J2Ski Snow Report - April 18th 2024
J2Ski Snow Report - April 18th 2024
Published : 18-Apr-2024 05:35
Nendaz, Four Valleys, Switzerland, open for a few more days - with great snow!
Snow! Say what? Briefly down to the valleys this week in the European Alps, and pre-season snowfalls in the southern hemisphere.
The Snow Headlines - April 18th
- Copper Mountain extends season into May, the fifth Colorado ski area to do so.
- Fresh snowfall in the Alps on still-open slopes.
- More pre-season snow for New Zealand and South America.
- Ski season over in much of Eastern Europe, Scotland and the Pyrenees.
- Zermatt announces more summer ski terrain for all in 2024.
Yes, that's some heavy snow forecast for the Aosta Valley and a few other spots... catch it while you can!
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World Overview
We're into the latter half of April, and past halfway in 2024's meteorological springtime for the northern hemisphere, so it's no surprise that ski areas are closing en masse and that temperatures are generally rising and snowpacks thawing... albeit with a last blast of winter for much of the Alps...
As usual at this point in the year we are seeing periods and places where temperatures dip below the average and in some cases well below freezing with late-season snowfalls.
That's been the case over the last few days, first in the US Rockies and then in the European Alps where some ski areas have posted over a foot of fresh mid-April snowfall.
There are also still about 200 ski areas, give or take, that are opening at least some of their terrain for die-hard skiers. Most of these are in the Alps, Scandinavia, Western North America and Japan with a few others in other ski regions around the world.
It's also getting colder in the southern hemisphere with more snowfall reported in Argentina, Chile and on New Zealand's ski slopes over the past week.
Europe
Austria
Many of Austria's big ski regions like the Skiwelt, Kitzbuhel and Saalbach which top out around 2,000m have ended their 23-24 seasons now but over a dozen areas with higher slopes, about half of them boasting glaciers too, are still open and most will now make it into May, some until June and beyond.
After a warm and sunny end to last week, it's turned cooler and dropped well below freezing up high with some wintery weather including snow showers leading to the cancellation of planned 'spring sun' events.
The country's largest ski area, Lech and St Anton's Arlberg, is still open, but this coming weekend will be its final one this season with Obergurgl also due to close on Sunday.
The Ischgl-Samnaun ski area, open to May 1st, has already overtaken it in terms of terrain open, with 170km or more than 100 miles of runs still available, the most still open in the country.
France
France has the greatest number of ski areas still open and the most terrain in total available in Europe for the latter half of April, as well as, still, more than half of the resorts in the world's current top 10 deepest upper-slope snow depths, most with 4 metres or more lying up top.
Here too it has been a mixed week of some sunny days but now colder, wintery weather with up to 30cm of fresh snow reported on higher slopes. Some big ski areas are closing after this weekend though including Le Grand Massif around Flaine, the Portes du Soleil including Avoriaz, Les Gets, Chatel and Morzine as well as Alpe d'Huez and La Rosiere.
Italy
Italy is down to just half-a-dozen or so centres left open after more areas closed at the weekend.
It has also had a big change from a very warm and sunny week last week to much more wintery weather over the past seven days, and it's expected to continue to be cool into the start of next week - with snow too.
Among the areas closing this weekend are Italy's largest single ski region (if we exclude the already closed unofficial one around the Sellaronda), the Via Lattea (Milky Way) including the slopes of Sestriere and Sauze d'Oulx, as well as the resort that has been posting the country's deepest snowpack for much of the season, La Thuile ...although it has recently been overtaken by the Presena Glacier above Passo Tonale which has hit 4 metres and is open into the first week of May!
Switzerland
Swiss ski centres have the same pattern of centres closing and have also had the wintery weather that other ski areas across the Alps have seen after the warm weeks earlier this month.
Verbier has posted 23cm of fresh snow in total over the last few days.
About a dozen ski areas remain open, with Zermatt posting the most terrain still groomed and ready – around 240km (150 miles) of their high-altitude slopes.
Saas Fee, which closes this weekend, has the deepest snow in the country at 480cm.
Other areas closing at the end of this coming weekend include Verbier and Mürren.
Scandinavia
Scandinavian centres are unique in the world right now in having more than half of their main centres still open.
Ski areas in Norway, Finland and Sweden are closing, but they're usually a fortnight later than their colleagues in the Alps with a sizable chunk staying open to the last weekend of the month, or into May.
Conditions are also among the best in the world right now.
The thaw is underway to quite northerly latitudes but with mostly lower temperatures than in the Alps the snow is staying in better shape, for longer each day.
Most centres are at least 80% open still, with ski areas in western Norway, particularly around coastal Voss, posting the region's deepest snowpacks at over 2 metres.
There will be more snow/sleet/rain showers to end the week then a sunny weekend for most.
Pyrenees and Sierra Nevada
The season is largely over in the Pyrenees with most of the few areas that stayed open after Easter week closing on Sunday.
Cauterets on the French side of the border still has some terrain open this week although all in Andorra and on the Spanish side are reported closed.
Europe's most southerly resort, Sierra Nevada, does remain about half-open though with more than a metre of snow lying on its upper mountain. It reports mostly sunny weather, temperatures between +2 and +15C with more of the same forecast.
Scotland
Scotland's season appears to be over, but there were fresh blizzards to start the week and Glencoe has their access chair open for tourers with the gear and inclination for some off-piste skiing, so some turns could still be made!
Eastern Europe
Most of Eastern Europe's ski areas have now closed for the 23-24 season including the last of Bulgaria's still-open areas, Bansko, which closed on Sunday having kept about half of its slopes open despite a fortnight of sunny weather with temperatures peaking at around +25C!
Still open though, at least the high slopes, is Slovakia's Jasna (weekends only). They've actually seen colder weather over the past few days than for the first half of April and that should continue through into next week.
Kanin on the Slovenian/Italian border used to be a good option for late April and May skiing and has lots of snow lying but is currently out of action due to financial difficulties.
North America
Canada
Canada has seen the biggest drop in open ski areas this week, with just half-a-dozen still open.
The East saw warm and wet weather with a bit of snowfall mixed in this week.
Mont-Sainte-Anne will re-open this weekend, all being well, and Sommet St Sauveur is the only other area open.
In the West, it's Whistler Blackcomb (with Blackcomb Mountain now closed for the season), the three Banff areas (Norquay, Sunshine and Lake Louise) and Jasper's Marmot Basin still operating and reporting a little fresh snowfall despite rising temperatures overall.
The East Coast areas only have small amounts of high terrain still open, but most of the Albertan and BC areas are almost fully open still.
The forecast is for mostly sunny weather, with temperatures ranging from -2C on high slopes overnight to +15C at resort level in the afternoons.
USA
Whilst the season winds down in the US too, of course, more ski areas have been announcing extended seasons so more than a dozen now plan to stay open into May.
There's also been some fresh snowfall on West Coast mountains, the Rockies and even East Coast peaks earlier this week, against a trend of ever-warmer, mostly sunny weather.
Copper Mountain in Colorado is the latest to say it'll stay open for as long as conditions allow into next month. It was one of the areas reporting nearly a foot of fresh snowfall and a powder day on Tuesday.
But as with everywhere across the northern hemisphere, more areas have closed and are closing this weekend with most of the 40 or so US areas still open located in Colorado, Utah and California. Most East Coast resorts are closed.
The weekend ahead looks increasingly warm and sunny in the west with the potential for snow on high slopes, and rain on lower, in the east, where a handful of areas including Killington and Sunday River soldier on.
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