WORLD SNOW WRAP — And so it begins

Grand Targhee — on the western side of the Teton Range, Wyoming — Looking absolutely stunning on the day of their opening on 23 November Image:: Jackson Hole

Mountainwatch | World Snow Wrap

EDITOR’s NOTE: This year we will once again bring you the fortnightly World Snow Wrap and the weekly Japan Snow Wrap. These regular features aim to be a one-stop-shop that gives you an idea where the snow is falling, where it’s not, and provide some regular snow porn just for your desktop viewing pleasure. Expect these features to be published regularly across the Northern Hemisphere season…

Hot days, summer storms and beach-livin’. That’s summer in the Southern Hemi. But for us pow-chasing brethren, the summer months signify something entirely different. As the temperature downunder begins to rise, and we near closer and closer to the Christmas heat, the snow pack up north keeps on building. Heading overseas this season? Check below to see what the storms have been delivering across the world… 

Whistler Blackomb’s Avalanche forecast team hosted the first-ever Forecaster’s Forum. The night gave the public an insight into exactly what it takes to keep the terrain open during a storm cycle Image:: Whistler Blackcomb

Canada
Coastal resorts in B.C have been hit with some impressive early season falls. Nothing spectacular though, and most resorts in the coastal regions are experiencing average conditions for November. Whistler opened early on November 18 and now has over 1000 acres of terrain open – they have plans to open Blackcomb mountain over the coming days. Ski areas in the B.C interior and the Banff region have been getting steady snow, with above average snowfall totals, most resorts have been able to open a decent amount of terrain for this early in the season. Revelstoke will open November 30 — with plenty of pow — and further to the south Whitewater plans to get things kickstarted on December 6. Revelstoke has been copping the most impressive snowfalls and has received a total of 218cm thus far.

USA
The Pacific Northwest has been experiencing decent snowfalls, and most resorts are open with limited terrain. Crystal Mountain is open for weekend operations with a base of ~ 30 inches. Mt Baker is open with a 40 inch base. Further south in Oregon the snowfall totals are less, though Mt Hood is open on weekends with an 18 inch base. Down in California a few late october storms delivered early snowfall, though this was followed by three weeks of dry weather. Most resorts are only operating on a man-made base at this stage. Over in the Northern Rockies there has been an above average lead in to winter, Jackson Hole has had a few lucky pre-season pow days and are sitting on a 33″ base and an 87″ cumulative total – the highest out of any resort in the WY/CO/UT areas. Jackson Hole plans to open for thanksgiving tomorrow. Colorado and Utah have been receiving steady snowfalls so far and conditions are well above average for this early in their season. Alta is currently leading the charge for the region with a total of 77″ of snowfall so far, followed by Vail with 61″. Resorts are adding to natural falls with snow making thanks to cold conditions – a lot more snow is needed to really open up any new terrain.

Austria’s Obertauern resort, located in the Salzburg region, saw an epic powder day just after they opened. They’re now sitting on a 90 cm base Image:: Obertauern Ski Resort

Europe
The European continent has been the star of the show this year, with incredible conditions across the Alps. Highlights are as follows. Austrian resorts are sitting pretty with 70-100 cm base in the Salzburg region and similar conditions can be found around Innsbruck. France has been receiving above average snowfall, Tignes is already sitting on a 220cm base and other resorts that enjoy higher altitudes are enjoying fantastic conditions. A recent storm dropped 20cm at Alp d’Huez, Courcheval and Val Thorens — who all happened to be open – and they all had epic powder days. Italy has been experiencing above average early snowfall – 50 cm fell at Cortina and Cervinia on November 21. This dump made for some great skiing. Most resorts in the Alps are yet to hit their opening days but as we near closer to Christmas more and more terrain will continue to open.

With 50 cm of fresh on top of that kind of terrain the skiing would have been pretty damn good Image:: Cortina Dolomiti

Summary
Canada and the USA are on track with an average start to the season, while resorts in Europe are experiencing above-average snowfall, with many powder days already occuring over the last week. As we move into early December more and more resorts will commence operations as the natural snow continues to build. Now is the time to book!

In the forecast
Sunshine and warmer weather will prevail in Europe for the next week or so. Over in the USA and Canada it is a similar story, sunshine and warm weather, before some snow comes through the Northwest and Northern Rockies by the weekend. Happy Thanksgiving.

Events
The Burton Rail days event went down in Tokyo last week, head here for the re-cap edit. The next major event is the

Where We Would Like To Be This Week
The recently crowned ‘Best Ski Chalet’ in the world – Bighorn Lodge, Revelstoke B.C – with a personal Helicopter in the yard, private staff and deluxe accomodation, what more would you need?

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