J2Ski Snow Report - April 25th 2024
J2Ski Snow Report - April 25th 2024
Published : 25-Apr-2024 05:22
Up high, there's still snow at Orelle, Three Valleys, France
Yet more late snow in the northern hemisphere, with the southern hemisphere's seasons due to start in just over a month.
The Snow Headlines - April 25th
- Switzerland's Glacier 3000 area claims 1.5 metres of snowfall in the latter half of last week.
- Austria's Stubai reports a metre of new snow.
- More snowfall in the Rockies.
- Start of southern hemisphere's 2024 season 5 weeks away.
- Around 70 ski areas in Asia, Europe and North America will be open into May.
More late snow forecast!
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World Overview
We're into the final week of April so the 150 or so ski areas still open in Europe, Japan and North America are the real survivors - a mixture of those at high altitude, perhaps with glaciers, or northerly latitude and then the odd one like Vermont's Killington that just piles snow up deep on one key run through the winter so it lasts through May - when most of the rest of their snow cover is long gone.
In Europe, almost all of those still open now are in Scandinavia or high in the Alps. In North America it's California, Oregon and the Albertan, Colorado and Utah Rockies where most of the survivors are located. Many of those will close at the end of Sunday's ski days and another 20 or so on Wednesday next week when they can say they made it through to May.
Many of these ski areas saw some cold and snowy weather again this week, particularly the Alps where most open centres reported at least 30cm of fresh snowfall (some as much as a metre with one reporting 1.5m - five feet) and temperatures above 3,000m down as low as -15C, but cold and snowfall down to valley floors at times too.
All ski areas in the Pyrenees have now closed for the season although Europe's most southerly major ski area, Sierra Nevada, still has about 50km of slopes open despite double-digit temperatures this week (although there was a dip and snowfall last weekend), but then it is the country's highest and this weekend is expected to end its season.
In Eastern Europe, just Slovakia's Jasna remains open, at weekends and has fresh snow cover for the coming one, and like Sierra Nevada and many others, just its high slopes.
Scotland's season is over but some ski tourers using Glencoe's access chairlift to reach high terrain quickly found fresh powder to enjoy above the inbounds terrain.
Europe
Austria
It's been a snowy week on high slopes in Austria with accumulations of up to two feet in 72 hours reported on glacier slopes. About a dozen of the country's centres are still open and most plan to keep operating into May.
In fact, Austrian ski areas (Stubai, Solden and the Kitzsteinhorn glacier above Kaprun) posted the three biggest snow accumulations in the world from Friday to Monday. The snowfall has carried on this week with the Stubai reporting over a metre so far and now the deepest base of a still-open centre in Europe at 5.7m (19 feet).
Ischgl, one of those open to May 1st, reports the most slopes still open in the country, just as it did five months ago at the start of the season – with more than 130km (80 miles) of runs still available to enjoy.
France
French ski areas have posted some good snowfalls too over the last week with up to a foot in 24 hours and 45cm in 48 hours.
Ski areas posting those numbers on higher slopes - and open to at least May 1st - have included Chamonix, Tignes, Val d'Isere and Val Thorens. So we've had some late April powder days – along with complaints that the ongoing snowfalls have brought low visibility at times too.
Low temperatures of -20C at 3000m were recorded last weekend and overnight lows below freezing down at 1000m in valleys too, but things are now slowly warming up with more sunshine returning for what's really the final week of the French ski season - although Les 2 Alpes plans to keep glacier skiing open through May and June.
Italy
Italy has had its share of cold, snowy weather too – ironically for some more southerly areas. After a particularly poor, warm winter, it's been colder and snowier than it was in January-March.
Only a handful of Italian areas remain open for the final few days of the 2023-24 season with Arabba's Passo Rolle runs open until this Sunday, April 28 and Cortina d'Ampezzo's Faloria and Col Gallina areas continuing until next Wednesday, May 1st.
The Presena Glacier above Passo Tonale also stays open into May and Cervinia's shared slopes with Zermatt are now open year-round. Cervinia reported 40cm of snowfall at the weekend.
Switzerland
Swiss centres reported some of the biggest snowfalls of the last seven days - with temperatures staying cold and snow showers continuing in most areas.
Glacier 3000 near Gstaad claimed a remarkable 1.5 metres (five feet) of fresh snow ahead of last weekend while Zermatt reported overnight lows down to -20C on its glacier.
Engelberg was another of the big snowfall winners, posting almost a metre more in the first half of this week.
Murren, Saas Fee and Verbier were among the areas that ended their seasons last weekend but Adelboden, Engelberg, Grindelwald, Glacier 3000, St Moritz (Diavolezza glacier) and of course, the year-round 'Glacier Paradise' above Zermatt remain open into May.
Scandinavia
More than half of the leading ski areas in Scandinavia remain open and most, particularly those further north, continue to report wintery weather and temperatures down well below freezing. It's more spring-like further south.
This will be the final week for many ski areas with Sweden's Are, the region's largest, aiming for 1st May, and the northerly ski areas in Finland like Ruka and Levi, planning to make it to the weekend after next.
Beyond that, it's Riksgransen up in the Arctic Circle and then Norway's three glacier ski areas which begin opening from May 1st.
North America
Canada
It's been a mostly dry week with spring conditions across the country.
There are half a dozen ski areas still open in Canada, half of them the three Banff areas, along with Whistler on the BC Coast, Marmot Basin near Jasper to the north and one centre on the east, Sommet St Sauveur in Quebec, which keeps a run or two and a terrain park open as long as the snow lasts into May.
Sunshine and Lake Louise are posting the most still-open terrain in the country since Whistler closed its Blackcomb slopes and they remain 90% open.
USA
There's been more snowfall on high slopes in the Rockies over the past week, but the big picture is of the snowpack thawing, daytime highs 10 or 15 degrees above freezing at resort bases and more centres ending their seasons.
A dozen or so ski resorts will remain open into May and several including Arapahoe Basin, Timberline and perhaps Mammoth, later still. Timberline suffered a small fire at its base hotel at the end of last week which led to the ski slopes being closed for a few days, but they reopened on Sunday.
On the East Coast, Sunday River and Sugarloaf in Maine are aiming to keep open to May 1st next week while Killington will try to keep its spring bumps Superstar trail open as long as the snow lasts through May.
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