World Resorts News

The northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, home to many of the country’s most famous resorts and one of the snowiest places on earth again this winter is celebration a century of skiing in 2012.

At Niseko, each of the four linked resorts are hosting a variety of celebratory events, including fireworks, a visit from the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and Niseko's 2nd Annual Winter Festival from March 10-18.

“Both Grand Hirafu and Niseko Annupuri resorts are open right through to May 6 this year, so don't hesitate to make a booking for late season (we get plenty of snow and lots of blue-sky days in March) or spring skiing through April,” said a statement from the resort.

As parts of North America still battle for good snow cover, some resorts in Alberta and BC look set to break records for snowfall tallys by the end of their long season in May.

With over three months left to go in the ski season, Marmot Basin near Jasper has already received over 12 feet (372 cm) of snowfall which is 93% of its annual average. If the next three months produce typical amounts of snowfall, Marmot Basin will exceed its all time snowfall record of 529 cm set way back in 1965. Regardless of the numbers, skiers and snowboarders have been absolutely thrilled with snow conditions at Marmot Basin and, to some, it has come as a bit of a surprise.

“There is very little snow on the ground in one of our closest big cities Edmonton and when some people get to the mountain they are really surprised at how much snow we have” says Brian Rode, Marmot’s VP of marketing. “Marmot’s base elevation is very high so the rain that has fallen at lower elevations this winter has been all snow at Marmot”, added Rode.

Marmot Basin skiers and boarders are not only basking in exceptional snow conditions, they also have two new chairlifts to ride this winter including the new Paradise high speed quad chair. Marmot Basin has installed three new chairlifts in as many years and is leading all Canadian ski areas in ski lift development. “Marmot Basin is not the same ski area it was three years ago. The three new chairlifts we have installed, along with all our other improvements, has really transformed the ski experience at Marmot”, comments Rode. “I’ve talked to people who have come back to Marmot after a few years away and they are blown away by how different and how much better the mountain is”, he adds.

Marmot Basin will be open until May 6th this season thanks in part to all the snow Mother Nature has bestowed upon the area and also thanks to the state-of-the-art snowmaking system that was installed in 2006.

There’s a mixture of snow news and cold front news as temperatures dip to -10C in the Pyrenees and -20C in parts of the Alps this week. That’s fairly tame however compared to the January temperatures recorded in Alaska, the coldest ever in parts of the state, with a low of -73F at Arctic village in the north, which is saying something considering how cold it usually is anyway.
The southern Alps and Pyrenees have had a particularly good week for snowfall notching up up to 1.3m so far, and it’s on going.

In North America Western Canadian resorts are beginning to talk about a potential record snowfall winter with some already past 90% of their average seasonal snowfall totals. In the USA conditions are better than they were in the states that had been suffering from lack of snow, but the rate of recovery from fresh snow last week seems to have slowed again this.

• Snow in the southern Alps
  
• Western Canada heads for record snowfall, some resorts already on 93% season average
  
• Big accumulations in the Pyrenees – over a metre at some resorts in past week.
  
• Colorado resort opening all lifts for first time this winter.

Europe

Austria

There have been more snowfalls in Austria over the past week, if not on the huge scale of early January, with the biggest reported at Dachstein West with 40 cm, Tauplitzalm with 30 cm and Fügen with 25 cm.

Currently a very cold front dominates weather conditions at the slopes and temperatures around minus 20°C before wind-chill are expected in the next days although snow is expected to return by the weekend. Wrap up warm.

The best deepest snow depth is at St Anton which has a 490cm base. Other areas with bases now more than four metres include Zugspitzplatt Ehrwald, Lermoos, Sonnenkopf, Tauplitzalm and Loser.

You can find here all snow depths in Austria.

France

There’s been yet more snowfall in France from the Jura to the Pyrenees through the Massif Central and the Alps. The especially good news is that lower altitude and southerly regions that had not had so much snow in January have had good falls too this time. The Pyrenees did especially well with up to 95cm falling at some resorts so far.

The heavy snowfall in the Southern Alps was important for two reasons. First the quantity – for example 55 cm of fresh snow fell in 48 hours on the Val d'Allos on Monday and Tuesday and secondly because these falls have finally covered the whole of the Southern Alps and in particular the Alpes Maritimes and Alpes de Haute Provence where ski resorts offered a far less snow than their counterparts in the Hautes-Alpes.

The Northern Alps, which have already seen record snowfalls in January, have continued to do well with 10 Powder Alarms issued on Tuesday for 20cm+ falls by ski resorts in Haute Savoie (30cm in Combloux, 20 cm in Les Houches ...) and Isère (20cm at Les 2 Alpes).

Here’s a list of all snow depths in France.

Italy

Resorts in Italy have been topping the snowfall league in Europe with Limone in the country’s south west reporting the most snow on the continent with 130cm (4.3 inches) and the 2006 Olympic resorts of Sauze d’Oulx, Sestriere and others not far behind with a metre of fresh snow in the past week.

Here are all snow depths in Italy.

Switzerland

It’s been another snowy week in Switzerland and over the last seven days Gstaad had the most new snow with 80 cm. There have been good falls as well in Lötschental with 70 cm and Frutigen with 65 cm. 10 resorts reported 20 to 25 cm snowfall on Tuesday and a few centimetres of more are expected for the next few days. The cold front stops in Switzerland as well with temperatures up to minus 20 degrees and it’s expected to be a cold but sunny weekend. Best snow depth is still in Engelberg with 470cm, followed by Crans Montana 430cm, Laax 418cm and Gstaad Glacier 3000 with 400cm.

This is where to find all snow depths in Switzerland.

Pyrenees and Rest of Spain

The Pyrenees have been the snowiest area of Europe over the past few days with up to a metre of snow falling on the French and Spanish sides of the border. On the Spanish side Baqueira Beret claimed 1.1m (nearly four feet) and on the French side there was 95cm at La Mongie and the snowfall has continued without interruption since Sunday. Good news as the region had hasd little fresh snow through January until now.

Find live information on all snow depths in Andorra here and here all snow depths in Spain.


Baqueira Beret, Spain on 30th Jan 2012 © resort

Scandinavia

Conditions remain good at most Scandinavian resorts with Røldal in Norway still boasting the deepest snow in the region as it has for two months now with 3.3m (11 feet) lying. Coastal Voss has nearly three metres.

Here’s a list of all snow depths in Norway.

Scotland

Still mixed conditions in Scotland with all five centres having between a quarter and three quarters of their terrain open – usually higher, flatter runs. Conditions have been calm in most cases since the weekend with blue skies and cold temperatures maintaining snow cover and making skiing and boarding pleasant, but more fresh snow would be welcome.

North America

Canada

As parts of North America still battle for good snow cover, some resorts in Alberta and BC look set to break records for snowfall tallys by the end of their long season in May. Heavy snowfall has continued this week at most resorts in the region.

With over three months left to go in the ski season, Marmot Basin near Jasper had already received over 12 feet (372 cm) of snowfall which is 93% of its annual average. If the next three months produce typical amounts of snowfall, Marmot Basin will exceed its all time snowfall record of 529 cm set way back in 1965.

“There is very little snow on the ground in one of our closest big cities Edmonton and when some people get to the mountain they are really surprised at how much snow we have” says Brian Rode, Marmot’s VP of marketing. “Marmot’s base elevation is very high so the rain that has fallen at lower elevations this winter has been all snow at Marmot.”

Eastern Canadian resorts also had good news this week with 20-30cm accumulations on Sunday alone reported by Mont Ste Anne and Le Massif.

Here’s a list of all snow depths in Canada.


Attitash, New Hampshire, USA © resort

USA

There have been smaller accumulations in Western USA after the big falls a week ago in California, Colorado and Utah. The deepest snow is still in the north west of the continent in Washington State, Idaho, Alaska and Wyoming. Breckenridge in Colorado has opened all 31 of its lifts for the first time this season today (Feb 1) after more fresh snow in Colorado allowed them to open more terrain. “The Breckenridge Ski Patrol has worked extremely hard and been very diligent to open up our terrain as soon as we feel it is safe to do so,” said the Breckenridge Ski Patrol Director. “Getting the Imperial Express Super Chair open is key for us to get the rest of our alpine terrain open for our guests.”

On the East Coast it has not really been a historic snowfall winter so far but resorts continue to make the most of what mother nature is offering. In New Hampshire the past three weeks have seen a repetitive storm cycle swing in to the Mount Washington Valley and Pinkham Notch.
“Despite a weary eye on warm temps and rain occasionally, we do keep getting snow weekly. And at this time, the weekly storm cycle deposited another 6” of mostly snow and then a sleet that still accumulated in to the afternoon,” said a statement from Attitash Mountain Resort.

This list details all snow depths in the US.

The heavy snowfall in the Alps won’t let up it seems and several big name resorts including Chamonix and St Anton have added a metre or more of fresh snow in the past 7 days.

The good news is that Western North America is gaining lost ground on its slow start – in terms of snowfall – to 2011-12 with heavy snowfall in parts of California at last, the biggest accumulations up to 1.8m (six feet) at Lake Tahoe. Elsewhere the snow is in excellent condition in Western Canada as it has been all winter.

The news is not entirely good. Although most of the Alps have had good snowfalls the headline grabbing figures are mostly at northern, high altitude resorts and some lower regions could do with more. There’s been little fresh snow in the Pyrenees this month although snow depths from earlier falls and snowmaking are still in place.

And where there have been big falls the avalanche danger is generally on maximum alert so it’s mostly on piste skiing.

• More big snowfalls in the Alps – and it’s still falling.
  
• Up to 180cm (6 feet) of snow for Califiornia.
  
• St Anton reports 125cm (4 feet) and 5m base.
  
• Germany’s Zugspitze reports 2.4m (eight feet) of snow in past 7 days – the most in the world.

Europe

Austria

There has been more heavy snow over the past few days in Austria. All roads in to Lech Zuers were closed when another 30cm+ of snow fell but the main streets opened again later the same day.
In the last seven days St Anton in Arlberg reported 125cm of new snow while SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser – Brixental had 120cm and Solden 86 cm. There were 45 powderalarms for 20cm (8 nches) or more new snow in Austria on Tuesday. There’s now over five metres of snow in St Anton at Arlberg, which has the deepest snow depth in the country, and in Europe, followed by neighbouring Lech Zuers. The Zugspitzplatt has 400cm.

It’s likely to remain snowy and cold over the next few days with high avalanche risk at many resorts.

You can find here all snow depths in Austria.

France

There’s been fresh heavy snowfall in France over the past week, particularly last weekend in the Northern Alps when a metre of snow fell on resorts including Arêches Beaufort (a ski resort known for its off-piste) and Les Houches (which will host the Alpine World Cup Skiing men from 3rd to 5th February).

Snow depths in the slopes in the Chamonix valley now vary between 2m at the base and 4m60 up top. More generally, the snowfall figures were between 50 and 70cm in the Savoie and Haute-Savoie and around 20/30 cm in the department of Isere.

The other mountain areas were not so lucky with 20cm at Pelvoux and Superdevoluy (in the Southern Alps), 15cm at Gerardmer and Lac Blanc (the Vosges), and 5 small cm at Chalmazel (Massif Central) and Formigueres (Pyrenees).

