The 34 year-old Austrian ski racing star Renate Goetschl announced on Wednesday her retirement from active racing, saying that the decision was an easy one as she is expecting a child.
12th August 2009 – Pierre & Vacances Group and Intrawest Hotels & Residences have signed an agreement for the acquisition of Intrawest’s lodging and commercial operations at Arc 1950 in Savoie and the Flaine Montsoleil resort located in the Haute Savoie region of France.
Arc 1950 is Intrawest’s first mountain resort in Europe. The acquisition agreement includes the resort’s lodging management business, which consists of 655 apartments managed under the “Radisson” and “Intrawest Hotels & Residences” brands. Also included in the transaction is the management of two restaurants, a bar and two commercial spaces located in the resort village. The operations at Flaine Montsoleil Resort include the resort’s lodging management business, which consists of 138 apartments. All of the staff associated with each of these businesses will also transition under the management of Pierre et Vacances. This includes both on site staff and support staff located in Bourget du Lac.
As part of the terms of the agreement, Pierre et Vacances will operate both resorts in accordance with 4-star tourist residence standards. The addition of these two branded resorts will significantly enhance the Pierre & Vacances Premium Alpine holiday offering, which includes residences currently operated under the Résidences MGM, and Pierre & Vacances residences (Courcheval, Méribel…).
The acquisition is scheduled to close on 1st October 2009.
Intrawest ULC is a leader in the development and management of experiential destination resorts. The company has interests in ten resorts in North America’s most popular mountain destinations including Whistler Blackcomb, a host venue for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympics Winter Games. The Intrawest network also includes Canadian Mountain Holidays, the largest heli-skiing operation in the world; Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Florida; and Club Intrawest – a private resort club with locations throughout North America. In addition, Intrawest develops, markets and sells real estate at its resorts and at other locations across North America and in Europe. Intrawest is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is a portfolio company primarily owned by private equity funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group LLC.
About Pierre & Vacances Group
The France-based Pierre & Vacances Group (also known as P&V and PV-Holidays) is the number one provider of holiday residences, villages and hotels all over France. It offers self-catering and hotel holidays in France, Spain, Italy, Morocco, Tunisia, Switzerland and the Caribbean through its five brands: Pierre & Vacances, Maeva, Residences MGM, Latitudes Hotels and Adagio City Aparthotel.
Further information
For further consumer information on P&V, please visit the PV Holidays site.
There has been a lot of talk around the internet about an impending supply disaster when it comes to booking your 2010 ski holiday. We reported on this on a earlier thread (read: Ski Holidays 2010 - Book Early To Get The Best Deals).
On the face of it, these stories have been pitched as “useful advice for consumers”. However, dig around a bit behind the scenes, and cynics might claim that these stories are just “spin”, generated by the ski industry to try and encourage early bookings for an uncertain winter season.
We spoke to an independent tour operator in Chatel, France, who claims that the theory of reduced supply is incorrect.
“Just because large tour operators have reduced the number of chalets that they offer, doesn’t mean that there will be less chalets to rent. On the contrary, there are now a large number of chalets available which were previously tied in to expensive contracts with tour operators.
In our resort, a catered chalet operator decided not to continue for the following season. On the face of it, this meant that there are now less catered chalet holidays available. However, the ski chalets which were rented by this company are now available with a number of different booking agents, in many cases at a lower price.”
So yes, book early to guarantee the right chalet in the right resort for the right week. But if you can’t commit to a ski holiday now, don’t worry. Chances are there are going to be a lot of independent chalets available at reasonable prices throughout the Alps.
www.Skiinfo.com reports that although the snow falls are decreasing and in
most cases temperatures are rising as Spring nears, there have still been
significant snowfalls in many ski areas over the past seven days. These
continue to top up huge bases which will allow many ski areas to remain open
in to May, should they wish.
Last Thursday and especially on Friday there were still big snowfalls in
Austria with up to 70cm (28 inches) at the Tauplitzalm on Friday
contributing to a total of 115cm - nearly four feet - in 7 days.
The Austrian snowfalls continued on Saturday with a couple of Powderalarms
issued by skiinfo.com at the SkiWelt which received 50cm (20 inches) in 48
hours since. Most other resorts got around 30cm (a foot) on Friday already
and another 20cm (eight inches) on Saturday taking upper slopes depths of
240cm (eight feet). Snow depth on the Kaprun and Dachstein glaciers remain
above four metres (14 feet) which bodes well for summer skiing this year.
German resorts also had up to 40cm of snow last Friday at Jenner by
Berchtesgaden. Oberstdorf now has snow cover of up to three metres (10
feet), one of the deepest in the country.
In France there were snowfalls last Wednesday (11th March) with 30-40cm (12
- 16 inches) of snow at many resorts in the northern Alps including
Chamonix, La Plagne and Val d’Isere. The French winter to date has been
reported to be 1.2 degrees colder than usual and one of the three coldest
of the past 20 years.
In Switzerland Disentis got 40cm (16 inches) of snow on Thursday and there
were some smaller snowfalls on Friday. Andermatt is reporting the deepest
snow in the country with a 460cm (Over 15 feet) base with Zermatt on 397cm
(just over 13 feet), Engelberg on 385cm (just under 13 feet) and Saas Fee
353cm (just under 14 feet).
Italy has had a mostly sunny week with Courmayeur receiving the most snow -
another 30cm (foot). Sella Nevea in the North East of the country has the
most snow with 640cm (21 feet) on upper slopes . The warm weather is
reported to have increased the avalanche risk.
