12 April, 2012
Rebecca Miles, our snow editor, presents our latest independent report of snow conditions around the globe:
Just when you thought it was time to pack the skis away for another season, winter has returned to much of the Alps this week, bringing it with it a huge dump of snow – France has borne the brunt of it, but it’s moved through Switzerland, Austria and Italy too and is due to return on Friday. Will this season never cease to amaze?
In the Alps, snowfalls are set to continue over the weekend. While many resorts will be closing this weekend if they haven’t already, there are plenty that are open for a few more weeks yet, including Tignes, which has received 25cm of fresh snow and counting, and is open until 8th May. And with temperatures dropping back down into negative numbers, the snow is generally staying in better shape throughout the day than it has been during the previous few weeks. Get your skis or board on, there’s still time for fresh turns this season!
Here’s our round up of some of the best conditions around the globe currently – if you know of or experience better, please shout about it on our Facebook page.
France
It’s the northern and southern resorts that are reporting the greatest amounts of new snow over the past few days. In the north, Flaine (open until 22nd April) has added 55cm to its existing snow depth of 3.1m and in the south, Serre Chevalier (open until 22nd April) and La Grave (open until 1st May) have received 65cm and 55cm to top up their respective existing 1.9m and 1.5m depths.
Austria 
Snow clouds are sweeping across Austria from west to east with more due over the weekend. Obergurgl (open until 1st May) and Hintertux (open until 4th May) in the Tirol have benefited the most from the current snow, adding 29cm and 15cm to their existing depths of 1.35m and 3.75m respectively, while many Tirolean resorts are due to receive a further 30-40cm over the weekend.
Switzerland
Crans Montana (open until 29th April) in the Valais region is the place to be right now – it’s reporting powder conditions on and off piste, and has received 50cm of fresh snow to add to its existing base of 3.7m. Zermatt is due a welcome boost to its relatively low 1.4m base with a further 40cm of snow due to fall over the weekend. Conditions are reported to be powder on piste and off, and the resort is open until 6th May.
Italy
Over the Swiss-Italian border from Zermatt, Cervinia (open until 6th May) is looking the most promising of the Italian resorts, having had a 55cm top up to its existing 2.85m of snow. A little further east in the Aosta Valley, Alagna, which links into the Monterosa Ski area (open until 15th April), is reporting fresh powder conditions and is due to receive a further 40cm to add to its base of 1.3m.
Conditions are currently typically spring-like in the States, but snow showers are moving in from the west through Thursday and Friday, hitting the western states of California, Nevada and Utah more than Colorado or the eastern resorts. Heavenly (open until 15th April) and Mammoth (open until at least 22nd April) are two of the most promising resorts currently – each due to receive up to 25cm of fresh snow to add to their existing excellent piste quality and over 2m of snow depth.
Canada’s best conditions are currently to be found in Lake Louise and Banff, open until early May. Expecting a further 30cm of snow to their existing 2.45m base, conditions are reported as good. Further west in Whistler, the resort is forecast a further 10cm of snow to add to its epic 3.5m and will be open until 28th May.
Daily Mail Ski & Snowboard Magazine
