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| Snow Reports |
| Resort | Last Snowed | Lower/Upper | On/Off Piste | Lifts Open |
Price from |
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Banff
|
28-Apr
(5cm)
|
90cm/178cm |
Excellent/Varied |
20/26 |
£445
|
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Cervinia
|
28-Apr
(110cm)
|
95cm/475cm |
Excellent/Powder |
6/16 |
£454
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Kaprun
|
29-Apr
(20cm)
|
80cm/395cm |
Fresh/Fresh |
12/24 |
£359
|
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Obergurgl
|
30-Apr
(5cm)
|
20cm/152cm |
Good/Varied |
16/24 |
£479
|
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Obertauern
|
30-Apr
(10cm)
|
95cm/195cm |
Fresh/Patchy |
4/26 |
£569
|
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Saas Fee
|
29-Apr
(30cm)
|
38cm/499cm |
Excellent/Powder |
4/22 |
£455
|
|
Sölden
|
30-Apr
(10cm)
|
0cm/344cm |
Powder/Powder |
12/35 |
£649
|
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Tignes
|
28-Apr
(50cm)
|
55cm/180cm |
Good/Varied |
30/43 |
£369
|
|
Val d'Isère
|
28-Apr
(60cm)
|
55cm/180cm |
Good/Varied |
44/46 |
£350
|
|
Val Thorens
|
29-Apr
(10cm)
|
110cm/150cm |
Good/Varied |
28/28 |
£439
|
|
Whistler
|
23-Apr
(4cm)
|
192cm/192cm |
Good/Varied |
8/38 |
£804
|
|
Zermatt
|
28-Apr
(187cm)
|
30cm/542cm |
Excellent/Powder |
24/55 |
£479
|
The editorial overview provided by the Ski Club of Great Britain is updated on Monday and Thursday afternoons.
| Introduction (snow news updated 25-jun-2009) |
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A good amount of snow has fallen in Austria this week which has improved the conditions at some of the summer skiing destinations.
Val d’Isere is scheduled to open for the summer ski season on Saturday 27 June, which will mean that all of our reported French summer skiing locations will have skiing available. Cervinia in Italy is also planning on opening on the same day so all of our featured Italian summer destinations will also be open.
In Switzerland only Zermatt is currently open though but the snow base is more than four metres deep and the skiing is great for this time of year.
The first lift up to the ski area on the Horstman Glacier at Whistler has been brought forward to 11am so it is advisable to take advantage of this and ski before the snow becomes too heavy.
Light dustings of snow fell in Australia this week and further snow showers are expected over the weekend but these will not be sufficient to dramatically change the conditions.
More resorts are scheduled to open in New Zealand for this weekend, adding an extra four open areas to the six that have already opened.
The ski season has now started in Chile with El Colorado and Valle Nevado in the Three Valleys offering a good amount of skiing. Portillo is also now open and 65% of the area is accessible on Thursday.
Skiing is also now possible in Argentina at Chapelco, and Cerro Catedral should open on Friday 26 June followed by Las Lenas on Saturday.
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Austria
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Heavy snow fell at Kaprun (353cm) on Wednesday bringing 18cm of snow to the Kitzsteinhorn glacier. Despite the new snow only 7km of pistes are open but they do have a good cover of powder. It is possible to ski down to the middle station.
New snow also fell at Hintertux (225cm) on Wednesday. The resort did not receive as much as Kaprun but the pistes have been refreshed and there are still 23km of pistes open on Thursday.
The Mölltal glacier (330cm) has resumed normal operations on Thursday following its closure on Monday due to poor weather. 9km of pistes are open on Thursday with cloudy skies overhead which are not expected to bring snow to the area. The Dachstein glacier (350cm) is also open on Thursday but only has 500m of pistes available.
It is forecast to be a sunny weekend across Austria and so it is advisable to ski first thing in the morning before the snow softens.
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France
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All of the summer skiing pistes are open on the glacier at Les Deux Alpes (180cm) on Thursday. There are four green runs, six blue and one red run open along with 22 out of a possible 29 lifts. The weather on Thursday morning is predominantly sunny but it is forecast to deteriorate in the afternoon. This inclement weather could last into Saturday and could bring some fresh snow to the area.
Tignes (180cm) is open for snowsports on Thursday and visitors are blessed with sunny weather during the morning ski session. Like at Les Deux Alpes cloudy skies are forecast to move in during the afternoon and these could last into the weekend. Hopefully the heavy clouds will bring a dusting of new snow the glacier slopes.
Thanks to the amount of snow that Val d’Isere received over the winter season the summer ski season stands to be a great one. It is scheduled to start on Saturday 27 June.
