Snow News last updated: 01 December 2008

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Heavy snowfalls on both sides of the Atlantic over the weekend further boosted the superb early season conditions. Many resorts in Austria opened over the weekend and enjoyed the fantastic snow conditions! Lots of resorts across France opened this weekend and many areas enjoyed fresh powder and virtually no crowds. Lots of fresh snow has fallen across Switzerland over the weekend. 40cm on the fell on the upper slopes at Zermatt providing fantastic powder skiing! Heavy snowfalls across the whole of Italy mean awesome powder skiing on Monday! Some resorts have seen their snow base double since Friday. Winter is in full swing in Andorra as all of our reported Andorran resorts are now open for the winter season! 20cm of snow fell at Hemsedal in Norway over the weekend and as a result the conditions are very good. Garmisch in Germany has opened some of its lower runs and Feldberg continues to offer good skiing on its open runs. Bansko in Bulgaria opened over the weekend offering good skiing on limited pistes. Our reported Scottish resorts are all closed but fresh snow and cold weather is forecast for the week ahead! Lots of fresh snow has fallen across Colorado which has given the resorts a much needed boost. Fantastic powder skiing is on offer at all the Colorado resorts we report on. Conditions in Canada are good across most resorts. Despite being a fairly dry start to the season most resorts are open, offering good skiing.

Snow fell across Austria over the weekend. Up to 35cm fell on the upper slopes at some resorts. Obergurgl (70/246cm) is reporting 30cm of fresh snow on Monday morning in time for the lifts opening and the snowfalls are expected to continue through the day. Their upper base of 246cm is usually common in March, so to have a base that deep in December is fantastic. Only four lifts are open and the heavy snow means visibility is very poor so take care on the mountain. The Ski Welt area opened some lifts over the weekend. Ellmau (20/50cm) had good conditions and with fresh snow forecast it should be great when the Ski Welt opens daily from 6th November. The Arlberg region is now open daily. St Anton (50/110cm), Lech 50/105cm) and Zurs (55/105cm) are all operating a total of fifty lifts. Great powder was on offer at each resort at the weekend and it is snowing again on Monday!

Alpe d'Huez (50/130cm) opened over the weekend and conditions are brilliant considering it is so early in the season. Five lifts are in operation on Monday and with snow falling, the conditions should be very good for the early part of the week. Val d'Isere (60/110cm) opened this weekend. There are thirty lifts running on Monday giving access to a lot of great skiing. Tignes (36/100cm) also officially opened for their winter season over the weekend. There are now nineteen lifts running and with the fresh snow that is falling conditions are very good. Chamonix (20/105cm) opened one lift this weekend but they are currently closed during the week. Conditions were reported to be brilliant with plenty of fresh powder on offer and very few people on the slopes.

Zermatt (30/250cm) has had 40cm of snow fall since Sunday morning and all fifty of their lifts are now open. Superb fresh snow conditions are providing great riding, and with so many lifts running the slopes will feel really empty. It is windy on the glacier though so take care whilst enjoying all that fresh snow! Saas Fee (59/224cm) is also experiencing the same snow storm. 30cm has fallen across the whole mountain since Sunday and it is still falling on Monday morning. The storm has affected lift operations however and only five lifts are open on Monday. Once the storm has passed the rest of the lifts should re-open. Andermatt (60/300cm) has a very deep snow base on the upper slopes and the fresh snow over the weekend has provided excellent conditions. More snow is forecast towards the end of the week.

Huge amounts of fresh snow have fallen across Italy over the weekend. Many resorts have received 100cm new snow since Friday on the upper slopes. Passo Tonale (120/370cm) has had enough snow to double its snow base on the lower slopes and the 370cm of snow on the glacier is fantastic. More snow is forecast through the week but it is expected to be heaviest today, Monday. Livigno (128/220cm) also received a huge dump of snow this weekend and it hasn't stopped yet. Only two lifts are open on Monday as a result of the poor visibility and heavy snow. Their base has also doubled in depth across the whole mountain since Friday which is incredible. When more lifts open the conditions should be phenomenal. Cervinia (65/230cm) is also benefiting from the fresh snow. They have received 20cm since Sunday and the nine open lifts on Monday provide great access to the fresh powder. Today, Monday, it is also very snowy.

