Snow Report, February 25

Now it’s Italy turn. There’s been moderate to heavy snowfall across the eastern half of the Italian Alps since Saturday, and many resorts have clocked up 25-35cm of the white stuff as a result.

Canazei – in the heart of the Dolomites – reports up to 35cm of fresh snow this morning. So too does Madonna di Campiglio, further west.  Meanwhile in the Aosta Valley and the resorts west of Turin snow is expected later today, and according to our Alpine snow forecast it should continue there until Thursday.

There’s also been fresh snow in Austria, Switzerland and France – favouring the resorts along the Italian border. Obergurgl in Austria reports 25cm of new snow this morning, St Moritz in Switzerland has 20cm, and in France Val d’Isere had around 20cm over the weekend.

Needless to say, the new snow is very welcome, and once it’s been groomed into the pistes, it’ll do wonders for the quality of the skiing in the wake of the heavy mid-February traffic. In sheltered spots off-piste, there will be enough to cover the old snow, too (although we note the avalanche risk is rising again – especially in southern Austria – where the snow has been accompanied by strong winds).

One feature of this latest dose of the white stuff is that – even though it’s come out of the Mediterranean – it’s not been accompanied by mild air. Temperatures everywhere are still pretty wintry, and the snow has fallen down to the valley floor in many places. February 2013 is continuing to serve up excellent skiing conditions!

Here’s a quick survey of the day’s webcams.

More snow to come in Italy and Austria – and then sunshine

The first half of the week should see more snow fall in Italy – especially in the west. We’re also expecting a quick pulse of snow to cross Austria tonight and Tuesday.

After that, it will warm up and the sun will be out from time to time everywhere. According to Meteo Chamonix, the freezing level could be up to 1700m by Wednesday in the French Alps, which is above village level in many resorts: but that’s not a significant thaw by Alpine standards. Just remember to ski above 2000m whenever possible and avoid south-facing slopes if you’re heading off-piste.

Temperatures should drop back a little at the end of the week.

In the Pyrenees, more snow after the thaw

As you’ll know from recent snow reports, January and early February were spectacularly snowy in the Pyrenees. Since then, there have been a couple of sharp thaws. But temperatures have dropped again, and the white stuff is back. In Spain, Baqueira reports 30cm of new snow this morning and a temperature of -10C.

In Scandinavia, sunshine

It’s been a lovely morning up in Are in Sweden: it’s actually milder there today than it is in the Alps. This was the scene above the massive kickers of the resort’s main terrain park.

More snow in the American Rockies

In western Canada, Whistler and the inland resorts have seen moderate snowfall over the last week. But the main story has been the continuing improvement in conditions in Colorado, which had a threadbare start to the season. Yesterday, Breckenridge reported 20cm of fresh snow and a total of 56cm in the last week. In the south of the state Telluride reported 33cm of new snow and a seven-day total of a metre.

In Utah, Snowbird also well from the latest storm, notching up 40cm in 48hrs…

	France: it’s still pretty chilly in the French Alps, with a sharp north-easterly wind. However, the sun’s been out, and there should be plenty more of that this week. In Val Thorens the top temperature today will be -5C. The snowpack is 165-340cm deep. In Flaine the snow’s 130-405cm deep.
	Switzerland: there’s bright sunshine across much of Switzerland today, and temperatures seem generally a bit milder than in France. Currently, Andermatt has up to 136-420cm of settled snow, and a temperature of +1C at village level. In Davos it’s -2C in town and the snow is 85-164cm deep.
	Austria: Parts of Austria, near the Italian border, saw more than 20cm of snow yesterday. Currently, high-altitude Obergurgl has 115-260cm of snow, the Skiwelt 100-170cm and St Anton 80-240cm.
	Italy: see our main report. It’s Italy’s week for snow – with up to 35cm having already fallen, and more in the snow forecast. In the Dolomites, Selva reports 60-160cm of settled cover. Above the Aosta Valley,  Cervinia has 60-205cm of settled cover.
	Andorra: see our main report. Andorra’s ski resorts have deep cover on their pistes, but the quality was spoilt at lower altitudes by the recent thaw. However, there’s fresh snow today, and temperatures are much more wintry. Currently, the Grand Valira – Andorra’s biggest ski area – reports 140-250cm of snow on its slopes, and a top temperature of -5C at resort level.
	Western USA: See our main report. Conditions in many Rocky-Mountain resorts have again improved, thanks to fresh snow at the weekend. In Utah, Snowbird the snow report talks of 220cm, mid-mountain; in Jackson Hole in Wyoming that figure is 160cm, and in Vail, Colorado 114cm. Meanwhile, above Lake Tahoe in California, Heavenly reports 106cm of settled snow.
	Western Canada:  Whistler had a reasonable top-up of snow at the end of last week, and the mid-mountain snow-pack is back above the two-metre mark, at 218cm. Inland Fernie reports 56cm of snow in the last week and a settled snowpack of 252cm. Above Lake Louise the snow is 141cm deep, mid-mountain.