In today’s report we catch up on conditions across Europe, North America and Asia the first half of this week, including massive dumps of snow for Japan. With much more on the way.

GB’s Mia Brooks tops the podium in Beijing

Klaus Obermeyer turns 105!

And where’s the snow going to land this weekend? We’ve scoured the internet to give you the best recommendations.

Now on with the snow!

Latest Reports

In the Alps it’s been a mix of new snowfall and sunny skies with low temperatures and freezing levels dropping to around 1,000m.

Hintertux Snow Report, Austria

Phil Brown and Charlie have been enjoying great conditions on the glacier with 30cm of new snowfall.

If you fancy ski lesson with Phil in Pila check out impulse-racing.co.uk

Val D’Isere Snow Report, France

Ken Smith from Progression Ski School has had to wrap up warm with -5C temperatures under sunny skies at Val D’Isere. With heavy snowfall predicted for next week conditions are looking excellent for the upcoming world Cup races the weekend after next.

Check out Progression Ski here >>> progressionski.com

Villars Snow Report, Switzerland

Mike from SnowPros reports great conditions at Villars, Switzerland in preparation for its opening on Saturday 07 December.

Click here to book skis lessons in Villars with SnowPros.

Meanwhile in the United States one of my old stomping grounds – Whitefish Mountain Resort in Montana – opens today with great early season conditions.

Whitefish Snow Report, Montana, USA

And in Buffalo, New York nothing stops the Bills playing American Football.

Buffalo Snow Report, New York, USA

The snow tap has well and truly been turned on across Japan with big accumulations this week in the Japanese Alps and on the Northern island of Hokkaido bringing the fabled ‘JaPOW’ (Japanese powder).

Big, dry flakes create a lattice of snowflakes which builds up quickly allowing powder explosions as you ski through it.

Hakuba Snow Report, Honshu, Japan

Niseko Snow Report, Hokkaido, Japan

Kiroro Snow Report, Hokkaido, Japan

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Where To Ski

There are over 150 resorts open worldwide with Ischgl, Austria now the World Leader for open terrain (29/46 lifts; 112/239km piste; 20-45cm base).

Vail, Colorado, USA (13/34 lifts; 110/234km piste; 50-90cm base); Sun Peaks, BC, Canada (13/13 lifts; 105/135km piste; 60-65cm base); Solden, Austria (23/31 lifts; 102/143km piste; 5-125cm base); and Fernie, BC, Canada (9/10 lifts; 100/142km piste; 80-125cm base) round out the Top 5.

The Alps

St Anton (27/85 lifts; 54/299km piste; 5-55cm base) and Obertauern (19/26 lifts; 40/100km piste; 30-40cm base) are now up & running making a total of 36 Austrian resorts offering great early season conditions.

Les 2 Alpes has the most terrain on offer in France (13/44 lifts; 42/200km piste; 0-70cm base) which along with Alpe d’Huez, Espace San Bernardo, Tignes, Val D’Isere, Val Thorens, and Via Lattea (Milky Way) are open for daily operations. Avoriaz is open at weekends at the moment.

Italy has 18 ski areas open with Aprica (3/11 lifts; 3/50km piste; 5-25cm base) the latest addition.

Zermatt continues to offer the most terrain available in Switzerland (27/51 lifts; 94/322km piste; 15-150cm base), one of 19 resorts open in the country.

Oberstdorf (3/7 lifts; 6/14km piste; 45-65cm base) has the most terrain available in Germany which has just four resorts open for daily operations.

Eastern Europe

Recent snowfall and temperatures cold enough for artificial snow making has allowed the following resorts to offer limited piste skiing :

Jahorina, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Cerna hora – Janske Lazne, Czechia

Jaworzyna Krynicka, Poland

Roata – Cavnic, Romania

Jasna, Slovakia

Kope, Kranjska Gora and Krvavec, Slovenia

Ejder 3200 and Erciyes, Turkey

The Nordic Countries

Thanks to regular natural snowfall and temperatures suitable for artificial snow making Finland’s Levi, Pyha, Ruka, Saariselka and Yllas, and Sweden’s Hemavan, Kabdalis and Tarnaby are open for the season offering good but limited skiing.

Norway is up to seven resorts open for limited piste skiing (Bjorli, Gausdal, Geilo, Hafjell, Kvitfjell, Myrkdalen, and Oppdal).

North America

Canada

Alberta currently has five resorts open for daily operations (Banff Sunshine, Lake Louise, Marmot Basin, Mt Norquay, and Nakiska) with Banff Sunshine leading the way (10/12 lifts; 71/109km piste; 30-65cm base).

All five resorts have a combination of natural and artificial snow covering the open slopes.

British Columbia is now up to 8 resorts open for the season with the addition of Revelstoke (4/7 lifts; 25/55km piste; 25-110cm base).