Spain has also had sunny days and spring skiing conditions in Spain over the
past week. Sierra Nevada will offer half price ski tickets after the Easter
holidays and have announced that the season will last for an extra fortnight
to at least mid-May because of all the snow. The resort, Europe’s most
southerly, currently has five metres (17 feet) of snow on its slopes and
100km (63 miles) of piste open. Other Spanish ski resorts are almost as well
endowed and have between 170cm (six feet) and 260cm (12 feet) of snow.
In Andorra on the French Pyrenees there have been similar dry sunny
conditions with skiers enjoying the deep snow bases across the southern
European mountain range. Cauterets in the French Pyrenees has the greatest
snow depth in France with 480cm (16 feet) on upper slopes.
In Scandinavia it has also been one of the most peaceful weeks of the winter
with mostly clear skies, although Klppen resort got 17cm (seven inches) of
new snow over the past week. The Swedish weather service has published a map
showing that more than half of Sweden still has snow coverage of at least
50-75 cm (20 - 33 inches), one of the best levels of snow cover at this time
of the season for many years.
In Scotland conditions are the worst they’ve been for several months with
Glenshee and The Lecht closed due to lack of snow cover and limited terrain
open on the tops at the other three centres - Cairngorm, Nevis Range and
Glencoe. Current warm weather won’t help matters.
In Eastern Europe snow conditions are holding up with cooler weather on this
side of the continent. Bulgaria’s three major resorts have had small
snowfalls over the past week and expect up to 15cm (six inches) more by the
weekend. Bansko has the most snow accumulated with 240cm (8 feet) on upper
slopes. At Borovets its 210cm (7 feet) and in Pamporovo 90cm (three feet).
In the Czech and Slovak republics there has been heavy snow in high altitude
ski resorts so very good conditions are projected for the coming weekend
with 90 ski resorts open in Slovakia and 65 in the Czech Republic. The
deepest snow, 180cm (six feet) is to be found at Chopok South in Slovakia
and Praden Ovčárna in the Czech Republic.
In North America, Canada’s Alberta and British Columbia are reporting some
of the greatest snow accumulations of the past week. With resorts like
Sunshine and Whistler open in to May this is good news for superb Spring
skiing conditions. Whistler reported 77cm (over 2.5 feet) of fresh snow at
mid-mountain level over the past seven days including 18cm (seven inches) in
the past 24 hours.
In the US there’s been more fresh snow in the West with Telluride in
Colorado announcing plans to extend its season by a week. The Canyons in
Utah reported 15inches (37cm) of new snow falling to create great powder
conditions. In New England more Springlike conditions with warmer
temperatures have been reported.
In Asia, a spokesman for Niseko ski resort in Japan told Skiinfo.com, “We
have experienced some beautiful sunny weather and mild temperatures along
with the occasional winter storm so far this March. Temperatures are on the
rise a little now with most days seeing the mercury rise above freezing
level but with the snow base holding strong at 3.9 metres (13 feet), we can
expect some great Spring skiing conditions.”
Following the announcement of fresh snow at Mt Hotham in Australia last
week, New Zealand’s Ruapehu reported fresh snow last week. Although the
southern hemisphere ski season is more than two months off, the mountain was
blanketed in a cover of fresh white snow. There would be as much as 10cm’s
on the upper slopes.
“March has definitely seen much cooler temperatures after what has been a
really good warm summer.” said Mike Smith of Ruapehu Alpine Lifts.
* Unusual snowfall in Europe’s city suburbs lead indoor skiers to ski
outdoors.
* Huge snow falls means resorts save on snowmaking costs but face big bills
for snow clearing.
* Avalanche risk remains very high off-piste in many areas due to the high
snow volumes.
* Zermatt tops seven metre snow depth at the top.
* Scottish snow conditions reported best for 20 years.
www.Skiinfo.com reports that recent snow in urban areas has led to ski
instructors who work indoors year round in the growing number of indoor
snow centres in Europe have been coming outdoors in their lunch hours to
check out the natural snowfall in the car park! The enclosed pictured is of
a staff member from SNO!zone indoor ski centre at Castleford in North
Yorkshire, England, enjoying his lunch breaks doing what he does best -
riding!
Back o n Europe’s conventional ski slopes, snowfalls have been continuing in
France throughout the past week with accumulations of up to 110cm (44
inches) over the past seven days and both the Northern Alps and the Pyrenees
doing well. Sunday February 8th was a particularly snowy day across the
country with www.Skiinfo.fr issuing 30 powder alarms. , in particular in
Pyrénées and North Alps.
Fresh snowfall yesterday (Tuesday February 10) included 15cm (six inches) at
Montgenèvre and 10cm (Four inches) at Val Thorens.
Val d’Allos 1800 la Foux currently claims the greatest snow depth in France
with 360cm (12 feet) of snow lying on upper slopes.
Gilles Gravier manager of the local tourist office there told
www.skiinfo.com,
“We have not seen a 360cm snow depth since the winter of 1975. On the night
of Friday, February 6th alone we received another metre of snow. These very
big snowfalls require a lot of work clearing the snow and through January we
have spent 120,000 Euros just on snow clearing in the resort. This quantity
of snow means the avalanche risk off-piste is very high at level 4 on a
scale up to a maximum of 5. ”
The German speaking parts of the Alps have experienced great snowfalls in
recent days with heavy falls in many areas at the weekend and more than 40
powder alarms issued today (Wednesday, February 11th) in Austria and Germany
alone.
In Switzerland more than a metre of fresh snow fell in St.Moritz (120cm/four
feet) and also in Zermatt (116 cm) and Saas Fee (90cm) in the past week.
Zermatt is by far the snowiest place in Europe, the mountain top lies buried
under more than seven metres (23 feet) of snow. Andermatt has reached the
four metre (13 feet) mark.
