Snowmass tourism effort promotes ties to Aspen

Snowmass Village is adopting an ad campaign that capitalizes on its proximity to the more recognized Aspen, the Aspen Daily News reports.
Snowmass Village Councilman John Wilkinson often draws blank stares at other ski resorts, even in Colorado, when he tells fellow skiers where he resides. But mention Aspen and it’s instant recognition, he said.
Snowmass tourism officials know the feeling. Last week, Susan Hamley, director of the town’s Snowmass Tourism office, unveiled a new advertising campaign that will tout the variety of activities not just in the village but also in Aspen and elsewhere in the valley. One potential ad Hamley displayed to Town Council on May 21 features a photo of the Belly Up, the popular concert venue in Aspen. The advert "plays up what we have here in Snowmass, what we have with our partners in Aspen and what you can get in the valley", Hamley said. "We mention Aspen in the copy as well, saying that the combination of these two neighbors is powerful". But Hamley said in an email that the effort should not be construed as the town "abandoning our own identity".
The town’s advisory board on marketing, events and group sales voted unanimously to establish a closer tie-in with its better-known neighbor, the board’s chairman, Robert Sinko, told Town Council. Sinko is general manager of the Crestwood Condominiums.
Hugh Templeman, general manager of the Viceroy Snowmass hotel, said positioning the resort with Aspen will be a strong step forward. "The board made a big decision in recent meetings to align ourselves much more tightly with Aspen, location-wise", said Templeman, who spoke before Town Council as a representative of the lodging industry on the marketing advisory board. "So you see that [result] in the advertising ... because we felt that was the smartest way to grow our process going forward".
The goal of the new campaign "is to give guests all the options they can enjoy while staying in Snowmass, which can even include a stop at the Hot Springs pool" in Glenwood Springs, Hamley said. "So when they weigh Snowmass against other Colorado resorts in their decision-making process, we have a far bigger offering".
Councilman Jason Haber said using the synergy between the two resorts is sensible. "In a way, Snowmass exists because of that relationship to Aspen", he said. "From a branding and marketing standpoint, it makes sense to tap into that recognition".
"What we were told is that it’s a no-brainer to partner with Aspen, but Snowmass is a unique place",  Wilkinson said. "It’s a family resort, easy to get to, has ski-in, ski-out [accommodation]. Aspen has the reputation, we have the skiing". Wilkinson said he understands tying Snowmass to Aspen (the ski area’s original name, in 1964, was Snowmass-at-Aspen) to alleviate those blank stares he usually gets around the state and elsewhere. "I get that part of it", he said. "I think it could work well with both resorts. There’s a synergistic effect there that, with the resort as a whole with Buttermilk and Highlands, once people realized that they’re all connected by one lift ticket, they’d say, ‘OK, I get it’".

I think tis is a valuable lesson to be learned by many ski resorts worlwide who live in the shadow of big ones.

Colorado's Echo Mountain ski area for sale

Echo Mountain announced that it would be going up for sale in August. The ski hill is located just 35 miles West from downtown Denver. Echo Mountain was founded back in 2006, and is located a short 35 miles out of Denver. In addition to serving as an extremely convenient and family-friendly mountain destination, the north-facing terrain provides skiers and snowboarders with unmatched views of the Continental Divide from elevations ranging from 9,000 to 11,000 feet. The property features a vertical drop of 660 feet that can be expanded to 1500+, 16 named trails; three lifts including a 2000 ft. fixed grip triple chair, a magic carpet surface lift for the learning center and a handle tow for the events area; tested helipad and state-of-the art snowmaking operations with 4 wells and a reservoir. Less than 33% of the 226 acres have been developed and the resort is surrounded by U.S. Forest Service managed property, making its operations expandable through trades or leases.
"We've had six years of steady growth," said owner Jerry Petitt, the Maryland hotelier who bought the 226-acre dormant Squaw Pass ski area at a 2002 auction for $700,000 and has since plowed several million dollars into developing the area. "But to reach the next level, Echo needs investment and expansion. And it's time for new ownership to take it to that next level". Echo Mountain has grown from 12,000 visits in its inaugural 2005-06 season to 32,000 last season. Just about every resort in the country limped through the 2011-12 ski season — the worst in two decades nationally for both snowfall and visitation. But Echo had decent snow and saw strong visitation, with revenue climbing 30 percent and daily ticket sales up 50 percent.The ski area holds a great deal of significance for the region and the Colorado ski industry as a whole due to the fact that it is one of the few resorts to boast being located on completely private land. Echo will be sold sold by Racebrook (a private investment firm) and its auction affiliate, Sheldon Good & Company in a sealed bid auction format, with bids due by August 2, 2012.
"To have a ski resort situated on 100% private land is unheard of in the ski industry, so Echo Mountain provides an extremely rare opportunity for a local or international buyer to purchase the property and continue its evolution into a unique winter and year-round sports destination", said John Cuticelli, CEO of Racebrook. “A savvy buyer will be able to enjoy the benefits and opportunities of owning and branding their own mountain resort while leveraging the property’s solid history.” Unlike land leased from the U.S. Forest Service, private ownership allows unrestricted year-round usage as well as advertising onsite and unique brand exposure.
There are only 26 active, permitted ski areas operating in the state of Colorado and Echo Mountain is easily the closest one to the rapidly growing recreation population along the Front Range of Colorado, making it a possible Winter Olympic event site. Its location allows visitors to minimize time on the heavily congested I-70, which takes drivers hours to reach other resorts and will likely experience massive disruptions as traffic increases as it is rebuilt in the coming years.
Bids are due by 4 PM MDT, August 2, 2012 to Sheldon Good & Company. Anyone interested in owning their very own world class mountain destination should head over to http://www.echomtnauction.com/ and make sure they don’t miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity.

Switzerland overnight stays recede for the 2011-2012 Winter Season

According to provisional results from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), during the winter tourist season (November 2011 to April 2012), 15.2 million overnight stays were recorded, corresponding to a fall of 3.7% (-591,000 overnight stays) compared with the same period of the previous year.
Despite excellent snowfall across the Swiss Alps for much of the winter the main problem the country had was a poor exchange rate. The government did step in to support the currency ensuring it did not drop below 1.4 Swiss francs to £1, but just four years ago £1 would buy 2.6 francs. The exchange rate put many people off.
Of the various cantons and regions Graubünden, which has resorts such as Davos and St Moritz, was hit hardest with an 8.6% fall.
The Valais canton, that contains the ski resorts of Verbier, Zermatt, Saas-Fee and Crans-Montana, was down 6.8%.
The Bernese Oberland, that has Wengen and Grindelwald within its borders, registered a fall of 6.2%.
The figures compare to the previous winter but the season of 2010/11 saw falls of up to 6% on 2009/10.
A breakdown in the nationalities shows the number of British people declining by 10%, Germany 16% and Holland 19%.
There was a 7% rise in Russians.
Despite the overall fall in European visitors there was an increase from other parts of the world. There were 37% more people from China and increases from Southeast Asia, India and the Middle East.
The number of Swiss people staying in the country went up by 0.1%. This is somewhat surprising as holidaying in the nearby eurozone parts of the Alps would have offered better value for money, but many Swiss ski resorts had good conditions across large parts of the winter and this would have attracted locals. However there were many examples from ski resorts neighbouring Switzerland that saw a sharp rise in Swiss skiers and snowboarders as they took advantage of the cheap exchange rate with the euro. For instance, the Tirol in Austria reported a 15.9% increase in Swiss visitors.

Canadian Resort Re-Opens For Father’s Day Weekend, Again

For a third year in a row, Mount Washington will operate on Father's Day weekend for skiing and boarding. The resort will spin the Whiskey Jack Chairlift from 10am to 4pm on June 16 and 17th.
"We recently completed another stellar snow season up here so the writing was on the wall back in April- we were contemplating another summer snow session", explains resort spokesperson Brent Curtain.
To make some turns on the summer corn snow, tickets will cost $25 per person and rental skis and boards will be an additional $25. If you pre-purchase your tickets and rentals online at mountwashington.ca you get an additional 10% discount.
The mountain is confirming that Linton's Loop will be open top to bottom that weekend but will determine if more runs can open closer to June 16. "We want to see what the weather brings over the next week before we commit to the number of runs we can open", adds Curtain.
For fans of the terrain park, a selection of rails and features will be setup mid-mountain.
While summer ski days are an anomaly over the resort's 33 years of operation, massive snowfalls in the last few seasons have resulted in an influx of summer snow turns.
"Four of our five deepest snow years have all occurred in the last few years. We're definitely in a deep cycle for snowfall so it's not surprising to see the snow last this long".
As a bonus for heading up to the summer ski weekend, all skiers and boarders will receive a two for one Mile High Chairlift Ride voucher. There will also be prizes handed out throughout the weekend for best outfits and costumes.