There’s no change, therefore, the Northern Alps reinforced their "supremacy" and remains the snowiest in France (460 cm in Chamonix, La Rosiere 385 cm, 350 cm in Alpe d'Huez).

Although not all benefited from the recent snowfall, the ski resorts of Hautes-Alpes, however, offer very good conditions (150cm at Les Orres and Montgenevre, Serre Chevalier 145 cm).
Some light snow is expected in the next few days but no more heavy falls for a while.

Here’s a list of all snow depths in France.

Italy

Italian ski areas have been further building their base depths over the past seven days with Courmayeur adding 40cm and Cervinia 50cm of new snow while Livigno has a foot (30cm).

The small ski area of San Domenico di Varzo currently has the country’s deepest snow with 320cm followed by the Presena Glacier above Passo Tonale in the Dolomites with 2.7m (nine feet) and Cervinia with 2.6m (just under nine feet!).

Here are all snow depths in Italy.

Switzerland

Switzerland has been seeing lots of fresh snow in the past few days – once again, building on already big base depths.

Yesterday there were a dozen Swiss powder alarms with resorts reporting at least 20cm of new snow in 34 hours; today (Wednesday) there have been more with falls of up to 50cm including 30cm for Gstaad and Grindelwald.

The best Swiss snow depth can be found in Engelberg with 460cm, Laax has 400cm and Saas Fee 360cm (12 feet).

In the last seven days there’s been 138cm at Crans Montana, 130cm at Laax and 115cm in Lötschental.

This is where to find all snow depths in Switzerland.

Pyrenees and Rest of Spain

Snow bases remain reasonable to good at most areas in the Pyrernees but there has not been much fresh snow in January so a top up would be useful. Resorts in Andorra and Spain report 60-150cm bases, In France there’s 130cm in Piau Engaly, Peyragudes 90cm and 70cm in Saint Lary but conditions remain satisfactory even if a snowfall of about 20 to 30 cm would be welcome at bottom of ski areas where the snow is still sometimes limited.

Find live information on all snow depths in Andorra here and here all snow depths in Spain.

Scandinavia

Most resorts in Scandinavia are in good shape with good snow cover. Røldal in Norway is claiming the deepest snow in the region with 340cm (11.3 feet) while Voss has 290cm (nearly 10 feet).

Here’s a list of all snow depths in Norway.

Scotland

Conditions are looking much better in Scotland than a week ago following a week of snowfall at most areas. However the situation remains changeable as it has all winter with freeze-thaw patterns and the seemingly endless arrival of strong o gale force winds every few days.

On the west Coast Glencoe is largely open and Nevis range has more than 500m of skiable vertical but strong winds and warming temperatures are making snow on the upper mountain softer and wetter and runs on the lower mountain are likely to be thin and narrow. For beginners and novices the Alpha lift is running to Tower 2 for the artificial slope and patches of snow on the trainer tow. Back Corrie has been off piste and not patrolled.

On the east most runs at The Lecht are complete. Cairngorm can not quite yet offer top-to-bottom skiing but the route from the Top Station to the mid station is now complete again and offering great snow sports. The bottom zig is still a bit sketchy, with the best route for lower abilities being from the mid zig to the Gunbarrel. Glenshee has a 300m vertical and recent snow has improved the runs with good skiing/boarding to be had on those that are open. Cairnwell and the Butcharts Tows are complete with fresh snow on a hard packed base. Other runs are thin in places.

North America

Canada

Western Canada continues to report great conditions and there seems to be no end to the snowfall with Kicking horse in BC reporting another foot (30cm) today already. Fellow BC resort Revelstoke has now achieved a 209cm (7 foot) base with 40cm of snowfall over the weekend and a total of 68cm in the last seven days. The resort says it`s still snowing heavily down to the base with a big snowfall in the forecast for tonight plus more snow on the way this weekend

Here’s a list of all snow depths in Canada.

USA

After a weird two month snow drought, the first real storms of winter have already left a big impression on California's Mammoth Mountain and Lake Tahoe ski areas.

Snow started flying on Friday and as of 8am Monday morning, Mammoth had picked up four feet / 1.3m of snow and more is expected over the next couple of days. In Lake Tahoe, Heavenly Mountain Resort has received two to three feet / 1m of snow since last week and is expecting additional snow over the next few days, and in Northstar California at the top of the summit four feet / 1.3m of snow has fallen in the last week. Other resorts around Tahoe also reported big accumulations with Squaw Valley and Alpine meadows claiming up to 1.8m (six feet) fell.


Vail on 17th January © Vail

At over 10,000 feet / 3,000m, Heavenly is Lake Tahoe's highest resort and they are currently operating 24 of 30 lifts, accessing 30 trails and more than 19 miles of terrain, and anticipate being able to open more terrain soon. In Northstar, they have 15 lifts open and 57 trails open. In both resorts, the natural snow has added nicely to the existing machine-made coverage, making for excellent conditions. The much needed powder will allow Mammoth to open all lifts and terrain by the end of this week.

This list details all snow depths in the US.

After the huge snowfalls of the first 10 days of January conditions have been much calmer in the Alps over the past week. The USA, where key states have been needing snow, have seen the first substantial falls for over a month in Colorado, Utah and new England though.

Heavy snow, possibly disruptive in places is expected in the next few days however with Western North America and France/Switzerland expected to get the biggest falls – potentially huge 1m+ accumulations – although most other areas will see fresh snow too.

Big falls have already been reported in the past 72 hours with parts of Hokkaido in Japan, already known as one of the snowiest places on earth, managing to clock up their greatest ever 48 hour accumulations and Western Canada – which has had a great snowy season so far anyway, seeing more big falls of up to 75cm in 24 hours. Some resorts there have now received around 6m/20 feet of snow so far this winter.

• Calm conditions in the Alps after big snowfalls, but more forecast later this week.
  
• Heavy snow in Colorado.
  
• Record snowfall of up to 2 metres in 48 hours on Hokkaido in Japan.
  
• 75cm in 24 hours at Fernie, BC, Canada.

Europe

Austria

Conditions have calmed down in Austria after the huge snowfalls in the first week of January led to road closures and cut off resorts by road and rail.

During the last week some resorts got up to 40cm fresh snow however keeping slopes in good shape. Obertauern and Zauchensee report 40cm for the last seven day while Fieberbrunn, Zillertal and St Johann in Tirol got 20cm each.

Thanks to all the early January snow there are still huge snow depths in Austrian ski resorts. The deepest can be found in St Anton at Arlberg with 440cm (nearly 15 feet). Zugspitzplatt Ehrwald has 370cm and Lech Zurs at Arlberg has 350cm. There are ten other resorts with a snow depth over three meters (ten feet).

Other Austrian news is that the Fun Park in Solden has opened for this season but the off piste avalanche risk is high at several resorts, including Mayrhofen (degree 4 of 5).

Towards the end of the week it will be getting warmer in Austria and the snowline will rise to above 1000m. Fresh snowfalls are expected for Saturday afternoon.

You can find here all snow depths in Austria.

France

For the second consecutive week, French ski resorts are enjoying sunny days and temperatures become colder.

This lull has allowed stations to overcome the chaotic situation encountered earlier this year (caused by heavy snow).

Everything is now back to normal and the ski conditions are still outstanding on the northern Alps (over three metres/10 feet of snow at the top of Chamonix’s slopes), excellent in the Southern Alps (150cm/five feet in Montgenevre and Les Orres), very good over the Pyrenees (150cm/five feet in Piau Engaly), satisfying in the Jura (60cm/two feet Jura Mountains), but just average in the Massif Central (10 to 60cm) and the Vosges (30 to 60cm depending on the stations).

The last significant snowfall occurred more than 10 days ago now but the lull could be only short-lived as the forecast is for a return to snowy weather from Wednesday night with new snowfall continuing through the weekend.

All mountain areas should benefit these snowfall (and this is a good news) but the biggest falls are, once again, expected for the northern Alps.

The forecasts need to be finalised but could again exceed a metre of new snow in some ski resorts (La Clusaz, Avoriaz ...).

“Let it be said, the snow is back in France!” says Skiinfo France’s Stéphane Giraud.

Here’s a list of all snow depths in France.

Italy

In common with the rest of Europe, there’s been little or no new snowfall in Italy in the past week. However base depths are very healthy.

In most areas after the previous large accumulations. The deepest, just, is at Cervinia in the Aosta Valley to the West of the country with 2.8m (over nine feet), with Arabba in the Dolomites on the Eastern side only 2cm (less than an inch) behind at 278cm.

Here are all snow depths in Italy.

Switzerland

The past few days have been sunny in Switzerland. Skiers and boarders benefited from the big falls a week ago. Snow depths are excellent and skiers are enjoying the good conditions at the moment. On Thursday and Friday new snowfall is expected, especially in the northern Alps.

The best snow depth can be found in Lungern-Schönbüel with 450 cm, followed by Engelberg with 385cm and Gstaad Glacier 3000 with 380 cm.

However despite the great snow condition the ice is too thin at St Moritz where the 28th Polo World Cup on Snow 2012 on the resort’s famous frozen lake cannot go ahead for the first time in the tournament’s 28-year history.

This is where to find all snow depths in Switzerland.

Pyrenees and Rest of Spain

Conditions remain good across most of the Pyrenees although there’s been little fresh snowfall in the past week. Baqueira – Beret in Spain has the deepest snow base at up to 160cm, followed by Piau Engaly on the French side with 150cm. Vallnord in Andorra in the centre is in third place with 140cm and Cauterets, back in France, has a 130cm base.

Find live information on all snow depths in Andorra here and here all snow depths in Spain.

Scandinavia

It’s snowy in most of North America with Strandafjellet in Norway receiving some of the biggest snowfalls in the world over the past 7 days with 80cm. Most of the regions larger resorts are now sitting on healthy base depths with Roldal on top with 290cm (nearly 10 feet).

Here’s a list of all snow depths in Norway.

Scotland

After a calm few days Scotland’s five ski centres are again battling windier, warmer conditions. Most can offer some skiing and boarding but none have all terrain open.

On the west coast up to 415 vertical metres of terrain are open at Nevis Range where the snow pack is slowly softening at all levels giving nice skiing in Goose. At Glencoe to the south they’re hoping for heavy snow on Thursday afternoon and the terrain currently open is not suitable for beginners. On the East Cairngorm above Aviemore reports 350 vertical metres of terrain open on the Fairway, top of Coire Cas, Ciste and Ptarmigan Bowls - some areas are icy in places. At the Lecht it’s 150 vertical metres with Eagle, Grouse, Chairlift and Kestrel complete with compact snow but narrow in some places, wide in others. There’s also full cover on nursery area with manmade snow. Finally Glenshee has a 250m vertical with limited skiing available on the Cairnwell and Butcharts Access Tows both of which are complete with hard packed frozen snow. There are patches of snow for beginners.

North America

Canada

Western Canada’s excellent season continues and has even moved up a gear with Fernie in British Columbia reporting 75cm (30 inches) of new snow in the past 24 hours on an already healthy base.

