J2Ski Snow Report - April 11th 2024
J2Ski Snow Report - April 11th 2024
Published : 11-Apr-2024 08:03
Meribel, France, looking pretty good this week, with lifts open for 10 more days.
Hot in the valleys, and fresh snow up high, in Europe and North America.
The Snow Headlines - April 11th
- Heavy snowfall in the Alps, sunshine returns and some valleys see +25C.
- A snowy end to the season and an eclipse for many areas in North America's Northeast.
- Most Pyrenean ski areas end their 23-24 seasons, but a few soldier on a few more weeks.
- Colorado's Eldora extends season to April 21st for longest-ever season in its 62-year history.
- Japan's Gassan summer ski area opens for its 2024 season.
- Scotland's season about over.
- Heavy snowfall in Australia and the Andes ahead of their 2024 ski seasons.
A quieter week for snow in Japan, but more high altitude snow for Europe and America
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World Overview
The heavy snowfall in the Alps that was just coming to an end as we published last week's report has rapidly disappeared as temperatures have shot up to the 20s in Alpine valleys and skiers and boarders have been enjoying full spring conditions. But then there's been more snowfall, especially on higher slopes, to end the week.
It's been much the same in most other parts of the ski world, although Canada and Scandinavia have remained a little more wintery with snow showers and cooler temperatures continuing in most areas, if not exactly 'cold' very often.
This coming weekend will be the third successive one to see mass season-end closures and by Monday we'll be down to about 10% of ski areas still operating – most of them, of course, the larger, higher and/or more northerly located centres.
Meanwhile, there are more reports of pre-season snowfalls in the southern hemisphere where it's now only about 6-7 weeks until the first centres are expected to open for the 2024 season there.
Europe
Austria
Many of Austria's ski areas have now ended their 23-24 seasons.
The country's second biggest area, Saalbach Hinterglemm, closed last weekend and more big names including Bad Gastein, Kitzbuhel and Mayrhofen will run their lifts for the last time this season this coming weekend. In fact, we are down to about 30 areas still open representing 10% or so of Austria's many mid-large sized ski areas.
More than a dozen Austrian areas with higher altitude slopes, half of them glacier resorts, will stay open into the latter half of April with some continuing into May, even June or beyond in a few cases.
It's been warm over the past week and predominantly sunny with a few rain/sleet/snow showers, but some valleys have seen +25C earlier this week and the freezing point moving above mountain tops too. Then, since Wednesday, up to 25cm of snow has been reported on higher slopes!
France
Most of the big French ski areas are staying open into the latter half of April with Chamonix, Tignes, Val d'Isere and Val Thorens set to make it into the first week of May. They also continue to post the areas with the most still-open terrain in the world - more than half of the centres posting the top 20 deepest snow depths in the world are French! That's more than any other country and topped by Flaine with 4.6 metres lying on its highest runs.
All that being said some of the big French areas including Serre Chevalier and Flaine's Grand Massif do close for the season this coming weekend. As to the weather, the past week has been mostly dry and sunny and got very warm at the weekend, there's been some mid-week snowfall on Wednesday and a brief return to winter but drier, warmer weather is returning now.
Italy
Some of Italy's biggest ski regions including Val Gardena and Alta Badia closed for the season last weekend and more are of course set to join them this coming weekend too, but as with the other big alpine nations, there are dozens more centres open into the latter half of the month, with several including Cervinia, Cortina and Passo Tonale staying open into May.
The weather this week has been similar to the rest of the Alps, with predominantly warm, dry weather, so warm in fact that the upper 20s (C) were reached in some lower Italian mountain valleys at the weekend.
There was a mid-week temperature dip with snow showers on some higher slopes, but it's warming up again now.
Switzerland
The heavy snowfall around the Easter weekend which saw some Swiss centres post over two-metre totals in seven days, ended about a week ago and whilst there have been some snow showers, especially on higher slopes, Swiss ski areas have also seen some very warm temperatures this last week and plenty of sunshine.
