Last week’s snow forecast was spot on: and early July in the Alps was marked by plenty of the white stuff at altitude. It created a few difficulties for skiers out on the glaciers: in Tignes, British ski school Snoworks reported that the lifts were closed by the stormy weather on a couple days. But whenever the skies cleared, conditions were superb, given it’s the middle of summer…

Here’s how it was looking on the terrace of the Panoramic restaurant, above Tignes, on July 10.

Photo: Snoworks/Facebook

Pictured below is how it was looking lower down on the same day.

Photo: Snoworks/Facebook

And this was the Hintertux Glacier in the Austrian Tirol on July 9.

Photo: Hintertuxer Gletscher/Facebook

There’s one last day of wet weather forecast today. Then, finally, high pressure will return to the region, and sunny, summery weather is expected. According to French forecaster Meteo Chamonix, the freezing point in the French Alps will be above 4000m tomorrow, and it’ll stay warm until the weekend. As a result, the snow on the glaciers will start going through a daily freeze/thaw cycle again: skiers can expect a hard surface first thing, which will become progressively softer as the day unfolds.
 

Meanwhile, in Australia…

Photo: Thredbo, Australia, July 10. Thredbo/Facebook

In the Snowy Mountains of Australia the onset of winter was painfully slow. But all the accumulated frustration was blown away by the big storms of late June – and there was yet more snow last week. Perisher’s snow report records 42cm of the white stuff in the last week (25cm of which fell on July 9 and 10), and there’s more in the forecast.

Here’s some rather tasty rock-hopping video, shot in Thredbo yesterday…

 

There’s been some snow in New Zealand, too

The ski resorts of the South Island of New Zealand saw some fresh snow on Sunday – and a sharp drop in temperatures. Thank goodness: last week was mild and wet, and as a result Treble Cone had to shut its lifts for a few days because of patchy cover on the lower trails. The weather should stay cold for the rest of the week: although significant snowfall is not expected in the Southern Alps.

Pictured below is how it was looking in The Remarkables near Queenstown earlier today. The resort’s snow report records 14cm of snow in the last 24 hours.

Photo: The Remarkables/Facebook

A good week for freestyle skiers in the Andes

Last week was a sunny one in the ski resorts of Chile and Argentina. Pictured below is the terrain park in Valle Nevado, Chile on July 10.

Photo: Valle Nevado/Facebook

A change in the weather is expected today – and heavy snow is forecast for the region.

	France: you can currently ski on the glaciers above above Tignes and Les Deux Alpes. From tomorrow, sunshine and summery temperatures are expected which will be a welcome change after the stormy, wet and sometimes snowy weather of the last couple of weeks.
	Switzerland: as in the French Alps, Switzerland’s weather will settle down this week. Currently, above Zermatt, there’s 160cm of settled snow on the glacier and 18 pistes are open. From Saturday the glacier above Saas-Fee will be open for summer skiing too.
	Austria: the Stubai Glacier has now closed to skiers for the summer, but you can still ski on the Kitzsteinhorn glacier near Kaprun (until July 20), and the Hintertux glacier east of Innsbruck, as well as the Molltaler glaicer near Flattach. On the Hintertux the cover is up to 300cm deep.
	Italy: you can currently access glacier skiing on the Swiss-Italian border from Cervinia, when conditions allow.
	Andorra: Andorra’s ski resorts are now closed.
	Western USA: The Rocky Mountain ski season is officially over! Arapahoe Basin, Colorado, has finally closed for the season. But let’s not forget that in in late September they’ll be cranking up the snow cannons again if conditions are right. If you want to ski now, head to Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood in Oregon.
	Western Canada: the Horstman above Whistler is now open to skiers and boarders for the short summer season – which runs until July 27.