It’s been a snow filled start to November across Europe and North America, with snowfall down to village level in a number of Alpine resorts and 40-60cm of fresh snow up on the Austrian and Swiss glaciers.

Importantly, the snowfall in the Alps has been accompanied by a freezing level which has dropped well below 2,000m.

The recent snowfall has meant that those resorts already up and running have opened more lifts and runs, and more resorts are opening by the day.

Over the weekend the Kitzsteinhorn and Molltaler glaciers opened, bringing the Austrian contingent up to a magnificent seven.

Mt Norquay and Lake Louise in Alberta opened last Friday, bringing the Canadian contingent to three.

And the opening of Winter Park in Colorado takes the US contingent to four.

On the evening of Sunday 5 November a spectacular display of the Northern Lights / Aurora Borealis could be seen at resorts as far south as Serre Chevalier, France and the Dolomites, Italy.

A rare sighting indeed.

We’ll be posting twice weekly snow reports on Mondays and Thursdays throughout the 2023/24 Winter season, so bookmark us or better yet subscribe to get the latest snow news and our tips for where the snow will be.

If you’re out in resort drop us a line via our social media channels to share your ‘on the snow’ experiences and photos.

WHAT’S OPEN NOW

The Finnish resorts of Levi and Ruka and the Swedish resort of Kabdalis have opened up more terrain thanks to continued snow making and natural snowfall.

Levi (6/26 lifts; 5/38.5km piste; 10-26cm base), Ruka (8/22 lifts; 5/19km piste; 20-30cm base) in Finland.

Kabdalis (2/4 lifts; 5/9km piste; 35-90cm base) in Sweden.

There’s been plenty of fresh snow across the higher peaks of Europe the past 3-4 days with 40-60cm falling on the glacier resorts and conditions much improved.

Hintertux (13/21 lifts; 27/60km piste; 0-75cm base), Kaunertal (3/7 lifts; 6/55km piste; 60-95cm base), Kitzsteinhorn (3/3 lifts; 0-55cm base), Molltaler (3/9 lifts; 7/43km piste; 0-70cm base), Pitztal (6/7 lifts; 12/41km piste; 5-100cm base), Solden (9/31 lifts; 30/143km piste; 5-120cm base), Stubai (12/26 lifts; 17/68km piste; 5-70cm) in Austria.

Saas Fee (8/23 lifts; 11/100km; 0-260cm base), Zermatt (8/51 lifts; 18/332km piste; 0-200cm base) in Switzerland.

Across the pond, Arapahoe Basin (1/9 lift; 1/105km piste; 10-45cm base), Keystone (4/21 lift; 3/132km piste; 10-45cm base), and Winter Park (3/23 lift; 3/132km piste; 46-46cm base) all in Colorado, and Killington (2/22 lifts; 1/118km piste; 0-35cm base) in Vermont are the resorts open in the US.

Sommet-Saint-Sauveur (1/8 lift; 1/38km piste; 10-20cm base) in Quebec, Mt Norquay (2/6 lifts; 41-46cm base), and Lake Louise (2/11 lifts; 6/139km piste; 28-28cm base) both in Alberta are the resorts open in Canada.

FORECAST FOR THE NEXT 3-4 DAYS

The mercury continues to drop across the mountainous areas of the Northern Hemisphere.

The Alps will see a mix of clear days and snowfall with the freezing level dropping to 1500m and 15-25cm forecast for the Austrian and Swiss glacier resorts.

Glacier 3000 in Switzerland is scheduled to open this Thursday 9 November.

The Nordic countries will see below freezing temperatures and clear skies in the coming days, perfect for continued snow making and base building.

A storm system will bring much needed snowfall to the Western US and Canadian resorts over the next 3-4 days.