Snow Report 17 – Monday 06 January 2025

WeLove2Ski Snow Report

In today’s report we catch up on conditions across Europe, North America and Asia over the New Year Holiday period, with deep powder turns in the United States and Japan.

What do Olympic athletes do in the off season?

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

Now on with the snow!

Latest Reports

It’s been a snowy start to the New Year across much of the ski world.

Val D’Isere Snow Report, France

Ken Smith from Progression Ski reports sunshine and powder in Val D’Isere.

Click here to book lessons with Ken and his team

Courmayeur Snow Report, Italy

Phil Brown sent us this report from Courmayeur, Italy which is part of the Via Lattea / Milky Way Ski Area.

Click here to book lessons with Phil and his team

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Meanwhile in the United States,

Loveland, Colorado, USA

Bluebird powder turns were the order of the day at Loveland

 

Snowbird Snow Report, Utah, USA

It was a ‘Country Club’ day at Snowbird for Luke and the handful of others on hand who made the most of the Little Cottonwood Canyon road closure

 

 

The snow tap has stayed on across Japan with big accumulations on Honshu and the Northern island of Hokkaido.

Madarao Snow Report, Honshu, Japan

 

Niseko United Snow Report, Hokkaido, Japan

The Back Bowls delivered this past weekend

 

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Where To Ski

Les Portes du Soleil, France regains the Number 1 spot in the World for open terrain with 520km of piste on offer (155/165 lifts; 520/580km piste; 80-120cm base).

Les 3 Vallees, France (153/156 lifts; 500/600km piste; 160-210cm base); Verbier / 4 Vallees (67/68 lifts; 305/412km piste; 40-100cm base); Via Lattea / Milky Way, Italy (62/70 lifts; 280/400km piste; 70-75cm base); and Tignes/Val D’Isere, France (81/84 lifts; 270/300km piste; 75-150cm base) round out the Top 5.

The European Alps

Austria holds first place in the world for the total number of ski areas open at 187 – with 13 ski areas offering 100km or more of pisted terrain.

Ski Circus (Saalbach Hinterglemm Leogang Fieberbrunn) has the most terrain available in Ausria (68/70 lifts; 240/270km piste; 50-90cm base).

France now has 22 ski areas offering 100km or more of pisted terrain from a total of 81 ski areas open for daily operations.

Italy now has a total of 75 ski areas open, with 8 ski areas offering 100km or more of pisted terrain.

Switzerland now has 9 ski areas offering 100km or more of pisted terrain from a total of 87 resorts open for daily operations.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen (17/18 lifts; 37/40km piste; 15-85cm base) has the most terrain available in Germany which now has 92 resorts open for daily operations.

The Rest of Europe

All three of Andorra’s ski areas – Pal/Arinsal, Grandvalira, and Ordino Arcalis – are open for the Winter, with Grandvalira offering the most pisted terrain (65/74 lifts; 147/215km piste; 45-95cm base).

Regular snowfall and temperatures cold enough for artificial snow making has allowed the following resorts to offer very good but limited piste skiing, the exceptions being Baqueira Beret (111km), Formigal (53km) & La Molina/Masella Alp 2500 (59km) all in Spain; Bansko (71km) & Borovets (56km) both in Bulgaria (67km); and Jahorina, Bosnia Herzegovina (51km) the only resorts offering 50km or more of pisted terrain :

Bosnia and Herzegovina : Bjelasnica, Jahorina

Bulgaria : Bansko, Borovets, Pamporovo, Vitosha

Czechia : Cerna hora–Janske Lazne, Certova hora–Harrachov, Horni Domky–Lysa Hora, Jested–Liberec, Keilberg, Lipno, Paseky nad Jizerou, Pec pod Snezkou, Spicak, Spindleruv Mlyn, Zadov–Kobyla

Georgia : Bakuriani, Goderdzi, Gudauri, Hatsvali, Tetnuldi

Greece : 3-5 Pigada, Falakro, Kaimaktsalan, Parnassos, Vasilitsa

Liechtenstein : Malbun

Poland : Bialka Tatrzanska, Jaworzyna Krynicka, Szczyrk Mountain Resort, Szymoszkowa, Zieleniec

Portugal : Serra da Estrela

Romania : Arena Platos, Harghita Bai, Madarasi Hargita, Poiana Brasov, Roata–Cavnic

Serbia : Kopaonik

Slovakia : Bachledova/​Jezersko/​Frankova, Donovaly, Jasna, Rohace–Spalena, Strbske Pleso, Telgart

Slovenia : Golte, Kanin–Sella Nevea/​Bovec, Kope, Kranjska Gora, Krvavec, Maribor, Rogla, Vogel

Scotland : Cairngorm Mountain, Glenshee, The Lecht

Spain : Baqueira/​Beret, Candanchu, Cerler, Formigal, Fuentes de Invierno, La Molina/​Masella–Alp2500, San Isidro, Sierra Nevada

Turkiye : Ejder 3200, Erciyes, Sarakamis

The Nordic Countries

Regular natural snowfall and temperatures suitable for artificial snow making has enabled Finland’s Levi, Pyha, Ruka, Saariselka and Yllas, and Sweden’s Are, Dundret Lapland, Hemavan, Idre Fjall, Kabdalis, Klvosjo, Salen and Tarnaby to offer good but limited skiing.

Are, Sweden leads the way with 65km of pisted terain available (30/35 lifts; 65/91km piste; 45-70cm base).

Norway is now up to 17 resorts open for limited piste skiing with Trysil offering the most terrain (22/32 lifts; 35/78km piste; 20-20cm base).

