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.

Heatwave For Ski Areas

In much of Europe and large parts of North America the big factor of the past week has been unseasonably high temperatures – reaching 20C in the Alps and 70F in the USA.
This is clearly not good news for snow cover. The result has been that low lying areas that did not have a deep snow base have been struggling and in some cases closing. However most of the big resorts in the Alps are still benefitting from the big snowfalls they received in December/January and although conditions are currently prematurely ‘Springlike’ - snow cover is not a problem for them.
It has not been hot everywhere. North Western North America has continued to see heavy snowfall that has been the norm all winter with Mt Baker, already boasting the deepest snow in the world at more than 6m (20 feet) reporting another six feet (1.8m) in the past seven days and resorts in Alberta and BC north of the US border in Canada also seeing big snowfalls. Some resorts in Austria in the Alps have reported quite good falls too.
During the last week some ski resorts in Austria had quite good snow falls. About 20 resorts reported more than 20cm (8 inches) of new snow. These include the Zugspitzplatt ski area with 80cm of new snow, Solden with 51cm and Kaprun – Kitzsteinhorn with 40cm. This week skiers and boarders can expect good weather all over the Austrian Alps. It will be warm with the weather sunny at least up to Sunday with temperatures varying between +2 degrees on higher mountains peaks in the country right up to and up to 22 degrees in lower areas.
Although the slopes are now quieter and the temperatures warm, the ski season is still far from over in France. After some light snowfalls in the middle of last week (5 to 20cm), the weather is mostly sunny and some small, low lying ski areas have already closed their ski areas for the season (especially in the Vosges area). However snow depths remain good in the Northern Alps (still 290cm at the top of the slopes of Chamonix, 335cm in Flaine and 330cm in Alpe d'Huez), the Southern Alps (160cm in Montgenevre, 130cm in Serre Chevalier ) and the Massif Central (110cm at Mont Dore).
There has been almost no new snow reported in Italy in the past week. Of the few resorts that did report new snow, Limone on the easterly side had one of the biggest accumulations with 25cm (120 inches) of fresh. However snow depths remain sound at many areas with Passo Tonale – usually open with glacier skiing until June – reporting 330cm (11 feet) of snow on upper slopes and Arabba in the Dolomiti Superski region on the Sella Ronda circuit not far behind with 280cvm (more than nine feet).
Warm sunny weather is the norm in Switzerland this week. A lot of sunshine welcomes skiers to the slopes, who still have fresh snow from last week at many areas to enjoy. But temperatures are getting very mild – up to 20 degrees - all over the country. Les Prés d’Orvin ski resort reports the most snow in the country in the past week - 60cm (two feet). Loetschental had 35cm and Grindelwald and Gstaad 20cm each.
It has been sunny with no new snow reported in the Pyrenees on the past week. However again most areas are in reasonably good shape with up to 2.7m/9 feet lying (Baqueira Beret, Spain) on upper slopes although lower runs may be getting thin at lower resorts (typically 30-60cm/11-2 feet depth). In Andorra VallNord says snow depths are between 1.1 and 2.2m (approx 4-7 feet), and in the French Pyrenees there’s 235cm (7.5 feet) at Cauterets, 190cm (67.3 feet) at Luz Ardiden.
Scandinavian ski areas have largely done better than most of the rest of Europe over the past week with many ski areas getting some new snow and some – such as Voss in Norway – as much as 53cm (19 inches) in the past seven days.
There has been no skiing in Scotland since February after warm weather melted snow cover. Centres hope to re-open if there is a major change in the weather and prolonged snowfall.
It is as real East v West split in Canada at the moment with very high temperatures in the East bad news for the ski centres there, but some of the heaviest snow in the world this week reported on ski slopes in Western Canada. Although it is ‘Spring-like’ in Eastern Canada with temperatures heading towards the upper teens Celcius. However ski slopes in the region are keen to make clear that they are mostly still operational despite the unseasonal conditions. It’s a very different picture in Alberta and British Columbia where 33 inches (85cms) is reported to have fallen in the last 72 hours at Whistler Blackcomb taking their seasonal total past the 10 metre mark to 33 feet (10.2 m) snowfall so far this season. "Another incredible powder weekend at Revelstoke Mountain Resort, with 33cm accumulating in 24 hours", says the resort’s Sarah Windsor, "Snowfall timing has been spot-on this season at Revelstoke Mountain Resort with consecutive major powder dumps arriving each weekend, just in time for visiting skiers and snowboarders to enjoy!". Revelstoke is close to the 10m seasonal snowfall figure to date too.
Further East with over 120cm (four feet) of dry, light Canadian Rockies powder falling in Banff – Lake Louise in Alberta over the past week the area’s three resorts, Mt. Norquay, The Lake Louise Ski Area, and Sunshine Village are experiencing epic conditions. "There is nothing better than seeing the excitement on people’s faces as they pull up to the chairlift anticipating their next run, it is the reason why we are all here", said Dan Markham, Director of Marketing and Sales at Ski Banff Lake Louise Sunshine.
The USA is a country divided by temperature with heavy snowfall in the West, and temperatures soaring to +70F in the East. Resorts in Alaska and Washington State in the North West of the country have reported up to 1.8m (six feet) of new snow in the past week and already today (14 March) falls of up to 40cm (14 inches) have been reported in the same area for the past 24 hours. There have been snowfalls in the wider area too. Jackson Hole has had nearly half a metre (18 inches) of new snow and heavenly by Lake Tahoe more than a foot (30cm) in the past week.