Utah Ski and Snowboard Industry Announces 2011-12 Skier Day Visits

The Utah ski and snowboard industry announced 3,802,536 million skier day visits during the 2011-12 winter season, down 10 percent from the previous season’s 4,223,064. The 2010-11 season was Utah’s second best season on record only a hair short from the 2007-08 season, which recorded 4,249,190 skier days.
Low snow totals plaguing resorts nationwide and the persistence of a wavering economy are credited for the decrease at Utah ski and snowboard resorts this season. As snow totals have accumulated well above the state’s 500 annual inch average the past four seasons, this year’s below average snowfall was all the more difficult for powder lovers to endure. Despite the downturn, Ski Utah is confident awareness and demand for the Utah wintersport product is headed on a positive trajectory. Utah skier day visits performed quite well in comparison to the national average down 15% from last season according to the National Ski Area Association.
"Utah ski and snowboard resorts did an exceptional job compensating for the lack of early season snow with a record level of snowmaking", noted Ski Utah President Nathan Rafferty. "Unfortunately, by the time Mother Nature joined the effort many consumers had already turned their attention away from skiing and snowboarding".
Ski Utah also observed that while participation in on-snow activities declined this season many complementary businesses, such as restaurants and shops, reported steady to strong business indicating many visitors supplemented their vacations with other activities.
For a complete history of Utah’s skier days visit http://www.skiutah.com/media/story_starters/utah-skier-days-table.
Ski Utah is the marketing firm owned and operated by the 14 statewide ski resorts that make up the Utah Ski and Snowboard Association (Alta Ski Area, Beaver Mountain, Brian Head Resort, Brighton Resort, Canyons Resort, Deer Valley Resort, Eagle Point, Park City Mountain Resort, Powder Mountain Resort, Snowbasin Resort, Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort, Solitude Mountain Resort, Sundance and Wolf Mountain). The organization has been creating brand awareness of and demand for the Utah wintersports product since its inception in 1978.

Where To Ski or Board In June?

Alps. Although the choice of ski areas open in the Alps at the start of June is limited to just four areas – the Dachstein (which currently has a base of more than 4.5m) and Hintertux glaciers in Austria, Zermatt in Switzerland and Passo Stelvio in Italy; that will all change in a few weeks’ time when half a dozen more areas are scheduled to open for summer skiing and snowboarding. These include French resorts Les 2 Alpes, Tignes (both opening on June 16th) and Val d’Isere - which opens first on June 9th. In Italy Val Senales and Cervinia re-open on the 16th and 20th June respectively. Summer skiing in the Alps mostly takes place between 7am and 1pm daily.

Scandinavia. In Scandinavia the three Norwegian summer ski areas of Folgefonn, Galdhoppigen and Stryn are all reporting huge bases of over 8m. Ruka in Finland still has it’s ‘summer’ slope open that helps it stay open for 8 months each (normal) ‘season’ from mid-October to mid-June. This year it plans to keep the slope open to June 10th.

North America. In North America there’s no repeat of last year’s snowy-late-spring and even stalwarts like Mammoth have closed ‘already.’ However Timberline in Oregon, the only year-round snowfield is open in the USA, as is Crystal Mountain in Washington state, “We will remain open for skiing June 2-3 and 9-10, possibly longer if conditions allow,” they say. North of the border all ski areas in Canada are currently closed but Whistler Blackcomb re-opens for glacier skiing on June 23rd and remains open to July 29th. There was over 2.1m (7 feet) of snow lying there on the 1st of June.

Southern Hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere Perisher in Australia will be the first resort to open, this Saturday, 2nd June, a week earlier than planned, thanks to 30cm of fresh snow plus snowmaking. Other Australian resorts are expected to follow as scheduled a week later. These include Mt Buller which will open the country’s only new chairlift this winter, a quad chair.
There have also been promising signs in New Zealand where opening was delayed last year by record warm months of May and June 2011, this year there have been re-assuring pre-season snowfalls and most resorts expect to open between June 9th and June 23rd with Coronet Peak and Mt Hutt among the first expecting to open.
Across the Pacific resorts across South America should also be opening for their 2012 winter in the next few weeks and again the signs are good with pre-season snow accumulations. New lifts include a quad chair for Las Lenas in Argentina and the first gondola in Chile at Valle Nevado.
Finally in Africa, Afri-ski in Lesotho, the only commercial snowfield in the south of the continent and the southern hemisphere has been snowmaking in recent cold temperatures and is on target to open on June 6th, next week.

.ski Website Name Extension Announced

A company called Starting Dot has announced it has applied to be the official registry of .ski (Dot Ski) as part of a program initiated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) launched in 2012 to create a new generation of website address (URL) extensions.

"The Starting Dot mission is to bring new online opportunities to ski sports communities, participants, business owners and brands through a dedicated top level domain name extension that ends with the .ski extension. (e.g. www.alpine.ski)", said a media statement from the company, which continues, "Through the successful management of .ski, Starting Dot will create new opportunities in the ever-expanding global ski sports industry and provide trusted and safe internet spaces for people passionate about ski sports".

The value of a dedicated .ski Top Level Domain space for the ski sports community is underpinned by support from a growing number of official endorsements. These include, SNTF - Ski Areas of France (an association composed by over 230 French mountain operators), the General Counsel of Savoy, the resort of Tignes and Olympic Gold Medalist Antoine Deneriaz.
Ski sports community will be able to begin securing .ski domain name extension in early 2013 and can stay up to date with the latest news from .ski at www.dot-ski.com.
Founded in October 2011 in Paris, Starting Dot is developing a portfolio of 5 new Top Level Domain names (TLDs) dedicated to major online industries: .SKI, .IMMO, .DESIGN, .ARCHI and .BIO. Starting Dot aims to help online businesses more distinctively express their purpose in their online brands and reach deeper into their consumer and business audiences. StartingDot's strategy is to focus on TLDs dedicated to SME categories for which a direct correlation between their trade and their domain name is of the utmost importance.

Valle Nevado and Mammoth Mountain Announce Partnership

Valle Nevado (Chile) and Mammoth Mountain (USA, California) announced a new sister resort partnership effective May 2012. Valle Nevado, located 90 minutes from Santiago, and Mammoth Mountain, located in Central California, are two of the largest and most popular resorts in their respective countries, and an alliance between the two will provide customers and season pass holders with unique cross-promotional benefits and greater awareness of each resort, opening an opportunity for skiers and snowboarders to live the legend of the endless winter.
To celebrate Valle Nevado and Mammoth Mountain’s new partnership, season pass holders at each resort will receive 7-Day free lift tickets at the sister resort. Valle Nevado and Mammoth Mountain expect to see many future benefits for customers that will include lodging discounts and other added-value services. Free days can be issued per day, one at a time, and don’t need to be consecutive. There are no blackout dates to use the free days in Valle Nevado. Free days can be redeemed anytime during the 2012 Chilean ski season.
"Valle Nevado sees the partnership with Mammoth Mountain as a perfect fit", says Valle Nevado Sales & Marketing Director Ricardo Almeida. "Both resorts adhere to a visionary philosophy that siezes opportunities to modernize on-mountain and base facilities, provide outstanding customer service, and offer a tremendous amount of world-class terrain. But most importantly, it gives skiers on both hemispheres a chance to enjoy the unparalled experience of summer skiing".
Valle Nevado is also working with closely with Mammoth Mountain’s Unbound Terrain Park to put together unique cross activities such as training camps, team photo shoots, and the Unbound South America Session that will be announced in the near future.

