Conditions in Europe vastly improved over the weekend with much colder weather and lots of fresh snow, particularly in the east. Many places in Austria received up to 30cm of snow on Sunday 7th March which should provide excellent skiing this week.
Switzerland and Italy also have great conditions although not as much snow fell as in Austria. Sauze d’Oulx received 15cm of snow on Sunday 7th March which made for some excellent skiing all over the mountain.
Over in France the temperature is very low, down to -20°C at some of the higher resorts like Tignes. Fresh snow fell at some places, including Morzine which saw 5cm fall on Saturday night.
Fresh snow in Andorra and Bulgaria should improve all the skiing. Both were blessed with heavy snowfall on Monday, forcing some of the resorts in Andorra to close completely.
Over in America it snowed loads in Utah. 45cm of fresh snow fell at Park City providing excellent powder skiing. Mammoth in California received lots of snow as well, adding to their season’s total of 11 metres so far.
The last two months in Canada have been unseasonably dry and warm but this should come to an end this week. In the mean time though good spring skiing can be found at most places. Whistler has some great snow on the upper slopes and with more than a metre due this week it is set to improve dramatically.
AUSTRIA
Fresh snow in Austria over the weekend, and very cold weather, has transformed the ski conditions pretty much everywhere in the country. Powder can be found off piste at most resorts and on-piste conditions are great.
FRANCE
Some French resorts received fresh snow over the weekend but it didn’t amount to much more than 5cm in most places. The cold weather however means the snow is in really good condition in most places, especially high up. Fresh snow is forecast on Wednesday 10th March, which should help to improve things.
SWITZERLAND
The return to wintry weather in Europe has vastly improved Swiss skiing as well. Many resorts now offer excellent conditions, in contrast to the spring-like conditions last week. Up to 20cm of fresh snow fell in some places over the weekend.
ITALY
15cm of fresh snow fell on the Milky Way ski area in Italy on Sunday. This means there is loads of excellent skiing to be found at Sauze d’Oulx (140/180cm), Sestriere (140/180cm) and Claviere (120/180cm). The weather was very bad on Sunday, with several lift closures due to the high winds and poor visibility. It does mean that skiing this week should be amazing with superb conditions both on and off piste.
ANDORRA
Stormy weather affected Andorran resorts on Monday bringing high winds and heavy snow.
NORWAY & SWEDEN
A light dusting of fresh snow fell at Voss (55/100cm) on Monday morning, 8th March, although this was not enough to dramatically change the riding conditions. In Sweden, Åre (76/83cm) received a dusting of snow on Sunday 7th March although like at Voss this was not enough to significantly alter the riding conditions.
GERMANY
Lots of fresh snow fell at all of the Ski Club featured German resorts over the weekend. This was a welcome boost after the unseasonably warm weather they have been experiencing recently. Although the pistes are fairly hard packed underneath the fresh snow, there is some good powder to be found at Garmisch (35/240cm). The base depth rose by 30cm on the upper slopes over the course of the weekend, a good sign of decent snowfalls.
BULGARIA
All three of the Ski Club featured Bulgarian resorts received fresh snow on Monday 8th March. It was also a snowy weekend and the temperature dropped significantly. Patches of grass were starting to show through on the lower slopes at Bansko (175/195cm) but the fresh snow has covered these up. Further up the mountain there is some good powder to be found and the lower temperatures mean the snow is in much better condition than it was last week.
SCOTLAND
The riding in Scotland is superb at the moment thanks to the recent heavy snowfall. Many local riders are saying that this is the best season that they can ever remember for the amount of snow that has fallen, so if you have ever thought of skiing in Scotland this could be your time. The sun was shining on Monday and similar weather is forecast at all resorts until Wednesday 10th March. Cloudier weather is expected from Thursday and more snow could fall before the weekend.
USA
It was Utah’s turn to receive a big bump of snow last week. Up to 50cm fell in many places which gave them some awesome skiing both on and off piste.
CANADA
Fresh snow has started to fall in some places in Canada, including Whistler. Recent mild weather in the whole of western Canada has given spring like conditions but a return to winter looks likely, at least for a while.
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.
