World Snow Wrap Up Vol. 16, 14 February – Snowy Valentine’s Day
Bruce Ruff in Vail, 10 February. Image:: Vail
Stormwatch:
The snowfall heros
Committed snow dancing by the people of Europe has finally paid off! Snow hit the French and Swiss Alps on Monday and is heading to Italy and Austria. At last the drought is broken!
- Anywhere in France or Switzerland – 1m or so in this storm
- Whistler, Canada – 88cm last week and all the way to the village
- 27cm at Aspen, Colorado this week
The snow forecast heros:
California is back! After blowing everyone away before Christmas with all that snow they had an unbroken run of sunshine, until this week. Many centimetres are on the way.
- 65cm for Mammoth, California
- France with about 50cm to come
- Utah, with about 30cm to kick off the next storm
Last week’s event highlights:
- It’s Anna and Russ again. Both taking home bronze in the slopestyle at the Toyota Championships in Utah – the last stop on the Winter Dew Tour
- Nate Johnstone bagging a World Cup victory in China
Event highlights this week:
- 14 – 19 February 2011 OAKLEY ARCTIC CHALLENGE – Oslo Norway. TTR World Tour 6Star
- 17 – 20 February 2011 SNOWBOARD WORLD CUP – parallel GS, snowboard X and halfpipe. Stoneham, Canada
- 19 February 2011 FREESTYLE WORLD CUP – Aerials. Minsk/Raubichi, Bulgaria
If we could pick anywhere this week, we’d be: In the backcountry somewhere between France and Switzerland
Primo conditions at Highlands Bowl, 9 February. Image:: Aspen-Snowmass/Jeremy Swanson
Colorado
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: 27.94cm at Aspen Mountain in the last 7 days
7 Day forecast: 31cm forecast in the next 7 days for Aspen Mountain
Current snow depth: 127cm at Aspen Mountain, 195.58cm at Highlands
Current conditions: powder and packed powder
Here comes the snow… a good storm front is taking up residence on Wednesday and it’s hanging around all through the weekend. The temperatures are going to drop steadily so Saturday and Sunday will be some pretty damn good days.
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: 27.94cm in the past 7 days
7 Day forecast: about 15.5cm for the coming week
Current snow depth: 203.2cm
Current Conditions: powder and packed powder
A little sunshine then some light snowfalls for the end of the week. Nice and cold again.
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: nothing but sunshine in the last 48 hours
7 Day forecast: about 21.7cm forecast in the next 7 days
Current snow depth: 195cm at mid mountain
Current conditions: powder and packed powder
The snow is going to come in on Wednesday and with a temperature spread from about minus 10 degrees Celsius to minus two it’s prime snowing weather!
Ashley Magnuson in Vail, 8 February. Image:: Jack Affleck
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: 17.78cm in the last 7 days
7 Day forecast: 21cm
Current snow depth: 132.08cm
Current conditions: packed powder
Like the rest of Colorado, Vail will start to see snow again on Wednesday and it’ll stick around all weekend, with dropping freezing levels to ensure that snow is primo powder.
And Colorado generally…
It’s been sunny this last week in Colorado but there is widespread snowfall on the way for the majority of this week. A spring-like temperature spike had everyone ditching the winter layers for sunnies and t-shirts but it ain’t spring yet! The air will cool off again by Wednesday and we’ll be back to winter.
Utah
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: no snow in the last three days
7 Day forecast: 24cm on the forecast
Current snow depth: 218.44cm
Following a week of sunshine The snow will return to Park City on Wednesday with some nice storm action all the way through the rest of the week.
Park City sharing the love on Valentine’s Day. Image:: Park City
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: no snow in the last three days
7 Day forecast: 23cm
Current snow depth: 284.48cm at mid mountain
Current conditions: powder and packed powder
Sunshine followed by snow for Snowbird this week. Nice dry Utah powder snow that is.
And Utah generally…
It snowed 33cm in Brighton on the weekend, somehow Brighton stole all the snow from the State as it was bluebird everywhere else. This coming week though the love will be shared around a little more with snowfalls for most resorts over the end of the week and into the weekend.
California
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: 2.5cm in the last week
7 Day forecast: maybe 58cm or so for the week
Current snow depth: 228cm at the summit
Current conditions: packed powder, man made and machine groomed
The snow is back! A few weeks of solid sunshine and Heavenly is back under a snow cloud with a more than decent amount of snow heading to the resort, Wednesday is the big dump day but it should snow every single day this week.