As a result the risk of avalanches is high and The WSL Institute for Snow
and Avalanche Research in Davos says the danger for the whole Swiss Alps
area is considerable (3) and that avalanches can be unleashed by just one
person. They expect more snow in the north and west of the country tomorrow
(Thursday 12 February).
In Austria many leading resorts got fresh snow over the past seven days and
11 resorts now have snow bases of two and a half metres (eight feet) or more
on top now. Sölden has received 39cm (16 inches) in the past seven days
with Seefeld adding 22cm (nine inches) and Kaprun - Kitzsteinhorn 20 cm
(eight inches).
In Germany there are a dozen resorts that have had 30cm (12 inches) or more
of fresh snow in the past week and many more with 10-20cm (4-8 inches) more.
Nebelhorn got 30cm (112 inches) and Kleinwalsertal – Fellhorn 20 cm (eight
inches). The Zuspitzplatt ayt Garmisch has the most snow in the country
with 230cm (nearly eight feet).
In Italy it has been the north of the country that has received the most
snow this week with San Martino Di Castrozza reporting another 60cm (two
feet of snow) and Courmayeur 20cm (eight inches). Several resorts have now
moved above a total maximum snow depth of five metres (Nearly 17 feet) with
Colere the first to claim six metres (20 feet) of snow on upper slopes.
The Presena glacier above Passo Tonale is close with 550cm (over 18 feet).
All the snow means the avalanche danger remains high in many parts of the
country with the avalanche danger typically at level 3 on a scale of five.
Two climbers died this week in an avalanche at Cogne in the Aosta Valley
where five and a half metres of snow has fallen this season so far.
Scotland currently has some of the best conditions for years thanks to snow
falls of up to 24 inches (60cm) of snow. Almost all lifts and runs are
operational at the country’s five ski areas and at the weekend two of the
ski areas had to turn-away skiers arriving at mid-morning as they reached
operational capacity. There were about 12,000 people skiing each day.
After the snow temperatures dropped very low, down to a low point of -18
Celcius on Monday at Aviemore which has meant the snow has been maintained
And in a light, powdery condition that is very rare on the Scottish
mountains, more used to a heavier, wetter snow. Thus the resorts are
describing the snow as ‘Alpine.’
Elsewhere in Europe Sierra Nevada continues to have the greatest snow depth
in Spain and is now reporting more than four metres (over 13 feet) on their
upper slopes. But also all Pyrenean ski resorts in France, Spain and
Andorra have reached snow depths of more than two metres.
Formigal has depths of up to 2.5 metres (over eight feet) and a minimum of a
metre in the valley. The snow has been falling heavily since the weekend,
with a whole metre falling in just 24 hours.
Reports claim that it is the heaviest snowfall the area has received in 15
years. Yolanda Julian, commercial manager at Formigal told www.skiinfo.com,
“The quality of the snow is exceptional both on and off-piste. It’s just
fantastic! All the lifts are open to allow clients to enjoy Formigal’s 137km
of slopes.”
In Scandinavia the skiing remains good in Norway and Sweden. “This past
weekend have been truly amazing with snow, snow and more snow.” said
Christer, Skiinfo.com’s Sweden manager. “The remarkable thing is that it
has been really cold too, between - 12 and -20C, and still snowing. Now we
are talking light powder - I got 40cm on my car that I had to wipe off
before I went skiing on Saturday, and then got some really nice turns.”
12 Swedish resorts have reported 20cm (eight inches) or more snow in the
last seven days with Vemdalen in the lead with 44cm (18 inches).
The upcoming week there is a ”winter vacation” in Norway, and the ski
resorts are doing their best to keep as many slopes as possible open, and to
give the best possible ski conditions. The forecast is mostly sunny with not
much new snow, but there is lot of snow right now, and it is steadily cold
in most of the ski resorts. Some snow is expected in the western part of
Norway, but not more than approximately 10-20cm (4-8 inches) in the next
four days.
There’s been little new snow in Eastern Europe where skies have been clear
and sunny. Some resorts such as Pamporovo in Bulgaria, badly need some
fresh and snow is expected in the next few days. Bansko still has the most
with a little over a metre of coverage.
In North America cover remains good on the east Coast with fresh powder on
the west coast providing a much needed top up of increasingly scant
cocverage at some areas there. In The Rockies its a mixed picture with
Colorado resorts receiving a few inches of new snow, again very welcome
after limited fresh snow in recent weeks. Similarly in Alberta to the north
there’s been new snow at Banff.
* Heavy falls total a metre in a week reported in Austria and Utah.
* All resorts in Spain have at least a two metre base.
* More resorts report business better than last season, as well as the snow.
* Cold weather in US brings great snow conditions to southern states.
www.Skiinfo.com reports that the ski season is now more than winter 2008-9
is now two months old for most of the world’s northern hemisphere ski
resorts and is approaching its half way stage. Across Europe many of the
leading resorts are sitting on bases of two to three metres (7-10 feet)
following spectacular snowfalls in the last six weeks of 2008 and more
sporadic but still generally healthy falls during January, with clear sunny
periods in between. In short it has been one of the best snow seasons for
many years for most resorts and despite media gloom and doom reporting on
the economy, many ski resorts are reporting business is actually up, in good
part thanks to the great snow. The cover is such that even if no more snow
falls for the rest of the season (extremely unlikely), most now have plenty
to see them through to the end in April or May.
In North America it is a more mixed picture with west coast resorts having
little snow at the start of the season followed by huge downfalls, but then
warm temperatures and a thaw in January. The east coast has had better
conditions and good snowfalls with low temperatures for much of the winter
to date. These conditions have extended further south than usual giving an
above average season to date for borderline ski areas in southern states
like Tennessee.