It’s a similar story across the province:
“After an incredible snowfall over the past weekend with close to 50cm of snow falling in 48hrs, Revelstoke Mountain Resort boasts amazing snow conditions nearing a 200cm base and 550cm of snowfall to date,” said a resort statement.


31cm in Revelstoke a few days ago © John Antoniuk /Revelstoke

A heavy snow cycle is forecast to return this weekend with great skiing temperatures throughout the week.

Recent snowfalls have developed the lower mountain, with runs below Mid-Mountain Lodge officially opening at Revelstopke for the first time yesterday. Skiers and snowboarders can now enjoy the Most Vertical in North America with 5620’ vertical feet of skiing fun!

Here’s a list of all snow depths in Canada.

USA

Western North America is bracing for a dramatic change to its lacklustre winter 2011-12 with big snowfalls and temperatures up to 20 degrees below average as new fronts move in to the region, severe weather warnings are in place. If this all happens as predicted it should, once the extreme weather has moved on, transform the ski areas in California that have been suffering since early December from warm weather and little or no natural snow.

Conditions have already picked up in the major ski states of Utah and particularly Colorado which issued powder alarms for over 8 inches (20cm) of fresh snow and in some cases as much as a foot (30cm) in 24 hours over Monday/Tuesday this week. Beneficiaries included Vail and Beaver Creek.

The snow has been good all season in some parts of the US and Alaska, Washington State and Wyoming in the North West of the country have also been reporting more heavy snow as they have for most of the winter. Eaglecrest in Alaska has the country’s deepest snow at 376cm (12.5 feet) while Mt Baker in Washington State, the famed snowiest-resort-in-the-world is not far behind with 368cm.

Conditions have picked up a great deal in recent weeks on the East Coast too, although snowfall there at the end of last week has now eased, many resorts, particularly in Vermont, benefitted from several feet of snow.

This list details all snow depths in the US.

Ischgl was one of several top resorts that have been cut off from the outside world for periods over the past week.

Although the latest bout of heavy snow and in some cases storm force winds hit different areas odf the Alps at slightly different times, the problems of too much snow too quickly bringing down trees on roads, blocking rail and road routes and in some cases causing avalanche danger above roads led to famous names including Lech, St Anton, Zermatt and Val d’Isere being cut off.

In Ischgl’s case nearly 1,000 British holidaymakers were among those staying in Ischgl and the neighbouring village of Galtur in the Tirol.

As the roads were not blocked on change over day for most, this meant they could enjoy excellent skiing and boarding conditions after the four days of non-stop snowfalls until yesterday (Monday) dumped five feet (150cms) of snow, which brings the total depth of snow on the mountain to eight feet (250cms).

The main access road, along the Paznaun Valley from Landeck to Ischgl, was open at the weekend, allowing holidaymakers to get in and out of the resort. But afterwards the road has been closed as a precaution because of the risk of avalanches.

The road between the village of Kappl and Ischgl has been shut, as well as the road beyond Ischgl to the smaller resort of Galtur, also popular with British skiers.

"Although the roads have been closed, the resort itself has been operating as normal with skiers and boarders experiencing amazingly good conditions," said Paznaun-Ischgl Tourist Director Andreas Steibl.

Thirty-six of Ischgl's 44 ski lifts were open today by Tuesday along with 155 kilometres of runs.
British ski instructor Sarah Hannibal, who works in Ischgl, said, "The skiing conditions are fantastic, although obviously no one is going off-piste at the moment because of the amount of snow. It has been very windy at the top of the mountain which means visibility can be affected by wind-blown snow – but the holidaymakers are having a wonderful time."

Sarah added: "Many ski instructors who live in other parts of the valley were the ones affected most by the conditions and they have had to make arrangements to stay with friends or at hotels in Ischgl. That includes me – I live in Galtur and have been stranded in Ischgl – but it's no hardship when the skiing is so good. And having this amount of snow at this stage of the winter means that everyone can look forward to a fabulous season."

While snow conditions in much of the USA are causing headaches for resort operators, Western Canadian resorts have been seeing booming business thanks to heavy and regular snowfall all winter to date.

“La Nina has been really good to us since Christmas, and we have received over 181 cm of snow since Christmas Eve, and 65 cm of snow in the last 48 hours. Our total snow base right now at the Pig Alley weather station (elv. 1630 meters) is 220 cm, and more snow is forecasted in the next week. Below are a few photos that were shot today on Whistler Mountain,” said Chris McLeod, Industry, Film & Communications Supervisor at Whistler Blackcomb, referring to the La Nina weather system from the Pacific credited with bringing much of the precipitation for snow in BC, as well as neighbouring Alberta and the US states of Washington and Alaska.

Tourism Whistler has carried out research which indicates that the pace of bookings leading up to the recent Christmas/New Year holiday period was ahead of last year and very strong compared to previous years.

“On the whole, December 2011 will stand as one of the resort’s busier Decembers on record.” Said a statement from the resort.

Elsewhere in BC Kicking Horse Mountain Resort and Fernie Alpine Resort received over 70cm os snow over the holiday week and continued snowfall is expected for the next week as more storms track in from the Pacific Ocean during this epic La Niña weather cycle.

“Looking at reports from other regions in North America it seems that La Niña has focused all of its snow on Kicking Horse Mountain Resort and Fernie Alpine Resort”, says Matt Mosteller. “Skiers seeking snow better beat a trail to ski here this winter!” added Mosteller. Snow is piling up this ski season with over 13 feet of total snowfall at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort and over 9 feet at Fernie Alpine Resort!

In Alberta Brian Rode, Vice President of Marketing & Sales at Marmot Basin near Jasper has started to get apologetic for all the good snow news he’s been sending out, “Sorry for all the e-mails as of late but I can’t help myself. Mega-snow does that to me! So…the Pinapple Express dumped another 25 cm of snow on us at Marmot last night. There are many locales with little or no snow so it is a bit of a challenge convincing people that we have absolutely incredible snow conditions at Marmot. For example, in Edmonton there is not a speck of snow on the ground whereas at Marmot, only 3.5 hours away, we have already received almost 10 feet of snow this year!”

After a largely sunny Christmas week in the Alps, another spate of huge snowfalls occurred over New Years Eve and New Years Day with some resorts receiving a metre of fresh snow during the 48 hour period. Snowfall has slowed a little now but resorts are still reporting 20-30cm falls across Europe and bigger falls are expected again towards the end of the week.

This is clearly good news for snow depths for the rest of the season with many areas that had next to no snow this time a month ago now reporting base depths at the average they’d normally be at around mid-February in an average year, if such a thing exists.

In the short term however the abundant snow has caused operational problems with slopes closed due to high avalanche danger and ski resort access made difficult with snow and ice on roads.

Elsewhere in Europe there has been more heavy snow in parts of Scandinavia and Scotland’s five ski areas have re-opened following fresh snowfall after earlier snow had thawed away in double digit temperatures over Christmas.

In the USA conditions remain ‘challenging’ on both east and west coasts with limited snow and warm temperatures making snowmaking difficult, but colder weather has arrived in the East at least now improving things.

• Snow depth passes three metres (10 feet) at St Anton.
  
• On-going heavy snow causes avalanche safety and access problems in the Alps.
  
• Fresh snow in Eastern North America.
  
• Great conditions in BC Canada
  
• Up to four feet of new snow in Norway.
  
• Scotland’s five ski areas re-open after fresh snowfall.

Europe

Austria

There have been good snowfalls across the country. In Nassfeld Hermagor around 40cm was reported on Tuesday morning and all slopes are open in the resort. There were good snowfalls too in Silvretta Montafon (20cm) and Gargellen (15cm). The best Snow depth can be found at St Anton with 305cm where 255km of slopes are open.

Snowfalls of up to 95cm (three feet) in total over the past week have been reported in Austrian ski resorts including at Silvretta Montafon 95cm, Zillertal 85cm, St. Anton 78cm, Sölden 71cm, Serfaus Fiss Ladis 65cm and Lech Zurs 55cm. Avalanche risk is high at the moment in Berwang, on the Pitztal Glacier and at Rifflsee.

You can find here all snow depths in Austria.




Chamonix, France © resort

France

The last week of 2011 was marked by heavy snowfall in the French Alps. In the past seven days it has, for example dropped 111cm (nearly four feet) of fresh snow at La Plagne, 100cm (3.3 feet) at Les Carroz and 92cm (three feet) at Le Grand Bornand. Snowfall has continued today (Wednesday 4 January) with 20cm reported by many resorts including Avoriaz and Val d’Isere.

The snow depth measured at the top of the runs have already reached the kinds of levels they’re at by mid-February with 350cm (12 feet) at the top of the ski resort of Chamonix, 300 cm at the top of La Rosiere, 280 cm at the top of the slopes of La Clusaz.

These heavy snowfall have also temporarily disrupted access to some ski resorts with roads closed to allow for avalanche control that threatened safety. However, the good snow news was somewhat disturbed by a sharp increase of temperatures and even a few drops of rain Saturday and Monday.

This warmer weather was not enough to endanger the snow conditions in the Alps but is still quite disturbing for low-altitude ski resorts of Les Vosges, where there’s only 40cm of snow at the top of slopes and 15 small cm at the bottom of ski areas.

The end of week should be accompanied by still more new snowfall on the northern Alps, but by rain showers on Jura, Vosges and Massif Central. The Southern Alps and the Pyrenees should remain stable weather.

Here’s a list of all snow depths in France.

Italy

Italian slopes are looking largely good with up to 70cm of snow reported in the past week, and 50cm at Courmayeur. Powder alarms of 20-25cm of new snow have been reported today in the Dolomites at Alta Badia and Brixen. Snow has fallen across the region above 900m above sea level for the second night in a row.

Here are all snow depths in Italy.

Switzerland

There have been more good snowfalls of over a metre during the last seven days in many Swiss ski resorts. Laax reports 140cm for the last week, Andermatt 120cm and Gstaad 110cm. However all slopes at Gstaad Glacier 3000 are reported to be closed at the moment due to the conditions but ready to re-open as soon as these improve.

“As soon as the conditions are good enough we will (re)open the lifts and slopes. The snow conditions are good and we do our best to prepare further slopes. We already primed the slopes at the glacier and at Martisberg as good as possible,” said a resort spokesperson.

Snow depths have passed three metres (ten feet) in Lötschental 356cm, Engelberg 347cm, and Saas Fee 340cm.

Still more new snow is forecast in the next few days and it is expected to get very windy (winter storm) on Thursday with the snowline falling down to 600 metres.

This is where to find all snow depths in Switzerland.

Pyrenees and Rest of Spain

Conditions remain good in most areas of the Pyrenees following healthy December snowfalls bringing bases depths up to a maximum of 1.8m (sis feet). Spains’s Baqueira – Beret reported 20cm of new snow overnight yesterday. Find live information on all snow depths in Andorra here and here all snow depths in Spain.

Scandinavia

The powder alarms have kept arriving from resorts in Scandinavia and two resorts – Roldal and Voss in Norway, have reported q1.2m (four feet) of snow in the past seven days.