It has been a little cooler in recent days with Andermatt among the areas posting a full return to winter on Wednesday but we've got classic springtime freeze-thaw conditions, with more thawing than refreezing at this point. The numbers are dropping but Laax and Saas-Fee have been posting the world's deepest snowpacks after that Easter snowfall and are still at around the 5-metre mark.
Scandinavia
Although Scandinavian ski areas are of course generally colder than further south in the Alps and Pyrenees, the region is not immune to Spring temperature rises. Ski areas in the southern half of Scandinavia, including areas close to Lillehammer and Oslo in Norway will be ending their seasons this coming weekend, with temperatures reaching +8C at bases in the afternoons.
Most of the larger destination resorts like Are and Hemsedal, as well as centres up in Finnish Lapland where temperatures remain below zero, will continue on to the end of the month or to early May.
Pyrenees and Spain
Most ski areas have now closed for the 23-24 season in the Pyrenees but Andorra's Arcalis ski area, famed for its freeriding, has added an extra week (to this Sunday) to make the most of the big March snowfalls in the region. Over the French border Cauterets say they'll keep some high runs open a further week through to Sunday 21st.
Southerly Sierra Nevada also remains open.
Spain's Baqueira Beret and Formigal were among the areas closing last Sunday with warm, sunny weather now dominating after the snowy March and the start of April. The warmer temperatures and thaw are set to continue into next week.
Scotland
Highland weather conditions continue to keep everyone on their toes. We've had the familiar mix of rain, sleet and snow (depending on elevation and time of day), hill fog, strong winds and those elusive periods of beautiful blue sky, still weather over the last 7 days.
Storm Kathleen brought everything to a standstill over the weekend with violent gales and valley temperatures briefly climbing to +15C.
At the time of writing The Lecht, Glenshee and Nevis Range are closed for the season, Cairngorm has not operated since last Friday due to the weather but has not said its definitely closed, Glencoe's own terrain is closed for the season but its running its access chair to allow tourers to reach fresh snow on slopes above its inbounds area.
Eastern Europe
Most of Eastern Europe's ski areas are now closed for 23-24 but a few are soldiering on.
Bulgaria's Bansko's high slopes are open despite very warm weather over the past week - it closes this weekend though. It's the only Bulgarian area still open.
You can also ski at Serbia's Kopaonik still or at Kanin in Slovenia, which usually opens at weekends into May. Slovakia's Jasna also plans to keep its high runs open into the first week of May, all being well.
It's been colder in the Northeast and there's precipitation forecast but it looks more likely to be rain than snowfall. Still very warm in the southeast.
North America
Canada
The snow has kept falling across Canada's ski slopes as resorts on the East and West coasts close for the season.
Lake Louise posted over 50cm of fresh cover at the start of the week, with Whistler posting 30cm on higher slopes with rain at the resort level.
There was snow on the East Coast in Quebec too ahead of the solar eclipse last Monday, for which the skies cleared for an amazing display.
Mont Sutton, in the path of totality, posted 15cm of fresh to welcome eclipse skiers! Most of Canada's big-name resorts including Fernie, Kicking Horse, Mont Tremblant, Panorama and Revelstoke are expected to end their seasons this coming weekend but half-a-dozen including all three Banff ski areas, Jasper's Marmot Basin and Whistler of course, will continue to the end of the month or into May.
USA
We've lost a few big-name US ski areas to the dreaded season end at the weekend, including Beaver Creek, Taos, Keystone and Telluride and another swathe will join them this coming Sunday, including Big Sky, Jackson Hole and Vail.
At least 50 US areas will stay open into the latter half of the month, however.
Most of the snowfall of the last week has been on the Eastern side of the country, with some ski areas in New England posting a metre of snowfall in total over the five days up to Monday.
There's been some snowfall in the Rockies too but it has been predominantly sunny and dry with temperatures rising and that is the ongoing forecast for most US ski regions into the weekend and next week.
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