WORLD SNOW WRAP — Pow for Christmas

Hintertux, in the Innsbruck region of Austria, had one of the biggest starts to the season in recent memory, but as you’ll read below, the snow has been sparse in December. Image:: Hintertux Gletscher

Mountainwatch | World Snow Wrap

We’re a week from Christmas and it’s getting better and better out there. After the strong start in late November we’ve seen a slight decline in the heavy snow storms that fell in Europe, but over in most of North America the powder is plentiful. Whistler and the north-west has had a bit of a dry couple weeks, but right now the storms are spinning and the snow is falling, so rug up, chill-out, and read on to escape the summer heat…

TOP 5 FORECAST TOTALS THIS WEEK (7-DAYS)
1. Hakuba, Japan – 36 cm
2. Park City, Utah – 34 cm
3. Snowbird, Utah – 31 cm
4. Sun Peaks, British Columbia – 23 cm
5. Whistler, British Columbia – 23 cm
*As at 19/12/13

Breckenridge POW, last week Image:: Breckenridge

Canada
Keep on keepin’ on is the best attitude to have on the West coast at the moment. Last week saw some snow fall in the Coastal ranges, with Whistler receiving about 7-10 cm out of a storm on Dec 14, the weeks before that really only saw cold temps and the occasional flurry so it’s sketchy snow cover at lower elevations. They opened a new chairlift though, so that’s cool.

The Garibaldi Range, Whistler, B.C. Looking terrible, as usual Image:: Coast Mountain Photography

Recent highlights go to the east coast, where Tremblant scored a 15 cm pow day on the 16th. Back west, in the Interior, Kicking Horse and Red Mountain also commenced operations last weekend. Revelstoke are pretty stoked, they had a pow day on December 15, too. It’s looking like the pow will finally hit Whistler this week, with 15 cm expected tomorrow. Whitewater would be our pick for some pow days in the interior this week, they are near to 100% open, and the snow quality is superb. Watch out for naked skiers.

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USA
Colorado has had it really tough lately, dry, deep powder has made it hard for everyone who isn’t there (#sarcasm). East Coast resorts cleaned up, too. About 30-40 cm hit Stowe, Sugarbush and Sugarloaf, sweet! The sun came out in CO for the Dew Tour, Torah Bright made the most of it and won the Superpipe!

The East Coast of the USA scored a well-deserved powder day on the weekend, and it was super-cold, too Image:: Sugarloaf

Mt Baker had 10 cm today, with a further 20-30 expected tomorrow. It’s snowing again at nearby Crystal Mountain, who’ve been having an epic season so far. Jackson Hole has taken advantage of recent snow and has opened up significantly more terrain, including the Tram, giving access to the Headwall. California got a bout 30 cm of new snow last week, but most resorts are struggling to open much terrain, they are hurting. The Northern Rockies and Utah are experiencing average conditions for this time of year, they are sitting on approximately a 1 m base, with light snowfalls expected this week. In summary, everywhere except Colorado and the North-west are hurting, and they need more snow to really open more terrain. Early days yet.

Image::

Jackson Hole opened their famous Tramway for the first time this year on December 8, it opened up some epic terrain Image:: Jackson Hole

Europe
Light snowfalls fell at most European resorts last weekend, but it’s still looking quite hard (read: ICY) out there. Austria fared the best, with about 15 cm falling at Lech, Kaunertal, and Zurs. France has endured weeks and weeks of sunshine and cold nights, not good for the snowpack. The best skiing will be found at resorts with elevation Tignes, Val Thorens, Courcheval and Meribel. Switzerland hasn’t seen any snow all of December, although resorts like Saas Fee are doing fine after their excellent snowfall last month. Italy is much the same, weeks of sun are doing damage, some snow fell over at Arraba on Friday, but only about 10 cm. There really isn’t too much to report from Europe, other than that it’s been sunny and cold, snow is needed.

While the snow hasn’t been epic in Europe, the view sure is. Les Gets, December 10 Image:: Les Gets

Summary
Well, December is progressing with only Average conditions in the US and Canada, with the exception of the B.C interior who has been getting steady snow. Europe isn’t doing much better, disappointing after such a strong November. The tables will turn for Canada and the USA as some storms roll through, and Europe should see some light snow over the weekend.

You’d be stoked if this was your Apres session in Revelstoke – get it? Image:: Revelstoke Mountain Resort

Events
Dew tour wrapped up over the weekend in Colorado, and the Aussies posted some great results – Torah Bright with a Gold, Russ Henshaw with a Bronze and a 5th for young Scotty James who finished ahead of some very big names in the Men’s Superpipe. Athletes are now focusing on Sochi qualification and posting some solid results at the FIS Freestyle Copper Mountain World Cup/Visa Grand Prix.

Where We Would Like To Be This Week

Once again, Revelstoke B.C. Flying with Selkirk Tangiers Heliski. Where they have access to the best terrain and best snow in the world right now (ignoring Japan).

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