Here’s a list of all snow depths in Norway.

Scotland

Bad weather in the UK has brought fresh snow to Scotland’s ski slopes and all five centres are open again, although strong winds continue to cause operational disruption.

On the West coast at Nevis Range recent snowfall has greatly improved conditions with lots of fresh snow in deep drifts. A statement from Glencoe said, “Conditions on the mountain are much improved and we expect when the wind dies down to have most runs and lifts open.”

On the east Cairngorm above Aviemore is opening and at Glenshee the ongoing snow is filling in the runs - some of which are now complete with good cover of pisted fresh snow and there are ample nursery areas. The Lecht is also looking very white although the access road was closed on both sides yesterday and the hill was stormbound.

North America

Canada

Western Canada continues to enjoy a great season in Alberta and British Columbia.

“RED Mountain isn't short on the fluffy stuff heading into 2012. We've received some consistent snowfall - there has been new snow 7 out of the last 11 days,” said a resort statement. “Our forecast calls for many more snow days in the next two weeks and all of our chairs are turning, Granite and Red are fully open, and we have 88/88 shred-able runs available on 100-percent natural snow.”

It’s a similar story at other resorts in the region, which is good news for the Freeride World Tour getting underway with Revelstoke where snow depths have reached 4.6m according to the organisers. Overall BC resorts are in the best shape of any part of North America right now.

Here’s a list of all snow depths in Canada.

USA

US destination resorts in the West of the country are continuing to face some of the most challenging conditions for more than a decade with limited natural snow and weather too warm for snowmaking. Lake Tahoe in California is reported to be particularly hard hit.

Conditions are reported to be picking up in New England and in other East Coasty areas however which had faced similar conditions but is now benefitting from a cold front bringing fresh snow and temperatures cold enough to fire up the huge snowmaking arsenal deployed there.

The best conditions in US are to be found in the North-Westerly states of Alaska and Washington.

This list details all snow depths in the US.

After the snow deluge that blanketed Europe for much of December up to Christma1s, the snowfall has eased to a more regular rate and conditions have stabilises. That is particularly good news in the French and parts of the Swiss Alps where the huge snowfalls led to travel problems and piste closures while lifts were dug out and runs made avalanche safe. However the off piste avalanche risk remains high at many resorts in Europe.

The USA, which had been suffering from snow shortages, has seen some of improvements with falls on both sides of the country although most areas could do with more and Scottish ski areas have suffered badly from the current warm snap in the UK (third warmest Christmas on record) which led to a rapid thaw and all five of the country’s ski areas which had all been open a week ago are currently closed.

• Tignes reports the most snowfall in the past week with 179cm (tad under 6 feet).
  
• Some snow for the USA.
  
• Rapid thaw leads to all five Scottish ski areas closing.
  
• More than 1000km of piste are now open in the Dolomiti Superski region.
  
• Arizona claims world’s greatest snow depth at 475cm (16 feet)

Les Arc, France 23rd Dec © resort

Europe

Austria

Solden has reported the most new snow in the past week with an impressive 1.1m (just under four feet) of new snow with Lech in the Arlberg in second place with 75cm (2.5 feet) which gives both well groomed trails and great off piste conditions. After four months the country’s deepest snow depths are no longer on the glaciers but now both Ehrwald and St Anton have reported a 2.3m (7.6 feet) base. There is a high (grade 4) danger of avalanches in Serfaus Fiss Ladis and a extensive danger (grade 3) in Berwang, Fieberbrunn, Pitztal and Seefeld. Skiers have to be extremely careful in off the slopes.

You can find here all snow depths in Austria.

France

French resorts have seen the most of the snow of anywhere in the world over the past few weeks and now have some of the deepest snow bases anywhere – which bodes well for the rest of the winter.
The Chamonix Valley – which had to largely close its slopes for three days before Christmas due to operational difficulties and avalanche danger caused by the massive snowfalls, is now full open again and reporting the deepest snow in the country at 3.1m (10.3 feet). But conditions are great across the country.

Here’s a list of all snow depths in France.


Les Arc, France 23rd December © resort

Italy

Resorts in the Aosta Valley continue to dominate Italy’s snow stats with 2.3m (7.7 feet) at Cervinia and snow depths in Monterosa between 1.8 and 2.1m (6-7 feet). La Thule, Courmayeur and Pila are also among the top 10 in the country for snow depth. Snowfall has been limited over the past week with the most snow in the south of the country including more than 30cm in the Apennines. More than 1000km of piste are now open in the Dolomiti Superski region.

Here are all snow depths in Italy.

Switzerland

Switzerland had good snow falls over the last week. Laax reports 80cm for the last seven days, Gstaad 70cm and Verbier 125cm (4 feet). Over the Christmas Weekend many resorts got fresh snow around 10cm-20cm. Resorts like Engelberg, Lötschental, Gstaad and Verbier could offer a white Chrsitmas with good snowfalls. The best snow depth in Switzerand can be found in Saas Fee with 325cm (11 feet) at the mountain station. Second are Gstaad and Lötschental with 300cm each. Moderate snow falls can be expected for Friday and Saturday.

This is where to find all snow depths in Switzerland.

Pyrenees and Rest of Spain

Conditions have improved dramatically in the Pyrenees a fortnight after resorts in the region could hardly open due to a lack of natural snowfall and temperatures too warm for snowmaking. Baqueira Beret on the Spanish side of the border has a 150cm (5 feet) base and Vallnord / Arcalís in Andorra has up to 140cm base depth and Grandvalira is getting closer to opening its full 205km of piste available this winter (the first time a resort in the Pyrenees has offered more than 200km of lift served terrain). On the French side of the border Cauterets is up to 130cm (4.3 feet) and Piau Engaly 120cm (4 feet).

Find live information on all snow depths in Andorra here and here all snow depths in Spain.

Scandinavia

There have been some good snowfalls in Scandinavia in the past 24 hours with the region’s largest resort, Are in Sweden, issuing a powder alarm today (Wednesday 28 December) for 20cm of snow in the past 24 hours and Oppdal in Norway also issuing an alarm for the same accumulation yesterday.

Here’s a list of all snow depths in Norway.

Scotland

After the good start to Scotland’s winter in mid-December, the double digit Christmas temperatures have taken their toll and all five centres have had to cease winter sports operations as snow cover has thawed away. On the West Coast Glencoe and Nevis Range are expecting fresh snow later today (Wednesday 28 December) and Nevis range hopes to re-open on Thursday.

North America

Canada

Conditions remain good in Western Canada where most resorts in Alberta and British Columbia are sitting on healthy bases of around 2 metres/7 feet and most are receiving a few centimetres of fresh cover to keep conditions top notch. Whistler issued a powder alarm for 20cm of new snow on “6 December. On the east Coast conditions are less spectacular but resorts in Quebec reported fresh snow for Christmas. On 22 December Mont-Sainte-Anne went from 6 open trails to 22 as a result, and the Canadian weather service is expecting 15cm of new snow to fall in the east over the next 24 hours.

Here’s a list of all snow depths in Canada.

USA

US media continues to bemoan snow conditions that range from ‘below average’ in Colorado (But still perfectly good in most cases) to ‘very challenging’ at other areas. The Denver Post reports that snow depth averages in Colorado are the lowest this century - Vail, for instance, measured a meager 19 inches — compared with a Christmas Day average for the 2000s of nearly 33 inches.” That’s 48cm compared to 83cm. It’s a similar picture in most other regions except for Washington state and Alaska where snow depths are among the world’s greatest (as usual) at 3-4m.

There has however been some good snowfalls in the past week with Stowe in Vermont on the East both reporting around 25cm in 24 hours on December 25th/26th dramatically improving conditions, particularly on the east.

This list details all snow depths in the US.


Ski Stoneham this week, Quebec, Canada © Olivier Croteau

This year the DC Area 43 snow park is based in Méribel-Mottaret - 3 months of Work - 50,000m3 of earth pre-shaped jumps - 1200m in length.

The brand has high expectations and everything seems to be here to succeed. At an altitude of 7800 feet and with 24 snow cannons, snow cover will be secure all season long and will ensure optimal quality for the modules. Another asset is to be located in the world's biggest ski resort, which includes the famous Courchevel, Les Ménuires and Val Thorens.



To shape and take care of the park, the Hilltechnics Snowpark Consulting team, with Benjamin Ravanel, European X-Games super pipe shaper and Nicolas Marduel, another great European shaper, will have an impressive machine fleet. Among others not less than three snow groomers, one mechanical shovel, and the Rolls of the pipe groomers, the Zaugg Pipe Monster 22ʼʼ, which is used to build the world biggest super pipes.

More than 650 feet of rails, and also a skateboard mini half pipe, will pop up in the park to complete the module offer. There will be four areas with different riders levels to ensure a safe ride, all of this served with a chair lift and a cable car. Everyone is welcomed to check out and ride the park during the resort opening times.

DC Area 43 will also be set up with the exclusive DC Livepark system, which will allow the riders to check out their action shots on a dedicated web site www.dceurope-livepark.com and even to edit and share them.

A big DC chalet will be the landmark of the DC Area 43, and the house of the DC riders and partners. Events are scheduled each month: the opening in December, a photo-shoot with the pro-riders in January, the DC Livepark promotion in February, the DC Shred Days with the international team in March and to finish the season, the closing in April.

DC Shoes team and riders canʼt wait to see you there!

In a complete reverse of our headline of three weeks ago, snowfalls have continued in epic quantities across much of the Alps while this time some US resorts are battling a shortage of the natural stuff and relying largely on snow making to open limited terrain.

It’s not just the Alps either, conditions remain good in Scandinavia, Scotland is fully open with Glencoe reporting snow pockets up to three metres (10 feet) deep and the Pyrenees have largely opened after many areas received 50cm+ of snow at the weekend.

• Snowfall of over 2m in 7 days reported by some French and Swiss resorts.
  
• All five Scottish ski areas open.
  
• Little new snowfall for some weeks in USA, some resorts reliant on snowmaking.
  
• Heavy snowfall in the Pyrenees.

Europe

Austria

Austria has had lots of new snow and more is expected over the next few days. It will be colder on Christmas Eve when the snowline will fall from 1000 to 400 metres.

More than 15 ski resorts reported more than 20cm of new snow on Saturday (17.12) and St. Anton reported 50 cm fresh snow at Saturday.

Other big falls were recorded at Silvretta Montafon 45cm, Serfaus Fiss Ladis 25cm and Pitztaler Glacier 22cm.

On Sunday Sölden got 27cm of new snow and on Monday Schladming was glad to report about an additional 30cm.

Lermoos in the Zugspitzarena reported 60cm of new snow over 48 hours at the start of this week helping to double its snow pack to a metre.

Austria’s big ski resorts are about to open most of their slopes. At Tux are 62 from 86 km open. In Sölden there are 135km open from 148km. There is still capacity in St. Anton and Lech Zuers. Here are more than 100 km slopes closed at the moment, but also around 170 km open for skiers.

You can find here all snow depths in Austria.