The Biggest Ski Resorts On Facebook

According to a report by website SkiReports.com at the end of December 2011, California's Mammoth Mountain was about to be the first ski resort in the world to hit the 100,000 Facebook Fans mark with 99,458 fans.
With the 100,000 fans mark now passed, research by Skiinfo.com, a division of Mountain News Corporation, has found that Mammoth has been overtaken by its neighbour to the north, Heavenly and joined by Vail and Canada’s Whistler as the four resorts with a six figure Facebook fan base.
Eight of the top 10 resorts for fans are all in North America with all but one of those in the USA and five of the top 15 are Vail Resorts properties, including top placed Heavenly as well as Beaver Creek, Keystone, Breckenridge and Northstar – possibly in part reflecting the popularity of the company’s Epic Mix partially social-networking based ticketing and community effort.
Chile's Valle Nevado is the top placed southern hemisphere and Megeve in France the highest non-North American resort for Facebook fans at number five.
The top 10 resorts for Facebook fan numbers have all now passed the 50,000 fans mark.

1. Heavenly (USA); facebook.com/heavenlymountain (122,291 Likes)
2. Mammoth Mountain (USA); facebook.com/MammothMTN (117,247)
3. Vail (USA); facebook.com/vailmtn (112,855)
4. Whistler (Canada); facebook.com/whistlerblackcomb (105,601)
5. Megeve (France); facebook.com/megeve (80,712)
6. Breckenridge (USA); facebook.com/Breckenridge (79,896)
7. Valle Nevado (Chile); facebook.com/pages/Valle-Nevado-Ski-Resort (78,385)
8. Jackson Hole (USA); facebook.com/ jacksonhole (75,632)
9. Keystone (USA); facebook.com/Keystone (65,019)
10. Grandvalira (Andorra); facebook.com/Grandvalira (57,997)
11. Northstar at Tahoe (USA); facebook.com/Northstar (54,692)
12. Saalbach Hinterglemn (Austria); facebook.com/ saalbachhinterglemm (52,195)
13. Vallnord (Andorra); facenbook.com/vallnord (49,480)
14. Mountain High (USA); facebook.com/mthigh (46,392)
15. Squaw Valley (USA); facebook.com/squawvalley (44,562)
16. Beaver Creek (USA); facebook.com/beavercreek (43,375)
17. Are (Sweden); facebook.com/skistarare (37,519)
18. Bukovel (Ukraine); facebook.com/bukovel (37,509)
19. Sun Valley (USA); facebook.com/ sunvalley (36,815)
20. Ischgl (Austria); facebook.com/ paznaun.ischgl (36,813)
21. Killington (USA); facebook.com/killingtonresort (36,715)
22. Mountain Creek (USA); facebook.com/MountainCreekNJ (36,006)
23. Aspen (USA); facebook.com/Aspen/Snowmass (34,494)
24. Sugarloaf (USA); facebook.com/sugarloaf (33,844)
25. Solden (Austria); facebook.com/soelden.oetztal (30,191)
26. Sunday River (USA); facebook.com/sundayriver (29,732)
27. Perisher (Australia); facebook.com/perishereresort (27,709)
28. Hemsedal (Norway); facebook.com/hemsedal (26,992)
29. Tignes (France); facebook.com/Alpe-dHuez-Officiel (26,870)
30. Kitzbuhel (Austria); facebook.com/kitzbuehel (25,718)
31. Laax (Switzerland); facebook.com/LAAX (23,262)

(NB All well known resorts have been checked but this table may be missing some resorts that have not been checked)

By contrast most of the better known resorts in Europe are a long way behind North America with the exception of Andorra’sd two large ski areas and Saalbach Hinterglemm in Austria, all around the 50,000 fans mark and in the world top 11. After these the most popular Facebook pages in Europe are for the top resort in Scandinavia and in Ukraine- only 10 fans apart at the time of compilation.
Of the best know resorts in Western Europe Zermatt has over 14,000 followers and La Plagne has more than 13,000 Facebook followers. St Anton has more than 12,000 followers, Courchevel 10,700 and Mayrhofen has just passed 7,000 followers, just behind St Moritz with 7,400 then Verbier has 4,646 followers.
It can also be hard to track down resorts on Facebook without a direct link to the correct page from their website. Facebook.com/Chamonix for example take you to registered nurse Chamonix Roberts, a Lady Ga Ga fan based in Salt Lake City while www.facebook.com/valdisere takes you to Arpin Bruno’s Facebook page – a large gentleman in a day glo green Borat-style unitard.
Although more than 1,000 ski resorts now have Facebook pages many have made little use of social networking, including some famous name resorts.
Twitter and YouTube are less popular and at the other end of the scale from Heavenly, Alpine Valley in Wisconsin has six followers on Twitter and has made one tweet so far in January this year.

Where To Ski or Board In May?

Canada
At Whistler, Blackcomb Mountain’s operations have been extended to May 28, 2012. "We are enjoying another fantastic winter season here in Whistler so spring will have to wait just a little bit longer", says Doug MacFarlane, Whistler Blackcomb mountain operations manager. "We’ve got some of the best spring conditions we’ve ever had. Extending the ski season on Blackcomb and giving the people what they want was an easy decision".
Marmot Basin and Lake Louise in Alberta are also open the first week of May while Sunshine near Banff, which has reported record snowfall this year, is open another fortnight to nearly the end of May.

Finland
Ruka has the longest ski season in Finland and probably the longest season of any non-glacier ski area in the world. It expects to be open to June again this winter, almost all lifts and runs are open as we end April with temperatures hovering around zero. It usually keeps one or two main runs open through May and June. The resort's 2010-2011 season ran from 18.10.2010-12.6.2011 with a total of 239 skiing days.

France
There’s no longer year-round skiing in France, but Tignes, host of the European X Games last month which once opened 365 days, still has by far the country’s longest season and is scheduled to open to May 8th, along with Europe’s highest resort, Val Thorens. After that there are no ski areas scheduled to be open in France until summer skiing begins in late June. You could ski indoors on the world’s longest indoor run at Amneville up in the north of the country though – it’s 600m long.

Italy
With most of Italy’s remaining ski areas closing in the first few days of May and summer ski destinations like Val Senales and Cervinia not opening until at least June, the country’s remaining May skiing is offered by the Presena Glacier above Passo Tonale where normally several challenging runs (intermediate level or better) are available.

Switzerland
Engelberg has had the deepest snowbase in Europe all winter and at the time of writing it was still lying 6m (20 feet) deep up on the resort’s Titlis glacier, where the season continues to 28 May this year.
Other Swiss options include Zermatt – open year round, and Glacier 3000 above Les Diablerets which plans to stay open to the end of May. The Diavolezza glacier in the Engadin Valley near St Moritz is a further choice.

JapanNiseko had another good snow year, perhaps topping the world snowfall chart this winter with nearly 22m (66 feet) of snow reported. The snow is still lying thick and deep but it closes May 7th. After that one of the best bets may be to head to Gassan ("Moon Mountain" in Japanese), a small ski areas with a glacier in Tohoku Region's Yamagata Prefecture which has one of the world's oddest ski seasons - being open from May to July each year.

Norway
The summer ski season kicks off in May in Norway with Folgefonn normally the first to open early in the month followed by Stryn (24 May) and Galdhøpiggen. Each centre offers skiing, boarding and summer camps on the country’s highest and biggest glaciers.

Sweden
Riksgränsen in the Arctic Circle in Northern Sweden has long been known as one of the world’s best destinations for late spring skiing, with the snow still fresh and less affected by the freeze-thaw spring skiing conditions at this time of year at resorts at more southerly latitudes. It also offers the novelty of 24 hour daylight from later in the month with skiing and boarding in the small hours under the midnight sun. 2012 snow conditions are reported to be excellent.

Scotland
Elsewhere in Europe, Scottish ski areas are keen to prove they can deliver snow sports after being forced to close through March due to record warm weather. Three were open for the final weekends of April and with the weather still cool, may open in to May.

USA
Mammoth Mountain in California has long been one of the best bets for spring skiing through to June or July in the USA and despite an unusual snowfall-short winter, frequent heavy snow storms through March and April have given the resort a good base and it has so far announced it will be open at least to the USS Memorial Day holiday at the very end of May.
Elsewhere with a 100-inch (2.5m) base, Snowbird in Utah is still open for skiing and boarding, and says it will, "continue running lifts as long as the snowpack and other conditions permit". Crystal Mountain in Washington also plans to stay open beyond May and Timberline in Oregon is a third choice.

