It's a mixed picture
Wednesday November 25, 2009 - Email this article to a friend

Whistler, in Canada is undoubtedly the place to be at the moment with a record-breaking amount of snowfall this November.

Elsewhere it's been snowing heavily in China, US and Western Canada and Scandinavia but not looking so good in Eastern Europe especially Bansko, where it's green.

Mt St Anne in Quebec and Alta in Utah have delayed opening and are now keeping their fingers crossed that snow will come. We have just heard that Alta is now opening on Wednesday.

Many resorts in The Alps are pretty warm and runs that were open earlier this month are closed.  "It's been warm here recently and the run from Attelas to Les Ruinettes that was open last weekend is now shut," says a PlanetSKI reporter in Verbier.

See here for a news video of conditions in the Swiss resort last weekend.

It's snow, but not enoughHere’s our current snow overview and we're happy to say that a cold front is due to come into the Alps later in the week.

Bansko in Bulgaria had hoped to open earlier this month but delayed the opening until it snows.

And whilst its been cold in Scotland, snowfall has been limited, though one of our reporters has sent us in a photograph of the first signs of winter at Cairngorm.

Last year after the snowfalls you could ski in Scotland in November. Heady days!

France:  Val Thorens has joined Tignes to become the second resort in the country to open.

Conditions are improving at the top of Tignes at La Grande Motte glacier with 50cm of snow, and whilst there is snow cover lower down, it still looks a bit thin. Neighbouring Val d'Isere is scheduled to open this weekend and a reporter from PlanetSKI will be telling us what it is like with photos too.

Over in Chamonix Claire Burnett has emailed us to say that there's been 50cm of fresh snow at 2,000m on Tuesday morning so things are looking up

Switzerland:  Zermatt claims the greatest snow depth worldwide with 4m.  The Diablerets Glacier and Saas Fee Glacier continue to offer skiing.

Some PlanetSKI readers are race training in Saas Fee at the moment and report a light dusting of fresh snow and great snow levels.

Davos, Laax and Verbier are open at weekends during November, though offering limited skiing.

Verbier; better than expectedPlanetSKI was out on the slopes of Verbier last weekend and, despite the warm temperatures, it was better than expected.

"The excitement of a couple of weeks ago, when the resort opened earlier than planned, has rather calmed down as it's been pretty warm in this part of the Alps but it was better than we thought it would be and the snow has held up OK," says Guy Ordway from the Performance Ski School. 

Engelberg opened on November 21st.

Still not frozen over

Austria:  The Austrian glaciers offer good conditions.  One of the largest areas is Hintertux glacier with a very respectable 170cm snowbase, 61km of pistes open, operating 16 out of 22 lifts. Stubai and Dachstein glaciers both have over 1m, Sölden boasts 77cm with 16 of its 34 lifts open.

Ischgl awaitsIschgl is preparing to open this Friday and the following day Katy Perry plays a concert in the town square.  PlanetSKI will bring you a report from Ischgl on the performance and the opening weekend.

It's looking pretty good at the moment with excellent snow cover at the top of the resort for the time of year.

Mölltal glacier has 170cm base and Kaunertal 135cm. Kitzbuhel, Schladming and Obergurgl are open for weekend skiing and Obertaunern opened 19th November with 30cm of snow in the valley and 50cm at the top.

Conditions at the moment in Carinthia look rather good with plenty of skiing according to the information we have been sent. Though it is diiffcult to tell exactly what the conditions are like from the photo below that has just been sent into us here at PlanetSKI.

It is though most definately snow!

Warm and wind-bown or perfect powder? Photo: Klaus Dapra

Germany:   Zugspitze (Garmisch) has 105cm base with 6 lifts open.  Other ski resorts in the Allgäu (Oberstdorf and Fellhorn) have 20cm of snow.  

Patchy in SoldeuAndorra:   Last week Andorra had great snowfalls which thawed almost as quickly as it had snowed. 

So, whilst Pas de La Casa enjoyed some fantastic skiing last week its now looking distinctly patchy as is Col de la Botella, the pass linking Pal to Arinsal, but its early days.

Italy:  Presena glacier is looking good with snowfalls exceeding 3.2m and it has 2 runs open.   Cervinia (3 lifts open), Bormio and Cortina (5km of slopes open) are open for weekend skiing and conditions allowing Cervinia is now open daily. Passo Tonale and Val Senales also offer glacier skiing. 

Livigno really surprised everyone and opened earlier this month and this weekend is now offering free skiing – no lift pass required.   

Scandinavia:

Norway:   More than 25 ski areas open in Norway last weekend.  Moreover, Norway’s biggest ski area the Lillehammer Ski region is offering a shared lift ticket for the weekend among its open resorts. 

Buy your lift pass in any of the 5 centres and gain access to 92 slopes, 116km of slopes, 44 lifts and 6 cross country trails; sounds a very good deal.

Whistler powder houndCanada: As we mentioned above Whistler is having its best ever to start to the season.  Its largest ever snowfall in November with yet more set to fall over the coming few days.

It has now received 418cm of snow beating the previous best November snowfall of 416cm in 2006.

"This is an unprecedented start to the season," says Anton Horvath, Whistler Mountain weather forecaster. "The excitement of locals and guests alike is palpable, and the timing of this record breaking event happening this year as we prepare to be a host venue for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, is just icing on the cake."

However the high levels of snow have closed many areas due to the avalanche risk.  If you want to see some more pictures from Whister then click here and dream.

Big White, Sun Peaks and Cypress Mountain are all open.  Sun Peaks opened with top-to-bottom skiing on Saturday and a combination of early snowfall and good snow making conditions they managed to open ahead of schedule.  And fun was had by all. The Austrian national Ski Team is now training in Sun Peaks.

Opening time in VailUS:  In North America dozens of resorts opened last weekend and many more are opening this week in time for Thanksgiving holidays on 26th to 29th November.

Some though are having problemswith the level of snowfall.   In Utah Alta decided to delay its opening date, though the other resorts in the area opened with much of the skiing and snowboarding on man-made snow. 

Park City had around 100 vehilces in the car park but little snow on the slopes and the snow that was there was pretty much all artificial.

"It's a beautiful day," one person told local media as the lifts opened up. "They have the runs covered and I'm happy. I mean, clear skies and skiing always make it a good day."

China:  The country has had some very heavy snowfalls with many inured and numerous buildings collapsing as mentioned here.  However on the up side, where skiing is concerned resorts around the capital Beijing and the nations main ski region in the North East of China will open one month ahead their expected opening dates in December.  

The resort of Yabuli opened its beginner terrain last week and other ski areas in the region will open in the next few days. Wanlong is also open and also has opened terrain at the top of the mountain.

Nanshan near Beijing is reported to have extended and widened its mogul fields and added a jump to the end of one of the advanced trails. In addition it has added an ice climbing wall.

Japan:    Niseko United Resorts stagger their opening days in late November to early December. Grand Hirafu and Annupuri Ski Resort will open on 21st November, and are traditionally the first resorts to open.

Niseko Village follows closely behind opening on 28th November and Hanazono from 5th December.

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