In the past week the snow has continued to fall around Europe and North
America with some of the most in Austria and Alberta, Canada.
Alps and Dolomites
Most of the world’s snow fans have their eyes on TV screens where the
cameras are pointing at France this week for the World Alpine Skiing
Championships underway at Val d’isere. There has been limited fresh snow in
the country over the past week with a dusting in the Alps at the weekend,
the most in the south with resorts Val d’Allos, Auron and Isola 2000 each
reporting 20cm (eight inches) in the past week. Much larger falls of up to
60cm (two feet) are expected in the next week on the main Alpine resorts,
most of which currently have upper slope depths of two-three metres (7 – 10
feet).
On Monday, February 2nd, unusually heavy snowfalls, typically 15cm (six
Inches) affected the north half of France as well as crossing the channel to
South Eastern England. The snow touched both London and Paris.
In Austria more than 20 ski areas are now reporting more than two metres of
snow on their upper slopes.
“Slope conditions in many of the big resorts are reported to be very good,
with skiers lucky enough to be in the Arlberg, Axamer Lizum, Hochzillertal,
Ischgl, Kitzbühel, Silvretta Nova, SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser, Sillian and the
Zillertal Arena amongst those benefiting. A drop of temperature and more
fresh snow is expected for the weekend.” says Pascal Bovée who reports on
much of the German-speaking parts of the Alps for www.skiinfo.com
Nassfeld received a huge fall of 60cm (two feet) yesterday taking the week’s
total to 95cm (Over three feet). All 110km of slopes are open but skiers
should stay on marked slopes because the avalanche risk has risen
significantly.
In Germany to the north the greatest snow depth is on the Zugspitz glacier
by Garmisch Partenkirchen with two metres (Nearly seven feet) of snow. The
country’s Sauerland (central uplands) has had some of the best conditions of
the past week with up to 20cm (eight inches) of fresh powder.
In Switzerland Zermatt continues to have probably the greatest snow depth of
any ski resort in Europe and possibly the world with 671cm (over 22 feet) on
its glacier. They must have a very long stick to measure it. However
several other resorts have bases above three metres now including Andermatt
and Saas Fee. There’s been less snow in the past week although Andermatt
had 30cm (a foot) more and both Saas Fee and Engadin/St. Moritz reported
another 12cm (four inches) in total.
Italy’s Bardonecchia is hosting the first ever Snowboard FIS World Cup
Slopestyle competition today and tomorrow (February 4th and 5th) plus
another Halfpipe contest on February 6th and 7th. The Slopestyle course
offers six features. Starting with a rail another Butter Box offers some
time to slide before a kicker series of four jumps leads straight in the
finish and is located just a little bit above the 2006 Olympic Halfpipe in
Melezet.
Resorts in the north of the country posted the most PowderAlarms on
www.skiinfo.com in the past seven days. San Martino Di Castrozza saw one
of the bigger falls of 30cm (12 inches) whilst Alagna Valsesia on the west
and Arabba Marmolada in the Dolomites both lead Italy’s greatest snow deoth
table with 480cm (16 feet) of snow each on upper slopes.
Pyrenees
In Spain all of the country’s 20 or so Pyrenean ski resorts have reached
snow depths of more than two metres, as the country’s sensational winter
2008-9 continues in to a third month of regular powder snow. The ongoing
falls are causing a lot of problems at airports and on the roads. Baqueira
Beret reports the most snow with 275cm (nine feet) on upper slopes although
Sierra Nevada to the south of the country has the greatest snow depth in
Spain with 350cm (12 feet).
Conditions also continue to be superb in neighbouring Andorersa and on the
French side of the mountains.
Scandinavia
In Sweden www.skiinfo.com’s country manager Christer Hillörn reports that
there have been no major snowfalls but very cold temperatures as low as -
25-30C.
“The cold weather will continue this week but the heavy snowfall that hit
England is coming in today and a second front on Friday. The biggest
snowfalls are expected in the northern parts of Sweden. So we are looking
forward to a good weekend with powder skiing in the north, but also with
good conditions due to the cold weather at resorts elsewhere in Sweden too.”
It’s very similar over the border in Norway, where 64 ski resorts expect to
receive snow today after a clear, very ciold spell. Skiinfo.com’s
Snowfinder predicts about 20cm (eight inches) as the maxiumum total snowfall
for the next four days at these resorts.
Eastern Europe
Bulgaria has had some new snow continuing itys rather average season.
Bansko has the best cover with 120cm (Four feet) of snow.
110 resorts are operating in Slovakia and 70 in the Czech Republic with a
maximum snowfall of 20cm (eight inches) n Slovakia in the past week in the
Slovak paradise and Small Fatra resorts. Discolunts of up to 50% are
offered on some lift tickets.
Other European Countries
Elsewhere in the continent all five ski areas in Scotland remain open with
fresh snow falling currently falling and expecting to continue for the rest
of this week.
In the Netherlands January 2009 is officially the coldest month in 12 year,
according to the KNMI (Royal Dutch Meteorological Instute) with the avarage
temperature just 0.7 degrees against the avarage temperature for the month
of 2.8 degrees Celsius. Unusually the south of the country was colder
rather than the north and received the most snow.
North America
In Utah snow storms this week deposited another 120cm (four feet) at
Snowbird lifting the resort’s January’s total to 2.6m (103 inches) giving a
mid-mountain base of nearly two metres (95 inches).