Southern Hemisphere
The ski season in the southern hemisphere is unlikely to start until early June unless there is unseasonable early snow (picture attached: Valle Nevado, Chile, April 29th). Typically Afri-ski in Lesotho (www.afri-ski.com) is one of the first to open, scheduled for June 7 this year, along with resorts in New Zealand.

Still More Heavy Late Season Snowfalls In The Alps

It has been another snowy April week in the Alps and dolomites and while the number of ski areas still open for ‘winter’ 2011-12 continues to diminish, most of those that remain open have plenty of fresh snow to enjoy. It has been another snowy week in France in particular with repeat powder alarms for 20cm/8 inches or more of new snow reported by many of the still-open centres over the past seven days – with some areas reporting over a metre of snow in the past week.
The snowfall has slowed across the Atlantic where less than 20 ski areas remain open in Canada and the US with May beginning next week one of the quietest months of the year for open ski areas before some European resorts begin re-opening for summer skiing and boarding and then hopefully towards the end of the month the first southern hemisphere ski areas begin opening for their 2012 seasons.
The last week of April brought fresh snow to the Austrian Alps. On Tuesday April 24th, 20cm snowfall was reported from Solden (with another 20cm+ on Wednesday) while 10cm was reported at Obergurgl-Hochgurgl and on the Stubai Glacier. Also Ischgl reported heavy snowfall ahead of its big season-ending concert this weekend. The Austrian weather forecast says it will get much warmer at the end of the week, so there is not more snowfall expected. During the last seven days Kaprun – Kitzsteinhorn and Moelltal Glacier received 20cm powder and Solden got 70cm snowfall in the last week. Around ten resorts are still open in Austria with the best snow depth at the Dachstein Glacier with 600cm. The Stubai Glacier has 420cm and Pitztal also 420cm. There are still open slopes as well at Kaunertal Glacier, in Ischgl, Obertauern and Kaprun.
The end of the French ski season is only two weeks away as the last two resorts open in the country plan to end their 2011-12 seasons on May 8th, making France the only one of the big four Alpine ski nations to have no resorts open for the rest of May and in to June until Les 2 Alpes, Tignes and Val d’Isere re-open for summer skiing. France has had the most snow in the past seven days of anywhere in the world with La Clusaz reporting 1.2m (four feet) falling in the past week. Most of the country’s still-open ski areas have been issuing powder alarms for 20cm or more of new snow almost daily. La Plagne and La Clusaz have already issued fresh powder alarms today (Wednesday 25 April). Despite the new snow, most of the remaining French ski areas that are still open – including Courchevel, Meribel, Alpe d’Huez, les 2 Alps, La Plagne, Risoul/Vars, La Clusaz and Val d’Isere - will close after this weekend (or by May 1st at the latest) leaving only Chamonix (still with the deepest snow base in France - back up to 4m), Tignes and Val Thorens open for a further weekend in May.
Italian ski areas have had their share of fresh snow this week too. Most are now closed and of the few still open only Cervinia plans to stay open for two more weekends – through to May 6. However conditions are reported to be good at Livigno and on the slopes of Faloria ski area in Cortina, both of which will be open until 1 May.
Swiss mountain weather over the past week has changed from sun to rain to snow as is typical for April weather. After quite sunny weeks in the beginning and rainy days in the middle, fresh snow has arrived in the last few days of April. On Tuesday Verbier, which is coming up to its final weekend of the season, reported 15cm, Gstaad 10cm and Samnaun 5cm. In the last seven days Gstaad Glacier 3000 received 50cm of fresh powder, while Samnaun measured 32cm and Champéry 20cm. There are still about 20 resorts open in Switzerland including Engelberg where the snow depth has gone back up to 605cm, Zermatt with 170cm, St. Moritz with 100cm and Adelboden with 100cm.
Most ski areas in the Pyrenees are now closed but Masella in Spain remains operational with a 30-120cm base. Ski areas in Andorra closed two weeks ago.
Voss still has Norway’s deepest snow at 3.3m (11 feet) and the next weekends is a big one at some of the country’ larger resorts like Area in Sweden and Hemsedal in Norway with big festivals scheduled. The late spring skiing is also underway at Riksgransen in the Swedish Arctic Circle to the north where midnight-sun skiing is due to begin in about a month’s time.
The weather in Scotland has been cold with a lot of precipitation all through April, falling as snow on higher ground. Some forecasts are predicting May will be the coldest for a century with snow to lower levels. Cairngorm has been open for the past week with limited terrain available for all ability levels at the top of the slopes and reduced priced tickets. On the West Coast Glencoe was open last weekend and may re-open this weekend – they say they have enough snow but not enough skiers and boarders. Available terrain was mostly suited to intermediate and advanced skiers. Its chairlift is running daily so ski tourers can get easy access to terrain above the snowline. Nevis Range was not open for skiers and boarders on its own runs last weekend but it did run the quad chair above the gondola so that those prepared to ski off piste on unpatrolled terrain could access the backside of the slopes. It has not yet decided if it will offer a similar arrangement this weekend. The Lecht and Glenshee have inadequate snow cover and remain closed.
Most ski area in Canada are now closed but those still open have deep snowbases thanks to record or near record snowfall. Whistler Blackcomb is open to the end of May and will be open for summer skiing in late June and July. In Alberta Lake Louise and Marmot Basin are open in to the first week of May while Sunshine Village near Banff, which has beaten it’s all time snowfall record this season, is open for another four weeks to late May.
Most ski areas in the USA are now closed but a few dozen on the west side of the country are still operating and some plan to continue right through May. There’s been little new snow in the past week on the west side of the country although ironically there has been more snow in the East where nearly all centres are closed. Those that expect to have at least four weeks of the season (in some cases at weekends only) to go include Suga Bbowl, Donner Ski Ranch and Mammoth Mountain in California, Alyeska in Alaska, Crystal Mountain in Washington State, Mt Bachelor in Oregon, Snowbird in Utah and Timberline in Oregon – which should open through to September. "While most resorts are shutting down, our spring season is just getting started!", said a resort statement from Mammoth, which has up to 2.4m lying on upper slopes. Also still open are Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows in California (with Kirkwood also open this weekend) and Arapahoe Basin and Loveland in Colorado – although the latter now say this weekend will be their last of the season. Mt Baker in Washington State still has the world’s deepest snowbase at 727cm (just over 24 feet) but plans to close for the season after the coming weekend. On the East Coast Seven Springs ski area in Pennsylvania made history yesterday (Tuesday 24 April) by re-opening after around 20cm of new snow fell, making national headlines for the latest ever ski area opening in the region. Jay Peak in Vermont says it expects to re-open this weekend and has up to 30cm, of snow lying.