9th Glacier Bike Downhill Race in Saas-Fee

On March 24th, 2012 the 9th annual Glacier Downhill Bike Race will be held in Saas-Fee. This is no usual ride over hill and dale. Rather this race goes over ice and snow down to the glacier village. The riders will start en mass at 3’500m. During the first half of the race, enthralling fights are guaranteed to ensue for the lead position. It’s a race without spikes and of high velocity, with riders reaching speeds of 144 km/h. This year, the prize pool has a total value of 5‘000 Swiss Francs.
The mass start is on the Mittelallalin station at an altitude of 3’500m and goes down over the snowy and icy slopes to the glacier village at 1’800m. The riders have to manage 1’700 metres of altitude difference and 7 km of distance. First they ride on a narrow trail along the Fee glacier, which leads them to the panorama hill. For less experienced racers this is a real challenge. The hill is steep and has to be crossed at high speed. On this part of the trail, riders have been measured, per GPS, travelling at speeds of about 144 km/h.
Further down, the ride leads past the restaurant Morenia before entering the Valley run. This is going to be a very exciting part of the race with extremely steep passages, flat transits and narrow curves, and it is a real assessment of the rider and his material. The last part of the ride, a very flat passage, needs strength to be managed. The outcome of the race is often decided during this section of the course.
Shortly before the finish, the route becomes a little steeper. After reaching the desired end of the race, the award ceremony will take place and in the evening the riders party will be held at the Metropol Nightlife.

Freeride World Tour: Drew Tabke Took Victory in Fieberbrunn

The Tyrolean village of Fieberbrunn Austria hosted the last stage of the Swatch Freeride World Tour before the finals in Verbier, Switzerland. With the fantastic freeriding conditions, fresh powder, and beautiful blue skies, riders were fired-up to give the mountain their best shot and attempt to secure a place in the finals. With the small village filled to capacity with over 3400 spectators, riders delivered an awesome performance. Fresh powder snow on the aesthetic North face of the Wildseeloder (2117m) allowed the skier and American hero Drew Tabke to light up the venue with his creative lines and massive 360 into a smooth backflip. Jonathan Charlet (FRA) kept the snowboaders’ level high with a run that defines the word ‘fluid.’ The women are certainly not be left out; local ski favourite Eva Walkner (AUT) displayed some impressive riding and snowboarder Liz Kristoferisch cranked out some adrenaline-filled lines, bringing it home for Austria.

