Snow Report, October 31

It’s time for a bonus Snow Report, Snowfiends – because as November approaches, we’re taking two more steps towards winter.

1. More snow is heading to the Alps

We’ve only just finished feasting our eyes on the white stuff that came down on Tuesday night and Wednesday this week. But there’s more to come, according to our Snow Forecast for the Alps – which shows widespread accumulations at altitude on Sunday. The snow won’t be quite as heavy as it was in eastern Austria yesterday, but up to 30cm is expected in places. In France, local forecasters Meteo Chamonix expect the snow to fall as low as 1200m for a while.

There’s likely to be more snow next Monday night and Tuesday, too.

I should say at this point the medium-range charts for the Alps are suggesting a return to milder weather, once this snowy spell is over. But all the same, it’s great to seen the white stuff twice in the same week at this time of year. Fingers crossed that we’re heading to an early start to the season.

This was the Kitzsteinhorn yesterday morning, above Kaprun.

Pictured, below, is the at the top end of the Zillertal at lunchtime today, a day after the skies cleared.

And this is how it was looking up on the Hintertux glacier, at the same time.

There was less snow in the west this week – but as you can see from this webcam shot of Les 2 Alpes today, conditions are good on the glaciers in France, too. Les 2 Alpes is currently open for a winter preview, but closes again on November 3.

Question now is – will Obergurgl in Austria open early? It’s always one of the first non-glacier resorts in the Alps to spin its lift, and its winter start is currently slated for November 14. But in years gone by it’s had a sneaky weekend preview beforehand if conditions are right. We’ll have to see how much of the white stuff this next weather front delivers: and how long it’ll stay cold afterwards.

2. It’s been snowing in the Rockies, too

As anyone who keeps an eye on Joel Gatz’s daily reports will know, there have been snow showers, off and on, all week in Colorado. That’s helped with preparations for the next round of resort openings, which starts tomorrow Keystone and Copper Mountain. We’re not talking about waist-deep powder in either resort – but both will have a several trails open, and the snow cover now is much better than it was at the end of October in 2011 and 2012. Gatz is predicting another storm early next week, too, which should bring 7-15cm of snow on Monday and Tuesday.

Meanwhile, in Utah…

In Utah, the forecast is for mild sunny weather on Saturday and then a sharp drop in temperatures on Sunday, with more snow to come. What’s more, it looks as though it’s going to stay cold and snowy until the middle of the month. We may see resorts such as Snowbird and The Canyons moving their opening days forward as a result.

	France: The Grande Motte glacier above Tignes is open once more for skiing – and should stay that way right through to the opening of the entire ski area (scheduled for November 30). Meanwhile, the glacier above Les Deux Alpes is open until November 3. Check out the programme of events here.
	Switzerland: You can ski on the glaciers above Zermatt Engelberg, weather permitting. Saas Fee’s glacier is open too, and the snow report talks of up to 155cm of cover on its pistes.
	Austria: see our main report. The Austrian glaciers are looking forward to another dump of October snow. You can currently ski on the Hintertux, Stubai, Rettenbach, Kaunertal, Pitztal, Molltal and Kitzsteinhorn glaciers. On the Hintertux glacier, the snow report records cover, on-piste, up to 135cm deep.
	Italy: the glacier above the Val Senales/Schalstal in the South Tyrol is now open for skiing. The lifts above Cervinia have been open lately for weekend skiing, and will be running full time from November 1.
	Andorra: Andorra’s ski resorts are currently closed.
	Western USA: See our main report. In Colorado, both Arapahoe Basin and Loveland are now open, with Wolf Creek open at the weekend. In Oregon, Timberline Lodge is also open for skiing at weekends. Next up are Copper Mountain and Keystone, which open on November 1.
	Western Canada:  Canada’s resorts are currently closed, but Lake Louise and Sunshine Village in Banff National Park expect to open on November 8.