Ischgl in the Austrian Tirol this afternoon. Photo: ischgl.com

After more than two weeks of almost continuous snowfall – and several fatal avalanche accidents – the clouds in the eastern Alps finally lifted last Wednesday. What’s more the snowpack settled very quickly, and now in many areas the avalanche risk is 2/5. That’s not “safe” by any means. But it’s a lot more manageable than the 5/5 we saw in eastern Switzerland and Austria on January 14.

The result has been a fabulous six days of skiing: summed up by the photograph, below, taken by one of the guides at Piste to Powder in St Anton on Saturday.

Photo: Piste to Powder/Facebook

Meanwhile, this shot was taken in the Skiwelt last Thursday.

Photo: Skiwelt/Facebook

What’s more the snow is going to stay in tip-top condition, thanks to a prolonged cold spell. Top temperature in Lech today, for example was -3C. Tomorrow, it won’t top -5C, and on Wednesday it’ll be -6C. The next significant snowfall is likely to be on Saturday, and it’ll come from the north-west, so it’s going to settle in the valleys again.
 

There’s been good skiing this week in the north-western Alps too, thanks to heavy snow over the weekend of January 12 and 13.

Here’s how it looked on piste in Val d’Isere first thing this morning.

Photo: yseski.co.uk

Here too, the avalanche risk is mostly 2/5, and it’s going to stay cold – with the daytime freezing point no higher than 300m. More snow is expected too – though it’s likely to be patchy and fairly light, until Sunday at least. (Heavier and more consistent snowfall is expected in the Pyrenees.)
 

Meanwhile, Italy continues to have a very different January. Yes, it’s cold: but also much drier. It’s a good thing the Italian resorts have such good snow-making systems: as you can see from this shot above Canazei in the Italian Dolomites. On piste, the snow is deep and soft. Off-piste, the cover is much thinner.

Photo: Fassa.com