The mild weather continues across the Alps, causing spring-like conditions all over.
There is some good spring skiing to be found in Austria, with places like Obergurgl and Obertauern being the best. Their altitude means the snow is that bit better, but even at low resorts there is enjoyable skiing on the spring snow.
The weekend in France was a largely rainy one. This has caused the snow to deteriorate at all but the highest levels. Snow was falling up high however which gave some nice fresh tracks, according to the Ski Club reps. Lots more snow is forecast towards the end of this week along with colder weather.
Switzerland and Italy have similarly spring-like conditions. Most of the resorts have very soft snow below about 2500m but a few places received fresh snow over the weekend. Saas Fee has some of the best snow and the Ski Club rep there reported fresh powder on the upper slopes of the resort.
20cm of fresh snow fell in Colorado over the course of the weekend. Vail has some superb powder on the mountain at the moment due to the fresh snow. More snow is expected later in the week as well.
Light snow fell at Whistler in Canada over the weekend. Piste conditions here are very good, especially further up the mountain. Further inland, no new snow was reported but the temperature was lower, preserving the existing snow.
AUSTRIA
The best places to ski in Austria at the moment are the high resorts or resorts with a glacier. The mild weather is having an effect on the snow and most areas low down are fairly slushy. Good snow can be found above around 2000m.
FRANCE
Spring weather is definitely dominant in France, with heavy rain up to around 2500m in many places over the weekend. This has unfortunately deteriorated the snow conditions quite a lot, but there is likely to be some fresh snow right at the top.
SWITZERLAND
5cm of fresh snow fell on the upper slopes at Saas Fee (72/221cm) on Sunday 21st March. The Ski Club rep in Saas Fee said they enjoyed fresh tracks on the upper pistes in the morning, which is always a bonus. Lower down the snow is softer and it was raining in the village at 1800m.
ITALY
The spring weather in Europe at the moment is evident in Italy. However, snow did fall on Sunday 21st March at some resorts.
ANDORRA
Andorra offers some good spring skiing at the moment and temperatures aren’t as high as they are in the Alps. This means that although the snow is spring-like, it isn’t as slushy as in many alpine areas.
NORWAY & SWEDEN
There is fresh snow forecast at all of the Ski Club reported Norwegian and Swedish resorts this week and into next week. 20-25cm of snow is expected to land in Sweden while more snow could fall at Geilo (100cm), Trysil and Hemsedal. Hemsedal has the greatest amount of snow forecast of these resorts. Almost 40cm of new snow could fall by Tuesday 30th March.
GERMANY
It’s very mild in Germany, with temperatures above 12°C at some of the lower resorts. As with many places in Europe at the moment, the snow is thawing and most of it is very slushy.
BULGARIA
It’s very mild in Bulgaria now which is having a big effect on the snow conditions.
SCOTLAND
The mild spring weather and accompanying rain has affected the snow cover at all of the Scottish resorts but you can still enjoy some good snow cover on the higher slopes.
USA
20cm of snow fell at Vail (122cm) on Friday 19th March, giving the resort another good powder day. The Ski Club rep in Vail said that the slopes are in excellent condition and there is sill powder around off piste. The temperature has remained fairly low in Colorado as well which is helping to preserve the snow.
CANADA
The Skeena heli ski area (400cm) up in northern British Columbia received yet more snow at the end of last week. They have some superb snow there at the moment and deep powder can be found all over the mountain. So far they have had a very good season, with only three down days since they began at the beginning of January.
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.