“This recent parade of storms has made for the best conditions of the season
and prime powder skiing,” said Snowbird President Bob Bonar. “As we head
into the heavy snowfall months of February and March, the mountain is sure
to only get better.”
In Canada Whistler has reported nearly 30cm (a foot) of new snow in the past
48 hours at mid-mountain (1650m) taking snowdepths there to nearly 150cm
(five feet).
On the east Mont Tremblant in Quebec received more than 20cm (eight inches)
of new snow overnight, adding to the 3.3 metres (130) inches since the
opening of the season.
* Lowest temperatures for more than 20 years in Germany.
* 50cm / 20 inches of fresh powder across the Alps In Past 48 Hours.
* Snow and ice lead to a further spate of deaths in Europe.
* North America warm in the West, freezing in the East.
www.Skiinfo.com reports that after a dry and sunny start to the year in
large parts of Europe, large snowfalls have returned to the Alps, and
continued in the Pyrenees. North America is experiencing unusually warm and
unusually cold temperatures on west and east coasts respectively and there’s
been heavy snow in Scandinavia, plus all five Scottish ski areas are open
today for the first time this winter.
Heavy snow is dumping down in France, where Skiinfo released 43 powder
alarms to subscribers yesterday – the free service that alerts Skiinfo users
when fresh snow is falling to excess in their favourite resorts. It’s good
news for resorts like Chamonix which has been blessed with a great base from
pre-Christmas falls but had not seen any fresh powder for nearly three weeks
since New Year.
The biggest snowfalls have been in the North Alps (up to 50 cm/20 inches) at
resorts including Chatel and Avoriaz. The latter is claiming the biggest
accumulation in the country over the past week with 55cm, (nearly two feet)
of fresh powder.
The good snowfall has led to high visitation numbers according to Laurence
Girard, manager of the Taninges - Praz de Lys - Sommand tourist office who
told skiinfo.com, “This year we’re benefiting from an exceptional quality
and quantity of snow and conditions have been perfect since the end of
November. The resort has seen excellent visitor numbers, the best for
December and January for a long time. ”
In Switzerland it’s resorts in the French-speaking west of the country that
have seen the best of the new snow although there has been plenty of fresh
across most of the nation with the Flims Laax Falera - Alpenarena reporting
28 cm (11 inches) of new snow. Anzère has claimed the most new powder with
55 cm (22 inches) whilst Les Crosets, lift-linked over the border to the
afore-mentioned avoriaz on the Portes du Soleil pass, has 40cm (16 inches).
Zermatt reports the most snow with 660cm (22 feet) on Europe’s highest ski
slopes.
There were ten PowderAlarms in Austria yesterday with the Montafon Silvretta
area posting the most fresh powder with 60cm (24 inches). Other
beneficiaries include Solden with 36cm (14 inches) Lech Zürs with 20cm
(eight inches) of new snow, St. Anton am Arlberg with 18cm (seven inches)
and Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang both with 15cm (six inches). It’s still
snowing in Austria and up to 40cm (16 inches) of fresh snow is expected
through the current 24 hours.
Although it has warmed up a little recently, Germany to the north is
reporting its coldest January to date for 22 years with average temperatures
of minus 5.3 Celcius.
Rolf Köberle of Kleinwalsertal Tourismus said, “Although there has been a
lot of sunshine during the past few weeks, we’ve had the best conditions for
winter sports. Last night the snow started falling again making the valley
a dreamlike winter scene and bringing up to 35cm (14 inches) of fresh snow.”
Italy has also had some healthy snowfall, especially in the Alps, with
Skiinfo.com issuing dozens of powder alarms for the country. Passo Rolle
and San Martino Di Castrozza both reported 50cm (20 inches) of new snow
yesterday with Aprica , Bardonecchia and Livigno also adding more than a
foot (30cm) to their bases. Arabba still has the most snow in the country
with 480cm (16 feet) on upper slopes. The FIS cancelled training in Cortina
D’Ampezzo for world cup racing later this week due to the heavy snow, they
hope that training will be possible tomorrow and that the races will go
ahead as planned.
The extreme conditions have led to more deaths in Europe with four Italian
climbers dieing on the French side of Mont Blanc following a thousand metre
fall, they were the latest to die after four other climbers died in two
separate incidents at Chamonix the previous week. A young woman died in Val
d’Isere after falling in to the resort’s river after getting dis-oriented
and in Spain a 24 year old man died in an avalanche whilst snow shoeing in
mountains close to Madrid, the first avalanche death ever recorded in the
area.
It’s still snowing in the Pyrenees continuing the great season for Andorra,
Spain and the French Pyrenean ski areas. Baqueira Beret on the Spanish side
which has some of the greatest snow depths in the region (225cm/7.5 feet)
reported another 20cm (eight inches) of snow yesterday. Sierra Nevada has
Spain’s greatest snow depth with 350cm (nearly 12 feet).
In Eastern Europe conditions are continuing to look up with Bansko announced
as the replacement venue for the cancelled World Cup races from St Moritz.
Snow conditions are reported to still be good in the Czech and Slovak
Republics despite warmer weather bringing rain to lower slopes (Snow on the
higher ones) with more than 230 ski areas operating across the two
countries. Maximum snowfall has been 10cm (four inches) over the past week
with the deepest snow at Chopok in the Low Tatras in Slovakia (180cm/six
feet). A long Polish holiday period has started which the two countries hope
will boost business which was slow in January.
In Scandinavia there have been huge snow falls in the eastern and southern
part of Norway this week, resulting in over 20 powder alarms in the last two
days. It has been snowing a lot in the country’s capital Oslo the last two
days bringing a snow depth of 40cm (16 inches) to the city’s streets,very
good news for ski resorts close to the city.
