This winter is surely going to go down as a record breaker, if not one of the greatest of all time, at the very least the greatest so far this century. It's Friday, which means time to write my weekend snow forecast, and once again there's snow everywhere.
This weekend isn't as epic as recent weeks as there will only be up to half a metre falling in the Alps and across the Atlantic, but with reasonable snow adding to phenomenal conditions, we're definitely not complaining.
France is set for the best of the European snow this weekend. The usual big hitters should all benefit from around 20cm of the white stuff, but it is the more undiscovered resorts that are getting the biggest dumps. Vars & Risoul make up a fantastic ski area, la Foret Blanche, in the southern French Alps, and are forecast at least 43cm of snow over the weekend. The resort of Serre Chevalier isn't renowned for queues, fur coats or couloirs, but still offers great skiing in a stunning, tree lined valley — the weekend should see around 40cm falling on its slopes.
St. Sorlin and St. Jean d'Arves are also hidden gems, filled with self catered accommodation, reasonable resort prices and a largely unknown, but underrated ski area. The weekend should see around 40cm falling their way. Okay, so Alpe d'Huez and Les Deux Alpes are hardly hidden gems, but they are more compact and less busy than the Tarantaise resorts, and should see around 33-35cm of snow across the weekend — some parts of Alpe d'Huez's ski area could see closer to half a metre of fresh snow.
As mentioned, France's big hitters are also expecting some snow over the weekend. Val d'Isere and Tignes are expecting around 23cm of fresh snow, Courchevel, Meribel and Val Thorens can expect to see around 29cm hitting their slopes and La Plagne and Les Arcs should both gain around 24cm of snow. It might not be epic, but knee deep snow is not to be sniffed at.
Once again Switzerland is following its snowier neighbours, by benefitting from a reasonable top-up over the weekend. The big known resorts of Verbier, Zermatt and Saas Fee should all see around 22cm of fresh snow arriving in the next few days. The lesser known resorts of Grimentz & Zinal should benefit from another 27cm of snow in the coming days and Villars & Crans Montana are both expecting around 23cm of snow. There is also around 15cm forecast in Flims Laax, Grindelwald and Murren. So snow pretty much everywhere.
Austria is also expecting a dusting of powder over the weekend, though it will be a much lighter affair than recent weeks. St. Anton is forecast around 8cm of snow, Ischgl 7cm and Mayrhofen around 3cm. There will also be a little bit of snow covering in Kitzbuhel and Alpbach. Italy is a bit of a mixed bag this weekend. Sauze d'Oulx has around 32cm of snow on the radar, Sestriere could boast around 33cm of fresh pow and Cervinia should benefit from a 24cm dusting of snow, with Selva and Arabba only getting a couple of centimetres.
Things have picked up in North America after some snow this weekend and the weekend will see around 44cm falling in Whistler, 43cm in Kicking Horse and 23cm in Monte Sainte Anne. With the X-Games taking place in Aspen at the moment, the 6cm of snow should help keep the parks well shaped and the landings less icy, while holidaymakers can enjoy a similar dusting in Steamboat, Stowe and Breckenridge.
All-in-all there is lots of snow this weekend, though nothing too scary is set to fall. So perfect pistes, a bit of cheeky powder and even the occasional vin chaud or beer on a sun-filled terrace should be on the cards for people heading to the mountains this weekend for a week on the slopes.
If it carries on like this I may have to go on strike, just like a French snowman would, until I get some time on the slopes myself!
The Snowman
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