France

“For the past week all days are alike in the French mountains, all regions (without exceptions) have recorded heavy snowfall since last Thursday,” says Skiinfo France’s Stéphane Giraud.
The largest falls have been at ski resorts located in the Northern Alps but both Southern Alps and Pyrenees also received a lot of snow too.

Over the last seven days, it has dropped, for example, 200cm (in accumulated falls) in the Paradiski resorts of La Plagne and Les Arcs as well as at Praz sur Arly, 145 cm in Val Thorens, 120 cm in Puy Saint Vincent, and 85 cm in Piau Engaly.

The snow is still falling.

145 Skiinfo powder alarms (for 20cm of snow or more in 24 hours) have been triggered in France by Tuesday 20th December, (the highest was on Saturday for Les Arcs with a 100cm snowfall).

“In other words, a smile must be worn in all French ski resorts ...” says Stéphane.

In some cases the snow has been so great that some resorts have been unable to open slopes or lifts for practical reasons or until avalanche danger is checked. But the situation should improve quickly as the snowfalls should gradually give way to sunshine for the Christmas weekend.

“In the meantime, the ski resorts will secure their ski areas and overcome the immense task of grooming in order to provide the best conditions to holiday skiers spending Christmas in the mountains,” adds Stéphane.

The deepest snow depths in France at the moment – by region - are in the Paradiski region of Les Arcs (120/305 cm) and La Plagne (140/270 cm) in the Northern Alps; Serre Chevalier (50/180 cm) and Puy Saint Vincent (40/140 cm) in the Southern Alps; Cauterets (70/130 cm) and Piau Engaly (65/120 cm) in the Pyrénées; Les Rousses (60/120 cm) in the Jura and Saint Maurice sur Moselle (35/60 cm) in the Vosges.

Here’s a list of all snow depths in France.


Chamonix, France this week

Italy

Italy has seen some healthy accumulations of snow over the past week, particularly in the West of the country.

In the Aosta Valley Monterosa reports 95cm, Cervinia a metre and La Thuile 110cm of snow – the three biggest accumulations in the country.

Cervinia now reports the deepest snow base in Italy with 2.7m (nine feet) of snow on upper slopes. It overtakes long-standing holder of the top spot for Italian snow depth, the Presena Glacier at Passo Tonale which has a mere 2.4m (weight feet) base.

Here are all snow depths in Italy.

Switzerland

It has been snowing heavily all over Switzerland and continues to do so. The small country now leads the list with the most powder alarms (resorts reporting more than 20cm of snow in 24 hours) with more than 300 now.

Ski resorts in Switzerland now have more than enough snow and indeed some resorts had to close slopes temporarily due to avalanche risk. The last seven days brought more than a metre of snow in many resorts and in some cases more than two metres were reported in some areas like Lötschental or Anzère.

So it’s not a surprise that the snow depths are looking quite good. Saas Fee has 344 cm at higher altitude. Andermatt has 260 cm, Engelberg 190 cm, Zermatt 150 cm and Verbier 150 cm. New snow falls are expected for Thursday at the northern Swiss Alps and in Wallis.

This is where to find all snow depths in Switzerland.


Crans Montana, Switzerland this week

Pyrenees And Rest of Spain

Snow conditions have improved dramatically in the Pyrenees with up to a metre of snow reported on the previously fairly snowless slopes. Grandvalira in Andorra has now opened all six centres with slope depths of up to 80cm. Conditions are also looking good in the French Pyrenees (see France review) and in Spain Baqueira Beret reports powder snow 60-100cm deep.

Find live information on all snow depths in Andorra here and here all snow depths in Spain.


Baqueira Beret, Spain this week

Scandinavia

The snow is easing just slightly in Scandinavia where depths have now reached 2.1m (seven feet_) at some Norwegian resorts. Voss has done particularly well with another 85cm (nearly three feet) of new snow this week.

Here’s a list of all snow depths in Norway.

North America

Canada

Conditions are mostly very good across Western Canada where resorts have healthy snow bases and have received another 10-30cm of fresh snow over the past week keeping the powder fresh. Whistler has all 8000+ acres of terrain, North America’s biggest ski area, open and is posting the third deepest snow in the country at 145cm (nearly five feet) with another 20cm in the past week.

Here’s a list of all snow depths in Canada.

USA

Although conditions remain good at most US resorts, some regions are faring better than others.

The biggest contrast on 2010-11 is Lake Tahoe which last winter was blanketed by incredible falls that measured nearly 20m (60 feet) by the spring and allowed any resorts that wanted to, to open in July. This Christmas however resorts are currently struggling to open much terrain using mostly machine made snow rather than the usual abundance of natural snowfall.

Only 8 of 170 trails were open at Squaw Valley at the weekend and Heavenly reported 20 of its nearly 100 runs were operational. Although weather has been cold enough for snow making no snow is currently expected for the foreseeable future.

In Utah more powder is needed but Deer Valley reports half of its 100 trails are open with a 26 inch (65cm) base although none of its seven bowls are.

Unfortunately it’s a similar picture on the East Coast with resorts struggling to open terrain there too, sometimes with the added issue of temperatures being too warm for snowmaking. One of the biggest resorts, Killington, currently reports 33 of its 140 trails are open, others are less fortunate.

The resorts with the deepest snow bases are mostly in the northwest of the country (Alaska and Washington State) where Eaglecrest which a month ago boasted the most weekly snowfall in the world still has a 267cm base. Of the big name international resorts Aspen is around the best with a 60-90cm base at Highlands.

This list details all snow depths in the US.

[Photo credits: resorts]

Skiing and snowboarding off the roof of your apartment block is rarely recommended, but that’s exactly what the designers of a spectacular new apartment complex planned for the Arctic resort of Levi expect their guests to do.

The Danish-based architectural firm BIG won a contest to design a new 47,000 square metre resort and recreational area development at the leading Finnish resort of Levi.

BIG’s winning design will see a series of buildings that radiate out from a central square and whose ends touch the ground to create four freestanding buildings that each provide access to the roof and allow the skiers to descend from the resort’s rooftop downhill in any direction.



“The soft curves of the undulating roofs of the four buildings create a visual continuity of the natural landscape while lending the whole village the unique character of a skislope skyline that creates an inhabited mountain top,” said a BIG statement.

The idea was that the location of the development meant that skiers and boarders faced a pole push or trudge through the snow to reach the slopes, but by ‘raising the height of the summit’ with the apartment developments, skiers and boarders will have the momentum to keep on sliding on to the main slopes.

The future Ski Village, work on which is due to begin in 2013, is being developed by Finland-based company Kassiopeia Finland Oy is investing which owns and operates Hotel Levi Panorama, Levi Summit Congress Center and Hotel K5 Levi and above and beyond has interests in developing the exquisite Koutalaki area.

“BIG’s visionary approach of combining unique types of accommodation and amenities along with the leisure activities offered at the resort, left the jury in awe. BIG’s ambitious plan challenges traditional thinking and we believe that the collaboration between Kassiopeia Finland and BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group will rise to the occasion,” said the Jury Kassiopeia Finland Oy.

BIG had already hit the ski world headlines with their designs for a giant new power plant near Copenhagen which will incorporate a dry ski slope in its outer shell.

”The Koutalaki Ski Village is conceived as an extension of both the summit and the resort. Grown from the natural topography rather than dropped from the sky – the architecture extends the organic forms of natural landscape creating an inhabitable as well as skiable manmade mountain. As a result, our design for the Koutalaki Ski Village creates a new hybrid integrating distinct identities such as village and resort, shelter and openness, cozy intimacy and natural majesty, unique character and careful continuity – or simply - architecture and landscape.” Said Bjarke Ingels, Founder & Partner, BIG.

The four buildings arc around a central square to create a new bustling village plaza at the heart of the resort, which is sheltered from the wind yet open and inviting to the surrounding landscape. The plaza allows ice skating and music events and is connected to a bowl like yard with cafés and bars created by the lower interior heights of the new buildings. The intimate atmosphere of the spaces created here contrasts the open views from the summit.

The whole resort area is connected through a network of paths that prioritizes skiers and pedestrians. Access to the roofs happens through central elevator cores allowing skiing down either towards the courtyard or the piste. An elevator located centrally in the hotel provides access to the roof top restaurant with a 360 degree panorama views of the landscape and plaza.

”When first visiting the future Koutalaki village site you realize the proximity to the ski slopes but at the same time the importance of creating a connection for skiers as well. The gentle slope away from the main ski system seems to offer the solution for a unified proposal that creates maximum connectivity for skiers and pedestrians.” Jakob Lange, Partner-in-Charge, BIG.

All accommodation units offered at the new resort enjoy beautiful views of the surrounding nature, including the eight private villas which are situated at different elevations to provide an undisturbed panorama, while the elevated private gardens serve as an extension of the landscape. The villas embrace the snowy landscape and allow the snow in all its forms become a part of the architecture itself.

“Instead of creating design solutions that aim at dealing with snow by shoveling or moving it, we want to create a village that utilizes the full potential of snow. When it is caught on the façade the window frames become a living part of the landscape, adapting to changes in the weather. The light granite façade enhances the intimate relation with the nature. “ Hanna Johansson, Project Leader, BIG.

While the four buildings simulate real ski slopes during winter time, combining the essence of a ski resort - skiing, relaxation, recreation and dwelling, the roofscape of the buildings during summer will be just as attractive serving as a green continuum of the surrounding natural landscape for hiking and picnics.

The Alps, Scandinavia and Scotland are all looking ‘mostly good’ after moderate to large snowfalls since the start of December. Up to 1.5m (five feet) of snow has fallen in parts of the Alps over the last week, most Scandinavian resorts have had big falls too and all five Scottish ski areas expect to be open this weekend. It’s not 100% good news however as some low elevation ski area in the Alps still need more snow and the Pyrenees are still waiting for a good snowfall and/or consistent cold weather for snowmaking.

After the great snowfalls of November in North America there’s been much less fresh snow in December and no snow at all reported in the USA in the past week. This is not a problem at resorts in the West where many resorts were running well ahead of seasonal averages anyway, but in the East it has been challenging with resorts struggling to open just a few runs when it’s been cold enough to make snow at night.

• Conditions looking good in the northern Alps after big snowfalls.
  
• Heavy snowfalls in Norway.
  
• All five Scottish ski areas to open.
  
• Pyrenees badly need snow.
  
• North American snowfall stalls.
  
• Saas Fee has greatest snow depth in the Alps at 245cm (over 8 feet).

Stubai, Austria

Europe

Austria

Around half of all Austrian ski resorts are open now, the remainder should open before Christmas or in some cases, New Year.

Resorts have reported excellent falls over the past week including over three feet at St. Anton (95 cm), and great accumulations too at Lech Zurs (80 cm) or Pitztal (79 cm).
The best snow depths in the country can still can be found at the glaciers Molltaler (150 cm), Tux (140 cm) and Kaunertal (132 cm) but that’s less of an issue once the main resorts have begun to built up adequate bases as now.

You can find here all snow depths in Austria.

France

It’s been a December so far for snow in the French Alps and it’s till snowing with resorts including Avoriaz and Meribel reporting 30cm+ of new snow in the past few days and much more is expected later this week too. 60 to 80cm more fresh snow should fall on Savoie, Haute Savoie and Isère from 1400m above sea level.

