like the Czech and Slovak republics and Poland have seen the best conditions, with very low temperatures and fresh snow. Vratna in the Slovak Republic has had the biggest accumulations of 40cm (16 inches) in the past week. Conditions are still rather marginal in Bulgaria however with little new snow reported and best base depths of 40—70cm (16-28 inches) at the top of the slopes, only 10cm (4 inches) at the bottom. In North America the storm on the East Coast has continued to dump large quantities of snow creating great conditions in the region famous for its snowmaking. Up to 50cm (20 inches) more snow has fallen with the biggest resort – Killington in Vermont – noting it’s base has passed a metre (3.3 feet) on upper runs and has great off-piste skiing. Conditions are also continuing to improve in most western US resorts. Snow Blast. A series of Rocky Mountain storms slammed into the Tetons this weekend dropping 30 inches (75cm) of new snow since Friday at Jackson Hole in Wyoming, allowing for even more acreage to open across the mountain. Skiers and riders took full advantage of the largest continuous vertical drop in the country via newly opened terrain including Cheyenne Bowl, Bernie’s Bowl and Riverton Bowl. “The snowfall is continuing and soft snow and deep tracks are the norm in Jackson this week, but beyond the powder skiing, there is reported to be a lot of great cruising with virtually all the groomed runs open, posting outstanding conditions.” said the resort’s Zahan Billimoria. It’s been a similar picture to the north where resorts in Alberta and British Columbia have some of the best snow bases in the world following nearly two months of mostly great conditions. Most are reporting 1.5-2.4m (5-9 feet) bases and several inches of fresh snow in recent days. Conditions are also continuing to improve on the East Coast with resorts in Quebec also reporting fresh snow. Whistler is the latest Intrawest resort to fit kids with patented flaik GPS units providing real-time tracking information for additional safety while giving Whistler Blackcomb’s youngest guests a chance to track their day on the mountains. The number of ski areas in the world may be increasing rather than decreasing with hundreds of new centres having opened in Eastern Europe and in Asia over the past decade. www.Skiinfo.co.uk reports that the Alps, Scandinavia, Scotland and Eastern North America have all reported heavy snow in the past seven days over Christmas.
Unfortunately some resorts including Engelberg and Val d’Isere have seen some periods of rainfall at resort level as temperatures have risen. It’s been a good snowy Christmas in France. Even if the temperatures last week were higher, the French mountains have still received good snowfall. Chamonix has topped Europe’s snowfall tally for the past seven days with a 103cm (3.5 feet) accumulation. 40cm (16 inches) of snow fell in Serre Chevalier in the Southern Alps and 35cm (14 inches) at La Clusaz in the northern Alps. Further snowfalls are expected for the end of the week. 34cm (17 inches) of snow is expected in Tignes and Val d'Isere in the coming days. The avalanche risk is high across the Alps with sadly several fatal incidents in the past week. In France Montgenevre (which currently has the deepest snow depth in France at 180cm/six feet) has the highest alert level of five, Ste Foy Tarentaise and Serre Chevalier are at level four. Lötschental currently has the biggest snow base in Switzerland with 221cm (7.4 feet). Yesterday the resort reported another 16cm (six inches) of new snow. They've had 54cm (nearly two feet) in the past seven days. Nax has had the most new snow in the past week however with 80cm (2.7 feet). Other Swiss resorts with deep snow include Andermatt-Gotthard and St. Moritz which have snow depths of two meters (6.7 feet) each. Yesterday there was 10cm (four inches) of new snow in Sölden, Austria, which has received 35cm (14 inches) on new snow in the past seven days. It now has 167cm (5.6 feet) on upper slopes. Lech Zürs has had 25cm (10 inches) in seven days, while the Großglockner / Heiligenblut and Montafon Gargellen have had 30cm (a foot) each. The Mölltaler Glacier continues to have the deepest snow depths in the country with 240cm (eight feet). Italy still has the deepest snow in Europe with 312cm (10.5 feet) at the Marmolada glacier near Arabba and 2.6m (8.7 feet) at Boirmio, which was hosting World Cup downhill ski races this week. Italian resorts are also reporting some of the biggest snowfalls of the past seven days. Sestriere had 60cm (two feet), Courmayeur 65cm (2.3 feet), Livigno 80cm (2.7 feet) and Bormio 90cm (three feet). The fresh snow has arrived in the Pyrenees a little later than the Alps but the conditions are now near normal with a snow depth of nearly 60cm (two feet), but most stations are still only partially open. There’s been 30cm (a foot) of fresh snow in Gavarnie, Cauterets has 100cm (3.3 feet) and Piau Engaly and Peyragudes 70cm (2.3 feet). In Spain many resorts had to close due strong wind, rain and warm temperatures but a cold front is expected to bring new snow New Year. Formigal has some of the deepest snow in the country with 120cm (four feet) of snow on upper slopes and most terrain open, 97km, and 70cm (2.3 feet) on upper slopes.  