Ski Men: Drew Tabke’s (USA) mixed high-level big mountain skiing with smooth freestyle tricks in his typical trademark style. Tabke’s line was a treat to watch and upped the ante for other riders. "Fieberbrunn is an awesome place to ski and the mountains here are amazing. I had a good line with a back flip and a 360. It’s going to be a close competition between Sam Smoothy (NZL) and I at Verbier", said Tabke.
Kevin Guri (FRA) charged into second place with a huge double air and screaming-fast line. Tabke moved up one notch and is now in 2nd place on the World Tour while Sam Smoothy (NZL) maintains his leads. With a rough crash early in the event, previous favourites such as Oakley White-Allen (USA) were not able to hold it together for a podium finish. As always, the Swedish bullet Reine Barkered fired a high-speed line with stomped airs bringing him to a 3rd place finish.

Snowboard Men: Jonathan Charlet (FRA) rode a creative line with a technical couloir entrance and a couple of solid airs. Charlet’s creative approach was enough give him 1st place finish and raise the bar for other the snowboarders. "My Run was very good, I’m very glad to be here in Austria. It is the first time I have ridden here. Many people took the line I initially intended to ride, so I chose a new one where nobody else went. I had jumps, I had a straight line. We had good powder! Now I have the chance to win the tour at Verbier!". Charlet now sits on top of the overall Freeride World Tour Ranking.
Flo Orley (AUT) delivered his patented solid line style and technical riding. As impressive as Orley’s line was, it was not enough to place an Austrian on the top of the men’s snowboard podium. The Frenchman Aurelién Routens (FRA) rode a powerful line with a big double-set air that brought him into a respectable 3rd place.

Ski Women: There must be something in the girls’ water because they certainly took it to the next level. Eva Walkner (AUT) proved she wanted the podium with a powerful full-throttle line and big stomped airs. "It is so amazing to win in Fieberbrunn! The snow was perfect and everything came together exactly how I expected it to. It’s always difficult to manage risk and smooth, fluid skiing…but I did today in Fieberbrunn with a smooth, fun line". Walkner has moved up the ranks and now has to top American Angel Collinson to take the overall lead. The Swede Christine Hargin (SWE) kept her composure stayed on her feet for a smooth run, riding fast top to bottom and putting her in second place. Coming in third place, the Kiwi Janina Kuzma (NZL) showed her fellow athletes how to ski powerfully with several stomped airs on a creative and aesthetic line.

Snowboard Women: The girl snowboarders definitely put on an amazing show today with Liz Kirstoferitsch (AUT) standing on top of the podium with an innovative line that started with switch riding and came around with a half-cab (riding backwards and then jumping in the air a forward-riding stance) and some solid airs. "I was really nervous before the event but now that I skied my line and won, the the stress is gone", said Kirstoferitsch.
Shannan Yates (USA) put the pedal to the metal on a powerful, technical line with clean airs. Yates bold line and confident riding landed her a second place finish. The Kiwi rider Maria Kuzma showed the girls a fun time with a creative line choice and a 3rd place finish. Overall leader Maria DeBari keeps her number one position despite her absence at Fieberbrunn.

Next Stop: Swatch Freeride World Tour Xtreme Verbier, 24th of March, 2012.

Utah Lawmakers Pass Resolution Supporting Multi-resort Connection

The resolution passed the Utah State Senate on March 5, 2012 with a 22 to 7 vote and the House of Representatives on March 6, 2012 with a 58 to 16 vote, and currently awaits the signature of Utah Governor Gary Herbert. SCR10, drafted by Senator Wayne Niederhauser (R-Sandy), contends that resort interconnect would enhance the ski and snowboard resort industry’s contribution to Utah’s economy, jobs and tax base. Ski Utah supports Resolution SCR10 and the concept of low-impact interconnection of the seven resorts in Salt Lake and Summit Counties.

