World Snow Wrap Up Vol. 4, 22 Nov – Hello La Nina!
Jussi Oksanen at Mammoth 22 November. Image:: Mammoth
Stormwatch:
The snowfall heros
Try to find somewhere it didn’t snow this week, if you do try, don’t bother looking to North America because you’ll be hard pressed to find a seven day snow total under half a metre… in such a field of champions it’s hard to pick the heros but here goes:
- Mammoth with about 1m in the 24 hours to Monday afternoon
- Fernie with 90cm this week
- Breckenridge again with 93cm in seven days
The snow forecast heros:
It looks like Mother Nature didn’t think last week was enough cause she’s coming back for more next week…
- Nearly 70cm for Heavenly this week
- About 40cm for the Verbier – Zermatt area of Switzerland
- Niseko should get around 19cm in the next few days, not as outstanding as some of the other resorts but with very little snow so far it’s good to see Japan finally getting a look in
Highlights this week:
- Steamboat, Aspen and Silver Star all turning on the lifts by the end of the week
- The Lake Louise World Mens Cup Downhill – Bode, Didier, Axel, who doesn’t love a man in Lycra?
If we could pick anywhere this week, we’d be: Aspen, you know opening day’s going to be BIG!
Expected Opening: 25 November – Aspen Mountain and Snowmass. 11 December – Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk.
Recent Snowfalls: 43.18cm in the past 7 days
7 Day forecast: 27cm forecast in the next 7 days
Current snow depth: 71.12cm
Nearly 44cm in the last week has more than established an excellent base for the opening of Aspen Mountain and Snowmass this Thursday. Don’t forget, Just two days after the lifts start turning Aspen Mountain will play host to the 2010 Winternational Audi FIS Alpine World Cup. It’s a girls’ only race weekend in the slalom and GS disciplines and it includes the Bud Light concert series at the base of Aspen Mountain.
The without pause it’ll be straight into a round of NorAm GS races (men and women), also on Aspen Mountain.
Pre season turns at Aspen, a local’s prerogative. Image:: Aspen
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: 93.98cm in the last 7 days
7 Day forecast: 11cm forecast in the next 7 days
Current snow depth: 1m
Current Conditions: Early season packed powder
Breck has jumped from having 12% of terrain open to 32% up and running in the last seven days, thanks to nearly a metre of fresh snow – and the forecast icons are showing snowflakes up to Wednesday. The variety of terrain open is pretty impressive, with something for everyone on offer – the back bowls opened on Friday, bring it on!
Breck opens the 6 chair
Expected Opening: 24 November
Recent Snowfalls: nothing significant in the past 48 hours
7 Day forecast: 26cm forecast in the next 7 days
Current snow depth: 81.28cm at mid mountain
Come Wednesday 24 November Steamboat will be celebrating the best opening day in over a decade! Right now they’re planning on five lifts and 66 trails, equaling about 926 acres. And the other good news – tickets for the day will be $30, will all the proceeds going to the Steamboat Winter Sports Club Scholarship Fund.
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: 68.58cm in the last 7 days
7 Day forecast: 22cm
Current snow depth: 50cm
Current conditions: packed powder (early season)
So much snow Vail opened a week early, and with much fanfare. Burritos were eaten, hot chocolates were drunken… or drunk… or consumed… and now it’s down to the business of enjoying fabulous early season snow – which shouldn’t be a problem, Vail has a winter storm warning in place until Tuesday. Let’s get snowed in!
Park City first chair. Image:: Park City
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: 35.56cm in the last 48 hours
7 Day forecast: 41cm in the next 7 days
Current snow depth: 63cm
Current conditions: Early season
Park City hasn’t been as snow blessed as some of its Colorado cousins but this is shaping up to be a respectable week of snowfalls. Three lifts are already spinning, servicing four runs and one pipe, so things are still very early season, the snow guns are on super charge though!
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: 55.88cm in the last two days, and nearly 2.5m so far this year
7 Day forecast: 38cm in the next week
Current snow depth: 129.54cm at mid mountain
Current conditions: Early season packed powder
Snowbird had a snow smashing this week and the resort now has four lifts up and running.
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: 88.9cm in the last week
7 Day forecast: 69cm forecast
Current snow depth: 88cm – 109cm
Current conditions: powder, man made and machine groomed
Heavenly is winning the 7 day forecast race on the Mountainwatch.com Next Snow widget today (Monday), so although only 3% of the terrain is open right now, that number should grow considerably over the next few days
Fresh snow at Heavenly. Image:: Heavenly
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: between a half and one metre in the last 24 hours!
7 Day forecast: 51cm forecast
Current snow depth: 157cm at the summit
Current conditions: fresh powder and machine groomed
Snow smashed! a 1m day in Mammoth means we can expect to see the number of lifts and trails open growing rapidly. The Mammoth forum is calling it some of the best opening week skiing in memory, and there’s more to come. Thank you La Nina.
John Jackson at Mammoth 22 November. Image:: Mammoth
Expected Opening: 4 December.