Formigal, Span © Formigal There’s been heavy snow in Scandinavia with lots of snow at Swedish and Norwegian resorts in the last week. In Sweden Valfjället and Ski Sunne got the most snow with 40cm (16 inches) each and Fjätervålen 35cm (14 inches) got the most snow.  Hemsedal, Norway © Hemsedal The Christmas holiday also brought really low temperatures to large parts of the area, dropping to -15 to -25 at several resorts. Elsewhere in Northern Europe there’s no outdoor alpine skiing in Belgium at the moment, but the Nordic resorts around Belgium´s highest peak ´Signal de Botrange´ (694m) are still busy with snow fans from Belgium and the Netherlands. Baraque Michel, Mont Rigi and Signal de Botrange are still open with 15cm (six inches) of snow, which received 3cm (an inch) more fresh snow last Sunday. More fresh snow is expected next week. Scottish ski areas are enjoying their best Christmas for 14 years. Over 2000 skiers a day have been enjoying the excellent snow cover all over Cairngorml and temperatures are set to remain below freezing until at least Tuesday 5th January and the Scottish school holidays continue through to January 11th. Forecast strong winds are expected to drop to give a another good skiing day on New Year’s Day with bright sunshine and only pockets of cloud. More snow and blizzards are expected from 2nd January. The picture in Eastern Europe is mixed with resorts in countries further west like Slovakia and Slovenia reporting fresh snow, but in Bulgaria the snowpack has diminished and is quite thin at all areas. In Slovakia Donovaly reported 10cm (four inches) of new snow today, Vel’ka Race 5cm (two inches). Across the Atlantic the main snow news has been heavy snow across the Eastern side of the North American continent, with many ski areas in New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and New York State reporting at least a foot (30cm) of new snow. More southerly states like West Virginia and New Jersey have also had snow. Most of the rest of the continent has seen limited fresh snow and major resorts are still only partially open. In Quebec 97% of the Mont-Sainte-Anne trail network is now open to skiers and riders. In addition to this happy and welcomed news, night skiing is now in operation and Mont-Sainte-Anne has the highest nocturnal vertical drop of all Canada, with 100% of its terrain available. Both Mont-Sainte-Anne and it’s sister resort, Stoneham, have received 70cm (2.3 feet) of snow in the last week. www.Skiinfo.co.uk reports that over the past week the big snow news has been in the Western US where resorts in California have reported an average of almost a foot (30cm) of snow per day for the past week. Squaw Valley says it received more than six feet (1.9m) in seven days, and expects more at the weekend. The snow was greatly needed to boost base levels, which are now up around 1.5m (five feet) and represented nearly a fifth of the usual annual snowfall at the resort.  Squaw Valley, 14 December 2009 Western US Resorts Score Over 6 Feet Of Snow In 7 Days
In Europe the best news of the past week has been a dramatic lowering in temperatures. This has led to double-digit below-zero temperatures at higher elevations, but more importantly means lower slopes are seeing subzero temperatures enabling the snowmaking guns to work even if mother nature isn’t providing enough of the natural stuff in some places. It has been very cold since Sunday in France, just in time for the big increase in skier numbers expected at the weekend. Nearly all of the major resorts are now open, more than 40 in total and all are expected to open this weekend. Overall there has been little fresh snow in France in the past week with about 10cm (four inches) falling on the Pyrenees and both the north and the Southern Alps. A little more snowfall is expected this Friday. La Clusaz currently reports the deepest snow in the country with 140cm (4.6 feet). Cauterets, La Plagne and Alpe d'Huez all have at least a metre. World Snowboard Day returns for its 4th edition this Sunday, December 20th. The idea is to discover for free the joys of snowboarding and the snowboard culture. Austria has had some new snow with lower temperatures helping to bring the freezing point further down the slopes. The glaciers still have the greatest snow depths was Molltal leading the way with a 230cm (7.6 foot) base. Kaunrtal is not far behind with 1.9m (6.3 feet). The latest fresh snow in the country of 10-20cm (4-8 inches) has been reported at Eben, Zauchensee and Flachau. Most Austrian resorts that are not yet open will open this weekend: “We’ve had fresh snow but a little less than expected, at the moment there’s 35cm (14 inches) on upper slopes.” said Anna-Christina Moser of Alpbacher Bergbahnen, “Snow conditions are good now not only because of the latest snowfalls but particularly because of the cold temperatures, allowing our 85 snow guns to produce snow 24 hours a day.” Alpbach opens this Friday December 