More Snow in The Alps and North America for Still Open Ski Areas

An estimated 250 ski areas remain open in the northern hemisphere for the last few weeks of April 2012 – and many have been blessed with significant new snowfall over the past few days.
The Alps along with ski areas in California have seen the biggest falls but there’s been new snow too in the Dolomites, Pyrenees, Scandinavia, Western Canada, Utah, New England and in Scotland ski areas have re-opened after nearly two months thanks to fresh snow in a much colder April than the February and March that went before.
The number of resorts still open in Austria has fallen dramatically in the last few days with now only around 20 resorts still open in Austria. More resorts will close in the next week and yesterday, Tuesday April 17th, skiers could enjoy the last day of the season on the famous Hahnenkamm run in Kitzbuehel. With sunshine and fresh powder it was a perfect ski day and with a snow depth of 160cm Kitzbuehl has still 11 slopes open. The remaining open resorts are of course pleased about the new fresh snow they’ve received during the past few days. Up to 45cm (18 inches) of powder fell at resorts including the Pitztaler Glacier, Kaprun – Kitzsteinhorn and Obergurgl-Hochgurgl . In addition up to 30cm (a foot) of new snow was reported from Stubaital, Kitzbuehel and Stubai Glacier. The snow depth on the Dachstein Glacier is now up to 600cm (20 feet). At the Stubai Glacier the snow depth is 420cm and at the Pitztal Glacier 394cm.
Most of the ski areas in France which are still open have received at least 30cm (a foot) of new snow in the past seven days. Among the beneficiaries La Clusaz received 39cm, Tignes (open to May 7th) 35cm and Les 2 Alpes and Val d’Isere 20cm each. Chamonix still has the country’s deepest snow at 3.6m (12 feet). On the French side of the Pyrenees some ski areas are still open and Cauterets announced a powder alarm for more than 20cm of fresh snow earlier this week.
Italy has had its share of fresh snow this week too with summer ski destination Val Senales doing best with 60cm (two feet) of new snow setting it up for great late spring skiing. There has also been a foot (30cm) of snow or more at other leading resorts in both the Alps and Dolomites including the Monterosa region and Cortina. Livigno received 40cm. Passo Tonale has the deepest snow in Italy at 3.7m (12.3 feet).
Switzerland is the country with probably the most open ski resorts at the moment with more than 40 resorts open. In recent days several resorts received very good snow falls including Saas Fee with 92cm (over three feet) as well as Crans Montana Aminona with 69cm, Andermatt with 42cm and the Gstaad Glacier 3000 with 40cm. The new powder is definitely welcome at the slopes and skiers can enjoy skiing after Easter even more. The snow depth in Engelberg is again more than six metres (20 feet) and the deepest in Europe, in Saas-Fee (picture attached) there is 439cm lying at higher levels, in Andermatt and Crans Montana 400cm and in Gstaad Glacier 3000 - 380cm.
Resorts in Scandinavia have reported up to 42cm (17 inches) of new snow in the past seven days. Big resorts still open include Hemsedal in Norway and Are in Sweden which are both gearing up for big May Weekend closing extravaganza. Further north Riksgransen in the Swedish Arctic Circle and Ruka in Finland expect to be open in to June and 24 hour daylight.
The cold April in Scotland and fresh snow this week left the country’s web cams looking as white as they have done for two months, since mid-February, earlier this week. It has warmed up slightly in the past 24 hours but Cairngorm above Aviemore has terrain open today and Glencoe and Nevis Range are considering re-opening later this week subject to demand/conditions. The Lecht and Glenshee have white slopes but the snow is not deep enough to justify re-opening.
Most ski areas in Canada have now closed but the stalwarts that stay open in to May or later each year are enjoying record or near-record spring snow bases and several have had fresh snow in the past week. In BC its Whistler Blackcomb that’s enjoying great conditions and has extended its season to the end of May after a record snowfall in March. In Alberta Lake Louise hopes to break its all time snowfall record before closing on May 7th and Sunshine, which is open another two weeks after that, already has done. There’s also been fresh snow to the north at still-open Marmot Basin near Jasper.
Most US resorts are now closed for the season and the survivors are largely the usual purveyors of spring skiing – but perhaps a little earlier in the year than usual. Despite late season snow – with many Californian resorts receiving up to a metre of new snow in the past week following on from more good snowfalls over the past month, it seems unlikely that there’ll be anything like the repeat of last season’s late Spring and early summer opening in the area. Currently Alpine Meadows, which has said it will stay open at weekends to at least May 13th, is the only Tahoe resort to announce plans to stay open beyond the end of the month. Mammoth Mountain to the south which has also received 90cm of new snow in the past week has said it will stay open to at least May 28th (Memorial Day) however. Colorado’s ski areas have largely closed – Arapahoe Basin, Loveland and Winter Park remain open with mid-mountain bases around 1.2m (four feet). Also open and planning to stay open in to May at least are Crystal Mountain in Washington State and Timberline in Oregon. In Utah only Brighton and snowbird are open with Alta saying they’ll re-open the next few weekends. The state has seen good snowfall of up to 61cm (two feet – at Alta) in the past week and Snowbird says it will be open weekends through May while the snowpack – currently averaging 2.5m mid-mountain – remains. On the East Coast with the closure of Sugarloaf and Sunday River in Maine at the weekend (Sunday River pointing out that despite a tough snowfall season it had in fact opened in late October and been able to make snow on more than 200 days of its near six month season) only Killington in Vermont is still open with conditions rather more wintery that much of the winter at present. Two lifts and six runs are open there.

Heavy Snowfall On Still Open Slopes in the Alps

There’s been fresh snow in the Alps over the weekend according to reports on skiinfo.
Powder alarms for more than 20cm (eight inches) of new snow in 24 hours were generates by still-open ski areas from north-to-south and east-to-west of Europe’s main ski mountain range – good news for anyone still planning to hit the slopes at one of the several hundred ski areas still open.
Beneficiaries include Vars and Les Orres in the southern French Alps reporting 35cm (14 inches) of new snow by Sunday. These followed on from falls in the northern French Alps from Thursday to Saturday which brought 20cm (eight inches) to Avoriaz, and a full foot (30cm) to Argentiere and Chamonix which have had the deepest snow in the country all year and still have an approximately three metre (10 feet) base and are open to May.
In Italy La Thuile had 20cm and the Monterosa Region a full 35cm (14 inches) while Switzerland’s Samnaun linked to Ischgl in Austria and open to May posted 20cm while Crans Montana had a full foot (30cm).
Saas Fee – with a few days of its season left before its short closure and then summer ski season start, got 40 cm in the last 24 hours and a snow base of 440 cm in the glacier (picture attached).
Along with these headline snowfall figures many resorts got longer-periods accumulations led by Gstaad which says it has received (1.8m) six feet of snow over the past 7 days. Grindelwald is second in Europe with 105cm (3.5 feet) and La Grave says 80cm (nearly three feet) – the same as Les ores and Alagna over the border in Italy.
It wasn’t just the Alps that got the snow too. Snowfall was reported in Scandinavia, Scotland and down in the Pyrenees where Cauterets reported 40cm of new snow yesterday. This has issued another powder alarm today, Monday 16th April.
In the Italian Dolomites Madonna di Campiglio reported a full 45cm and summer ski area Val Senales 30cm (a foot) on each of two successive days.

