More snow in France earlier this week means the skiing is excellent once again. Lots of areas received up to 40cm of fresh snow on their upper slopes but lower down the snow is wetter.
The same is the case in Switzerland and Austria. Not as much snow has fallen in these countries as did in France and milder weather means the lower pistes are soft or even slushy in some parts. Good skiing can, however, be found up high at all the areas.
The end of this week sees one of the biggest dumps of snow in Scotland for a long time. All five main resorts are closed due to extremely heavy snow and high winds. The snowfall is also affecting access roads but when the weather clears the skiing will be comparable to top powder resorts in the world, especially considering how the snow drifts at the Scottish resorts.
It’s also snowed loads in America, particularly the east coast. Resorts like Sunday River and Sugarbush have been hit with around 75cm of fresh snow, which fell on Wednesday 24th February. It also snowed 70cm down at Mammoth in California, continuing their excellent season.
Eyes are still on Whistler in Canada and the weather there. Fortunately it has been dry and sunny recently, allowing them to run most of the alpine skiing events without problems. However another storm is heading for the area, bringing with it up to 50cm of fresh snow. This is great news for recreational skiers but not such great news for event organisers. Fortunately, most of the skiing events have now taken place.
AUSTRIA
No new snow has fallen in Austria since Saturday 20th February in most places. Despite the lack of fresh snow the pistes are generally in very good condition all over, especially high up.
FRANCE
Snow fell across most of France earlier this week with some substantial accumulations in some places. Mild weather has been dominant which unfortunately means that rain fell at resort level for many places.
SWITZERLAND
A few Swiss resorts received fresh snow on Wednesday and Thursday but most haven’t had fresh snow since the weekend. This allowed people to enjoy the generally good snow conditions.
ITALY
A light covering of fresh snow fell at Passo Tonale (70/430cm) on Tuesday 23rd February. With more than four metres of snow on the highest slopes and glacier there are some fantastic off-piste opportunities. Top to bottom runs can be enjoyed completely off piste, although some of the lowest slopes have thin snow cover. Piste skiing is also excellent with ample cover on all runs.
ANDORRA
Good snow can be found in the Pyrenean country of Andorra. Its resorts have a decent snow base both up high and down low so there is no need to worry about a lack of snow. A generally sunny weekend with mild weather is expected and that should continue into next week as well.
NORWAY & SWEDEN
Lots of fresh snow has fallen on the west coast of Norway. Most of the resorts haven’t benefited from the storm but Voss (60/90cm) received 25cm on Wednesday, which is their biggest dump of the season so far. There is plenty of good powder skiing on their runs now so get out there and enjoy it before it all gets groomed. Åre (58/78cm) received a light cover of around 1cm on Thursday 25th February, keeping the pistes nice and fresh. All of the area is open and cold weather means the pistes are in great condition.
GERMANY
Mild, spring weather has taken over in Germany and is melting some of the snow, particularly low down. Resorts like Feldberg (130/150cm) and Reit im Winkl (25/60cm) still have a good snow base, especially Feldberg. This should enable them to see out the warm weather and still be left with some snow.
BULGARIA
No significant snowfalls have occurred in Bulgaria for a while now. Milder and drier weather has dominated the area for the past week but the snow is generally still in good condition.
SCOTLAND
Severe wintry weather has delivered heavy snowfalls to all five Scottish resorts on Wednesday and Thursday. All of the resorts were temporarily closed on Thursday and they may not reopen until the weather eases and they can ensure safe access to the slopes.
The wintry weather is expected to last over the weekend at all five resorts and this could deliver as much as 40cm of new snow, on top of what they have already received so far this week. When the resorts reopen the skiing will be epic!
USA
There has been loads of snow on both sides of America this week. Over on the east coast many resorts received up to 80cm of fresh snow on Wednesday 24th February, which is the biggest dump of their season so far.
CANADA
The good news is that fresh snow has arrived at many resorts in western Canada. Between 3cm and 13cm has fallen so far on many areas but it should continue, further improving the riding conditions.
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.