In the Southern Alps, large high-altitude resorts (Serre Chevalier, Vars / Risoul, Montgenevre or Orcières ...) are also preparing to welcome guests and already offer substantial snow depth at the top of the slopes (155cm in Serre-Chevalier ...). However at lower altitudes, small villages resorts still lack snow to be able to open their slopes. However, new falls (from 25 to 40cm) are expected Thursday and Friday which should improve things markedly.


Les 2 Alpes, France

Here’s a list of all snow depths in France.

Italy

New snow in Italy too has helped further improve conditions there. On the West side of the north of the country there have been powder alarms for heavy snowfall at Courmayeur and the Aosta Valley while on the Eastern side almost a third of the Dolomiti Superski’s 1280km are now open and the Sellaronda opens on Saturday 17th December after 10-25 cm of new snow fell on Monday night. The 40km track around the Sella mountains and the region expects to have more than 500km of slopes open then.

Everything is also ready for some of the biggest events of the season with the slopes described as, “ perfectly prepared” for the Ski World Cup 2011. On Friday and Saturday, the athletes will fight for victory in Super-G and downhill in Val Gardena then on Sunday and Monday it’s the turn of technical disciplines with a GS and a slalom in Alta Badia.

Here are all snow depths in Italy.

Switzerland

It may be hard for some to believe that after being the subject of a mainstream media ‘There’s no snow in Switzerland’ reporting frenzy less than two weeks ago, Swiss resorts have been seeing the greatest snowfalls of all over the past week with the greatest falls reported by Gstaad and Elm of 1.35-1.45m over the past 7 days. In addition Les Marécottes reported 120 cm and Crans Montana 80 cm including 40cm on Sunday/Monday so the po0wder is fresh there. It is still snowing in Switzerland and yesterday (Tuesday) ski resorts reported fresh snow at Zinal (20 cm), Zermatt (15 cm) and Andermatt (10 cm).

This is where to find all snow depths in Switzerland.


Nendaz, Switzerland

Pyrenees and Rest of Spain

Conditions are less promising in the Pyrenees where there has still been little or no snow this autumn and temperatures were in double figures again yesterday afternoon. No French resort has been able to open (although Cauterets aims to open upper slopes this weekend) there yet and while the two Andorran ski areas are open, they have very limited terrain available with machine made snow. Grandvalira is closed at Soldeu but reports 10-35cm of cover at its highest sector in Pas de la Casa.

Find live information on all snow depths in Andorra here and here all snow depths in Spain.

Scandinavia

Conditions are good across most of Scandinavia now after the warm October and early November. In fact the resort of in Norway reports the most snowfall in Europe over the past seven days with 125cm (just over four feet), 50cm of it over the past 24 hours!

Here’s a list of all snow depths in Norway.

Scotland

All five Scottish ski areas were due to open after fresh snowfall last week but storm force winds damaged lifts and buildings at the two West Coast areas, Glencoe and Nevis Range, preventing them from joining Cairngorm, Glenshee and the Lecht on Saturday. 400 skiers and boarders were reported at Cairngorm making first turns of the season. Glencoe was ready to open still afrer hard work by staff but was thwarted by a wait having electrical supplies restored. All five centres hope to open this weekend, with fresh snow forecast, marking a second year when all five have been open before Christmas.

North America

Canada

Western Canadian ski areas continue to be in great shape following the November snow deluge and as well as being well ahead of seasonal snowfall averages for this early in the season, have had fresh snowfalls too to freshen things up.

In the East it’s been a more challenging start to the winter but most areas are now open with limited terrain. Tremblant and Mont Sainte Anne are both open, Mont SUTTON opens this Saturday, December 17th but due to the warm weather temperatures of the last few days, only the Cascade trail and chairlift II west of the Family Zone will be open.

Here’s a list of all snow depths in Canada.

USA

Resorts in North Western North America like Mt Baker in Washington state and Eaglecrest in Alaska are still reporting among the world’s greatest snow depths at present (around 2.4m) but much of that dates back to November and resorts are mostly waiting fresh snow.

On the East coast the situation is not so good as there’s been little snow and temperatures too warm for snows making in some areas, although resort further north such as Sunday River in Maine have had some fresh snow. Attitash in New Hampshire, for example, one of New England’s leading ski areas, has been closed but reopened yesterday after snowmakers took advantage of the past couple of days' cold temperatures and dry humidity. Limited intermediate/advanced skiing is available and unfortunately more mild weather is expected later this week.

On the West Coast resorts are still benefiting from early season snowfall accumulations. Last season Mammoth in California was deluged with several metres of snow in the week before Christmas and they must be hoping for more big falls – currently base depths are 45-60cm. It’s currently sunny there but cold and there’s hope of fresh snow at the end of the week.

This list details all snow depths in the US.

Skiinfo.co.uk reports that around 40 French resorts are open this weekend with some big names joining the list of areas open.

Chamonix, La Plagne and Montgenevre are among those opening.

In the Chamonix Valley the Grands Montets and les Houches ski areas have opened this weekend!

“The snow finally arrived with a vengeance and between Tuesday 6th and Wednesday 7th December, the snow fell thick and fast. There’s been a metre of snowfall at 1,400m and 150cm (five feet!) at the Grands Montets.” said a resort spokesperson.

As a result there’s partial opening of the Grands Montets ski area from Saturday 10th December onwards, to include Lognan cable car, Bochard gondola and chair lifts (1600m vertical drop). A day pass costs 32€.

There’s also partial opening of Les Houches for the weekend only, day pass 22€. All other ski areas opening next weekend, 17th December.

Meanwhile at La Plagne (part of Paradiski) the resort is also expecting to have a very white Christmas this year with over 90cm of snow in the last couple of days. The resort has opened its high altitude villages today Saturday (10th Dec) with the full resort opening on Saturday 17th December as planned.

There’s a metre of snow lying at the top of the slopes (3250m). 80cm at 2700m and 50cm at 2000m. The biggest single fall last week was 40cm on Wednesday 7th December.

Val d'Isère’s Office du Tourisme has reported up to a metre of fresh snow across the Espace Killy and Montgenevre say they’re opening with a 45cm compacted base after new snowfall was groomed on their pistes.

Rumour has it that the small group who took a risk with the SCUK Early Bash are rather pleased to be out in Val d'Isere right now. There's still plenty of places on the SCUK Winter Bash in Mayrhofen, February 2012.

Changing the game of urban snowboarding, Forum is proud to present The Streets at Seven Springs – a park dedicated to urban snowboarding, featuring an on-mountain replica of urban riding at its best. Pulling inspiration from the surrounding area of Pittsburgh, while working in conjunction with Forum Team riders Pat Moore and Nic Sauvé along with the park building masters from Seven Springs (USA), The Streets brings a whole new meaning to urban snowboarding.

The Streets from Seven Springs Terrain Parks on Vimeo.

“The Streets is taking the concept of what a snowpark should be to a whole new level,” says Nic Sauvé. “I envy the kids who will grow up riding it!” Pat Moore adds, “The park looks so sick. I’m excited for the snow to come to bring it to life! I think we’ll be seeing some real good snowboarders coming out of PA in the near future.”



Urban snowboarding is supposed to be fun and accessible, but when you have angry security guards, passing cars or just can’t find the right features, your ability to actually enjoy it becomes limited. This is where The Streets comes in. The Streets offers a wide array of rails, ledges, gaps and wall rides, all built with the look and feel of riding in your local town.



“Being able to bring this level of urban features to a full access resort is something we used to only dream of,” says Forum Brand Manager Kevin Winkel. “The features that Pat and Nic have designed with Seven Springs and Snow Park Technologies will forever change how resorts look at building parks.”

Since 2004, Seven Springs in Pennsylvania/USA has been committed to developing and growing its terrain parks. In addition to the already six parks and more than 70 features, The Streets is to be the most innovative urban setup created. “We are really excited to be partnering with Forum on The Streets,” said Joel Rerko, Seven Springs’ Director of Action Sports. “Seven Springs is committed to providing the best parks and pipes in the country, and this is a great addition to our already solid program. Our region is a perfect fit for this style of park and I know The Streets will help progress the riders of the lower East Coast.” Due to its hard work and dedication towards these efforts, Seven Springs has been nationally recognized as the 2011-2012 number one terrain park on the East Coast.



Assisting with the building and development of the features for The Streets is Snow Park Technologies (SPT). SPT is the world’s leading consulting team for special projects on snow and is comprised of an all-star crew whose passion and commitment give SPT its greatest strength. Their focus is on the design, construction, and progression of all areas related to terrain park development. This is a collection of the most experienced and talented freestyle park and pipe innovators in the world who are excited to see the outcome of working on the game-changing project, The Streets.

The Grand Opening of The Streets kicks off January 19th, 2012.

The Streets is found just off The Polar Bear Express Chairlift at Seven Springs Resort in Pennsylvania. For more information, stay tuned to www.thestreetspark.com. You may also visit www.forumsnowboards.com, www.7springs.com, or www.snowparktech.com for more.

What a change in 48 hours! The long awaited snowfalls in the Alps began at the weekend and have gathered pace with the biggest yet reported over the past 24 hours (to 8 Dec) with some of the biggest accumulations including 60cm in 24 hours at Meribel and 70cm in 24 hours at both Les Arcs and St Anton.

Although the heavy snowfall in central Europe has taken the emphasis of the great start to North America’s season a little, conditions there, particularly in the west of Canada and the USA, remains excellent, with snow depths well above the (generally impressive anyway) norm for this time of the season.

In Northern Europe, some resorts in Scandinavia have in fact had more snow than either the best in the Alps or North America in the past week and at least two of Scotland’s ski areas plan to open at the weekend.

• Huge snowfalls of up to 70cm in 24 hours across the Alps.
  
• Biggest snowfalls of past seven days in Norway – 1.4m at Strandefjellet.
  
• Up to a metre (3.3 feet) of new snow at Swiss resorts in past seven days.
  
• Most of Dolomiti Superski’s sectors opening in next 24 hours.
  
• Glencoe and The Lecht expect to open to start Scotland’s ski season this weekend.

Europe

Austria

Parts of Austria have, like the rest of the Alps, been seeing big snowfalls in recent days, particularly the last 24 hours to 7 December, and the snow is still falling.

Indeed St Anton reported one of the biggest 24 hour accumulations of 70cm (28 inches), its neighbour Lech reporting 40cm.

The snow line has now dropped to between 400m – 800m during the week and around 20 ski resorts are open in Austria.

Among the many fresh snow beneficiaries across Austria, those already open in the Tirol with powder to enjoy include Kühtai: 30 cm of fresh snow in the last three days; Ischgl: 20 cm of fresh snow last night, total snow height: 50 cm; Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis: 25 cm of fresh snow last night, total snow height: 40 cm; Obergurgl: 10 cm of fresh snow last night, total snow height: 70 cm; the Kaunertal glaicer: 25 cm of fresh snow last night, total snow height: 123cm and the Pitztal glacer: 13 cm of fresh snow last night, total snow height: 146cm – and the snow is still falling.


© Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis

Although the country’s highest snow depths are still on the glaciers, half a dozen of which have been open since September and October, resorts like Obertauern, Serfaus Fiss Ladis and Ischgl have prepared their slopes well and the latter has more than 80km (50 miles) of runs open.

You can find here all snow depths in Austria.

France

There have been big snowfalls in the French Alps over the past 24 hours, building on significant falls that began earlier this week. Today (December 7) has so far seen about 10 to 20cm in South Alps (Serre-Chavalier, Orcières 1850, Praloup) and as much as 60cm at Méribel, 50cm at Les Saisies and 40cm at La Plagne/Paradiski all reported over the past 24 hours.


Paradiski yesterday, 6th December © Paradiski

“After a particularly dry and warm autumn which severely disrupted the opening of ski resorts, the snow has finally appeared on the Alps.” said Stéphane Giraud of Skiinfo France, “Since Saturday, weather systems have started to stick over the country bringing with them valuable snowfalls: initially 20 to 30 cm at 1800m altitude, and locally from 50 to 80 cm around 2500m.”

Initially it was mainly the ski resorts in the Northern Alps and the Jura that benefitted from the snowfalls but they’ve now spread across much of France.

While so far only eight ski areas were open, the new snowfall should allow about 30 ski resorts to quickly start their ski season: Alpe d'Huez will open its slopes on Thursday (December 8), Avoriaz, Chamonix, Flaine, Les Arcs, Vars, Risoul, Montgenevre and twenty other resorts will welcome skiers from Saturday (December 10).

“The weather in the next days is expected to bring more new snowfall. From 30 to 60cm of fresh snow should fall over the next three days, enough to bring smiles to the managers of ski resorts.” says Stéphane.

Here’s a list of all snow depths in France.

Italy

Resorts in western Italy have seen the most snow in the past week with Sestrie, clavier and Sauze d;’Oulx in the 2006 Olympic vebnues of the milky way recording 20cm accumulations.

Italy’s biggest ski area, the Dolomiti Superski, will see most of its dozen separate sectors opening at least some runs over the next 24 hours with 124 Lifts and 210km of slopes will be open in nine of Dolomiti Superski’s ski regions.

The skiable slopes are in Alta Badia (30 of 130 km), Val Gardena/Alpe di Siusi (60 of 175 km), Cortina d’Ampezzo (5 of 140 km), Kronplatz (60 of 114 km), Val di Fassa/Carezza (10 of 133 km), Sextner Dolomiten/Alta Pusteria (20 of 77 km), Val di Fiemme/Obereggen (20 of 156 km), San Martino di Castrozza/Rolle-Pass (3 of 60 km)and the Trevalli (2 of 100 km). More lifts and slopes will open for the coming weekend of the 10th/11th December.

Here are all snow depths in Italy.

Switzerland

Switzerland has had its share of good snowfalls in the past week with Anzere topping the table with a metre of new snow. Saas Fee has had more than 60cm (two feet) and has one of the world’s deepest snow bases up on its glacier at around two metres. Conditions are looking increasingly good at most other Swiss resorts with ski areas in the Portes du Soleil issuing powder alarms for 20cm in 24 hours yesterday (6 Dec). Laax which is open this weekend reports it has had up to 25cm in the last two days with 75cms on the Vorab Glacier.

This is where to find all snow depths in Switzerland.

Pyrenees and Rest of Spain

Ski areas in Andorra have finally opened over the past few days.

Find live information on all snow depths in Andorra here and here all snow depths in Spain.

Scandinavia

Norway has had the most snow in Europe since the start of the month and that’s now the most snow in the world as Strandfjellet became the first ski area outside North America to post the biggest weekly snowfall total - 1.4m – anywhere, over the past seven days, earlier this week.

Here’s a list of all snow depths in Norway.

Scotland

The Lecht and Glencoe have announced they will open this weekend, starting the Scottish ski season. Nevis Range are yet to decide, Glenshee has not had enough snow and Cairngorm also say they need more snow – but it is still falling.

North America

Canada

Conditions are superb in Western Canada which has had one of the best starts to the season of any region in the world. Typical is Marmot Basin in Alberta which has already received half of its average annual snowfall and there is still over five months of skiing and snowboarding remaining in the season.

200cm of snow had fallen up to December 5 compared to 111cm last year at the same time. Prime, mid-winter conditions exist throughout the entire ski area. Comments on Facebook and Twitter are rife with superlatives from Marmot skiers and snowboarders recounting glorious powder-filled days of perfect skiing; and it is not yet even mid-December.

Here’s a list of all snow depths in Canada.

USA

Recent snowfalls in the Alps has finally given some European balance to the epic earluy-season conditions in Western North America.

Wolf Creek in Colorado is only 5cm off being able to report the most snow in the Western World over the past seven days with 1.35m (4.5 feet) accumulated. Alyeska in Alaska has had another 90cm (three feet) and Telluride, Colorado another foot (30cm).

This list details all snow depths in the US.

Snow is falling! Snowfall in LAAX is up to 25cm in the last two days with 75cms on the Vorab Glacier. LAAX is open this weekend and ready to welcome those eager to get on the slopes for the first time this season.


Rocksresort 6pm 6th December / 3pm 7th December

This season, LAAX will unveil the new ‘Snow & Park’ area suitable for all levels but particularly those keen for a new challenge off the pistes. Located in the area between Crap Sogn Gion and the new 6-seater chair lift Alp Dado, Snow & Park will also feature the new park Ils Plauns with its 15 obstacles and 5 kickers ideal for those looking to develop their freestyling skills in an original and playful environment. A boarder cross track, new rail line and kickers have been added along with a beginner’s area offering a mini rail and kickers.

Laax has long been recognised as a snow sure destination with the Laax base station at 1,100m and the Vorab Glacier at 3,018m and 70% of the slopes between 2,000-3,000m. ‘Snow & Park’ will add a further dimension with concentrated snow making in the area guaranteed from December through to mid-April with easy access just 10mins from the base station.

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The Brits and SCUK head to Laax next March for some hot Laax action. We hope you can join us.

The world’s leading ski lift manufacturer Doppelmayr Group has reported its results for the 2010/11 fiscal year and says 126 new ski lifts were built by the company with income of EUR 618.2 million, an increase of 2.5%.

Working in 86 countries worldwide the company employs 2214 employees in 33 countries and maintains a focus on quality, innovative strength and extensive expertise according to a company statement.

The Doppelmayr Group is the only cable car manufacturer to offer all known cable car systems for transporting people. The majority of sales remain for ski lifts but the company is building ever more gondolas and cable cars to help move people in urban areas and the company believes that the future potential in this market is very high. Another growth area is in demand for Doppelmayr Transport systems for industrial bulk and general cargo transport.

Recent examples of Doppelmayr’s dynamic innovation include 3S-tracks for the Federal Garden Show in Koblenz and the Sölden ski area and the combined lift Penken in Mayrhofen. This latter lift was the first time Doppelmayr created a combination of an 8-seater and 10-person gondola.

www.doppelmayr.com

The long awaited snow has now hit Europe, with the big accumulations that started last week in Scandinavia spreading to the Alps and Scotland.

www.skiinfo.co.uk reports that Switzerland has done particularly well in the past 24 hours with Saas Fee and Engelberg reporting 20cm each, Laax and Zermatt 15cm and Gstaad 30cm (a foot) of new snow.
In France Tignes, Val d’Isere and Val Thorens have all received at least 20cm and the deepest snow depth in the country, at Serre Chevalier, has hit a metre. Meribel and La Plagne have had 15cm each, Montgenevre 10cm.

In Italy the resorts of the milky Way like Sauze d’Oulx and Sestriere have had 20cm each, Cervinia and Madesimo 15cm (6 inches).

Austrian resorts have not reported huge falls as yet but in many cases that may be because they’re not yet open and reporting snowfall. However Solden says they’ve had 40cm of snow and Ischgl 10cm.
Most resorts expect the snow to keep falling throughout this week leading to large accumulations and temperatures are also consistently low enough to fire up the snow guns.

Although the ski slopes of Scotland are yet to open, the webcam images are looking good, especially for Cairngorm and the Lecht.

Whistler Blackcomb’s annual “Dress like Santa Day” will take place on Saturday, December 17. A free lift ticket will be awarded to the first 75 people to check in at the Garibaldi Lift Company at the base of Whistler Mountain in full Santa or Mrs. Claus attire.



To qualify, skiers and snowboarders must arrive dressed in their very best Santa or Mrs. Claus costume. The costume must include red or black pants or a skirt for Mrs. Claus, a red jacket with white trim, a black belt, a beard for Santa and of course, a Santa or Mrs. Claus hat. The meeting time for all Santa and Mrs. Claus participants is 8:00am on the patio of the Garibaldi Lift Company at the base of Whistler Mountain. One free lift ticket per person will be awarded to the first 75 people who meet full costume requirements.

“Mrs. Claus and I never miss our annual ski holiday at Whistler Blackcomb,” says Santa Claus, “It’s always nice to be on the receiving end of the Christmas Gift for a change!”

All Santa and Mrs. Claus’s will upload the Fitzsimmons Express at 8:30am, continue up Garbanzo Express, then ride or ski to the bottom of the Emerald Express as a group for a photo opportunity. After the photos, a draw will take place at the bottom of the Emerald Express where participating Santa’s and Mrs. Claus’s will have a chance to win additional prize packages. After the photo, all are free to enjoy their day on the mountains.

No registration is necessary for this event. Season pass holder participates will receive a one-day lift ticket valid for one day between January 1 and 31, 2011.

Follow more event information, weather forecasts and snow conditions, as well as information about visiting Whistler Blackcomb this winter, including package prices and last minute deals, at www.whistlerblackcomb.com or by calling 1-800-766-0449.

Resorts in Europe continue to struggle to provide adequate snow to be able to open and an increasing number are postponing their opening for the ski season. St Anton has decided to delay opening for at least a week, and the Skiwelt to the 15th December. It’s not all bad news as resorts in Scandinavia have reported up to 55cm of fresh snow in the past week, Zermatt says it has 117km of pistes open and a 1500m+ vertical on the Italian side and Ischgl spend €1m on snowmaking last week to create 81km of piste. Solden reported 24cm of fresh snow during the 24 hours to Wednesday, 30th November.

Across the Atlantic the start of the season continues to look exceptionally good with resorts reporting up to 1.2m of snow in the past week on the West Coast, leading to some early openings, and up to 60cm of new snow on the East Coast.

• Up to 55cm (nearly two feet) of snow in the past week at some resorts in Scandinavia.
  
• More than 1.2m of snow (four feet) in past week in Parts of Western North America.
  
• Europe’s Highest (Val Thorens) and most southerly (Sierra Nevada) resorts open.
  
• A metre of snow at Banff.
  
• 24cm Of Snow in 24 Hours for Solden.
  