"Utah is uniquely positioned to create a ski and snowboard experience available nowhere else in North America", said Ski Utah President Nathan Rafferty. "This resolution urges interconnection of the seven Salt Lake and Summit County ski resorts using best environmental practices".
Ski Utah, its board of directors and 300+ members are encouraged by this next step toward a multi-resort interconnection including seven of Utah’s world-class ski areas and further strengthening Utah’s $1.2 billion ski industry."Although widely seen in Europe, a connection of this scale does not exist in North America", said Rafferty. "From a marketing and skier experience perspective, this would be a game-changer".

Heavy snowfalls in Europe and North America

California is back on form with falls of up to 1.5m (five feet) reported in the past week. Other areas of western North America including Alberta and BC resorts north of the border in Canada have also reported big new accumulations.
In the Alps temperatures have largely dropped again and snowfall has resumed in the past few days.
There were good snowfalls at the beginning of the week for some of the big ski resorts in Austria. Sölden reported 23cm on Tuesday, Molltaler Glacier 20cm, Pitztaler Glacier 17cm and Zugspitzplatt Ehrwald 15cm on the same day. During the past week Sölden has had the most new snow with 52cm, followed by Bad Gastein 35cm, Molltaler Glacier 30cm and Axamer – Lizum 25cm. The best snow depth is on the Dachstein Glacier with an impressive 550cm. The coming days will be mostly sunny and skiers and boarders can enjoy the good conditions.
Temperatures have fallen again in France and there has been some fresh snow, with the biggest falls in the past seven days (around 40cm) in the more southerly resorts like Isola 2000.
There’s been some fresh snow at the bigger northern ski areas too, particularly on higher slopes at resorts like Tignes and Val Thorens (15cm) and Flaine (20cm).
In Italy ski resorts have reported some of the biggest snowfalls in Europe in the past week led by Arabba in the Dolomites with 90cm (three feet) of new snow. There’s been snow on the western side of the country too though with Alagna reporting 48cm and nearby Gressoney in the Monterosa region of the Aosta Valley 40cm (16 inches).
Switzerland has had a good snow start in the week with powder alarms for 20cm (8 inches) or more of fresh snow on Monday at the Gstaad Glacier 3000 and Mountain Rides (30cm), Champex-Lac (25cm) and Elm with 20cm and on Tuesday in Saas Fee (25cm), Laax (20cm) and Samnaun (20cm). Most snow over the last seven days has been reported in Ebenalp/Appenzellerland with 40cm. At the moment there’s 556cm of snow (nearly 19 feet) on the higher slopes in Engelberg (the most of any resort in Europe), 400cm in Laax, 380cm in Champex-Lac and 370cm in Crans Montana Aminona.
Conditions remain largely good in the Pyrenees where some resorts have been receiving fresh snowfall since Saturday. Baqueira Beret in Spain has the deepest snow in the area with 2.7m (nine feet) lying on upper slopes, 1.3m (4.43 feet) on lower runs. In Andorra Vallnord has the most snow with up to 2.1m (seven feet) and in France Cauterets with 245cm (eight feet).
Most ski areas in Scandinavia are in good shape despite warm temperatures in the south of the region last week. Snow depths are up to four metres (13.3 feet) at Roldal in Norway with Voss on 3.5m (12 feet).
All five Scottish ski areas are currently closed due to lack of snow. Nevis Range currently looks the most promising to open limited terrain but all five centres badly need a very large snowfall.
Western Canada has returned to deep snow days with most resorts in Alberta and BC reporting 60-90cm (2-3 feet) of new powder snow in the past week. In Alberta with over a metre of new snow blanketing Banff National Park, all three of the park’s world-class ski resorts are experiencing truly exceptional conditions. Mount Norquay, Sunshine Village and Lake Louise ski resorts are all heralding the massive snowfall as the perfect start to a great spring ski season in Canada’s flagship national park. "This is definitely one of the top ten March snowfalls on record", said Mike Moynihan of The Lake Louise Ski Area. "We’ve seen a metre of snowfall this week and with the storm cycle finally clearing and giving way to clear blue skies, skiers and boarders are simply lapping it up". It’s still snowing in the East of the country too with Mont Sainte Anne and Mont Sutton in Quebec among Canadian resorts reporting 30-40cm of new snow in the past seven days.
There have been still more huge snowfalls in western USA with resorts in California definitely back-on-form and recovering lost ground in terms of snowfall from earlier this season. Several resorts around the Tahoe area have reported around 1.5m (five feet) of fresh powder in the past week including Squaw Valley and alpine meadows. It’s not just California in the West that is doing well though. Resorts in Utah have reported up to 1.2m (four feet) of fresh snow and Mt Baker in Washington State has had yet another 151cm (five feet) of snow moving it further ahead of the field in the ‘resort with the deepest snow base’ table – now at 660cm (22 feet).
Colorado had heavy snow at the end of last week but then warm sunny days at the start of this week giving springlike conditions. That’s changing though with temperatures plummeting and more snow expected for the remainder of this week.East coast resorts are still reporting big snowfalls too, led by Gore Mountain in New York state with 99vcm (over three feet) of new snow.