On the East Coast it’s still just the Quebecois resorts of Sommet Saint-Sauveur and Tremblant spinning the lifts.

USA

With the openings of Whitefish, Montana; Loon and Wildcat Mountain, New Hampshire; Deer Valley, Utah; & Okemo and Stowe, Vermont the USA continues to lead the ski world with 48 resorts up and running this Winter.

ALASKA : Alyeska
ARIZONA : Arizona Snowbowl
CALIFORNIA : Heavenly, Mammoth, Northstar, Palisades Tahoe, Sierra at Tahoe, Snow Summit
COLORADO : Arapahoe Basin, Aspen, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Copper Mtn, Eldora, Keystone, Loveland, Monarch, Powderhorn, Purgatory, Snowmass, Steamboat, Telluride, Vail, Winter Park, Wolf Creek
IDAHO: Lookout Pass, Schweitzer, Tamarack
MAINE : Sugarloaf, Sunday River
MONTANA : Big Sky, Whitefish
OREGON : Mt Bachelor, Mt Hood, Timberline
NEVADA : Mt Rose
NEW HAMPSHIRE : Loon, Wildcat Mountain
NEW MEXICO : Taos
NEW YORK : Belleayre, Whiteface-Lake Placid
UTAH : Alta, Brian Head, Brighton, Park City, Snowbird, Solitude
VERMONT : Killington, Okemo, Stowe
WYOMING : Grand Targhee, Jackson Hole
WASHINGTON : Crystal Mountain, Mount Baker

Asia

Japan

The Hakuba Valley Resorts of Tsugaike, Happo-One, and Goryu, along with Nozawa Onsen and Shigakogen are the five Japanese resorts on the main island of Honshu open for Winter operations.

On Hokkaido we’re up to seven resorts open (Furano, Niseko United, Kiroro, Kurodake, Rusutsu, Sahoro, Sapporo Kokusai, and Tomamu) with heavy snowfall opening terrain by the day.

Snow News

Last weekend GB’s Mia Brooks took gold in the Women’s Big Air World Cup in Beijing.

The 17-year-old Slopestyle World Champion was second after the opening run before a disappointing second run.

With the best two runs counting, she scored 94.000 on her final run – the highest score of the day – for a total of 179.75 and her first World Cup title.

Legendary ex-racer and founder of the Obermeyer ski brand, Klaus Obermeyer turned 105 years of age this week. He celebrated on the slopes of course.

Read more about his extraordinary life in this Ski Magazine article

World Snow Forecast For the Next 3-4 Days

The Alps and Eastern Europe will see a mix of sunshine and snow over the next 3-4 days with temperatures dropping dramatically to below -10 C at altitude and the chance of 15-30cm of new snowfall.

Gourette in the French Pyrenees is set to have a big start to its season on Saturday with 1.5m forecast through Monday.

The Spanish resorts of Alto Campoo and San-Isidro could see 85cm and 95cm respectively.

The Nordic Countries will see similar weather patterns but less snow forecast with the chance of 5-15cm of new snowfall over the weekend.

The Alberta resorts of Canada will see cloudy skies and cold temperatures with 5-15cm forecast.

British Columbia resorts could see snowfall over the weekend with Revelstoke and Whistler picking up 25-35cm of new snow.

Temperatures have dropped on the east Coast with Tremblant and Sommet Saint-Sauveur expecting 10-15cm of snow through Monday.

Most of the US resorts will see continued low temperatures and sunshine, with a storm moving into the northern states of Washington, Idaho, and Montana on Saturday bringing 15-20cm of new snowfall.

Temperatures have dropped on the East Coast with Killington, Loon, and Whiteface-Lake Placid expecting 10-15cm of snow through Monday.

The resorts on Japan’s main island of Honshu (Tsugaike, Happo-One, Goryu, Nozawa Onsen and Shigakogen) will see heavy snowfall through Monday with over 1m forecast.

The Hokkaido resorts of Niseko United, Kiroro and Sapporo Kokusai will see a big storm system moving in from today with 50-75cm forecast.

Where to find a detailed snow report 

There are so many great resources available on the internet for up to the minute information on snow conditions, lift status, and available terrain that this season we’re directing you to the best places to find that info and plan where to head for the best skiing.

Starting close to home and being a mainstay of worldwide snow forecasting is Cardiff-based snow-forecast.com. With a massive database of resorts and free 6-day forecasts just type in where you’re going for the lowdown. Sign up for longer range forecasts and historical data.

Wepowder does what it says on the tin. Free, extensive 6-day forecasting for Europe, with a paid subscription for 14-day forecasts and Powder Alerts.

Want to quickly know which ski resorts are open? Then head to skiresort.info. Narrow down your search by country and resort for more detailed information.

On Instagram our go to sites are Powderhounds and new ‘kid’ on the block instagram.com/imlukesnow/.