18th and will have their longest slope in operation and all the lifts at the Wiedersbergerhorn. Stuhleck Semmering and Kleinwalsertal celebrated their winter openings last weekend. Sandra Janser of Kleinwalsertal Tourismus said, “Last weekend we officially started the winter season and the long awaited snowfall arrived right on time. The slopes are in good condition now and we’ll open more lifts as soon as the snow will allow it”. Currently Fellhorn/ Kanzelwand has eight lifts in operation, Ifen and Waldmendinger Horn are likely to join next weekend. Parts of Switzerland have received up to 55cm (nearly two feet) of snow in the past week. Laax, which is reporting the second deepest snow base in the country at present with 168 cm (5.6 feet) was one of the major beneficiaries with 51cm (20 inches), Disentis got the 55cm. Arosa and Kanderstag added 30cm (a foot) each. Italy continues to report some of the healthiest snowfalls in Europe, with another 70cm (2.3 feet) in Val Gardena in the Dolomites, and 60cm (two feet) for Limone Piemonte in the west of the country. This week the snow started to cover central Italy (Lazio e Abruzzo) and for next two days the forecast are for snowfall down to altitudes around 400-500m in these areas. Arabba Marmolada has the greatest snow depth in the country, and in Europe at present with 312 cm (10.5 feet), the Presena Glacier above Passo Tonale has 300cm (10 feet) and Bormio 190cm (6.3 feet). The Sky Mountaineering World Cup will be staged this weekend (18 -20 December) in Pila and the Aosta Valley. The race makes ski mountaineering manageable in small stages and participation is limited to athletes with ski mountaineering licences from official bodies in Italy or any other country. Cold weather has arrived in the Pyrenees too and last Monday has snowed in Madrid and today snow is expected again all over Spain. Aramon's Javalambre (opening Friday December 18) and Valdelinares ski resorts received the greatest snowfall. At the moment Baqueira Beret, with a 30-60cm (1-2 foot) base has the most terrain open with73km of runs, whilst Astun, has the most snow with an 85cm (nearly 3 foot) base on upper slopes. Most of the other resorts have similar bases to Baqueira but more limited terrain. Outside the Pyrenees in Spain only Sierra Nevada with 20-40cm (8-16 inches) and 10km of runs available is open for skiers. Aramon, which runs several leading Spanish ski areas, has announced a big event for this winter called "Pirineos Sur Winter". The First Edition of the Festival will take place in Formigal from February 12 until March 13 and feature a mix of local and International artists like Brazilian Carlinhos Brown on the programme. It’s a similar snow picture in Andorra where snow depths are shallow and the snow hard packed, but again the current weather conditions should mean an improvement by the weekend. In Eastern Europe, Bansko in Bulgaria had its annual celebrity opening last weekend with its biggest swathe of former ski stars yet in attendance including Permin Zurbriggen, Mark Girardelli, Paul Accola and Patrick Ortlieb. It reported 50cm of much needed snow arriving just in time for opening day and Bulgaria’s other leading resort, Borovets, has received fresh snow too and aims to open shortly. In Northern Europe Germany has been enjoying its first good snowfalls of the winter. In many parts of the country it’s snowing again today and weather forecasters are predicting more over the next few days with temperatures below zero in most areas. The Central German Uplands currently have up to 25cm (10 inches) of snow. Snow making systems in Winterberg have delivered 20cm (8 inches) of snow and Wintersportzentrum Sellinghausen issued a powder alarm with 20cm of new snow. In the Schwarzwald, where the snow is falling, there is 20cm of snow on the Feldberg at the moment, in the Allgäu there’s up to 50cm (20 inches) of snow. Further north in to Scandinavia resorts in Norway and Sweden have been reporting falls of 15-30cm (6-12 inches) through the last week. In Norway Voss was one of the big winners with 15cm (6 inches) of new snow. As with the alps it has also become very cold making good conditions for further snowmaking. Across the North Sea to Scotland, Cairngorm above Aviemore remains open with a dusting of fresh snow, and more snow forecast over the next few days which could be good news for its neighbouring Eastern Highlands ski areas of Glenshee and The Lecht which have not been open to open so far. As reported above the biggest snowfalls of the past seven days have been in the Western US states, but further north the snow is still falling with Whistler reporting another 10cm (four inches) overnight. The picture has further improved on the East Coast too, especially in Quebec with resorts like Mont ste Anne and Stoneham reporting up to 50cm (20 inches) of fresh snow and new snow and lower temperatures in New England to the south too, where resorts like Attitash in New Hampshire, Stratton in Vermont and Sunday river in Maine have reports 12-18 cm (5-7 inches) After a warm snap inflicts some weekend damage, it’s back to snow for most.