All our reported Andorran resorts have opened for the season. There are great conditions to be enjoyed across the region due to the fresh snow that fell over the weekend. It is snowing lightly on Monday morning which should help to further improve the conditions. Soldeu (50/120cm) has almost all of their lifts open on Monday which is fantastic given the time of year! 97% of their ski area is open so there is plenty of great terrain to enjoy.

Fresh snow fell at some resorts in Norway over the weekend. Geilo (50cm) and Hemsedal (55/65cm) received 15cm and 20cm respectively. The cold temperatures across the region at the moment ensure the snow is being kept in great condition. Åre (40/57cm) in Sweden has opened two more lifts since Friday. They have received a dusting of snow over the weekend which has helped to improve the piste conditions a little.

Feldberg (25/45) continues to offer some good skiing. Six lifts are open on Monday and there is a light dusting of fresh snow on the pistes. Six lifts are open at Garmisch (0/80cm). They have opened some of the lower runs but the cover is quite thin, so ride with care. The rest of our reported German resorts are yet to open for the 2008/9 season.

Bansko (10/40cm) opened over the weekend. Two lifts are open on Monday which gives access to several limited pistes. Snow cover is largely manmade but this was helped by some fresh snow they had at the end of last week. All our other reported Bulgarian resorts are not yet open for the 2008/9 season.

Our reported Scottish resorts are all closed on Monday but there is fresh snow on the ground and more is forecast to fall during the week.

The resorts we report on in Colorado have received a very welcome dump of snow. Loveland (122cm) and Arapahoe Basin (61cm) have both received over 90cm of fresh snow since Friday. They have been waiting for a big dump of snow for a long time now so this is very welcome. Breckenridge (58/137cm) has seen a massive increase in the upper base depth this weekend. Great powder can be enjoyed across the whole mountain. On the east coast the temperature has risen, but they are still enjoying good skiing conditions. Killington (46/76cm) received 13cm of fresh snow on Sunday so conditions are very good. Sunday River (61/91cm) is still enjoying the fresh snow it received at the end of last week. It is quite warm though so the snow is a bit soft, especially in the afternoon.

Whistler (47cm) is open on Monday. Skiing is possible on both Whistler and Blackcomb and conditions are generally good. Some fresh snow would be beneficial as pistes lower down are suffering in the wet precipitation. Sun Peaks (37cm) opened two more lifts over the weekend so they now have four in operation. A light dusting of fresh snow over the weekend helped improved piste conditions. Silver Star (26/37cm) and Big White (31cm) are both waiting for new snowfalls before they can open. Snow fell over the weekend but it wasn't enough for them to be able to open. Big White needs a base of 60cm to be able to open the beginner runs as it is quite rocky. Silver Star needs slightly less but there is still not enough yet.

Snow is forecast for Saturday across Austrian resorts. The sunny weather in Italy, France and Switzerland on Thursday will be short lived as the clouds will start to build on Friday and new snow is forecast for the weekend. Dustings of snow are expected in Andorra this weekend and the lower temperatures will help the pistes to firm up. The weather at the end of this week in Germany will be a combination of sunny and cloudy spells, with clouds building over weekend. The heavier clouds could bring more fresh snow to the German resorts. Sunny weather is forecast this weekend at our Swedish and Norwegian resorts, although Voss and Åre could receive some new snow. It will be a bright sunny weekend for Bulgarian resorts with low temperatures so skiers should wrap up well. The recent wintry weather at Scottish resorts is forecast to move aside for some sunnier weather at the start of this weekend.

It is going to be a bright sunny week at the Blackcomb glacier (75cm) at Whistler.

Summer skiing operations are now in force with first lift up the mountain at 11am for snowsports unless you are on a camp when it is 7.30am. The open terrain is for intermediate and advanced skiers.

The conditions are excellent at Timberline (378m) in the USA due to the deep snow base that has been further enhanced by the recent snowfalls.

The Pucci lift is open from 7am until 1.30pm. A combination of sunny and cloudy spells is forecast throughout the weekend.

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