Author: Snow Menu
Published: Nov 10th, 2009
Category: Snow Weather Report
Comments: None

Snow is still falling in the French Pyrenees

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More snow fell at our featured Austrian resorts over the weekend.

Many of the glaciers received more than 15cm of snow on Sunday so there wwas plenty of excellent skiing conditions on Monday.

The Hintertux glacier (10/170cm) has the most terrain available, with 18 lifts running and more than 60kms of piste available.

Other resorts, such as Obergurgl and Obertauern, received a good amount of fresh snow. They have also been using the snow cannons in the cold temperatures so the slopes are looking very good for when the resorts open.

Obergurgl should be the first of the major Austrian resorts to open, with Friday 13th November their planned season start date.

Snow is still falling in the French Pyrenees, particularly over the Cauterets. However, there is no measured depth for the amount of snow that has fallen so far.

It has also been snowing over the French Alps, although the amounts are not as great as the Pyrenees.

Tignes (15/50cm) received fresh snow and there is good covering right down to base station level. Seven lifts and five pistes are open at Tignes, with one run down to Val Claret.

Up on the Grande Motte glacier the snow is superb, with low temperatures and fresh snow providing good riding conditions.

Another Italian resort opened last weekend. Passo Tonale (40/130cm) opened the Presena glacier for the winter season on Saturday 7th November. Only one lift was running at the start of this week.

Good amounts of fresh snow have fallen recently, improving the base depth greatly and there is plenty of good skiing to be enjoyed as result.

The upper slopes at Bormio (0/60cm) have also opened for skiing. It is currently possible to ski from 3000m down to around 2000m.

Further snowfall would allow them to open more terrain, but only 9cm is forecast until Friday.

However, 16cm of snow is expected to land during the coming Saturday.

It has been a great weekend for snowsports fans in Norway. Following good pre-season snowfall Geilo (25/35cm), Hemsedal (35/65cm) and Trysil (20/30cm) have all been able to open for skiers and boarders.

However, there are only a limited number of lifts and pistes open at each resort. Geilo is operating three lifts and pistes, Hemsedal one lift and two pistes while Trysil has two lifts and pistes available.

Despite this, the riding is good due to the existing snow base being topped up by a dusting of fresh snow over the previous weekend.

Both of our featured Swedish resorts are currently closed for snowsports.

The weather is forecast to be predominantly sunny in Norway and Sweden at the start of this week and thick clouds are expected to move in on Wednesday, bringing with them the chance of further snowfall.

Timberline (79cm) has finally received a massive dump of snow, which has allowed them to open for snowsports for the winter season.

71cm of fresh snow fell over the weekend and they have groomed some of the snow and opened two lifts. The fresh snow has dramatically improved conditions at the resort.

Off-piste skiing will be good but it is recommended that you stick to the upper slopes for that, where the snow base is deepest.

Last weekend also saw the opening of Copper Mountain (46cm) in Colorado. A man-made snow base ensures good cover on the open runs down to the village level at 2800m. Three lifts are running and four trails are available to ski on.

In the east of America, Sunday River (15/30cm) managed another weekend of skiing but the temperature is very high, which is damaging the snow base considerably.

They will need a return to cold weather to be able to make snow again.

A lot of snow fell in parts of Canada over the weekend, especially at Banff (43cm).

More than 35cm of fresh powder blanketed Sunshine Village on Sunday morning, while 15cm fell on both Lake Louise and Mt Norquay.

Lake Louise opened for the first time this season on Saturday 7th November and they have three runs and some rails in the park open.

Sunshine Village is expected to open on Wednesday 11th November, for which the snow conditions are excellent.

Sun Peaks (48/65cm) and Mont Saint Anne are due to open on Saturday 14th November. This is an earlier than scheduled opening for Sun Peaks thanks to the great pre-season snowfall this year.

Heavy snow is expected across most of the Alps this week, especially in the west.

However, it is expected to be quite warm, with the freezing level staying around 2300m, which could bring rain to many resorts at base level. It is expected that snow may fall over lower levels at night.

Above 2300m, the snow cannons will be working and with the fresh natural snow the base depth will build up quickly.

Saas Fee and Zermatt in Switzerland are expecting the most snow in Switzerland, with 45cm expected to fall between now and the coming weekend. Most of this should fall above 2000m, but it may snow down to the resorts’ base level at night.

The majority of this snow – around 22cm – is expected during the coming Saturday night.

In Austria to the east, it is expected to be a drier week. A maximum of 16cm of new snow is expected at Zurs in the Arlberg region.

It should be a cool week but by the time the weekend arrives abnormally warm weather is expected, with the freezing level briefly rising to 3150m on Friday at Zurs.

Resorts in the state of Colorado in America are looking forward to the 20cm of snow that is forecast at the end of this week.

However, it is expected to be very mild until Friday, when a storm will move through bringing cold weather and around 20cm of snow.

Breckenridge and Copper Mountain are expected to benefit from it the most, but all resorts will get some snow.

In the east of America a brief dip in temperatures midweek will be surpassed by a return to warm weather again. No new snow is expected at Sunday River.

However, it could be cold enough in the middle of the week for them to make some snow.

It looks like winter has finally started in the Pacific North West as Timberline is expecting snow to fall all week. 46cm is expected by the weekend which is great news for their visitors.

Winter is well and truly established in Canada. Whistler is expecting by far the most snow this week of our reported Canadian resorts with 111cm expected to fall by the weekend.

Around 30cm is expected each day this week and some of this should also fall right down to base level.

Their opening date is only a few weeks away and it is shaping up to be a great start to their Olympic season.

Elsewhere in Canada it should also be very wintry, particularly at Revelstoke and Kicking Horse who are expecting 60cm of new snow to fall by the weekend.