Italy has had the most snow anywhere in the past week and currently has some of the world’s biggest accumulations. The biggest falls were in the north-west of the country (Piemonte, Lombardia, Valle d'Aosta) and in the last few days in Alto Adige. However the snow cover isn’t universal and in Friuli a lack of snow has lead to the start of the season being postponed. The biggest accumulation of the past seven days has been in Val d'Ultimo which reports 190cm (6.3 feet) of new snow. Val Senales / Schnals is not far behind with 160cm (5.3 feet) and Santa Caterina is on 130cm (4.3 feet), Cortina d'Ampezzo 110 cm (3.65 feet). The Arabba Marmolada glacier currently reports the deepest snow anywhere in the world with 312cm (10.5 feet) on upper slopes, 55cm (22 inches) at the base. It’s a similar picture, just a few centimetres less, on the Presena Glacier above Passo Tonale. Bormio, one of the winter’s early openers six-weeks ago, has 190cm (6.3 feet) on upper slopes, 30cm (a foot) below. Madesimo and Cervinia - Breuil each has about 1.5 metres (five feet) on upper slopes. Thirty resorts have already partially opened their ski areas in France, of which six are currently only open at weekends. That number will grow to at least 40 this weekend. After a warming period following last week’s snow, with some rain damage to lower slopes, more snow has started falling again and Orelle, lift-linked to Val Thorens in The Three Valleys (each of which is now at least partially open) in the northern Alps, issued a powder alarm yesterday with a 20cm (eight inch) snowfall. Resorts scheduled to open this weekend include La Plagne, Serre Chevalier, Flaine, Vars and Avoriaz. La Clusaz currently reports the best snow depth in the country with 120cm (four feet) of snow. In the Pyrenees, Bareges and La Mongie have the most snow with 90cm (three feet) lying, Val d’Isere will host the 54th edition of the "Critérium de la Première Neige" this weekend on the 11th - 13th December for Women and the following weekend (18th -20th December) for men. There has been limited new snowfall in Austria, however the country’s glacier ski are reporting some of the deepest snow available anywhere. The snow line in Austria is between 500 and 800 metres today and the Austrian Broadcast Corporation ORF predicts more snowfall for Saturday and low temperatures between -6 and 0 degrees (Celsius) for Sunday. The Molltal glacier has among the three biggest snow depths in the world at present with 2,2m (7.3 feet), while Pitztal, Solden,Stubai and Hintertux glaciers all have at least 1.5m (five feet)of snow. Kaprun has released powder alarms reporting 40cm of new snow in the past 24 hours. Austrian resorts which will open this weekend include more of the SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser with 15cm (six inches) of snow in Brixental and Kleinwalsertal (opening on the 12th) with up to 40cm (15 inches) of snow at the Nebelhorn ski area. Seefeld – Rosshütte, Gerlos/ Zillertal and Lermoos/ Tiroler Zugspitz Arena will also open with 30cm (a foot) of snow. It’s a similar picture over the border in Germany where the Zugspitzplatt has the most snow with 125 (4.1 feet). Oberstdorf has 30cm (a foot). After heavy snow last week in Switzerland almost cut off the resort of Engelberg and other resorts reported bug falls, Swiss resorts have again been announcing substantial snowfalls of at least 20cm in each in the past 24 hours. Davos, Gstaad and Les Diablerets are among the latest to note substantial new snowfalls, with Engelberg also reporting another 20cm (eight inches). Verbier had the biggest single snowfall, with 30cm (a foot) of new snow. Swiss resorts are now reporting some of the deepest snow depths in the world, with Andermatt recording some of the deepest snow, a1.3m (4.3 feet) base at the bottom of the slopes and 1.9m (6.3 feet) on upper runs. In Andorra and Spain the news is less good as pouring rain and warm weather ruined some of the great conditions reported only a week ago. Only Spain’s largest resorts of Baqueira (30-60 cm and 77 km) and Formigal (10-80 cm and 64 km) continue to offer good conditions. However Panticosa (30-60 cm and 22 km), Cerler (20-65 cm and 18 km), Astun (20-80 cm and 20 km), Candanchu (15-65 cm and 29 km), Boi Taull (15-30 cm and 20 km), La Molina (10-20cm and 3 km), Masella (10-25 km and 9 km) and Grand Pallars ski resorts (Espot, Port Ainé and Tavascan, 15-40 cm with 60 km) all in the Pyrenees, are still open. Outside the Pyrenees only Sierra Nevada with 10-30 cm and 5km of runs is open for skiers. A cooling trend is expected for the weekend however, allowing ski resorts to put snow making facilities back in to operation. In Scandinavia there has been a similar roller coaster of weather to the Alps and Pyrenees with just a few centimetres of snow for some resorts. However Åre in Sweden is hosting the ladies WC this weekend and they are giving away one free day pass to all spectators who come to watch the competitions. The ski resort of Säfsen will open up two slopes this weekend. In Scotland, Cairngorm remains open and has extended the terrain available, with a descent to the bottom of the funicular on a narrow band of snow possible this week. Low temperatures should help to maintain this possibility. The country’s other four centres have insufficient snow to open. There are no reports of any ski areas open yet in Eastern Europe although Bansko in Bulgaria has said it plans to open this weekend and the webcams are showing a snowy picture in the Czech Republic. Across the Atlantic most areas of North America have seen improved conditions. The exception is possibly British Columbia where conditions couldn’t really actually improve much on the record breaking November snowfall. The only problem there is that it’s very cold – as low as -40C overnight, so wrap up well! Kicking Horse and Fernie are now open, joining the rest. Virtually all of the province’s ski areas are now open, although Panorama still has to join them, with opening scheduled for this Friday, November 11. At Fernie conditions are described as, “fantastic” with over a six feet (1.8m) of settled snow base in the five alpine bowls. Heli-skiing is the latest snow sport to benefit from the great snow in BC with Great Canadian Heli-Skiing announcing