The New Year has arrived and with it the first snow news of 2012, and unlike the economy, the grey weather and home and the cost of train tickets, the news is good... very good. The next five days will see around 40cm of snow hitting many parts of Austria, Switzerland and France.
Whistler, is once again, taking the plaudits with a wonderful 63cm of British Columbian powder for the rest of the week, though the best of the rest is back in snowy Europe.
The season has well and truly kicked into gear in Austria with a huge dump over the next few days. Saalbach & Hinterglemm boast a whopping 44cm of snow, with Lech St. Anton and Zell am See receiving around 41cm of fresh snow. Bad Gastein is set for nearly 40cm of fresh powder too this week, as are Ischgl (40cm), Kitzbuhel (38cm) and Mayrhofen (38cm).
Switzerland is also set for some cracking snowfall over the next five days, with the Graubünden region set to boast the heaviest falls. Flims Laax leads the way with 42cm and not far behind are the resorts of Davos & Klosters with 41cm of fresh pow. Lenzerheide and the Swiss side of the Portes du Soleil, Torgon & Champery, are also set for between 38-40cm of snow.
Heading over to British skiers' favourite destination, France, and the snow continues to fall. Once again the Portes du Soleil resorts of Morzine and Avoriaz lead the way with 39cm expected to fall on the five day forecast, with Les Gets getting around 36cm of snow. The nearby resort of Flaine, set in Le Grand Massif ski area, is due for around 38cm of powder. Alpe d'Huez is also keeping up with the good early season conditions by adding 27cm of fresh, white powder to its slopes.
The Tarantaise Valley, also know as Surrey-on-Ski, is set for more snow this week too. Courchevel and Meribel are forecast around 20cm of snow, whereas the higher Three Valleys resort of Val Thorens is only expecting 16cm. Les Arcs should see around 21cm in the next few days, while the neighbouring resort of La Plagne should benefit from around 19cm of fresh snow. Heading further up the valley and into the Espace Killy, Val d'Isere's forecast show 15cm of fresh snow on the horizon, with Tignes getting slightly more, at 17cm of fresh snow.
There's also fresh snow arriving in Italy, with Selva boasting 26cm of freshies and Arabba set for 23cm of snow. Cervinia should also benefit from the current storm, with 16cm set to fall in the next few days, and the Milky Way is set for a light dusting as the week goes on.
It's also snowing in North America, but that's not nearly as exciting as the new snow across the Channel.
The Snowman
_[_]_
( " )
'--( : )--'
( : )
""' - ... - '""