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The PlanetSKI snow report
Monday August 16, 2010 - Email this article to a friend
New Zealand has the best, and worst, of it. Fresh snow but also avalanches, a death and over 1,000 people stranded. Australia has new snow too. It's improved in South America, and the Alps have just had half a metre in places over the weekend. Some of the glacier resorts are lookng pretty good again.
In our weekly report we have information, pictures and video from around the world.
New Zealand has once again had the best of it with yet more snow. But now the Alps has just had a big weather front move in.
It's been raining heavily across large parts of it but, up high, that means snow.
Saas-Fee has had 60cm and neighbouring Zermatt has done well too. The main picture above was taken from a web camera at the top of the Gornegrat railway in Zermatt on Monday.
It looks more like mid-winter.
Top of the metro Alpine Express, 3,500m
For full details of the weekend change in the weather see the Europe section of this report below.
In New Zealand Mt Hutt has done best, with up to 1m of snow in 48 hours, though there has been an avalanche and people were caught in it.
They were rescued as we reported here earlier.
Also high winds forced the authorities to close the resort for a day last week leaving 1,200 people to bed down for the night in the base station and cafeteria as they were unable to leave.
We have already reported on it here on PlanetSKI.
Stranded for the night
The snow has led to some pretty awesome conditions across the country, but sadly another death.
The 5th fatality of the season on the South Island.
Finally leaving Mt Hutt
In Europe there has been mixed weather.
The glacier at Val Senales in Italy had a fall of 10cm of fresh snow, while in Austria the snow is poor and one resort has had to close.
Our content editor has just flown over the Pyrenees and reports a little bit of snow still on the peaks.
It provoked a few memories for him too as he has written about in his blog.
None of the resorts in Andorra, Spain or France are open though.
So, whereabouts is there snow in the world and what's it like?
For a full round up of conditions here's the full PlanetSKI snow report with the help of our friends at skiinfo.com
NEW ZEALAND: Mt Hutt has had the best of it and the resort had to dig itself out last weekend after a big snowstorm.
Vehicles could only get up the access road with chains or a 4- wheel drive vehicle according to reports we received at the beginning of last week.
That though was just a foretaste of what was to come.
Winds of 200km/h hit the resort and the authorities were forced to close it. Everyone had to spend the night in the resort as it was too dangerous to leave.
The current snowbase of 2.4m is one of the deepest in the world at present.
3 people have already died in Mt Hutt on the slopes and a 4th in a road accident.
None of the deaths are related and investigations are continuing.
Other ski areas in New Zealand have reported big falls too.
The Remarkables
Coronet Peak added 45cm to its base and now has a 1.1m base.
Treble Cone has a 1.57m after a 15cm fall a few days ago.
Over on Mt Ruapehu , Whakapapa has a 90cm base and Turoa 1.5m.
AUSTRALIA: Conditions are largely good in Australia with most resorts now having over a half a metre on the slopes.
Some further snow is predicted.
Falls Creek has almost all of its lifts and runs open, snow depth is averaging around 60ccm but in snowmaking areas it's up on 99.5cm.
Mt Hotham has had a small fall of 5cm which has freshemed things up, and the resort now has a snow depth of 70cm .
It's looking reasonable in Thredbo too, with an 83cm base.
August in Thredbo. Photo c/o Lisa Young
Mt Buller has a base 60-90cm and has also had a small snowfall, 5cm, in recent days.
"The conditions have been good in Perisher, but it has been very, very busy and the slopes are quite crowded," says PlanetSKI reporter, Lisa Young, who is touring round a few Australian resorts at the moment.
She met quite a few race teams in Thredbo as she has already reported for us.
See the video below for conditions at Perisher.
In South America there's been a little new snow.
CHILE: Portillo has reported 9cm in the past week, and the base remains between 40cm and 1m, but the resort is still waiting for the first huge fall of the season.
Chapa Verde has a half metre base.
Valle Nevado's large ski area remains almost entirely open, with a 70cm base, but there's been no new snow in recent days.
It has though received 3.7m of snow so far this season.
ARGENTINA: It's a similar picture in Argentina where Las Lenas reports snow depths of up to 1m.
Some of the continent's deepest snow at present is on the upper slopes of Cerro Catedral to the north.