that its first paying guests went heli‐skiing last Sunday, December 6th, three weeks before the normal start date! This lucky private party, which includes the only North American delegate to be invited to judge the snowboarding events at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, shows that amongst Great Canadian’s guests, snow is definitely trumping the economy! Due to numerous calls into Great Canadian Heli‐Skiing’s office by guests demanding to come heli‐skiing in order to enjoy the amazing conditions, the decision was made to meet consumer demand by operating much earlier than scheduled. The next group of lucky skiers and boarders will arrive Friday, December 11th for a three day trip. Further highlighting how snow is trumping the economy, November bookings to Great Canadian Heli‐Skiing were 30% higher than any other previous November and it was the second biggest month in the past six years. In Alberta, Sunshine’s famous Delirium Dive opened at the weekend, the earliest opening in its ten year history. As one of Sunshine Village’s three freeride zones, the Dive offers some of the most extreme inbounds terrain in North America. This week it was named one of the ‘World’s Scariest Ski Slopes’ by MSN, to add to its many other accolades. “We’ve had fantastic snow this season enabling us to open the Dive earlier than ever before. Expert skiers and snowboarders will be very happy!” said Dan Markham, of Ski Banff-Lake Louise-Sunshine. Within the Dive’s 600 acres of terrain, natural features include 20 metre cornices, frozen waterfalls, stepped pillow drops, jagged rock spines, and 25 metre cliffs. These natural hazards are unmarked and exist throughout the area. Skiers and snowboarders need to use good judgment, know their skill level, and understand that mountain conditions may change quickly. Entry is only permitted for those with a shovel, transceiver and buddy. The Dive’s opening adds to the expert terrain already available at The Lake Louise Ski Area and Mt. Norquay. Whitehorn 1, A Gulley and Ptarmigan Shoots are just some of Lake Louise’s terrain already open for expert skiers and riders, with great powder conditions. Last weekend Mt. Norquay held a special early opening of the North American chair, offering access to the resorts infamous double-black diamond runs. With some of the best snow in 30 years, the conditons at all three resorts are great on beginner and intermediate terrain too. On the East Coast, which had suffered from warm weather and little snow, resorts have been able to open thanks to some fresh snow and temperatures cold enough for snowmaking. Mont-Sainte-Anne near Quebec City began operating for the 09-10 season at 8:30am last Saturday but with only one slope open to the public, the popular Quanik, adding another slope, La Paradeuse on Sunday and also a new cross-country skiing loop exclusively reserved to training, that will be set up on the west side of the summit. The 800 meter loop can be reached by the panoramic gondola and can accommodate up to 50 athletes simultaneously, in both skating and classic styles; a first of this kind in the East of the continent. The resort plans to open two other slopes in the next few days, La Printannière and La Mélanie Turgeon. Mont-Sainte-Anne is now open 7 days a week. Stoneham Mountain Resort opened on Sunday at 9 am, with its slope Les Pionniers and a small snow park set up at the base of the mountain for all freestyle fanatics. Mont Sutton to the south of the province is hoping to open this weekend. Further south resorts have been opening in New England, including Sugarbush, Sugarloaf and Smugglers Notch – each using a combination of fresh natural snow and machine made white stuff. In Western North America a big storm is tracking across the country bringing large snowfalls to California and now moving in to the Rocky Mountain bringing snow to resorts in Colorado and Utah. Squaw Valley reported a two-foot (60cm) accumulation on Monday, greatly improving conditions at the leading Californian resort. Heavenly Mountain Resort in South Lake Tahoe, California has reported 34 inches (86cm) of fresh snow in the past 24 hours, and the Colorado resorts of Vail and Beaver Creek are under a winter storm warning having already received more than 5 inches (13cm) in the past 48 hours.  Heavenly Mountain Resort, 7th December 2009 November 2009 will go down in history as the snowiest month on record at Whistler Blackcomb, dating back to when the collection of weather data began 30 years ago. www.Skiinfo.co.uk has issued hundreds of powder alarms in the past 72 hours as resorts across the Alps, Dolomites and Pyrenees report big and on-going snowfalls. Hundreds of resorts are now planning to open for the coming weekend across the continent with superb conditions, although freeriders are warned to beware of high avalanche risk off piste in many locations.
As a result, www.Skiinfo.co.uk has now released more than 200 powder alarms for ski areas reporting more than 20cm (eight inch) falls 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 metre of new snow in 24 hours on Monday (Nov 30th) – the road to nearby Disentis was covered with snow. Engelberg was virtually closed down by snow at the start of the week too due to a massive storm that hit central Switzerland with over 90cms (three feet) of fresh snow according to Eric Spongberg an ex-freeriders based at Ski Lodge Engelberg (www.skilodgeengelberg.com). 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 rumours of snow coming in, but we have virtually been covered in snow in the past 24 hours” says Eric. ”It is total chaos here, with ploughs 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”. The ski area is open today and Eric is hoping to be on the slopes, ”It might be one of those days, I just might need to skip a couple of hours off work.” Austria, which had great snow in late October and early November, but in common with the rest of the Alps, suffered a warm spell through the mifddle 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 metres 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 it’s Nordic ski area "Les Confins" Many more plan to open thisweekend, at least partially, 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 metre of snow lying. 