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Snow News last updated: 05 November 2009

Click on a country to see the latest snow conditions:

Austria

Up to 20cm of new snow fell in parts of Austria this week, providing excellent riding on the open glacier ski areas.

10cm of snow was reported down in the valley at Hintertux (10/150cm) and even more fell on the glacier.

The Rettenbach glacier at Solden (10/86cm) received fresh snow on Wednesday night. Six lifts were open on Thursday morning, accessing pistes varying from blue to black in difficulty.

The full winter area is yet to open but the glacier skiing area is in excellent condition following this week’s fresh snowfall.

Obergurgl plans to open for their winter ski season on 13th November and, with wintry weather currently dominating the area, they should have great snow conditions for their first few weeks.

France

Wintry weather has delivered fresh snow to many French resorts this week.

At Tignes (10/30cm) the Grande Motte glacier has benefited from receiving over 30cm of snow this week, greatly improving the pistes.

Snow cannons have also been able to operate across the area, which is excellent news for the start of their winter season in a few weeks' time.

10cm of natural snow fell down in the town at Tignes on Wednesday, adding to the artificial snow that has been made so far.

The first of the French winter season resorts scheduled to open is Val Thorens on 21st November.

Switzerland

The Glacier 3000 ski area above Les Diablerets (9/45cm) in the Gstaad area has reopened following a closure due to the previous week's bad weather.

15cm of fresh snow fell on Wednesday during the day and into the night, which was followed by crystal clear skies on Thursday morning, providing excellent visibility to take advantage of the new snow.

The base depth at Saas Fee (15/106cm) has increased by more than 30cm since Monday. A good amount of snow has fallen on the glacier and fresh cover is even reported right down to resort level.

A variety of runs are open on the glacier. However, the halfpipe is currently closed, leaving only rails and kickers available for use in the park.

Italy

There is currently great early-season powder to ski up on the Plateau Rosa glacier above Cervinia (20/70cm).

25cm of snow fell on Wednesday and, accompanied by lovely sunshine on Thursday morning provided excellent skiing despite the limited amount of terrain open at this time of year.

A nice dump of fresh powder fell at Val Senales (10/45cm) as well. Whiteout conditions on Tuesday and Wednesday cleared away on Thursday, revealing fantastic snow conditions.

Some runs down at lower levels are now open due to the new snow and cold weather permitting the snow cannons to operate.

Andorra

All of the Andorran resorts we report on are yet to open for the season.

Norway / Sweden

All of our featured Norwegian resorts are yet to open for the winter season, although Trysil is scheduled to open on 7th November.

Trysil has 25cm of snow on the upper slopes and 15cm on the lower ones, so their opening weekend should be good.

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

Germany

The only open ski area that we report on in Germany is Garmisch (0/115cm).

It is currently only possible to ski on the Zugspitze glacier but 15cm of new snow fell on Wednesday so the riding is very good.

Sunny skies in Thursday provided excellent visibility in order to take advantage of the new snow, although thicker clouds are again expected over the weekend.

Bulgaria

All of the Bulgarian resorts we report on are yet to open for the season.

Scotland

All of the Scottish resorts we report on are yet to open for the season.

USA

Two more resorts in Colorado are scheduled to open this week. Keystone (35cm) is scheduled to open today, 5th November.

One lift will operate to begin the season, which will be the River Run Gondola. However, it will be possible to ski from the top right to the bottom.

Copper Mountain should open on Friday 6th November. Both resorts have mainly manmade snow on the groomed pistes but it is encouraging to see these resorts opening for the winter this early.

Sunday River (15/30cm) is also making snow and has helped to keep the available pistes in good shape for their weekend openings. The resort experienced a warm spell of weather earlier in the week but low temperatures have once again returned, which is important to keep the snow cannons running.

Timberline is still waiting for prolonged cold weather and further snowfall before they can reopen.

Fortunately 88cm of snow is forecast in the next six days, which could hopefully allow them to reopen.

Canada

The Mt Norquay area at Banff (30cm) opened on Saturday 31st October. Only one lift and one run were open but it was the first skiing in the Banff area of the 2009/10 season.

The ski area is currently closed during the week, but it is scheduled to open on Saturday 7th November for more weekend skiing.

Lake Louise plans to open on 6th November while Sunshine Village should open on 11th November.

Fresh snow fell across all three areas of Banff this week and Sunshine Village looks excellent at the moment, so the start to their season looks very promising.

All the other resorts we report on in Canada are closed but Jasper should open on 11th November.

European Weather Outlook

Plenty of snow is forecast over the coming weekend and into next week. From the east in Austria to the west in France between 20cm and 50cm of new snow is expected.

The resorts in the Arlberg region of Austria are expecting snow to keep falling until at least Tuesday, with Zurs expecting the heaviest snowfall. 49cm is expected in Zurs with the temperature getting progressively lower.

The French Pyrenean resorts have an even better snow forecast. Cauterets is expecting 104cm to fall by Tuesday, 70cm of which should land on Saturday and Sunday alone. This may well allow them to open early.

In Spain Formigal is forecast to be hit by the same snowstorm, with 90cm of new snow expected.

Up in Scandinavia light snow is expected for resorts in both Norway and Sweden but it shouldn’t amount to more than around 10cm.

The temperature should be quite low over the weekend, which is good for the overall ski conditions as this will help to cool the ground, meaning that any snow that does fall should stay.

North American Weather Outlook

It is expected to be a very dry weekend with regards to snowfall over the whole of America, apart from Timberline. 88cm of snow is expected by Tuesday which is snow they need to allow them to open for snowsports.

Mild conditions and freezing levels of 4000m are expected across Colorado. Sunshine is also expected, which will not help the existing snowpack.

Over on the east coast it should start off cold this weekend but then turn increasingly warm by next week. 12C is expected at the base of Sunday River on Tuesday, which could do a lot of damage to all the snow they have made recently.

In Canada, up to 45cm of snow is expected for most of our featured resorts in British Columbia and Alberta. The exception to this rule is Whistler, which is expecting 108cm.

About 25cm of new snow is forecast every day until Tuesday, which is excellent news for their scheduled opening date of 26th November.

The freezing level should hover between the resort base level and 1000m for Whistler, and around 1000m for most other resorts.

This means that the resorts can expect snow to fall right down to the bottom of the ski areas.

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