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Switzerland
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The skiing conditions at Zermatt (421cm) are pretty much unchanged since Monday with three red runs and one blue run available. These include the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, Plateau Rosa and Führerpiste red runs and the Gandegg blue piste. Changeable weather at the end of this week could see some precipitation fall in the afternoons. A similar weather pattern is expected over the weekend.
Saas Fee is currently closed for snowsports but the summer ski season is scheduled to start on 4 July.
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Italy
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Val Senales (210cm) reports over two metres of snow on the glacier slopes and with seven pistes open on Thursday morning there is a good amount of skiing available. The lifts on the glacier ski area are open from 7.30am until 1pm.
The snow base has reduced by 40cm since Monday at Presena (320cm) but with a base in excess of three metres the conditions are still really good. All of the summer season ski slopes are open which includes the Presena Paradiso and Presena Destra red runs and the Presena Sinistra black run.
Cervinia (421cm) is planning to open for summer skiing this Saturday, 27 June. The resort reports a snow base in excess of four metres so the conditions should be excellent.
Changeable weather at the Italian resorts means that you can expect some sunshine in the morning followed by cloudy skies in the afternoon which could bring some precipitation. A similar trend is expected as we move through the weekend.
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Andorra
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Light snow fell in Andorra on Tuesday which helped to freshen up the pistes of the remaining open resorts. They are all only partially open though and the skiing is limited to the areas where the most snow is. It is very quiet there at the moment though so the pistes feel deserted.
The most open lifts of our featured Andorran resorts are reported at Pas de la Casa (115/215cm) where 14 lifts are running on Thursday morning. The upper base is excellent for this time of the year and should ensure great skiing until the end of their season, which is scheduled to be this weekend.
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Norway / Sweden
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Geilo (45cm), Hemsedal (35/60cm) and Trysil (0/45cm) are the three remaining resorts open in Norway that we report on. It is very warm at all of the resorts though so the snow is soft and slushy and melting fast. The deepest base and most thorough snow cover is at Hemsedal so that is arguably the best place to ski in Norway on Thursday. They also have the most lifts open with 8 running.
Åre (24/27cm) and Sälen (20/30cm) in Sweden are both still open but with very limited lift numbers. Only three lifts are running at Sälen on Thursday morning and the snow cover is very thin.
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Germany
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Skiing is only possible at Garmisch (0/375cm) and Oberstdorf (0/210cm) in Germany at the moment.
Only a few lifts are open on each mountain. The Nebelhorn is the open area at Oberstdorf and the Zugspitze at Garmisch. Both areas have a base depth that is plenty deep enough, especially at Garmisch, so there is no worry about patchy cover on the upper slopes.
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Bulgaria
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All of our reported Bulgarian resorts are closed for winter ski season.
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Scotland
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All of the Scottish resorts are closed for the winter ski season.
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USA
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Timberline (495cm) in Oregon received another 30cm of fresh snow on Tuesday night, bringing their season total to over 16 metres. Their upper base of virtually five metres is fantastic and should ensure some great skiing during the summer months as they have planned.
Loveland (196cm) and Arapahoe Basin (149cm) are the only two resorts still open in Colorado that we report on. Both have good conditions but Loveland has a deeper snow base. Each resort plans to be open until mid May at least and Arapahoe Basin hopes to remain open into June.
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Canada
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Banff (90/178cm) and Whistler (192cm) are the only two resorts open in Canada still that we feature.
At Whistler, skiing is only possible on Blackcomb Mountain now as Whistler Mountain has closed for the season. The snow is still good on Blackcomb Mountain but it is very hard in the morning and then soft in the afternoon.
Over at Banff recent snowfalls and cold temperatures have left the snow in excellent condition. Sunshine Village received 10cm of fresh snow on Tuesday which added to the already excellent pistes. It is a little hard off piste but the fresh snow has helped to improve things a little.
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European Weather Outlook
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Europe is expecting a sunny weekend in most places with some spells of light rain or snow in between. With a freezing level of between 2700m and 3000m it will feel very warm.
Up in Scandinavia it is a similar story, with most resorts expecting a mixture of sun and rain. Voss in Norway could receive some snow on the summit on Sunday and Monday but it will fall as rain below this.
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North American Weather Outlook
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Heavy snow is forecast for Saturday in Colorado. Loveland and Arapahoe Basin are all expecting around 20cm to fall which should provide some great May powder skiing. The resorts’ altitude means it will be -8ºC at the summit, nearly 4000m, so the snow should be nice and powdery.
Light snow is also forecast at Squaw Valley in California on Friday night. Up to 2cm is expected at the base and possibly 12cm at the top, which would freshen up the pistes nicely.
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