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 fallen in the past week. Other resorts reporting big falls 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 December 8th so it’s great timing. This weekend many ski resorts will officially starts the season including Monterosa Ski, Dolomitri Superski, Limone, Courmayeur, resorts on the Milky Way pass like Sestrire and Sauze d’Oulx, Adamello (some lifts 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 metre on the lower pistes and more is predicted to fall over the next few days.  Formigal For bookings made before 15th December there is free ski or board 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 main ski resorts will open on Friday for a four days holiday (December 8th 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 snowing in Andorra, where resorts first opened early in mid-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 goods for this weekend. On the French side La Mongie and Bareges reported 60cm (two feet) on Tuesday, 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 ideal conditions for snowmaking. Further up north the resort of Kittelfjall has opened with a snow depth of 46cm. Dundret, 100km north of the polar circle, has opened too 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 45mph winds and a much stronger wind chill factor. There’s no information on ski areas opening yet in Eastern Europe, however temperatures have dropped at last in that part of the continent with Bansko in Bulgaria reporting several days of sub-zero temperatures and snow falling. Across the Atlantic the prolonged warm spell that stopped virtually all of New England’s ski areas 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 dire up. Sugarloaf in Maine and Whiteface in New York State are among those planning to open at the 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 too. Mont Ste Anne in Quebec expects to open after several postponements this weekend with at least four runs available. It reported 12cm (5 inches) of snow at the weekend. Mont Sutton received 43cm (17 inches) of snow at the summit over the weekend. In the west of course it is 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 Olympic host however, most of Western Canada’s resorts have great snow cover, and several more resorts opened early at 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, as well as the only heli and cat ski operations running along-side regular ski lifts from one base, 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 over the weekend with Lake Louise Ski Area hosting its annual Winterstart World Cup Races. The men’s races took place November 28 and 29 and the women race this coming December 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 December 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 spokesperson. On Thursday, December 3rd, the newly renovated Sunshine Mountain Lodge at Sunshine Village will open 30 new eco-luxurious rooms. Back south of the border in the Western US states 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. Whistler's November snowfall total passed 5.5m (nearly 18 feet) by the morning of the 29th, with a 1.92m (6.5 feet) base, by far the biggest ever for this early in the season. Following the opening of Mongolia's first proper ski resort on Wednesday, South Korea's latest centre opened on Friday in Gangwon province, the region's 10th ski area. www.Skiinfo.co.uk reports a mixed picture for snow cover across the northern hemisphere as the main start of the ski season approaches.
 Whistler, Canada Western Canada - and particularly the Pacific coast of British Columbia - continues to report the most remarkable snowfall, in fact an "extreme weather event" in November, with Mount Washington and Whistler both reporting all-time record levels of snowfall for the month, in Whistler's case now more than five metres (17 feet). The snowfall has not just broken decades-old records, it has smashed them, and passed the old record levels more than a week before the end of the month with snow still falling.  Marmot Basin, Canada The snow has created great conditions for snow sports but challenges for operations and in some cases high avalanche danger to be be wary of if heading off piste. The big snowfalls have been less dramatic but still spectacular further inland, where many Albertan and British Columbian resorts opened early and continue to do so, with Fernie the latest to announce it will do so for a preview weekend on November 28th and 29th. But it's not all good news, on the East Coast ski areas are struggling to open with temperatures too warm The snowfall window seems quite narrow too, Alyeska, the largest resort in Alaska, to the north of British Columbia is opening today but is having to rely on machine made snow to open a few runs. In the main US states to the south it's a similar West/East split to Canada with most resorts in the West that intended to open, now open ready for Thanksgiving and reporting fresh snow if not at the dramatic levels to the north. Vail is one of the latest to open with fresh snow there. Last week snow fell on several consecutive nights in Mammoth and on Friday 20 November a powerful storm hit Tahoe, dumping between 10 and 12 inches of new snow in the upper elevations. The following day when Tahoe's major resorts opened - Heavenly, Squaw Valley and Northstar - the storm had blown over and skiers and snowboarders were greeted with fresh powder and blue, sunny skies. In Europe the picture is also mixed, no more so than around Western Europe's highest mountain, Mont Blanc, where Chamonix reported 50cm (20 inches) of fresh snow at mid-mountain yesterday on the French side, while Courmayeur on the Italian side announced it was postponing its planned opening this weekend due to lack of snow. Lech and St Anton have also delayed opening. The problem has been limited fresh snow and/or warm temperatures in parts of the Alps over recent weeks after the big snowfalls that many areas received earlier in the month, although Skiinfo continues to issue powder alarms for big snowfalls in some places, with resorts in Italy and Switzerland reporting 20cm (8 inch) plus falls in the past 24 hours. Monterosa is another western Italian area that has announced it will postpone its