10 skiresorts have over a metre (40 inches) of snow, see Snowfinder for
Norway forecast more snow in the eastern part of Norway the four next days:
www.skiinfo.com/Snowreport-Snowfinder/Norway-ENO-7711-en.jhtml
In Sweden after a really warm period there has been more snow, with up to
19cm (eight inches) reported snowfall in the last days in 15 resorts across
the country with the most snow in Tandådalen and in Kittelfjäll with 15cm
(six inches). The forecast for the weekend promises even more snow so good
powder conditions for the weekend.
To the west all five Scottish ski centres are open as heavy snow in Western
Scotland allowed the two remaining centres yet to open for 2008-9 – Glencoe
and Nevis Range – to open for the first time.
A glencoe spokesman said, “Heavy snow over the last couple of days has
improved the overall situation on the mountain. All runs are now complete
although some are narrow in places.”
There has been less fresh snow in the East of the country where the other
three centres are located, and have been operating intermittently since back
on Halloween 2008. However all three remaining centres there (Cairngorm,
Glenshee and The Lecht) are open with limited terrain.
In North America very low temperatures across the east have been the norm,
witnessed by all the warm winter clothing at President Obama’s inauguration
ceremony. Further north that meant that temperatures hit -40F below in
Maine, and in Ohio -27F was reported to be the lowest recorded temperature
for more than 35 years. At Bolton Valley ski area in Vermont the lifts were
closed on Friday evening for fear skiers would freeze if there was
malfunction.
To the north Canada’s snow season continues to be largely good with Banff
reporting another 30cm (12 inches) fell in the past week taking depths well
above 180cm (six feet). This marks something of a dividing line as Western
North America has been experiencing very warm “Spring like” conditions with
temperatures as high as +10C on the slopes in California and British
Columbia. Heavy snow over the past months means this isn’t a complete
disaster, yet, but a drop in temperature soon would be welcome.
- The heavy snowfall continues, resorts in the Pyrenees post new
record for accumulations.
- Snow depths in Italy touch five metres (16 feet).
- Healthy snowfall at last in western North America.
- Summer skiing cancelled in southern hemisphere due to warm weather.
It’s now ten weeks since the first heavy snowfalls were reported in the Alps
and the snow is continuing to come down by the bucket load in many areas.
www.skiinfo.com reports that apart from the duration of the snowfall
obviously setting ski resorts up for a memorable season, what’s also unusual
is that almost all of the world’s major ski regions have received well above
average pre-season snowfall, usually one area will do better than another.
However this time almost everywhere has above average snow.
Along with the Alps there have been huge falls in the Dolomites, resorts in
the Pyrenees have reported record accumulations for this early in the
season. In North America the East Coast has had a good start and whilst the
Rockies and most recently the West Coast initially had more challenging
conditions early on, they’re now rapidly gaining ground. Only parts of
Eastern Europe are currently lagging behind.
Although great for skiers and boarders the snow has caused many practical
problems in Europe however with www.skiinfo.com’s regional staff reporting
villages cut off and without power for periods, airports and railway lines
closed and on the mountains a high avalanche risk as some of the more recent
snow has been heavy during a period of warmer temperatures. There have been
deaths on the mountains already as a result and Skiinfo strongly advises
everyone to stay on the marked runs and keep a close eye on avalanche
warnings when in the mountains.
France continues to receive heavy snowfalls in the Alps and Pyrenees with
Skiinfo issuing powder alarms of up to 60cm (two feet) of new snow at some
areas. Montgenèvre got another 40cm (16 inches) and Val d’Isère 20cm
(eight inches) more on Tuesday alone. But all the snow means there is a
high risk of avalanche everywhere.
The greatest snow depths are reported at Valberg 260cm (8.7 feet) and Isola
2000 250cm (8.3 feet), but many resorts have base depths of more than two
metres (6.7 feet), including Meribel, where the Freestyle World Cup is being
staged today.
In Austria snow falls and snow depth are if anything, even greater than
France – although with everywhere in the happy position of having so much,
why quibble over a few inches? The Mölltal Glacier reports 310cm (over 10
feet) and Obergurgl 255cm (8.6 feet).
Fresh snowfalls totaling up to 1.2m (four feet) have been reported at some
Austrian resorts over the past week with Nassfeld Hermagor reporting 120cm
of new snow, Bad Gastein 95cm (over three feet).
Snowfalls in Germany to the north have been more modest with Balderschwang
receiving 20cm (eight inches) more last Friday, taking base depths to 100cm
(40 inches) on upper slopes, one of the deepest in the country.
Switzerland has once again received big snowfalls in the past week with
Zermatt, once again, one of the leading beneficiaries receiving yet another
85cm (nearly three feet) over the past seven days. Nearby Saas Fee got 65cm
(26 inches) and St Moritz 50cm (20 inches) ahead of hosting the FIS Alpine
Ski World Cup Ladies Super Combined tomorrow 19 December, Downhill on
Saturday 20 December, and Super G on Sunday 21 December. Disentis has the
most snow with 350cm (nearly 12 feet) ion upper slopes. Saas Fee has 288cm
(nearly 190 feet) and Zermatt 250cm (over eight feet).
To the south the snowfall that has brought parts of Italy to a standstill
has not let up with the country’s north east getting the heaviest falls in
the past week which has partially cut off some ski towns like La Thuile and
Sauze d’Oulx. As a result Alagna in Monterosa has some of the greatest snow
depths in the world at present with 420cm (14 feet) on upper slopes although
Arabba in the dolomites leads the way with 480cm (16 feet). Many other
resorts now have three metres plus (over ten feet) bases.
