Lots of snow fell in Europe this week, right from the west to the east. With the busy half term week coming up this bodes really well for those heading out there soon. France has some great skiing to offer thanks to the snow and cold weather. The Three Valleys and Espace Killy are both fully open with plenty of fresh powder.
Over in Switzerland and Austria, heavy snow transformed resorts earlier in the week. Very low temperatures are maintaining the snow to keep the powder nice and dry off piste. It should be an excellent half term break next week.
Fresh snow fell at Cairngorm in Scotland on Wednesday night. It was only a light dusting but the fresh snow helps to keep the runs in generally good condition. Cairngorm offers the best skiing in Scotland at the moment.
A snowstorm on the east coast of America has benefited the ski resorts there too. Smugglers’ Notch has great piste conditions and the cold weather is keeping the snow in great condition.
This weekend is the big weekend for Whistler in Canada. The Winter Olympics opening ceremony is on Friday 12th February and after all the speculation of the area having no snow they will be keen to prove they have great conditions. This should be enhanced by the weather forecast, which predicts 70cm of fresh snow over the opening weekend.
AUSTRIA
On Thursday 11th February, snow was falling at all of the Ski Club featured Austrian resorts. Up to 25cm fell on some resorts on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
FRANCE
There is some fantastic skiing to be had in France at the moment and it’s shaping up to being a good half term week as well. Lots of fresh snow fell right across the country and cold weather means it is nice, light powder.
SWITZERLAND
It’s shaping up to be an excellent half term week in Switzerland next week. Everyone heading out there on Saturday will be pleased to know its snowing heavily in most places and it is also very cold.
ITALY
Italy has received some snow this week too, although not as much as in France, Switzerland and Austria. On the whole, the resorts near the French border received the most snow.
ANDORRA
Wednesday in Andorra was a calm and sunny day however on Thursday it was snowing heavily and it was very windy.
NORWAY & SWEDEN
The snow keeps on falling in parts of Norway. Oppdal (40/55cm) received fresh snow every day this week and Thursday was no exception. 5cm fell over the course of the day, keeping the runs in superb condition.
Both of the Ski Club featured Swedish ski resorts have received fresh snow this week too. The greatest amount of new snow is reported at Åre (68/85cm), where they recorded 25cm of fresh snow between Monday 8th February and Wednesday 10th February. 13cm of this fell overnight on Wednesday so there were great conditions on offer on Thursday. These are probably the best conditions of the season so far in Sweden.
GERMANY
More snow has fallen on the Ski Club featured German ski resorts. It was snowing lightly at Feldberg (135/155cm) on Thursday 11th February freshening up the already great piste conditions. 23 of their 28 lifts were running on Thursday and there was plenty of great skiing available due to the fresh snow.
BULGARIA
Bulgarian skiing is fairly good at the moment. This bodes well for everyone heading there for half term next week, as fresh snow has fallen this week and more is expected over the weekend.
SCOTLAND
Scottish skiing is still excellent, especially considering how it can be. The best of it is still at Cairngorm (30/120cm) where the deepest snow is and also the freshest snow. A few centimetres of snow fell on Wednesday night and it was snowing lightly on Thursday morning too. Upper runs are the best but even down low they aren’t too bad. Off-piste possibilities are slightly limited but there is soft snow to be found on the lee slopes.
USA
There are no big snowfalls to report in America this week, but snow has been falling in some places. The western half of the country is where most of the snow fell this week. There is plenty of excellent skiing at Mammoth at the moment and with a massive base depth off-piste skiing is just as good. Sunnier weather is forecast for this coming weekend and into next week, so it should provide the perfect weather to enjoy the great snow conditions.
CANADA
5cm of fresh snow fell at Revelstoke (186cm) on Tuesday night, giving a bit of fresh powder on Wednesday 10th February. All four main lifts are running which gives access to the 1700m vertical that the resort has. All the graded areas are excellent as they have held fresh snow each time it fell. Their cat skiing area is also very good at the moment and runs daily.
This week sees the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Whistler, on Friday 12th February. The first events are to be held on Saturday 13th February, including the men’s downhill. The weather could affect the opening events however, as 9cm of snow is forecast on Friday 12th and a further 28cm on Saturday 13th. However this should make for some great powder skiing on the upper slopes and improve the snow conditions all over the mountain.
Information provided courtesy of the Ski Cub of Great Britain.
For more detailed snow reports and forecasts for countries and resorts visit the Ski Club of Great Britain Snow Overview.
