Where to Ski And Snowboard - Sun and snow for Christmas

Sun and snow for Christmas

27th December 2011, by Chris Gill

St Anton looking good on Christmas Day

Wow – what a Christmas present for those skiers fortunate enough to spend Christmas Day in the Alps: blue skies and crisp, fresh snow. And that is the way it has been for the festive weekend, glorious conditions in most of the resorts following last week’s heavy snowfalls. In Canada, it was a white Christmas too, with snow falling to greet skiers in Banff (see pic below).

Snow fell up to Christmas Eve in Austria’s Tirol, with St Anton now reporting a 3m base on the Valluga. Temperatures have warmed up a bit this week, but conditions in the Arlberg are doing fine. The skies cleared across France after two weeks of consistent snowfalls, and the high winds plaguing the summits eased. Many places have enjoyed wall-to-wall sunshine and their lifts open again.

The news is that more snow is forecast to see in the New Year, predicted to fall across much of the Alps from Thursday; up to 40cm of snow for northern French areas by Saturday for example. With milder air creeping into Switzerland, the freezing level is expected to rise a bit to around 1500m by the weekend.

Chamonix – Le Tour [Crystal Holidays]

In North America, the sun has been out on a disappointingly mild Colorado and Utah. Unlike last year, snowfall totals are below average; in fact, they have been reported as the lowest on Christmas Day this century. To give some examples: Vail would normally expect a 30+ inch (70cm) snow base, but instead the total is around 19 inches (48cm) according to local reports. In Winter Park, snow base depths are about 40cm below their average.

But the resorts are doing their best with existing snow cover, which has lasted well since the November storms. One of the best places in the US at present is off the British radar in Idaho: Echo Mountain, which has a 110cm base – we’re told the total of Aspen and Steamboat combined at present. East coast resorts did report 10-15cm of new snow on Boxing Day, which will refresh the pistes in Stowe for example.

Meanwhile, in Canada Banff’s three resorts have received 5-20cm new snow in the past week. But Whistler is experiencing an unsettled few days claiming 60cm new snow, with more heavy snowfall due this week.