The huge snowfalls in the Pyrenees have perhaps been the biggest snow story
of the past month, because conditions have been rather lackluster there in
recent seasons. In Andorra virtually all runs are open and snow depths have
reached 170cm (nearly six feet) in VallNord, with similar conditions in
GrandValira, which reported another 15cm (six inches) of snow on Monday.
It’s much the same on both the Spanish and French side of the chain with
Spain’s Baqueria Beret reporting that the more than four metres of snow it
has received in the past month is the most it has ever received this early
in the season. It currently has 225cm (7.5 feet) on upper slopes. Many
Spanish resorts have reached two metres (seven feet) of fresh powder snow
depth.
In Norway there will be 50 ski resorts open this weekend and Skiinfo.no
reports eight of them are expecting over 50cm (20 inches) of fresh snow over
the next four days. XC skiing is fantastic too.
Does all this snow mean that global warming is a myth? We’ve noticed our
weekly reports in recent weeks have been appearing on websites of
organizations who believe they do! Well, alas, probably they don’t. The
exceptionally heavy snowfall is great but fits the long term pattern of
increasing extremes of weather rather than being any long term guarantee
that the global warming projections are wrong. We can always hope of course
and as it’s likely to take decades more to prove the matter one way or the
other, we’ll have a while yet to wait and see.
Those who do think the heavy snow in the Alps means there’s no global
warming will want to skip over the fact that in Eastern Europe conditions
remain ‘challenging’ with only Bansko in Bulgaria open and with very limited
terrain on largely machine made snow. Borovets reported light snowfall
early in the week but needs much more.
In Scotland the situation has deteriorated a little in the past week with
warmer temperatures bringing a thaw and Glenshee no longer open until the
next snow comes. There’s very limited terrain open at Cairngorm and the
Lecht with the situation being reviewed daily.
In the southern hemisphere too the resort of Whakapapa in New Zealand which
has managed to offer summer skiing the past few years and had great snowfall
over their winter months has just announced it won’t be offering Christmas
skiing this year due to recent warm weather melting the remaining snow too
much.
In North America the one area that had been having serious problems with
lack of snow – the West Coast to the rest of the Rockies, has at last had
some healthy falls in many areas with most resorts finally opening or able
to open more terrain,
“A strong cold North Pacific winter storm brought snow at a rate of 1 inch
(2.5cm) per hour, with snow fall totals ranging between 22 and 36 inches,”
Squaw Valley USA in California reported on Monday. “The US National Weather
Service is calling for another 18-30 inches and continued snow showers are
in the forecast through to Tuesday December 23rd.”
Other parts of North America have been having more good snowfalls too. In
Colorado Jen Brill of Silverton sent a picture of the ski area shuttle bus
buried in snow (attached) and reported, “The total from the last seven days
is 55 inches (nearly 1.4 metres) of new snow. It continues to snow hard
today so we have not been able to get a depth from the upper mountain but it
likely exceeds two feet (60cm) of new snow. “
There’s been more snow in Canada too. Marmot Basin which was one of the
first on the continent to open last month and has had consistently good snow
since we received 55cm (22 inches) of new snow over the past week and a half
and 20cm 9eight inches) of new snow last Friday alone.
“This means we will be opening a whole bunch more runs and ski lifts this
weekend as conditions are superb.” said the resort’s Brian Rode.
Visit www.skiinfo.com to sign up for powder alarms from your favourite
resorts, check current snow conditions and projected snowfalls with snow
finder as well as exchange news and views in the Skier’ Lounge.
For the current top five snow depths in countries across Europe please see:
http://www.skiinfo.com/Snowreport-Europe-Top-5-1716-en.jhtml
Skiinfo.com also projects where the snow is likely to fall in the near
future through its Snow Finder service:
www.skiinfo.com/Snowreport-Snowfinder-7711-en.jhtml
European ski resorts have been treated to heavy persistant snowfall over the past week, accompanied by sub zero temperatures. This has lead to many ski resorts opening early for the 2008/2009 season.
Across France, the resorts that opened on the 29th November included:
Chamonix, La Clusaz, Les Houches, Les Contamines-Montjoie, Val d’Isere, six of the Portes du Soleil resorts (Avoriaz, Chatel, les Gets on the French side, as well as Champery, Morgin and Torgon for the Swiss), and Les Aillons in the Bauges near Chambery.
Also, excellent ski conditions have been reported in Scotland, with the Scottish resorts claiming to be the first non glacial European resorts to open this winter.
Temperatures are forecast to remain low with snow falling for the next few days. This should be enough to ensure excellent pre Christmas skiing and boarding in most European resorts.
For more information, check out our ski resort weather forecasts.
Why does the Portes du Soleil ski area get such bad press?
I read an article today about which resorts got the most snow during the winter 07/08 season. A couple of European resorts which got a mention were Tignes (which recorded 5.82 m) and Verbier (which recorded 6.31 m). What immediately struck me was that neither figure seemed that great for such “snow sure” resorts during a good winter.
I regularly ski in the Portes du Soleil ski area - it is without a doubt one of my favourite ski areas in the whole of Europe. Because I am obsessed with skiing, the Portes du Soleil and weather in general, I get quite fanatical about staying updated with weather patterns and snowfall.
I had quite a few trips planned to the Portes du Soleil last year, so I kept close tabs on the snow conditions throughout the season. I was sure that Avoriaz had probably had more snow than both Tignes and Verbier, so I emailed the tourist office who keeps accurate historical snow data for the resort. Sure enough, Avoriaz had more snow last winter than the aforementioned resorts (6.95 m @ 1800 m altitude, and 8.39 m @ 2460 m).