opening planned for this weekend however. Yesterday 15 cm (six inches) of fresh snow fell on the glacier near Laax in Switzerland, bringing it to a snow depth of 90cm (three feet) on top (3018 metres). Saas Fee has had 10cm of fresh snow so far this morning . There have been reports of more fresh snow in France with Val d'Isere receiving a foot or so and an editor from website www.WeLove2Ski.com reporting skiing 1,500m of vertical at Tignes yesterday. Elsewhere in Italy the snow is still falling, with the giant dolomite superski area scheduled to starty opening this weekend. It's Alta Badia sector around Corvara is one of the biggest beneficiaries of recent falls adding 45cm (18 inches) in the past few days. Cervinia has had a foot, much of it yesterday, generating a Skiinfo.co.uk powder alarm. The Presena glacier above Passo Tonale has some of the greatest snow depths in Europe at present with 130cm (4.3 feet) of snow. It's a mixed picture, once again, in Austria where some resorts are reporting fresh snow and on-schedule openings while some big names, notably Lech and St Anton in the Arlberg, have postponed their openings - Lech by a week to December 5th, St Anton as yet undecided for how long. However Soelden has had another 10cm (4 inches) in the past 24 hoursand there's nearly 90cm (three feet) lying on the glacier now. There's also great skiing and boarding on offer this week at one of Austria's highest ski areas - in the country's southernmost province of Carinthia, known as the sunny side of the Alps. The Molltal glacier has nine lifts and skiing up to 3,122m, with a great range of superbly-groomed pistes for every level of skier. Skiinfo.co.uk reports it currently has the deepest snow on the continent with 170cm (5.7 feet) lying. Molltal is near the lovely Carinthian ski village of Heiligenblut, which is open this weekend (Nov 28/29) and has fabulous skiing and boarding against the stunning backdrop of the Grossglockner, Austria's highest mountain at 3,798m. Ischgl says it will open this weekend. "There are perfect snow conditions for our opening! All lifts will be open on November 27th." Andrea Gintsberger , Marketing Manager of the Paznaun - Ischgl Tourism association.  Ischgl, Austria "With a valid ski pass there is free entrance to the Kate Perry concert this Saturday November 28th at 6pm. We expect about 20 000 guests to come that day!" The annual Santa Claus World Championships are again taking place at Samnaun over the mountain in Switzerland. In Germany the best place to ski remains the Zugspitz glacier with 105cm (3.5 feet) of snow. Scandinavian ski areas are having a similarly mixed picture, but most of the major resorts are now open. In Sweden mild weather during last week delayed the openings of more ski resorts but the resort of Ramundberget opened a week earlier than planned on Saturday with a snow depth of 50cm (20 inches) thanks to some healthy snowfalls during the weekend, (without any artificial snow). The region's largest ski area, Are, which opened up one slope, Hamrebacken in the Duved area got 10cm (4 inches) of fresh snow on Monday. The resort will hosts the Ladies World Cup (slalom and giant slalom) on December 11-13th and... "There's plenty of manmade snow already on the World Cup slopes, that together with forecasts of colder temperatures, looks promising." say Nalle Hansson and Anders Aspholm, managers at Are. It's snowing at the moment in Norway where leading resorts Geilo and Hemsedal; have had some of the best snow of recent days and weeks. Elsewhere in Europe there's been heavy rain but no snow in Scotland and most of Eastern Europe continues to wait for snow. In Spain and the Pyrenees the good conditions and heavy snow earlier this month have also lapsed and planned openings this weekend at some resorts in that area are currently rather doubtful. On the other side of the planet heavy snowfalls the past couple of days primed Niseko's powdery slopes for the much-anticipated season opening today, Powderlife Niseko (www.powderlife.com) has reported.  Niseko, Japan - opening day The Grand Hirafu lifts were switched on at the weekend with hundreds of skiers and boarders turning out and hitting the mountain throughout the day to get their first taste of the 09-10 powder. Those keen enough were up waiting in line for the familiar opening bells and sirens to sound, and a steady stream of people continued to flow through the gates all day to sample the upper half of Hirafu. A solid one metre base up top allowed plenty of powder for all to share. And although there was only one official run open for business, everyone had a smile on their dial, happy to be up there on Day 1. At around mid-morning, many were treated to a brief bluebird moment which beautifully lit up the piste, trees and surrounding mountain ranges. The 'official' upper runs off the Ace #3 chair were pretty well tracked out by around 10am, but some skiers and boarders may have accidentally missed their download lift, sampling the goods all the way from top to bottom. Meanwhile, a group of Japanese and a handful of 'gaijin' (foreign) locals gathered outside the Welcome Centre on Saturday morning for the official resort opening ceremony. The cultural opening saw local identities, business owners and resort staff pay their respects, laying wreaths and blessing the area in anticipation of another great season. Niseko, on the island of Hokkaido, is Japan's most famous ski resort and is becoming known for having some of the lightest, driest powder snow in the world. India's 2009-10 ski season has also started according to Gulmargski on Twitter, "The ski and snowboard season has started in Gulmarg, 70cm of fresh snow in this freeriding resort in the Himalaya!" Copper shows a substantial commitment to the progression of skiing and riding by building the resort's first ever 22 ft superpipe. The 22 ft superpipe will make its national TV debut during the USSA Grand Prix, December 10-12, when top snowboarders from around the globe will vie for coveted Olympic Halfpipe spots.  [Pic: Copper Mountain, CO] www.Skiinfo.co.uk reports heavy snow in Western Canada has led to November avalanche warnings at Whistler, where the snow depth is rapidly heading towards two metres only a few days after the resort's early opening.
