Snow Report, October 1

Sorry, Snowfiends! There’s not too much to get excited about in this week’s snow report. The weather pattern that brought several snowstorms to the Alps in late August and early September has been disrupted, and there’s only a dusting of snow at high altitude in the forecast for the week ahead.

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, the race between Loveland and Arapahoe Basin to be the first ski area to open in Colorado is on hold – thanks to “Indian Summer” conditions. All hopes there are pinned on cooler weather expected later in the week, which may allow them to fire up their snow cannons at night.

Admittedly, there was snow this weekend in Alyeska, near Anchorage, Alaska. Which is great, of course. But we need a little more than “it snowed in Alaska” to get our blood pumping!

Of course, it’s too early to draw any conclusions about how winter will start in the Alps. Early November is when the ski industry will want to see the arrival of proper snow at altitude – or at least a sustained period of cold – and even then, a lack of the white stuff doesn’t mean there will be a poor winter. After all, look what happened last season in the Alps. At the end of November the mountains were bone dry. A week later, they were buried.

Still, a dusting or two over the next couple of weeks wouldn’t hurt…You know, just to get us all in the mood. Whaddya think, Snow Gods?

And what of the Southern Hemisphere? Well, the season is winding down fast there. Most resorts in the Andes have shut, and the Australian season has only a few days left to run. In the Snowy Mountains, Perisher closes on Friday, and Thredbo on Sunday.

Here’s yesterday’s video snow report from Perisher.

That leaves New Zealand. Here too, spring has long since sprung, but there was good skiing today – on-piste at least – in many South Island resorts, thanks to a dusting of snow overnight. Mount Hutt near Christchurch has some of the deepest cover – up to two metres in places – and has extended its season until October 14.

	France: The glacier above Tignes is open again! And should stay that way through the winter. Don’t drop everything and head out there, though. The layer of snow on top is pretty thin. It needs a sustained period of cold, snowy weather to get its mojo back. Meanwhile, the glacier above Les Deux Alpes will open briefly from October 27 to November 4 – and again for the winter season on December 1.
	Switzerland: The glaciers above both Saas-Fee and Zermatt are open for skiing – weather allowing. Currently, at Saas-Fee the cover is 123cm deep (up from 111cm last week) and five pistes were open today. The glacier at Engelberg reopens for skiing on October 6, and will shut from November 5-16 for maintenance.
	Austria: On the Hintertux glacier 22km of skiing is on offer, and the cover is 65cm deep. You can also ski on the Molltal and Stubai glaciers. The Kitzsteinhorn glacier and Pitztal glaciers are currently closed due to the thin snow cover, but expect to reopen soon.
	Italy: Glacier skiing above Val Senales should resume later this month.
	Andorra: Andorra’s ski areas are closed.
	Western USA: All the mainstream resorts in the US are currently closed for skiing. Skiing on the glacier above Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood in Oregon resumes later this month.
	Western Canada: The glacier above Whistler is now closed.