Thinking back to last winter (07/08) there were a few occasions where I noticed that the Portes du Soleil had rather unfairly received bad press, or had been omitted from the snow overviews. On the 22 March 2008, I read an article in the Daily Mail - “Snow Patrol” - which reported joyously on all the excellent snow that had fallen throughout Europe. The Portes du Soleil did get a mention:
“The lower resorts of the Portes du Soleil have had a dusting of new snow.”
To me, the term “dusting” insinuates that not much snow had fallen. However, because I was checking whether forecasts fanatically at that time, I can report that at the time the article was written, Chatel had 245 cm at 2200 m compared to:
Tignes 230cm
Val d’Isere 180cm
Val Thorens 240cm
Verbier 220cm
Zermatt 230cm
And the “dusting of new snow” was actually 40-50 cms which I had to clear off my steps at resort level!
The figures which I quote aren’t biased in any way - they were taken from the Ski Club of GB’s website.
A couple of weeks later, I was happy to note that even the lower resorts of the Portes du Soleil were recording greater snow depths than Tignes/Val Thorens etc. As reported by the Ski Club, the snow depths for the last week in March 08 (upper slopes) were:
Chatel: 246 cm
Avoriaz: 242 cm
compared to:
Tignes: 233 cm
Val Thorens (highest resort in Europe): 224 cm
Val d’Isere: 171 cm
Courchevel: 158 cm
Zermatt: 218 cm
Verbier: 211 cm
However, once again there was no mention in the press about how much snow there was in the Portes du Soleil. All reports predictably said “go high, go to resorts with glaciers in order to get the best skiing”.
So was last season an anomaly? Is that why the Portes du Soleil was overlooked?
The answer is “NO”.
The Portes du Soleil gets some of the highest snowfall in the whole of the Alps. This is due to its proximity to Mont Blanc and the European prevalent snowfall patterns. However, over the last few years as I have holidayed more and more in this area, I have noticed that not only does the Portes du Soleil not get praised for its excellent snow record, it gets regularly slated for having a bad snow record.
A search online for reviews of the Portes du Soleil often throws up comments about the lack of altitude and the high possibility of poor snow. Anyone not familiar with the area could easily think twice about booking a holiday in this area based on what they read online and in the press.
So why does the area get such a bad write up?
The main reason I can think of is actually quite simple – misinformation.
It is extremely feasible that not everyone who writes for ski publications and websites gets to ski at every resort or ski area that they write about. It is also therefore feasible that they rely to a certain extent on hearsay and 2nd or 3rd hand information when writing their articles. Assuming that this is the case, suddenly things become a lot clearer. For someone who hasn’t skied much in Europe and who suddenly has to write a “where to ski in March” article, the first port of call will be look at ski area stats. It is then quite a safe bet to spot that an area has a glacier so would be “good for late season snow”, and that a second area has some low resorts so would be “less reliable for snow”. What the top line resorts stats don’t show is where the areas lie (North vs South) in relation to snowfall patterns, and also slope aspect.
Another curious thing about the Portes du Soleil is that it seems to get actively targeted for having poor snow because of its altitude whereas other ski areas of similar heights don’t (the Grand Massif and the Massif des Aravis to name two examples).
I think that this may be down to the fact that the Portes du Soleil is a victim of its own success. For many years, Morzine & Les Gets have been extremely popular with the Brits. These are both lovely picturesque ski resorts which are on the edge of the main Portes du Soleil circuit. When the snow is good, the skiing is excellent. However, because a lot of the slopes local to Morzine and Les Gets are sunny and south facing, they can sometimes lose the snow from their lower slopes during a warm snap. If someone has holidayed here during a warm patch, and if they didn’t make it over to Avoriaz during their stay, they might well go home thinking that the Portes du Soleil had poor snow and bare slopes.
What is often overlooked are the mighty north facing ridges of Avoriaz which link into Pre La Joux and Linga in Chatel. These areas get lots of snow, and keep their snow from top to bottom from early December well into May. However, if you don’t ski them, you wouldn’t know they were there. The Portes du Soleil needs to be regarded in its entirety and not judged on just a handful of sunny slopes.
I also think that the bad winter of 06/07 didn’t help matters. People started to panic that this was a sign of global warming, and so again the obvious knee jerk reaction was to look to the glacier resorts, without actually looking at how much snow had fallen and where. At the start of the 06/07 season, I spent the Christmas week in a catered chalet in Chatel. The other guests there had been reading the online snow reports and had bought their tennis rackets because they had been led to believe that there was no skiing at any resort below 2000 m. After a week’s excellent skiing at Pre La Joux and Avoriaz, there was another family of Portes du Soleil converts to add to the list!
Winter 06/07 wasn’t great, but neither was it a disaster. There was reasonably good skiing to be had throughout the area from start to finish and snow depths weren’t too bad. One of the great things about the Portes du Soleil is that the lower slopes need about 10 cm to open because they are mostly all pasture land.
To finish up this article, I want to draw your attention to the average snow depths of Avoriaz (highest point 2460 m) and Val Thorens (the highest resort in Europe with a top lift of 3200):
Avoriaz
November - April weekly averages
Val Thorens
November - April weekly averages
What is clear is that the difference in altitude makes no difference to the amount of snow received. In fact, Avoriaz’s lower slopes on average get more snow than Val Thoren’s.
In summary, if you consider the Portes du Soleil as a whole, with Avoriaz as the centre point, the skiing there can be as snow sure, if not more snow sure than the higher glacier resorts of the southern alps.
Reference sites:
Snow Conditions - it isn’t always about altitude…
Are high altitude resorts always better?
Ski Club Historical Snow Records
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