However the news isn't all good, the first delayed-openings have been announced. With little snow in Eastern Europe, Bansko, which had planned to open last weekend, has delayed opening; while Mont St Anne in Quebec, Canada, which had planned to open this weekend has also decided to delay with weather too warm for much snow making. Alta in Utah may open this weekend as planned, but that relies on heavy snowfall on Friday in a projected storm. Elsewhere, apart from western North America and Scandinavia where it's still dumping, the big snowfalls of early in November have eased and there's not been much new snow in the Alps this week. However there has been some snowfall in Switzerland (6cm in Gstaad, 4 cm in Davos) and Austria (4cm in Soelden ) this morning. In France Val Thorens has joined Tignes and become the second resort in the country to open. In Austria there's plenty of snow on the glaciers already. One of the largest areas is Hintertux which has a 170cm (nearly 6 foot) base and 16 of 22 lifts are open. The Moelltal glacier also has a 170cm base and the Kaunertal 135cm (4.5 feet). The Stubai and Dachstein glaciers have just over a metre (3.3 feet) each. Soelden has snow 77cm deep with 16 of its 34 lifts open. Kitzbuhel, Schladming and Obergurgl are already open and Obertauern will open on November 19th, it has 30cm (a foot) of snow in the valley and 50cm (20 inches) at the top of the slopes. Zermatt currently claims the greatest snow depth of any ski resort in the world with a 4 metre (13.3 foot) base. Davos and Laax opened limited terrain at the weekend and Saas Fee's glacier is still open, while Verbier continues to open at weekends through November. In Germany the Zugspitze (Garmisch) has a 105cm (3.5 foot) base and 6 lifts open. Other ski resorts in the Allgau (such as Oberstdorf and Fellhorn) have 20cm (8 inches) of snow. The Presena glacier in Italy is reporting snow falls have passed the three metre mark following recent snowfalls. The glacier has received 3.2m (nearly 11 feet) of snow and currently has two runs open and has snow depths of up to 1.2m (four feet) Several of Italy's other major ski resorts are now open at weekends thanks to the early-season snow in October and early November . these include Cervinia (that has three lifts open), Bormio (that first opened slopes over 2,560m some weeks ago) and Cortina (with 5km of slopes open). Livigno made a surprise opened last Friday with one run open and is offering free skiing this week - no lift pass required. In the Piedmont region, the province's minister for tourism told the La Stampa newspaper, "Our mountains are already covered with snow and all ski resorts are awaiting the first tourists of winter with many new features. In Piedmont all ski resorts have enhanced their safety rules to the new national standards and the region is increasing its international appeal, thanks to the development of air links with important partners such as Alitalia and Ryanair." Last year Piedmont had more than 1.5 million skier visits and this year the area will launch a new promotional campaign with tailor-made packages for families, young people and tourists with disabilities or special needs. In Scandinavia, this weekend Norways biggest ski area with a shared lift ticket has all their ski resorts open -the Lillehammer Ski Region. "Each of our ski areas has it's own unique range of skiing opportunities to offer, and our co-operation with each other guarantees you the opportunity to experience every one of them. Buy your ski lift pass in any of the five centres and this will give you access to 92 slopes, a total of 116 kilometres in all, 44 lifts and 6 cross country courses," says Eskil Solberg in Kvitfjell ski resort. (For more info: http://www.lsr.no/en/index.php More than 25 ski areas are due to be open in Norway this weekend. Two areas of Europe haven't had much snow so far are the Eastern ski resorts of Bulgaria where Bansko, had hoped to open last weekend but has had to postpone its opening. There's also been no repeat of last year's November opening in Scotland as despite low temperatures, snowfall has been limited. In North America dozens of resorts opened last weekend and many more plan to open this weekend or in the days following, ahead of the big Thanksgiving holiday weekend of the 26th-29th November.  Sky Mountain in Montana British Columbia, and especially Whistler, has had big snowfalls in the past week meaning resorts there have had great opening weekends. Alongside Whitler, BC resorts Big White, Sun Peaks and Cypress Mountain all opened. Sun Peaks opened with top-to-bottom skiing on Saturday, thanks to excellent summer grooming and brush removal, early snow fall and snow making, the opening day was a week earlier than originally scheduled. The Sunburst Chairlift from the village started turning at 14 minutes to 9am on Saturday as the resort celebrated the number 14 and one of the earliest openings ever at Sun Peaks. The Austrian National Ski Team arrived in Sun Peaks on November 17 to begin training, so visitors can watch for these elite athletes on the slopes of the Nancy Greene International Race Centre this week. However the heavy snowfalls aren't all good news, by Monday (November 16), Whistler already had to announce that their avalanche warning level was at its highest warning level because of the heavy snow build up and it now reports it snow base is approaching two metres.  Opening day at Sunshine Village last week Dozens of ski area have opened across the US, although one resort at least, Salta in Utah, may delay its planned opening this weekend is a promised Friday storm does not deliver enough snow. Although already sitting on a 60cm (25 inch) base at mid-mountain, the resort has limited snowmaking And is concerned cover isn't adequate for a sustained opening. Meanwhile over in Asia, heavy snow in China at the start of this month has led to resorts around capital Beijing and in the country's main ski region in the North East of the country opening about a month ahead of their expected opening dates in December. The country's best known resort of Yabuli opened beginner terrain last week and other ski areas in the region plan to open in the next few days. Wanlong resort is also open and in contrast has opened terrain at the top of the mountain. Nanshan Ski Resort near Beijing are reported to have extended and widened their mogul field and added a jump to the end of one of the advanced trails on the back of the mountain. The centre has also added an ice climbing wall. Things are happening in Japan too. Niseko United resorts opening days are staggered over late November to early December. Grand Hirafu and Annupuri Ski Resort are usually the first resorts to open and this year it is planned for this Saturday, 21 November. Niseko Village follows closely behind on 28 November. Hanazono is the last of the resorts to open and they will open from 5 December. Many of the world's major resorts in at least 10 countries opened for 2009-10 season this weekend. View all 153 headlines for World Resorts News. |
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