Fresh April Snow In The Alps, East and West North America

Although many resorts on both sides of the Atlantic have closed last weekend after Easter Sunday or plan to do so next weekend, quite a few of those that are still open to the end of April or in to May or June are able to report fresh snow fall – in some cases quite significant levels in the Austrian, French, Italian, Swiss and German Alps as well as in the Dolomites. More snow is expected towards the end of the week too as the snowline drops.
In North America there’s been cold weather and in some cases significant snowfalls at last in the East of the continent, with up to a foot (30cm) of new snow reported in the past 48 hours. Unfortunately however most resorts are already closed there.
Several resorts got fresh snow over the Easter holidays in Austria with Solden reporting almost a metre (98cm/3.3 feet to be exact). Solden has had more fresh powder on Tuesday again with more new snow so the slopes there are in a great shape. Nearby Obergurgl also saw healthy falls leaving both resorts in great shape for the rest of April. Other ski areas also did well including the Molltal Glacier (30cm), Serfaus Fiss Ladis (20cm) the Dachstein Glacier (20cm) and Alpbachtal (20cm). A few centimetres of fresh snow has also allowed Kitzbuhel to extend its season to May 1st with more than 20 slopes still open in the popular resort. The snow depth is 145cm (nearly five feet) at higher elevations. The country’s best snow depth is still at the Dachstein-Glacier with 580cm (nearly 20 feet!). At Zugspitzplatt Ehrwald there are 440cm and at Stubaier Glacier are 410cm. More new snow is expected for Wednesday and for the weekend in Tirol and Vorarlberg.
Resorts still open in France have seen some good fresh snow falls in many cases over the past week. Chamonix, which still has the country’s deepest snow base of 3.4m (11.3 feet) has had another 20cm of snow in the last seven days while the Grand Massif region including Flaine reported the biggest fall of 45cm (18 inches). In the southern Alps Isola 2000 had 25cm of new snow.
There have been some healthy snowfalls in Italy over the past week at the country’s leading resorts. Among the beneficiaries were summer ski centre Val Senales with 60cm (two feet), Madonna di Campiglio with 37cm of fresh snow and Cervinia with 30cm (a foot). In the dolomites Cortina d’Ampezzo had 25cm (10 inches) on new snow. The deepest snow base is above Passo Tonale on the Presena Glacier with three metres (10 feet).
There’s been new snow reported over the last few days in Switzerland, so the slopes are looking good for the last weeks of the season. Andermatt got 42cm, Crans Montana 40cm, Engelberg 40cm, Lotschental 32cm and Laax 15cm. The country’s higher slopes are in a good shape and skiers can enjoy the spring conditions. At the end of the week the snow line is expected to drop to 800m, so snow can be expected in some regions. The deepest snow can still be found at Engelberg with 595cm (20 feet), followed by Andermatt 400cm and Laax with 380cm.
With a few weeks of the season left at the snowiest resorts in the Pyrenees, snow depths are holding up. Vallnord in Andorra has the deepest in the region at 2.7m (9 feet) with Grandvalira (Soldeu and Pas de la Casa) still reporting up to 1.4m (nearly five feet) on upper slopes. Over the border in France Cauterets has the deepest snow in the region with a 1.7m (nearly six foot) base. Astun in Spain is on 1.2m (four feet).
Norway dominates Scandinavia in terms of snowfall totals and snow depths with coastal Voss reporting the region’s deepest base of 3.4m (11.3 feet) at present. It is one of the world’s top 10 recipients of snowfall volume in the past week too with another 42cm (16 inches) of snow falling.
Temperatures have risen after the snowy first week of April that allowed several Scottish ski areas to re-open, so they have since closed again. However Cairngorm has had new snow in the past 24 hours and is considering re-opening if conditions allow. Nevis Range has also had a few inches of new snow in the past few days and with more forecast later this week says it may re-open this weekend if conditions allow.
Many of Canada’s leading resorts closed after Easter Sunday but those still open on both sides of the country have in many cases benefitted from fresh snowfall and even those that haven’t had new snow have, in most cases, good bases that will see them through to the end of the season. Lake Louise, open to May 7th for example, is only 20cm off its all time snowfall record. Other resorts with a month or more of their winter still to go include Sunshine Village near Banff, Marmot Basin near Jasper and Whistler. Mount Washington (picture attached) has a huge snow base once again and plans to stay open until April 22nd, the Canadian National snowboard squad were training there over the weekend. On the East Coast there was much needed new snow in Quebec with Mont Sainte Anne still having half its runs open and an 84cm base.
Although many US ski areas closed at the weekend, there have been some significant snowfalls reported in both the East and west coasts of the country, so in some ways this was one of the most normal weeks of the 11-12 ski season. The biggest seven day accumulation has been at Big Sky in Montana which reports 75cm or two-and-a-half feet of snow, other resorts in the North west have again seen the most snow although fresh accumulations in Colorado and California were minimal. Utah resorts however reported up to 30cm (a foot) of new snow with Snowbird expecting to stay open in to May. Tahoe resorts didn’t see much new snow but they have announced extended seasons in some cases thanks to the big March falls and Alpine meadows, Kirkwood and Squaw Valley all look set to open at least at weekends to the start of May, possibly longer. Although there are hardly any ski areas still open in Eastern USA after the war March there was at last significant snowfall here with Killington one of the big beneficiaries, receiving 33cm (over 13 inches) in the past few days boosting its upper slope depth to 91cm (three feet). Mt Baker in Washington state continues to have the deepest snow pack in the US, North America and the world at 7.8 metres or about 26 feet!

Snow Returns to Northern Europe and Continues in Western North America

It’s been largely mild again with little fresh snow in the Alps but although resorts are closing for the end of winter, those that are still open typically have deep snow bases so conditions are largely good if ‘spring like’ A cold front due to arrive in the next few days may change things dramatically with up to 90cm (three feet) of new snow forecast. It’s already snowing in the French alps.
Snow is back in Northern Europe with the re-opening of some Scottish ski areas after their premature closure in February and Norway has returned to the top of the world snowfall charts with up to 192cm in the past week.
In Western North America and particularly Canada it’s been a snowy week, yet again, with Whistler reporting more than 1.5m (five feet) of fresh snow taking them further past their seasonal average and with more than 7 weeks of the season left to run there, closer to possibly breaking their all time snowfall record.
There has been little new snow fall in the last week in Austria although several resorts including Zauchensee reported 30cm (a foot) of new snow and bigger name centres including Kaprun, Molltaler Glacier and Dachstein Glacier had 15cm (six inches) each. The upcoming days will stay mild but the snow line gets lower over the Easter weekend and more snow is expected, especially in resorts like Ischgl, Galtur, Nauders and Kaunertal where up to 80cm of new snow is forecast. So the Easter holidays could be very white in the Alps. Snow depths are still very good with 590cm (nearly 20 feet) at Dachstein Glacier, 415cm at Zugspitzplatt Ehrwald and 410cm at Stubaier Glacier.
It’s snowing today (April 4) in southern France with Isola 2000 reporting 20cm of new snow and Serre Chevalier 10cm. There’s been little other new snow in France this week but snow depths remain good at most major ski centres in the northern Alps after the huge falls in the first half of this winter – and there have been some top ups of fresh too with Alpe d’Huez and Flaine among those reporting 5cm of new snow today. Chamonix still has the deepest base of 3.6m (12 feet0 and is open in to May.
There’s been little new snow in the past week in Italy with only Alagna reporting 5cm (two inches) of fresh cover. Snow depths at centres that are still open in Italy remain good including three metres (10 feet) at Passo Tonale and 2.7m (nine feet) at Cervinia on upper slopes – both open at least to May.
With only 5cm in Davos Klosters and 4cm in Crans Montana snow falls in Switzerland were really rare in the last week. After several very sunny days, the cloudy weather is back but temperatures are still mild so in most areas it will be rainy for the next few days. More sun can be expected at the Easter weekend. The weather stations also expect new snow for the upcoming seven days. Snow falls up to 50cm are likely in Saas Fee, Engelberg, Grindelwald and Andermatt. The best snow depth at the moment is reported from Engelberg with 535cm, followed by Andermatt 400cm and Laax and Crans Montana with 350cm each.
Snowlines have been dropping in the Pyrenees as temperature have risen, with most areas losing 20-40cm of depth to their snow bases but resorts like Cauterets in France, Baqueira Beret (picture attached) in Spain and VallNord in Andorra all still have good bases.
Scandinavia has seen some of the biggest snowfalls in the world over the past seven days. In Norway, Bjorli, Strandafjellet and Stordal all report huge falls of around 180cm, (six feet) of fresh snow and summerski centre Stryn has had 75cm, setting it up for a potentially good 2012 season when it re-opens soon. Of the internationally well known big name centres, Are in Sweden reports 13cm of new snow.
Several Scottish ski areas have re-opened thanks to fresh snow in the past 48 hours. The new snow took ski centres – which had been closed for six weeks due to record high March and February temperatures – by surprise, most had moved early in to their summer operating model. Currently Cairngorm and The Lecht have terrain open with fresh snow and Nevis Range have new snow on the beginner slope.
Western Canada is continuing the great season it’s been enjoying since the end of last year, and a repeat of the epic 2010-11. Whistler reports another 1.5m of snow in the past week and there have been big falls reported too at resorts including Mt Washington, Fernie and Kimberley with the snow also falling in Alberta. The East Coast is suffering from warm weather however and most areas there have now closed.
Far western US has had more heavy snow although conditions are reported to be more challenging at still-open areas in some states like Colorado because of warm weather. Sugar Bowl and squaw Valley in California both report over 90cm (three feet) of new snow in the past week but Mt Baker in Washington state has again topped them all with another 1.5m – the base there is creeping close to 8 metres again. Only seven major ski areas are open in Eastern North America, with limited terrain, following the warm weather there.

