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Glacier watch: 4 june

4th June 2010, by Chris Gill

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Glacier resorts in the Alps are starting to open again for their summer ski programmes. And the good news is … that there has been fresh snowfall recently – 30cm-40cm in places. But there are a few other areas still open too …

Austria

Last weekend saw good snowfalls on the Austrian glaciers, which tend to be the best on offer at this time of the year (along with Zermatt).

Dachstein: Joining those already open, was the Dachstein glacier near Schladming. The area is best known for its summer freestyle and touring possibilities, rather than downill skiing; the Horsefeathers terrain park is quite substantial and has been improved this season with new rails and jumps.

Stubai: There are 22km slopes open on the glacier, served by six lifts. The resort reports a settled snow depth of 170cm at 3000m, so with this week’s new snowfall there should be some decent skiing and boarding up there.

Hintertux: There is some cloud around up on the glacier on Friday (4 June) but the changeable weather has brought fresh snowfall. There are 25km slopes open at present and nine lifts.

Kitzsteinhorn: It is a bit brighter over on Kaprun’s glacier, with six lifts open and slopes open above the Alpincentre – the hub of summer activities, with its ice arena and family fun area. Settled snow bases here are 130cm, with 240cm on the highest slopes. And the webcams are revealing pretty good snow conditions up there at the moment.

Switzerland

The sun is shining in Zermatt, the only Swiss resort open for summer snow sports at the moment. Saas Fee is due to reopen in a few weeks

If your mind is on a few summer turns, it’s really only those areas mentioned above to offer much of interest – although you could scoot up to the Arctic Circe and dabble in some Norwegian snow. Three areas are popular for summer skiing: Stryn, Galdhoppigen and Folefonn.

Scandinavia

Stryn: Of those, Stryn is the best known. It opened on 28 May and is reporting good snow cover this year. They plan to operate the lifts and slopes until 4 July. The Strynefjellet area has lifts up to 1500m – that might not sound high enough, but remember the resort is much further north and has a good summer ski snow record. Summer skiing has been a popular feature of the area since the 1930’s.

Scotland

Well, there’s no surprises for guessing where we are about to mention … Cairngorm. With a season that is approaching eight months long and a record breaking year – the slopes at the Scottish centre are still offering skiing and boarding to those close enough to play. They will be open again this weekend 5/6 June.

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