Powder Days and Sunshine Down Under

Smiles are a mile wide in the ski resorts of New Zealand and Australia – thanks to low-temperatures and a couple of 30cm snowstorms.

In the Snowy Mountains of Oz, the dump came last Thursday, and set up a powder day on Friday – followed by a sunny weekend.

This video will give you a taste of how it was on Fat-Ski Friday in Thredbo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IkG6woI1i4

Meanwhile, in the Southern Alps of New Zealand, the Kiwi resorts have had a blistering couple of days, thanks a stormy, snowy Saturday.

Treble Cone, above Lake Wanaka, had some of the heaviest snow, and reported 33cm from the storm. As a result, yesterday was something of an epic.

The Queenstown resorts, slightly further south, did well too. The Remarkables reported about 15cm of fresh snow on Sunday, and another 10-20cm today, which looked like this.

In Australia, the immediate outlook is for a couple of cold fronts to cross the Snowy Mountains, with snow showers likely.

In New Zealand, the South Island is expecting a week of changeable weather – starting cold, and turning milder as the weekend approaches. More snow is expected on Thursday and Friday. Skiers should get in as much time on the slopes as possible before Saturday – because a bullet of warm, wet air is due in from the north-west on Saturday, which should bring high winds and rain to all but the highest slopes.
 

 
In the Andes, conditions have been good too. Valle Nevado, near Santiago clocked up two powder days last week, on Thursday and Friday. Here’s how it looked on Friday.

The outlook now is dry and sunny until the weekend at least.

Meanwhile, in the Alps…

Summer in the Alps is turning toasty. After several weeks of unsettled weather, with afternoon thunderstorms a recurrent theme, it’ll be more settled, and very hot this week. Temperatures in the valleys of the French Alps will top 30C and the daytime freezing point will rise above 4000m. In Austria, it’ll won’t be quite so hot – and there’s a chance of the odd rumble of thunder in the afternoon.

It’s going to be a good week to go swimming, or picnicking by a bubbling mountain stream…

For more on summer holidays in the Alps check out features on trail running, mountain-biking, family holidays, beautiful walks and adventure parks.