It is hot
Sunday April 11, 2010 - Email this article to a friend

The snow is melting at a fast rate across The Alps as the temperature has risen over the past few days.

Conditions are still good on the upper slopes of the high resorts and of course there is some great spring snow to be found if you hit the right slope and the right time as the icy snow turns soft.

For many it is as good as powder snow.

Below is the PlanetSKI video round up of conditions round the Alps.

It has though been a roller-coaster ride over the past week, with highly changeable weather.

The photo below was taken in Meribel last Monday, April 5th.

SWITZERLAND: The high resorts are the places to head for.

Saas Fee, Zermatt, Andermatt, Verbier, Engelberg and the like.

Mid afternoon in VerbierHowever in Verbier it has been pretty hot during the afternoon.

"Although it is warm here there is still some great skiing to be had," says Krystyna Chauncey.

"It is very icy first thing in the morning and very slushy and heavy by 3 o'clock, but in beween it is fabulous.  The runs back to the resort though are very bare, but they are still open."

Engelberg still has a depth of 3m on its upper slopes.

FRANCE: Once again Chamonix has the biggest snow depth with almost 4m at the top of the Grand Montets. 

However many of the low resorts have suffered as the high temperatures have melted the snow.

One PlanetSKI reader who has just driven over the Jura mountains says all the resorts he passed were closed. 

Not really surprising however as it is April.

Winter is over in the Jura

Elsewhere there is some snow though.

Val Thorens and Tignes report good conditions with the 2 resorts due to close on May 9th, so there is several more weeks of sking to be enjoyed.

Alpe d'Huez has a base of 3m at the top and nearby Serre Chevalier, 2.6m.

"It really is 4 seasons in one day at the moment in Meribel and the 3 Vallees as a whole. Some days we woke up to race and at 6am the whole valley was shrouded in cloud, by 7am it would be snowing and then sunny, bright blue sky in the afternoon" says PlanetSKI reporter, Ben Clatworthy.  He has just been racing in Meribel and has reported on The British Championships for us here at PlanetSKI.

"The temperature has dropped and over 1m of fresh snow has fallen in the past week, however rising temperatures once again mean that fresh snow in the morning will be gone by the afternoon."

Murky in Meribel

Alpe d'Huez

ITALY: In Italy the season is drawing to a close in many resorts though some new snow is forecast.

However the hot weather has meant good sunbathing conditions!

Val Gardena is due to close this week.

Cervinia is the place to head to and will remain open until May 9th.

Catching some Italian rays

Spring in The Italian Alps

AUSTRIA: There is some new snow set to fall in Austria with 40cm predicted in Kaprun, Hintertux and even some fresh snow in Zell am See which is relatively low. 

It is though a forecast and we await to see if it will arrive.

Kaprun and Hintertux are both glacial resorts.

Ischgl too is expecting some new snow and though all the runs are open it is patchy in places on the lower runs.

Conditions at the top of the mountain are still good.

The resort wil be open until May 2nd when it hosts its traditional closing party with a huge concert up on the slopes.

This year Alicia Keys will be performing.

The dancing girls continue in Ischgl until May

SCOTLAND:  The Easter weekend was pretty amazing as we reported here with stories from people enjoying the snow and a few pictures too.

It has though warmed up recently.  It is +2c in The Lecht, though the skiing is good for the time of year.

"All runs complete, excellent cover of spring snow on most runs, only Buzzard showing some bare areas. Ample nursery areas.Tows will operate suject to the demand," says a statement on the Winterhighland web site.

Elsewhere Cairngorm says the snow is still good.

It is now patchy in Glenshee and the resort will close next week.

A rare sight

Just in case you missed it here below is one of our most popular videos on PlanetSKI this winter; the world record for the number of people skiing or snowboarding in a kilt.

Not surprisingly it was done in Scotland. Cairngorm to be precise.

ANDORRA: Winter is drawing to a close in The Pyrenees though the resort of Arcalis still has 12 out of 13 lifts open.  Conditions are heavy and slushy but there is still a good amount of snow.

In Pas de la Casa there is still over 1.2m of snow at the top and all the runs are open though it is warm by the afternoon.

No new snow is forecast for the area.

SPAIN: Sierra Nevada still has almost 4m of snow at the top of the resort which is lucky as it is +7c so it is melting in the heat. 

It has around 10cm of new snow on April 8th which helped out.

In The Pyrenees the resort of Baqueira Beret has now closed for the season though Formigal remains open with soft and spring like conditions.

USA:  April showers have resulted in ample powder at Snowbird in Utah. 

It has received four-and-a-half feet in the last week, pushing the season total to 440 inches with a mid-mountain base depth of 127 inches.

With an additional 30-40 inches forecasted in the coming days, the mountain is in mid-winter form and skiers are raving about the spring storms.
 
“Just like last year, April is providing some of the best conditions we’ve seen all year,” said resort president, Bob Bonar.

“With this deep snowpack we expect to offer skiing and riding well into May, continuing our tradition of offering the longest season in Utah.”

Powder day in The Bird

Meanwhile, Mammoth Mountain in California will remain open until July 4th. It has just had another storm with over 1m falling in the first week of April.

The resorts has had its best snowfall season since the record breaking 2005/06 season, when over 50 feet of snow fell.

In Lake Tahoe a strong spring storm delivered almost 1m of new snow to North Lake Tahoe resorts at the end of March.

Check out the video below.

In the Lake Tahoe area 3 resorts will shut this weekend while 4 others next weekend on Sunday April 18th.

Heavenly shuts on April 25th and Squaw Valley on May 9th.

CANADA: Whistler's good winter continues with more snow falling on the upper slopes. 

There have also been signifcant falls elsewhere in Western Canada, though the East coast season is drawing to a close.

We reported earlier on the huge levels of snow at Cypress Mountain.

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