North America

Canada

Alberta has all of its seven resorts open for daily operations (Banff Sunshine, Canada Olympic Park, Castle Mountain, Lake Louise, Marmot Basin, Mt Norquay, and Nakiska) with Banff Sunshine leading the way (12/12 lifts; 106/109km piste; 40-90cm base).

Whistler Blackcomb leads the British Columbia resorts for available terrain (26/27 lifts; 178/200km piste; 0-175cm base) with 6 other ski areas offering 100km or more of pisted terrain from a total of 17 open for daily operations.

Thanks to recent snowfall and much colder temperatures on the East Coast Ontario’s Blue Mountain is open for daily operations. Quebec has all five of its resorts open for the season (Le Massif, Mont-Sainte-Anne, Sommet Saint-Sauveur, Stoneham, and Tremblant).

USA

The USA holds second place in the world for open resorts (178) behind Austria (187), but ahead of Japan (171), Switzerland (87), France (81), and Italy (75).

Aspen Snowmass, USA (16/20 lifts; 195/237km piste; 45-85cm base) has the most pisted terrain on offer, with 12 other ski areas offering 100km or more of pisted terrain.

ALASKA : Alyeska, Eaglecrest
ARIZONA : Arizona Snowbowl, Sunrise Park
CALIFORNIA : Diamond Peak, Heavenly, Kirkwood, 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, Sun Valley, Tamarack
MAINE : Sugarloaf, Sunday River
MONTANA : Big Sky, Bridger Bowl, Discovery, Whitefish
OREGON : Mt Bachelor, Mt Hood, Timberline, Wilamette Pass
NEVADA : Diamond Peak, Lee Canyon, Mt Rose
NEW HAMPSHIRE : Attitash, Bretton Woods, Cannon Mountain, Loon, Waterville Valley, Wildcat Mountain
NEW MEXICO : Angel Fire, Pajarito, Taos
NEW YORK : Belleayre, Holiday Valley, Hunter Mountain, Windham, Whiteface-Lake Placid
UTAH : Alta, Beaver, Brian Head, Brighton, Deer Valley, Park City, Powder Mountain, Snowbasin, Snowbird, Solitude, Sundance
VERMONT : Bolton Valley, Jay Peak, Killington, Mad River Glen, Mount Snow, Okemo, Smugglers’ Notch, Stowe, Stratton, Sugarbush
WEST VIRGINIA : Canaan Valley, Snowshoe Mountain
WYOMING : Grand Targhee, Jackson Hole
WASHINGTON : Crystal Mountain, Mount Baker, Stevens Pass

Asia

Japan

The Hakuba Valley Resorts along with Aomori Springs, Appi, Geto Kogen, Gunma, Hakkoda, Kagura, Lotte Arai, Madarao, Myoko, Naeba, Nozawa Onsen, Seki Onsen, Shigakogen, Yuzawa and Zao are the 16 most popular Japanese ski areas on the main island of Honshu out of a total of 130 open for Winter operations.

On Hokkaido the 10 most popular resorts (Furano, Niseko United, Kamui, Kiroro, Kurodake, Rusutsu, Sahoro, Sapporo Kokusai, Sapporo Teine, and Tomamu) are opening more and more terrain by the day. There are a total of 41 ski areas open for Winter operations on Hokkaido.

Snow News

New Year, New Snow

What do Olympic athletes do in the off season?

For Paralympic GB Gold Medal winning rower Ben Pritchard it’s a chance for him to swap his boat for a sit ski and head to the mountains.

Under the expert tutelage of Mark Greer at the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Centre, Ben enjoyed the piste and the powder on his recent trip to Breckenridge, Colorado, USA.

 

Your turn to walk the dog? Don’t want to miss out on the turns? Kurohime Snow Park, Nagano, Japan has you covered.

Always check your gear before setting off!

How cold can it get in Finland? This cold!

 

World Snow Forecast For the Next 3-4 Days

The European resorts will see a combination of sunshine and snowfall over the next three to four days with 10-20cm forecast.

St Anton, Austria (25-30cm); Meribel, France (40-45cm); Madesimo, Italy (45-50cm); Verbier, Switzerland (35-40cm); and Krvavec, Slovenia (25-30cm) will receive the lion’s share.

Andorra and the French & Spanish Pyrenees will see the return of cold temperatures through Thursday with 5-15cm of snowfall forecast.

Finland will see continued low temperatures with 5-15cm forecast.

The Swedish resorts will see cold temperatures and light snowfall through Monday, with Are set to receive 15-20cm.

It will be a similar situation for most of the Norwegian resorts, with Gaustablikk forecast to receive 80-85cm!

The Alberta resorts of Canada will see cloudy skies and cold temperatures with light flurries.

The British Columbia resorts will see light snow flurries with a mix of sunshine and cloud and a possible accumulation of 5-10cm through Thursday.

Temperatures will remain cold on the East Coast with Tremblant and Sommet Saint-Sauveur expecting light flurries.

Most of the western US resorts will see continued low temperatures and 5-10cm of snowfall.

The West Coast resorts of California, Oregon and Washington will see freeze thaw conditions and sunshine through Thursday.

Alyeska, Alaska could see 60-65cm of new snow.

Temperatures will remain cold on the East Coast with sunshine and light flurries. Jay Peak, Vermont could see 20-25cm of new snow.

The resorts on Japan’s main island of Honshu will see continued snowfall through Monday with 35-45cm forecast. Lotte Arai is forecast to receive 55-60cm.

The Hokkaido resorts will see constant snow with 20-25cm forecast. Asahidake could see 30-35cm.

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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.

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.

For in resort reports get the lowdown from the Ski Club of Great Britain’s reps skiclub.co.uk/snow-and-weather/

For worldwide snow forecasting start with 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.

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

On YouTube get detailed weather analysis from https://www.youtube.com/@WeatherWatcher14

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