Best In Snow: The World’s 10 Snowiest Ski Resorts

Winter 2011-12 has been a bit of a temperature roller-coaster in many areas of the world with a 50 degree spread between some of the lowest and warmest temperatures reported in the Alps in February and March and similar extremes in North America.
However much we would like to be able to offer a snow guarantee for some destinations, it always remains a bit of a gamble exactly where gets the snow and when. Even areas that usually receive vast volumes of powder can have bad seasons, even those with year round snow fields on glaciers aren’t much fun if there’s been no fresh snowfall and the surface is hard and icy.
But over years and decades some ski areas do consistently perform better than others for snowfall and we at Skiinfo thought we would create a top 10 of those places we know are, normally – or at least on average - the snowiest.
This exercise last seems to have been undertaken by a famous American travel publisher five years ago and it was interesting to see what has changed and what hasn’t.
Those averages have tweaked a little bit and it seems that with 19 resorts in North America in the top 20 they created there was something of an American bias. In truth however it can be hard to find reliable data from resorts outside North America that are in the world’s snowiest regions – and those are typically in the Himalayas, Japan and Western North America. We did manage to find some snowfall data from other famous Japanese ski areas besides Niseko wjhich gave us another top 10 entry and while figures from Gulmarg in the Indian Himalayas were hard to verify, it appears to deserve to be in there too. There may be other Japanese resorts that should be in the top 10 if the data was obtainable.
The Andes are famed for their powder snow in the northern hemisphere’s summer but the stats show it doesn’t fall quite so abundantly as in those three super-snowy regions, similarly the Alps and other mountain ranges around the world just don’t get so much.

Quality or Quantity?

Some areas claim to have, usually, lighter, fluffier snow than elsewhere in the world and for many skiers and boarders this issue of quality is much more important that how deep that snow is lying – 10 feet or 20 feet of it makes little difference. Indeed when the powder snow was ‘neck deep’ in parts of California in winter 2010-11 some people reported the experience rather alarming, like drowning in snow.

The Top 10


1. Mt Baker, Washington State, USA - Average 19.06m per season. Record season was ‘98-‘99 when received 28.5m of snow. This winter snow depths here passed 8m (27 feet) earlier this month.

2. Alyeska, Alaska, USA - Average 16.07m per season. Based on 31 year average: http://www.alyeskaresort.com/mountain/about-stats-lift-info.aspx

3. Alta, Utah, USA – Average 15.59m per season. Based on 5 year average 06/07 – 10/11: www.alta.com/pages/snowfallhistory.php

4. Niseko, Hokkaido, Japan – Average 15.11m per season.

5. Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada – Average 15m per season.

6. Nozawa Onsen, Japan – Average 14.44m per season.

7. Gulmarg, India – Average 14m per season. During the 2004-05 season there was 20m of snow.

8. Kirkwood, California, USA – Average 13.96m per season. Kirkwood received 20.4m of snow during the 2005-2006 ski season.

9. Grand Targhee, Wyoming, USA – Average 12.7m per season. More detail: www.grandtarghee.com/the-mountain/stats/snow-history.php

10. Snowbird, Utah – Average 12.5m per season. More detail: www.snowbird.com/about/mountainstats.html

(A skiinfo report. All data was collected in March 2012 using available data. Averages may be based on different time periods – the shortest we are aware of was over 5 years, the longest over more than 30 years).
Skiinfo, a division of Mountain news Corporation, publishers of OnTheSnow.com and other services, is one of the world’s longest established and best ski information portals providing resort and snow information for more than 2,000 ski areas to more than a dozen different language portals. The company has a network of international offices across Europe.

Nearly Half Of Lower Altitude Resorts Now Closed By Heat,…But Mostly Good Conditions At Remainder

Many of the world’s lower altitude ski areas have closed a week or two early as record-breaking warm temperatures in March in large parts of Europe and North America – approaching the high 80s Farenheit/20s Celcius has led to melt down on their slopes. At the same time the summer-like weather has meant many people have turned early to biking and golf.
Although there’s been virtually no fresh snow this week. However, conditions at higher-altitude and northerly latitude resorts in Europe are generally good to very good, thanks to the thick snowpack that built up through the exceptionally snowy months of December and January. There has also been quite a lot of fresh snow in the Pyrenees.
In North America it’s a different picture as Western Canadian resorts have had a good season all winter and remain, mostly, in great shape. Western US resorts to the south have had great snowfall this month and are also now in good shape in most cases with some announcing extended seasons. The big victim however is the East Coast where high temperatures mean that all but a handful of the top resorts have closed early.
There’s been no new snow fall at all during the last seven days in Austria. The last week was just sunny with nearly no cloud in the sky so skier and boarders can still enjoy some of best Spring conditions on the slopes. Ski resorts like Zillertal, Katschberg, St Anton and many more report best weather and good conditions. Despite its comparatively low resort altitude in SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser Brixental even the valley runs are still open and with a snow depth from 150cm (50cm) is still plenty deep enough base for skiing. The Best snow depth in the country can be found on the Dachstein Glacier with 540 cm. Ten other resorts still have a depth over three metres (ten feet) including Pitztal with 370cm, St Anton with 360cm the Molltaler Glacier with 320cm and Solden with 302cm.
The unusually warm weather that is affecting most of the northern hemisphere’s major ski regions has led to almost half of the ski areas in France closing -albeit in most cases the smaller, lower resorts that are suffering the most from the thaw. Although the warm weather has out far more people off winter sports and in to early gardening or biking, 118 resorts are still open and most of the big destinations are still benefitting from snowfall build up in December and January and plan to stay open to mid-April or even early May as planned. So while all but half a dozen of the biggest resorts have closed in France’s lower lying ski areas like Voges, Jura and the Massif Central, 80% of ski resorts in the internationally best-known northern Alps are still open and 86% of ski slopes are still practicable. What’s more the average snow base in the northern Alps is truly exceptional: 194cm (6.5 feet) at the top of the slopes and 64cm (over two feet) at the bottom. Conditions are also still good in the French Pyrenees and in the larger resorts of the Southern Alps. Here 16 resorts are still operating (while 23 others have already closed. The average snow depth here is 70cm (but up to 150cm (five feet) in Serre-Chevalier and 120cm (four feet) at La Grave and Montgenèvre).
There’s been no new snow in Italy in the past week with warm temperatures the dominant factor as elsewhere in central Europe. This means lovely sunny ski days but an impact on the snow cover. The deepest snow is on the Presena Glacuier above Passo Tonale with 3m (190 feet). Five other resorts have 2.7m (9 feet) or more including Arabba in the dolomites and, with an unusual top 5 snow depth position – Etna Nord in Sicily on the slopes of the famous volcano!
There have been sunny days in Switzerland too with the only snow fall reported in Laax with 20cm last Thursday. Slowly but surely snow depth are going down with the warm weather and Engelberg can no longer hold its record snow depth of over 6 metres (20 feet), it’s now down to 545cm (18 feet). There’s still 4m (13.3 feet) at Andermatt and 350cm (nearly 12 feet) lying above Crans Montana, Laax and Saas Fee. The conditions on the slopes are excellent and in year-round ski destination Zermatt there’s still some off piste freeriding to enjoy with a 130cm snow base.
The Pyrenees have seen the most snow in Europe over the past week. The two Andorra ski regions of GrandValira and VallNord have both reported 50cm each of new snow and depths are good in the Spanish Pyrenees too. Average snow depth in the French Pyrenees is 132cm of snow measured at the top of the runs and 16 resorts in the Pyrenees will remain open until Easter (or until 15 April if snow lasts). The deepest snow is at Cauterets, Luz Ardiden and Peyragudes with 225, 185 and 180 cm respectively.
There’s been almost no new snow in Norway or Sweden and snow cover is getting thin at many resorts. Hemsedal – normally open to early May - has 45cm, (18 inches) left on upper slopes. The nest snow depth is reported at Voss with more than three metres (10 feet) lying. With Scotland reporting a record high of nearly 24C close to The Lecht ski area on Tuesday there’s now little chance of a resumption of snowsports this season, although we live in hope as temperatures are at least now dropping back towards single figures. Cairngorm has introduced its summer guided hiking programme from the top of the funicular a month early, starting this weekend.
Western Canada continues to enjoy some of the best snow conditions of anywhere in the world, as it has all winter 2011-12. Resorts in BC have reported up to 90cm (three feet) of new snow in the past week and ther4e have been healthy accumulations in Alberta too. Despite this many resorts in the region will, as is traditional, enter their last week of operations next week. "It was sunshine, blue skies, and soft spring snow all weekend long at Revelstoke Mountain Resort this past weekend! 6cm of snowfall was received overnight and light precipitation along with excellent spring skiing temperatures are forecast …until our season-end on Sunday April 8th", said a statement from the resort with North America’s biggest lift served vertical. Not every resort will closed though – Sunshine, Lake Louise, Marmot Basin and Whistler are open to May or later.
Western USA has again had the most snow in the past seven days of anywhere in the world – the largest reported accumulation 1.25m (over 4 feet) at White Pass in Washington State. Several resorts including Heavenly and Northstar in California have joined the list or areas extending their 2011-12 seasons to the last weekend in April. However resorts are closing earlier than planned after an exceptionally warm March in Eastern North America has continued after the third warmest winter on record in the region. Whiteface Mountain by the Olympic venue of Lake Placid in New York State, which operates the biggest lift served vertical on the Eastern side of North America, closed at the weekend with dozens of others. "Trails are changing rapidly, (skiers should) be prepared for thin cover, bare spots, and some walking may be necessary", warned a spokesperson for the resort on closing day, adding, "Overall, thanks to our dedicated snow making and mountain staff, we had a great year despite the lack of snow from Mother Nature. Thank you everyone for skiing and riding the Greatest Vertical East of the Rockies - see ya next year!". Recently in some areas temperatures have been above 25C all week however some resorts that have a reputation for there snowsure conditions including Killington in Vermont and Sugarloaf in Maine say they expect to stay open in to April with at least some terrain open and cooler temperatures are forecast.

