The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
Fresh snowfall in the Alps brings excellent conditions for spring skiers, says Patrick Thorne
The long-heralded snowstorm in the Alps has finally arrived, with the biggest falls of 2024 sending the snow stats on a steep upward trajectory after weeks of slow decline.
The fresh snowfall has brought joy to powder-starved freeriders, but also the inevitable warnings of rising off-piste avalanche danger. That is now widely up to level 3 or “considerable” on the scale 1-5, after being low for months.
Beyond the Alps, the Pyrenees have also had lots of fresh snow; it has continued snowing in Scandinavia; and Scottish centres managed to re-open some terrain, with Glencoe reporting the biggest turnaround, from closed a week ago to half its slopes and its full vertical being open this week.
There has been plenty of snowfall in North America too, with Western Canada seeing a badly needed deposit.
FRANCE
Courchevel was one of the big winners for snowfall, reporting 48cm (19in) in 24 hours to start the weekend, while 50cm in Alpe d’Huez took its base to 4.8 metres (16ft), the world’s deepest at present. However, Les Menuires had the most snowfall in 48 hours with 73cm (29in) up top. That was just the first course though, with the snow continuing all week and areas posting 1m-plus accumulations.
The forecast Remaining cold and snowy across the country into next week. Drier, sunnier weather returning on Monday/Tuesday.
AUSTRIA
Austria’s glaciers, where the ski season is set to continue into May (June for the Kitzsteinhorn, near Zell am See, and year-round for Hintertux in the Ziller valley), posted the biggest snowfalls in the Alps initially – the Stubai glacier reporting 80cm (31in) on day one of the storm, and Soelden 50cm (20in). But there was snowfall at lower levels, too: Saalbach-Hinterglemm, which peaks more than 1,000 vertical metres below the glaciers, also posted a 70cm (28in) weekend snowfall total.
The forecast Remaining much colder than it has been in recent weeks, with more light-to-moderate snow showers continuing into next week.
ITALY
Italy enjoyed a snowy weekend too, with good accumulations across the country. Aprica got 60cm (24in), Cervinia and Passo Tonale posted 50cm (20in), Madonna di Campiglio 40cm (16in) and Livigno 32cm (13in). In the Dolomites it was 15-30cm. The second wave of snowfall in the past few days more than doubled those totals.
The forecast Remaining cold and snowy through the weekend, then sunny weather returning next week.
SWITZERLAND
Swiss ski areas also got their fair share of fresh snow, with Glacier 3000 near Gstaad delaying opening after it received 60cm (24in) in 24 hours, to allow staff to dig out lifts and make slopes safe. As with the rest of the Alps, the snow has intensified in the past few days. St Moritz is the first resort this winter to see its base depth jump more than a metre in the past seven days. The forecast Snowfall will continue through the weekend with 10-20cm accumulations likely most days, with drier weather returning next week.
CANADA
There has been some excitement in Western Canada, with some of the biggest snowfalls of the year at resorts including Lake Louise, Kicking Horse and Sunshine near Banff. Jasper’s Marmot Basin topped the lot with 25cm (10in) in 24 hours to start the week. But the snowfall has intensified further west, with Whistler Blackcomb issuing a severe weather warning after it posted 48cm (19in) in 12 hours.
The forecast Temperatures remain colder than they have been, well below freezing to the valley floors, with daily snowfalls of 5-15cm into next week.
UNITED STATES
Data from the western US indicates that February snowfall totals of more than 4m (13ft) have more than doubled the snowpack, meaning spring looks set to bring the best skiing of the season. Utah is posting both America’s largest open ski area at Park City, and its deepest snowpack at Alta. The snow is dumping again, heaviest in the west, with the north-west corner finally seeing significant snowfall.
The forecast The US National Weather Service has a severe weather warning forecast for more than 2m (6ft) accumulating by Monday in the west. There are warnings of travel disruption and offpiste dangers from avalanches and tree wells (voids that can open in deep snow by tree trunks) from resorts.