It has the biggest uplift capacity in South America.
At the moment it has a base of 1.4m on its upper runs.
Cerro Catedral
ITALY: Earlier this month Val Senales reported the biggest snowfall in the Northern Hemisphere, at an open ski area at least, with a 25cm fall.
Much of it though has now melted.
However another snow storm came in over Italy at the weekend with good conditions are reported up on the glacier at Cervinia.
There's around 1m up top and the recent warm weather, it was +5c on the Plateau Rosa glacier last week, has turned distinctly chilly.
Passo Stelvio is also open for snow sports.
For a video of what it looked like up on the glacier in Val Senales earlier in the season, see below.
AUSTRIA: Despite some fresh snow last week the Kitzsteinhorn glacier above Kaprun has recently been battling an increasingly thin snow pack.
It has decided to shut temporarily.
Currently the snowpack is down to just 7cm and temperatures on the glacier are +4C.
It's better news on the Hintertux glacier that is still maintaining one of the largest snow areas in the Alps with 20km of trails open served by nine lifts, it reported fresh snow a week ago.
It's warm to on the Dachstein glacier where cross-country trails and the Horsefeathers Superpark are both open.
"The setup remains in great shape and shredding the slushy snow under a bright blue sky makes you feel like a fish in his favourite water," says a statement form the resort.
Well. Maybe!
The third glacier still open in Austria is the Molltal that has 9.5km of slopes open with up to 1.5m of snow.
It intends to remain open now until mid-May next year.
FRANCE: We're in to the last few weeks of the summer ski season in France where the glacier at Tignes will close later this month.
However the closure will be only short-lived for Tignes as it re-opens in 4 weeks and remains the only open French ski area for most of the autumn.
Both have glacier snow bases of 60-100cm and both received a little snowfall late last week that improved things a bit.
A hot July has taken its toll on things according to PlanetSKI readers in the resort.
Summer in Tignes
Most people though in the French Alps, and the Alps in general come to that, are not thinking about skiing and snowboarding. They are up to other things.
Like mountain biking.
We have just been sent the photo below from a mountain bike event in Montgenevre.
More and more popular
SWITZERLAND: Saas Fee and Zermatt are both open, and had a serous summer storm at the weekend.
Saas Fee reports a 2m base.
It has ten lifts, four runs, its terrain park and half pipe open.
The British ski coach and friend of PlanetSKI, Warren Smith, is running a course in the resort and has just posted this comment on Facebook.
"60cm's of fresh powder in Saas-Fee! Amazing start to the week. Snowed right down to 2200m. Powder skiing in August. Skiers on this weeks Academy course are in for a treat!"
It was a bit different earlier.
The photo below was taken by one of our reporters who was climbing the Allalinhorn above Saas Fee. It looks over into neighbouring Zermatt.
Quite a view.
4,000m up
In Verbier there's been some snow too.
Around 25cm at Mont Fort though there is no summer skiing available in the resort. Most people in town that we have spoken too are moaning about the rain and the cold!
Bit of snow up top - Photo c/o Performance
Meanwhile the photo below is one of PlanetSKI's friends, Neil Aherne, who is in training on Lake Geneva.
He will be racing across the length of it, while a friend cycles round it. The pair work in our base resort of Verbier.
For more details see this story up elsewhere on the web site.
It promises to be quite an event.
Sea level
USA: The only other lift-served skiing in the northern hemisphere, besides the indoor centres, is at Timberline on Mt Hood in Oregon.
There's about a 1m base with ski lifts operating between 7am and 1.30pm daily.
The Mile Canyon 'freestyle terrain area' is also open.
In Africa conditions are little changed.
Afriski in Lesotho reports sunny days - too sunny by the afternoon when the snow becomes too sticky. However the temperature is still dropping low enough overnight to continue snowmaking.
Not great but better than nothing.
The centre is managing to maintain a 600m long slope with a 70cm base, as well as an additional beginners slope and its terrain park.
Yes, you can ski in southern Africa
If you are interested in the snow in Africa then see this related report from a PlanetSKI reader, Lynsey Devon, who was in the country for The World Cup.
There was enough snow in one of the game reserves to build a few snowmen. Check out the pictures!
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