Gettin’ it done in the Mammoth terrain park, 14 February. Image:: Mammoth
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: no snow in the last week
7 Day forecast: 65cm, whoop!
Current snow depth: 426cm at the summit
Current conditions: packed powder and machine groomed
Snow’s a’comin’! All week in fact, with lots of it on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday! Mammoth is back to powder-central.
And California/Tahoe generally…
It doesn’t rain but it pours. After two weeks of nothing but sunshine it’s going to snow, and snow hard, all week in California.
And the rest of the USA…
Someone in the temperature regulation department thought it was spring this last week and cranked up the thermostat, most of the West Coast was unseasonably warm, the East Coast though kept up its run of La Nina fuelled snow storms. This week things are back to winter with storms everywhere! Yeeha!
Japan
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: about 80cm this past week
7 day forecast: 70cm
Current snow depth: 390cm at the Niseko Village summit
Current conditions: powder
A mix on sunshine and snowfalls last week bit this week should be all snow-cloud. Unfortunately a little rain expected on Wednesday.
Chris Grant in Hakuba, Happo One on 10 February. Image:: Garry Grant
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: about 20cm this week
7 Day forecast: 30cm for the week
Current snow depth: 320cm at the summit of Hakuba Goryu
Current conditions: powder and packed powder
Little bit of sunshine, little bit of snow. Quite warm though, up to plus five degrees Celsius in the middle of the week.
And Japan generally…
Japan will be all over the place this week. Snow in some places, sunshine in others, rain in parts. Across the board perhaps a little warmer than we would like though.
British Columbia
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: 16cm this week
7 Day forecast: 20.8cm this week
Current snow depth: 216cm
Current conditions: powder, packed powder and machine groomed
Just light snowfalls all through this week, keeping that very respectable snow base nicely topped up.
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: 19cm in the last 7 days
7 Day forecast: about 18.2cm for the week
Current snow depth: 248cm
Current conditions: powder and packed powder
Snow, snow, snow flurries, snow, snow, sun – is how the forecast reads for Fernie this week. The resort is having a great season and it’s not looking like it’s going to get any less fabulous in the near future.
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: 31cm last week
7 Day forecast: 10cm
Current snow depth: 190cm
Current conditions: packed powder and machine groomed
A little too warm again with highs up around plus five degrees until Wednesday, then plummeting temperatures, the weekend will be freezing! luckily there will be some snow with that colder weather so Silver Star should get a nice little top up.
Steve Lee at Hakuba, Cortina on 10 February. Image:: Garry Grant
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: 18.2cm last week
7 Day forecast: 10.6cm for the week
Current snow depth: 130cm
Current conditions: packed powder
Warmer air played a bit of havoc with the snow base last week but the coming weekend will see the temperature drop. There will be snow flurries most days, hopefully with the cold air there will be some good skiing at Sun Peaks on the weekend!
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: 88cm this week
7 Day forecast: about 84cm this week
Current snow depth: 280cm
Current conditions: packed powder
It’s chilly in Whistler village right now and that means the lower slopes are getting this snow also! Snow all day, every day, this week. Lovely.
And BC Generally…
Whistler had the highest weekend snowfall in North America but the rest of the state did ok, there was 50cm at Panorama about the same again at Mt Seymour. There will be scattered snow over this week and generally colder temperatures.
Alberta
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: 39cm in the last 7 days
7 Day forecast: 13.5cm for the coming week
Current snow depth: 197cm
Current conditions: powder and packed powder
Lake Louise is officially having a good season, plenty of snow last week, a little more to come this week.
Going Global
France
Recent snowfalls: Good news! Snow today!! There’s been about 10cm – 15cm across the French Alps and it hasn’t stopped yet
Forecast snowfalls: It should snow about 50cm before this storms burns itself out next Sunday.
Current conditions: Powder!
Top pick: Anywhere would be good this week
Switzerland
Recent snowfalls: 25cm and counting for Davos, good snow all round!
Forecast snowfalls: It’s going to snow all week! lots!
Snow conditions: Powder
Top pick: Davos, they’ve had some of the best snow so far
Sunshine at Highlands. Image:: Aspen-Snowmass/Jeremy Swanson
Austria
Recent snowfalls: 20cm – 25cm in Kitzbuhel, Zell am Zee, Lech, St Anton, everywhere really!
Forecast snowfalls: Blue skies for a couple of days then the storms should set in about Thursday. Only moderate snowfall expected at the moment
Snow conditions: powder and packed powder
Top pick: Kitzbuhel
Italy
Recent snowfalls: It was clear skies for Italy last week
Forecast snowfalls: The snow should hit the Italian Alps on Tuesday and snow steadily until Friday or so
Snow conditions: powder is on the way
Top pick: Arabba, it’s just having a great season