• Over 80km of piste open at Ischgl for opening weekend after €1m Euro Snowmaking Spend

Europe

Austria

Despite challenging conditions and some resorts having to delay their openings, others are managing to open on time, most notably Ischgl with its 81km (50 miles) of piste open for around 18,000 fans at the Roxette season opening concert at the weekend, nearly 15,000 of whom had taken to the slopes during the day. Further good news is the fresh snow reported at Solden and that Serfaus Fiss Ladis can start as planed at the 2nd December, with enough artificial snow the resort will be prepared for the first skiers. Nassfeld Hermagor is also optimistic to start next weekend. Snow machines are running all the time and the valley run is already prepared.

Otherwise the country’s 8 or so glacier areas continue to offer good skiing. The Pitztal Glacier has the most with 1-1.55m but you can also ski now at Kaprun, Kaunertal, Tux, Dachstein, Molltal, Solden and Stubai and non-glacier Obergurgl has up to 60cm of snow cover.

You can find here all snow depths in Austria.

France

Conditions remain very challenging in France with four areas now open, mostly with machine made snow at high altitude, ranging in depth at up to 60cm. The options are Isola 2000, Tignes, Val Thorens and Val d’Isere .

Here’s a list of all snow depths in France.

Italy

Around 15 resorts are now open in Italy which continues to have one of the deepest snow bases in Europe with the Presana Glacier above Passo Tonale reporting a 2m base – deeper than anywhere else. Cervinia is also doing well with a 1.45m (nearly five foot) base and runs are open all the way down to Valtournenche – a vertical of over 1500m, the biggest in the Alps and one of the biggest in the world at present. Many of the country’s biggest resorts are now open like Bormio, Cervinia and Livigno are already open with 50cm bases. Many more ski areas including resorts in the Dolomiti Superski area are scheduled to open from this weekend onwards.

Here are all snow depths in Italy.

Switzerland

It remains largely glacier ski slopes that are open in Switzerland but Davos Klosters has now opened and has a free skiing offer up to Christmas Eve and a Facebook competition running too. Saas Fee, which has been open all summer and autumn, claims the deepest snow depth at 165cm, but Zermatt, Glacier 3000 (above Gstaad/Diablerets) and the Diavolezza glacier near St Moritz in the Engadin are all open and the slopes of Laax are open at weekends. Samnaun opened with its linked partner resort Ischgl across the border last weekend too and has a 20cm base.

This is where to find all snow depths in Switzerland.

Pyrenees And Rest of Spain

Sierra Nevada, Europe’s most southerly resort, was the first in Spain to open last weekend and reports a snow base of 50cm, made up partly of machine made snow and partly of 30cm (a foot) that fell in early November.

Otherwise, after good early snowfall early this month the Pyrenees are facing the same challenging conditions as much of Europe. Grandvalira, the region’s largest ski area, has delayed opening planned this weekend. It says it has some snow built up on its pistes but wants to preserve and enhance it ready for more important dates in December when Spain has bank holidays.

Find live information on all snow depths in Andorra here and here all snow depths in Spain.

Scandinavia

Half a dozen resorts in Norway have reported at least 50cm of new snow in the past week, the most at Strandafjellet which says they’ve had 55cm. Coastal Voss has had 3-cm (a foot) in the past few days.

Here’s a list of all snow depths in Norway.

North America

Canada

In Canada Sunshine ski area, one of the three Banff areas has had the most new snow in the country this week with 99cm whilst Lake Louise, venue for this week’s World Cup competitions, has had 66cm and further west in BC, Whistler is in the top five for snowfall this week with 75cm in seven days. Most other resorts in the region are now open or opening next weekends, some early including Fernie, Panorama and Revelstoke. Marmot Basin has opened their new quad chairlift.

On the East Coast Mont Sainte Anne and Stoneham near Quebec City both opened at the weekend.

Here’s a list of all snow depths in Canada.

USA

Conditions are great in Western North America – particularly the North West where Mt Baker in Washington state has reported 119cm (four feet) of snow in the past seven days, keeping up its reputation as one of the world’s snowiest resorts. Alyeska in Alaska, another resort with a reputation for big snow, has had 64cm (over two feet). In Colorado, Copper Mountain has become the first resort to open a Super Pipe.

It’s not bad on the east coast either with heavy snowfalls at many areas, Cranmore in New Hampshire reporting the most with 60cm, nearby Bretton Woods has had 40cm.

This list details all snow depths in the US.

Two French ski resorts have announced early openings for winter 2011-12.

Serre Chevalier in the Southern Alps, which had planned to open on December 10th will now partially open on December 3rd.

Four lifts will be running on the 3rd and 4th of December in the Monêtier les Bains sector and the resort says that forecast winter weather patterns leaves them confident of a full opening of the whole resort on 10th December as planned.

Val Thorens, Europe’s highest ski resort, had originally planned on open ion 19th November, but then moved its opening date back to Saturday 26th November, then brought it forward again to open last Thursday 24th November.

“The intensive work on the pistes and the cold temperatures during the night have enabled us to produce a huge quantity of artificial snow for the last days on top of the last snow fall of 20cm at 2500m.” said a statement from the resort.

Currently 7 lifts are open and the resort has been staging its Rock on Snowboard Tour with free testing of new kit from 30 snowboard brands as well as many fun activities available.

“Considering the winter weather conditions forecasted in the next days, Val Thorens should gradually open more runs,” said a resort statement.

Other French resorts open on 26 November include Isola 2000 in the southern Alps which opens five lifts and is selling lift tickets at a 40% discount. It has a 40cm base. Val d’Isere is also opening but has not yet published its snow depth.

They join Tignes which has been open since 1st October.

Big Snow Again Out West While Europe Waits

There have been increasingly heavy snowfalls in Western North America over the past few weeks, with Whistler reporting a metre of fresh snow in the past seven days and most other resorts on the western side of the continent reporting healthy snowfalls too.

Europe

In Europe warm weather and a lack of natural snowfall has been the less promising trend of November 2011 leading to some postponed openings. Currently about 20 resorts are open, most with glaciers, but non-glacier resorts including six in Norway have started opening and Ischgl will open 71km of pistes this Friday. Colder weather is expected towards the weekend allowing for more snowmaking and some natural snowfall.


Ischgl, Austria this week © resort

• Ski areas begin opening in Scandinavia.
  
• Up to 1.5m of snow (five feet) in past week in Western North America.
  
• Ischgl expects 20,000 at opening weekend Roxette concert.
  
• Grandvalira delays opening, previously planned for this weekend.

Austria

Thanks to its many glacier ski areas Austria has had more centres open since early October than any other ski area in the northern hemisphere. Or at least it did have until dozens of Canadian and US ski areas opened in the past few weeks. Although like most of the rest of Europe these areas are waiting for fresh snow, bases accumulated earlier this month and last have left most glaciers with still at least a metre of snow on upper slopes at least. The Pitztal Glacier has the most with 1-1.5m but you can also ski now at Kaprun, Kaunertal, Tux, Dachstein, Molltal, Solden and Stubai and the non-glacier slopes of Obergurgl and Schladming also have limited terrain open with 30-50cm of snow cover. Ischgl has a big opening weekend coming up and says they will have more than 70km of trails open and 20,000 people are expected to attend the big opening concert on Saturday starring Roxette.

You can find here all snow depths in Austria.

France

Europe’s highest ski area, Val Thorens, was due to open last weekend and join the only French ski area currently open, Tignes, but postponed this to tomorrow, November 24th. Val d’Isere is due to open this Sat (26/11) as is Isola 2000 in the Southern Alps), but in its case only for the weekend with full opening from 3rd December. Cold temperatures are currently expected to arrive in France next Monday (28th).

Here’s a list of all snow depths in France.

Italy

Italy currently has some of the deepest snow bases in Europe with the Presana Glacier above Passo Tonale reporting a 2m base – deeper than anywhere else. Cervinia is also doing well with a 1.45m (nearly five foot) base. Some of the country’s big name resorts like Bormio and Livigno are already open with 50cm bases, and Alagna and Madonna di Campiglio currently expect to open this weekend with a 40cm base. Many more ski areas including resorts in the Dolomiti Superski area are scheduled to open from this weekend onwards.

Here are all snow depths in Italy.

Switzerland

It remains largely glacier ski slopes that are open in Switzerland. Saas Fee, which has been open all summer and autumn, claims the deepest snow depth at 167cm, but Zermatt, Glacier 3000 (above Gstaad/Diablerets) and the Diavolezza glacier near St Moritz in the Engadin has a short run open. Engelberg’s glacier lifts are closed for maintenance to this Friday 25th and the slopes of Laax are open at weekends.

his is where to find all snow depths in Switzerland.

Pyrenees

After good early snowfall early this month the Pyrenees are facing the same challenging conditions as much of Europe. Grandvalira, the region’s largest ski area, has delayed opening planned this weekend. It says it has some snow built up on its pistes but wants to preserve and enhance it ready for more important dates in December when Spain has bank holidays.

Find live information on all snow depths in Andorra here and here all snow depths in Spain.

Scandinavia

Colder temperatures at last in Northern Europe has allowed several resorts to open. In Norway six ski areas - Hafjell, Kvitfjell, Trysil, Bjorli, Rauland and Kongsberg all opening at the weekend and more are expected to open in the coming days.
In Finland, after a month’s delay on the hoped for October 15 opening due to warm weather, Ruka opened last week on November 16.

Here’s a list of all snow depths in Norway.

North America

Canada

Great conditions in Western Canada where resorts that have already open are reporting great conditions with others like Fernie and Revelstoke planning to open for ‘preview weekends’ this weekend. The latter reports more than two metres of pre-season snow has fallen. All three Banff resorts are open in Alberta with Lake Louise soon to host the annual World Cup downhill races.

Here’s a list of all snow depths in Canada.

USA

The US has got off to a great start to the season and with most of the leading ski areas on the west side of the country already open or doing so in the next few days ready for the key Thanksgiving Holiday weekend, it’s hard to think of a better start to winter 11-12 for the area. Resorts have been opening on the East Coast too, thanks primarily to snowmaking efforts. Mt Baker has the deepest snowbase at 183cm, but 49 Degrees North, also in Washington state, has had the most snowfall is the past seven days – 137cm.

This list details all snow depths in the US.

Legendary Val d'Isère institution Dick's Tea Bar has had a major makeover and introduced a brand new comfy après-ski bar, open from 4pm. As the afternoon turns into night, the bar opens up to the larger nightclub, with dancing right through to five in the morning. The new interior features large comfy sofas, log piles, stone arches and LCD fire screens.

When the après-ski bar turns in to the nightclub it features a brand new DJ booth, dance floor tables as well as an exceptional VIP area over looking the dance floor. A chauffer service to and from Val d'Isère chalets for those wanting VIP service is available on request. All VIPs are met at the door by the front of house and introduced to their hostess for the evening who will lead them to their table. Full table service includes an array of drink choices, from Champagne and Spirits to the infamous Ski-Boot Cocktail.

Continuing on from the Family Park, a new Park has opened this winter in Courchevel complete with wooden modules that blend in perfectly with the landscape. There’s also a new boardercross course open to most skiers.

At the same time the resort’s Plantrey chairlift, which was the world’s first four-seat detachable chairlift in 1983, has been replaced by a state of the art six-seater. This means transport capacity will rise from 2,400 to 3,000 people per hour.


More pics here from PleisureHolidays.com