Mariah Carey To Close Winter Season in Ischgl

The superstar Mariah Carey will perform the legendary season closing concert at in Ischgl on Monday 30 April. "It doesn't get much better than this", said Tourist Office Director Andreas Steibl. "We are proud and excited to announce this exceptional star for the closing concert of this exceptional winter season. Mariah Carey has a distinctive and powerful voice, which is perfect for the Top Of The Mountain concert (...) As usual, we wanted to close the season with a huge international star and once again we've done it! Mariah Carey ensures that we will have our traditional world-class atmosphere for the closing party".
Mariah Carey will perform on the specially constructed open air stage at 2320m at Idalp, the ski hub area of Ischgl in the Paznaun Valley, and is expected to draw a crowd of 20,000 skiers, boarders and fans. She will be taking the crowd on a journey back through time, exploring her musical history over the past 20 years with hits such as Hero, Heartbreaker, Touch My Body, Someday and My All.
Mariah Carey is the best-selling female artist of all time. With an unprecedented record of 18 number one singles that rival all but The Beatles, she has made an indelible impact on the global music industry and audiences everywhere. Blessed with a stunning five-octave range and signature vocal abilities, the singularly talented superstar continues to reach new heights of artistic growth and popularity. As a singer and songwriter, she has been recognised with five Grammy Awards, nine American Music Awards, Billboard’s "Artist of the Decade" Award and the World Music Award for "World’s Best Selling Female Artist of the Millennium" to name a few. The Ischgl concert is the only European one she is planning to do this year.
Mariah Carey follows in the footsteps of a galaxy of superstars who have entertained skiers and boarders in the Austrian resort's traditional Top of the Mountain gig. Fourteen years ago, Ischgl decided to put its entire advertising and marketing budget into staging two massive concerts a year to open and close the winter season. Elton John was the first star to feature in the Tirolean resort's now famous season closing concerts, back in 1995. Since then the resort has hosted Rod Stewart, Bob Dylan, Sting, Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Bon Jovi, Enrique Iglesias, Atomic Kitten, Peter Gabriel, The Corrs, Alanis Morissette, Lionel Richie, Pink, the Scissor Sisters, the Pussycat Dolls, Rihanna, Elton John again, Gabriella Cilmi, Leona Lewis, Kylie Minogue, Katy Perry, Alicia Keys, Gossip, The Killers and Roxette. This season's opening concert was performed by Roxette at the end of November 2011 to an enthusiastic crowd of 20,000.