Recent Snowfalls: Nothing significant
7 Day forecast: about 10cm
Current snow depth: nothing significant
Last week’s run of sunshine will give way to clouds over the coming days but it’s more likely to drop rain on Hakuba’s parade than any white stuff, sadly.
Expected Opening: 28 November.
Recent Snowfalls: 5 – 10cm in the past few days
7 Day forecast: 19cm
Current snow depth: about 20cm higher up, nothing down low
Rumours of a Niseko opening on 21 November appeared on facebook over the weekend, fueled by who knows what because one look at the snow cams was enough to dispel those rumours – Niskeo is still lusciously green right now.
Expected Opening: 4 December
Recent Snowfalls: 8cm this week
7 Day forecast: about 8cm in the next 7 days
Current snow depth: 63cm
In that first week of the season Big White will celebrate the holiday season with the Big White Light Up on 10 December – Christmas lights galore – and then get festive with the Big Reds at Big White wine festival on 11 December.
Expected Opening: 4 December.
Recent Snowfalls: 90cm in the last 7 days
7 Day forecast: 5cm for the week
Current snow depth: 76cm
Fernie’s snowpack has grown by over half a metre in the last week and things are looking white at the resort for a big December opening. Not too much on the forecast but there’s still time for a few more big dumps before opening day.
Expected Opening: 26 November
Recent Snowfalls: 52cm in the past week
7 Day forecast: 6cm in the coming week
Current snow depth: 71cm
Pretty much tripling the snowpack in the last seven days, Silver Star is well on track to open at the end of the week!
Silver Star Update “Jumpin the gun” from Silver Star on Vimeo.
Sun Peaks
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: 53.4cm last week
7 Day forecast: about 5cm towards the end of the week
Current snow depth: 60.8cm
Celebrating opening day with four lifts and 16% of the resort open, Sun Peaks is off to a good start. There’s not much snow in the forecast models for the coming days, but there will be snow clouds overhead for most of the week so who knows, perhaps the forecasts will increase!
Whistler
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: 69cm in the last week
7 Day forecast: 42cm this week
Current snow depth: 88cm
Current conditions: Early season powder
Last week we asked if it would ever stop snowing at Whistler and the answer seems most categorically to be no. snow on the reports, snow on the forecast, snow everywhere.
Whistler will put its Olympic bobsleigh track to good use this week when the first stop of the FIBT Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Cup comes to town on 25 November.
OPEN
Recent Snowfalls: 20cm in the last four days
7 Day forecast: about 5cm for the coming week
Current snow depth: 39 – 41cm
Current Conditions: Early season and man made snow
Lake Louise hasn’t been receiving the same mammoth snowfalls as some of the other resorts but good snowmaking efforts and steady flurries are ensuring the three lifts and seven open runs are pretty damn good.
Going Global
France
Recent snowfalls: The higher French resorts received up to half a metre of snow this past week
Forecast snowfalls: small amounts of snow, up to 10cm in Alpe d’Huez by Friday
Snow conditions: Tignes is one of the few resorts now open, with a 45cm base.
Top pick: Tignes. It’s open!
Switzerland
Recent snowfalls: Around 20cm on Friday for the Swiss Alps
Forecast snowfalls: Up to 40cm for Zermatt and nearby resorts such as Verbier by Friday
Snow conditions: Saas-Fee, Zermatt and Verbier are all open with a fresh snow cover.
Top pick: Zermatt – it’s 185cm base is one of the best in Europe right now
Austria
Recent snowfalls: 5cm in the Alberg region – Lech and St Anton, and about 10cm in the east, in the Tyrol region.
Forecast snowfalls: 15cm for Zell am Zee and the surrounding Tyrol for the week, similar measurements for the Alberg
Snow conditions: Early season, still not many resorts open beyond the Glaciers
Top pick: Zell am Zee, one of the first non glacier resorts open for the winter
Italy
Recent snowfalls: The Alta Valtellina resorts of the North East, such as Livingo, received around 40cm of snow on Friday. The Dolomites saw 20cm on Friday and most of Italy had some snow this week.
Forecast snowfalls: The Dolomites and the North East should receive about 14cm in the next two days.
Snow conditions: Some of the smaller resorts are open with early season conditions
Top pick: Breuil-Cervinia, 135cm snow depth
Hakuba forecasts,
snow reports and
live snow cams.
Lake Louise forecasts,
snow reports and
live snow cams.
Heavenly forecasts,
snow reports and
live snow cams.
Big White forecasts,
snow reports and
live snow cams.
Whistler forecasts,
snow reports and
live snow cams.
Vail forecasts,
snow reports and
live snow cams.
Steamboat forecasts,
snow reports and
live snow cams.
Fernie forecasts,
snow reports and
live snow cams.
Snowbird forecasts,
snow reports and
live snow cams.
Niseko forecasts,
snow reports and
live snow cams.
Aspen Mountain forecasts,
snow reports and
live snow cams.
Sun Peaks forecasts,
snow reports and
live snow cams.
Park City forecasts,
snow reports and
live snow cams.
Breckenridge forecasts,
snow reports and
live snow cams.
Silver Star forecasts,
snow reports and
live snow cams.
Mammoth forecasts,
snow reports and
live snow cams.
