Conditions Still Excellent Across Europe And season Nears Halfway Point
* 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.