Fresh Snow In The Alps, More Big Falls in Western Canada and US

After about a month of often warm temperatures and limited snowfall, large parts of the Alps are again have seen heavy snowfall again in the past few days, with resorts that are benefitting from the new accumulations now looking well set up for the final 4-6 weeks of the season.
Skiinfo issued more than 70 powder alarms for 20cm (8 inches) or more of new snow by noon on Monday 19th March, the biggest number of European alarms since the first half of February. However it has remained very warm with rain at lower elevations in some cases.
The snow is also back in the Pyrenees with resorts reporting up to 20cm of fresh snow in the past 24 hours (to 21st March).
North America continues to be very divided with exceptionally heavy snowfall continuing in the West, with falls of more than 2.4m/eight feet reported at some resorts over the past week, while on the East record high temperatures has led to melt down on the slopes, with Ontario in Canada breaking its record high March temperature of 16C set in 19676 by a full 8C last week, peaking at 24C.
The varied conditions have led to between moderate and high avalanche danger off piste on both sides of the Atlantic with several deaths of skiers in the backcountry in recent days in America and posted avalanche danger of ‘Considerable’ to ‘High’ in the Alps.
After a very warm and sunny week last week, snow is back in the Austrian Alps and on Monday four resorts report 20cm (eight inches) of new snow in the previous 24 hours, including Axamer – Lizum above Innsbruck, Kuehtai and Lech Zurs. Accumulations over the past seven days have included 50cm at Fuegen, 40cm at Obergurgl-Hochgurgl and 29cm on the Pitztal Glacier. The sunshine is now back. Some of the best conditions for skiing are as were reported from Nassfeld, the Kitzsteinhorn, Ischgl and Zell am See Kaprun where with the fresh powder, the slopes are in good shape for the last weeks in season.
French resorts in the Alps received significant snowfalls on Sunday/Monday this week – the largest in most cases for about a month. Avoriaz and Flaine reporting 30cm (a foot) each overnight. Les Gets, Chamonix and in the Southern Alps Serre Chevalier also all reported significant falls. Temperatures have remained high with rain falling at lower elevations in some cases but for most resorts conditions at the start of spring are good. The new snow builds on the deep bases established at many ski areas during what were for many record snowfalls in December and January and means these are now freshened up for the Easter holidays as resorts enter what is for most the last month of winter 2011-12.
Western Italian resorts benefitted from the snow across the Alps at the start of this week. Madesimo reported 30cm (a foot) of new snow and Monterosa around 25cm (10 inches). On the downside however temperatures remain very warm in many areas with rain at lower elevations and summer ski-like conditions at some resorts. However snow depths remain good at most leading resorts from west to East with Cervinia in the Alps and Passo Tonale in the Dolomites both reporting upper slope bases around 3m/10 feet.
Switzerland received the best of Europe’s snowfalls at the beginning of the week, which were the biggest on the continent this month. More than 20 ski resorts reported fresh snow from 20cm to 80cm. The biggest snow falls were measured in Airolo (80cm), Andermatt (60cm), Zermatt (40cm) and the Gstaad Glacier 3000 (30cm). Another five resorts reported a powderalarm on Tuesday, including Brig with 30cm, Meiringen-Hasliberg with 21 cm and Laax, Mythengebiet and Pizol / Heidiland with 20cm each. Engelberg has the deepest snow depth in Euirope and the second deepest in the world with 606cm!
There has been a return to cold weather in the Pyrenees and several resorts on the Spanish side of the mountains have reported 20cm of new snow. Base depths remain healthy at up to 2.4m (eight feet) at some centres. In Andorra, where temperatures have dipped to -10C at times, GrandValira, the biggest resort in the region, has reported 12cm of new snow in the past 24 hours.
Snow conditions remain good at many of Scandinavia’s leading resorts with Voss in Norway reporting more powder alarms for 20cm+ accumulations. It has the deepest snow in the region at 3.5m (nearly 12 feet).
In Canada the snowfall continues to be heavy on the western side of the country in Alberta and British Columbia. With Whistler having passed its seasonal average figure of just over 190m of snowfall with, in its case, several months of the season remaining. Revelstoke Mountain Resort has received 66cm of new snow in the last 7 days with over 20cm falling in the last 48hrs. There’s more snow in the forecast through to the weekend with some lovely sunshine and great spring skiing temperatures anticipated. It’s looking less promising in exceptionally warm weather in Quebec and Ontario on the Eastern side of the country. "The snow cover at Mont Sutton, Quebec is still great on several trails", said a resort statement. "This said, some trails also offer bare-spots to the delight of spring skiing enthusiasts looking for an additional challenge!". Continuing warm temperatures are forecast for the next few days.
With only a few weeks of the season left at many resorts, Western US resorts are currently topping world table for both snowfall and snow depth. Tahoe continues its return to form with Alpine Meadows reporting the most snow in the world over the past week, and the biggest fall anywhere this winter, with 257cm – over eight-and-a-half feet. Mt Baker in Washington State to the north has also had a massive amount of snow in recent weeks and its snowbase at one point passed the 8m (27 feet) mark although has now fallen back below 8m – but it remains the only resort in the world top go beyond the 7 and 8m marks in winter 2011-12, maintaining its reputation as the planet’s snowiest destination. On the East Coast of North America it’s a very different story however with record highs and some areas talking of ‘summer ski’ conditions. Many still have some terrain open despite the onslaught of the high temperatures on the snowpack.

Heavy Snow In The Alps

After about a month of often warm temperatures and limited snowfall, large parts of the Alps are again seeing heavy snowfall again, with resorts that are benefitting from the new accumulations now looking well set up for the final 4-6 weeks of the season.
Skiinfo issued more than 70 powder alarms for 20cm (8 inches) or more of new snow by 12.00 CET today (19 March). This is the biggest number of European alarms since the first half of February.
The snow has reported right across the mountain range with the leading French resorts at the westerly end of the Alps such as Avoriaz and Flaine reporting 30cm (a foot) each overnight. Les Gets, Chamonix and in the southern Alps Serre Chevalier also all reported significant falls.
The snowfall has got heavier still moving East with Swiss resorts reporting the biggest accumulations of up to 80cm in 24 hours with Andermatt reporting 60cm (two feet), Zermatt 40cm (16 inches), and Saas-Fee (picture attached) 25cm (10 inches).
In Italy to the south Madesino reported 30cm (a foot) of new snow and Monterosa around 25cm (10 inches).
Austria, where resorts have had the most snow in mainland Europe over the previous week, several resorts have already reported at least 20cm of new snow including Lech, Kuhtai and Axamer Lizum above Innsbruck.
The new snow builds on the deep bases established at many ski areas during what were for many record snowfalls in December and January and means these are now freshened up for the Easter holidays as resorts enter what is for most the last month of winter 2011-12.