Where to Ski And Snowboard -

Snow overview: 18 March

18th March 2010, by Chris Gill

Bluebird days are here again ...

Summary

Spring and winter went head to head this week, dividing the Alps and securing plenty of fresh snowfall for Austria. Winter held its grip in eastern areas, with lots of fresh snow reported. Meanwhile, the western Alps has been mostly dry with classic spring conditions on and off-piste. The colder temperatures of last week have preserved snow quality and cover generally but temperatures have risen considerably during the latter part of the week. This thaw will start to affect lower slopes and could spell a high risk of avalanche in Austria, in particular.

In North America, the biggest news is the return to snowfall for western Canada. Their prolonged dry spell came to an end and reassuring quantities of snow fell across areas that needed it most. In the US, it has warmed up in central states but there has been worthwhile amounts of snow falling in California (again!) and in Utah.

Austria

Lots of fresh snow has fallen in Austria this week, and it has certainly been the place to head for powder conditions. Our editors had a great time making fresh tracks in the Salzburg region. Up to 30cm was reported in Schladming (90/120cm). The colder weather of late meant that snow initially fell to valley level in low-lying resorts too (Kitzbuehel, Soll (75/125cm) for example). Higher, exposed slopes such as those in Obertauern and Obergurgl suffered from strong north-east winds, leaving fresh but windblown areas on those pistes. While the rapid warm-up has meant conditions are becoming wetter and heavier below 1000m.

France

Little significant snow has reached French resorts in almost two weeks. But there has been plenty of sunshine and glorious March skiing on offer, on quieter slopes. And the settled snow pack at altitude remains a healthy 1-2m – even more on the top slopes in Chamonix. The lack of fresh snow has meant harder piste conditions, softening up mid-afternoon once the sun has got to work. And with temperatures on the rise, expect very soft conditions on low-lying runs. There were dustings of new snow last weekend for Courchevel (110/130cm) – 5cm and Les Arcs (90/205cm) – 2cm. They could do with more on the run-up to Easter, though.

Italy

Italian resorts have enjoyed a similarly spring-like week, gradually noting a rise in temperature. Resorts in Trentino and western Italy (Sestriere, for example) received snowfall last weekend and have good packed snow on their slopes. So these areas are still riding very well. Passo Tonale’s glacier reports a base depth of almost 4m – very good for the time of year. Elsewhere, there has been little significant snow to report though some light showers may reach the Dolomites by the weekend – it is mild, so these may well fall as rain low down. The sunny, clear conditions are ideal for fast cruising on Cervinia’s (180cm) exposed pistes at the moment.

Switzerland

Snow has fallen across eastern and northern Switzerland this week – the best of it reserved for Laax-Flims, reporting 15-25cm. Klosters also received a welcome refresh. Conditions are generally impressive throughout this corner of the country. There were minimal dustings for central and southern regions: Saas Fee, for example. There is plenty of good bluebird-day skiing to be found elsewhere too, though snow depths at resort level are less impressive and runs to resort heavy work in the milder weather – Verbier (10/175cm) and Adelboden (10/125cm) are typical.

Beyond the Alps

Pyrenees: No snowfall for the Pyrenees this week, just splendid spring skiing under blue skies. Like the Alps, temperatures have been cool enough to preserve the snowpack but it is warming up significantly now. Resorts are reporting top-to-bottom skiing, though, which is excellent for the time of year. The sun is strong, but settled snow depths are ample in Grandvalira (120/165cm) and Arcalis (160/22cm). Formigal (115/240cm) has some of the deepest snow cover on the Spanish side. Expect hard pistes first thing, softening by midday.

In Bulgaria, the switch from mild to cold and back to spring conditions again has firmed up the pistes. Cover remains decent though, with spring piste riding in Bansko.

The weekend delivered fresh snow to most Scandinavian resorts, where conditions remain good. Hemsedal retains the deepest cover at 140cm. Across the north sea in Scotland, the skiing is experiencing a stormy, mild spell of weather at present – some rain and high winds have forced lifts to close in Glencoe on Thursday. Cairngorm reports a light layer of fresh snow on top, but the rise in temperatures has set off a risk of cornice collapse and avalanche off-piste. Cover in all five resorts remains very good for the time of year though.

North America

Western Canada is back on track after a rather dry few weeks. The pistes were becoming hard and icy in Banff before a very welcome 30cm snowfall last weekend. Conditions have improved throughout the resorts and there have been further falls for Whistler, Revelstoke and Kicking Horse. In the east, Mount Tremblant has not reported any new snow since the end of February; slope conditions are fair and firm.

In the US, there were further useful contributions in Utah and Colorado at the weekend; it remains fairly mild there though at present, with an established high pressure giving some wonderful blue-sky skiing. It’s not all good news, though, as the less-than-impressive season has taken its toll on one Utah resort: Wolf Creek has closed well ahead of schedule. Other are releasing potential closing dates too. Spring skiing is firmly in place at Jackson Hole (170cm) too, though they received a dusting of snow at the end of last week. California is the place to be though, with yet more snowfall – Mammoth Mountain is now made it up to the 4m mark on the upper slopes, living up to its name no less!

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