Snow Overview - Updated 02-Jul-2009

Please note that the snow overview is updated twice a week. For more up to date information about the latest snow please visit the individual resort snow reports; which are updated daily.

International

In Switzerland Saas Fee is scheduled to open for the summer ski season this Saturday and with almost three metres of snow on the glacier is should be a superb start to the season.

Unfortunately the Presena glacier in Italy is now closed for the summer ski season.

Fresh snow has fallen in our featured Southern Hemisphere countries this week, boosting the conditions for visitors and further snowfalls are expected at many locations this weekend.

The last two featured resorts to open in New Zealand, Mount Olympus and Rainbow, are scheduled to open this Saturday 4 July.

Chapa Verde in Chile is planning to open a day earlier than that on Friday.

North america

It is another bright and sunny day at Whistler (100cm) on Thursday and this is expected to continue across the weekend. The best conditions will be on the glacier at 12pm when the glacier opens for snowsports. The snow park is open and camps are running so you can improve your freestyle techniques.

Good summer riding conditions are reported at Timberline (152cm) in Oregon, USA on Thursday but it is still hot and sunny so the snow does quickly become soft. This fine weather is expected to last for most of the weekend.

Argentina

The three Argentinean resorts that the Ski Club reports on are now open following the open of Cerro Catedral (4/20cm) on Thursday.

Cerro Catedral has opened two of its lifts but more snow is needed before other parts of the area will be open. The cover is patchy on the lower pistes but with 35cm of snow forecast from Friday to Monday conditions should improve.

Heavy snow has been falling at Las Lenas (85/110cm) this week and powder conditions are to be found across the mountain. On Thursday nine lifts are open providing access to the whole area. High winds have been in the area during the last few days and are expected again over the weekend which will affect lift operations.

Snow has also been falling at Chapelco (14/90cm) and 20cm was reported on Wednesday. This has increased the piste depths at the resort and also improved conditions. Powder skiing can be enjoyed on the upper area while the pistes to resort have been refreshed.

Snow is expected to fall across Argentina this weekend. The most is forecast at Cerro Catedral with 35cm forecast. High winds are also predicted and these will have an impact on lift operations.

Australia

Fresh snow has been reported at all of the open Australian resorts on Thursday and this has helped the conditions to improve. The most snow fell at Falls Creek (43/45cm) which reported 28cm.

Falls Creek is now reporting that fresh tracks can be had at various points on the mountain for those that get up early enough. The snow patrol has also recommended Towers, Drovers and Mouse Trap as trails to head for as they are in great shape. The new snow has also enabled the resort to reopen the trails back to the resort.

Conditions are also improving at Mount Hotham (33/35cm) with 24cm of new snow reported on Thursday. There is now soft, fresh snow on Big D, Summit and Village Loop. High winds are expected to hit the resort towards the end of Thursday which could affect the lift operations on Friday.

Dustings of snow fell at Mount Baw Baw (5cm) but the resort remains closed on Thursday and still needs further snow for operations to resume. Selwyn Snowfields (5cm) has one lift open giving access to the beginners’ slope New Chum Bowl. Due to a lack of snow the rest of the resort is closed.

Snow is forecast across the Australian ski resorts from Thursday until Saturday evening. Brighter weather is then expected from Sunday.

Austria

Conditions at the open Austrian glaciers have remained unchanged this week. The rain earlier in the week softened up the snow slightly but this did not cause the piste depths to fall.

On Thursday clear sunny skies are to be found at most of the open resorts. These are Dachstein (350cm), Kaprun (326cm), Hintertux (225cm) and at all three resorts the snow will soften early under the strong sun. At the Mölltal glacier (330cm) there are cloudy skies covering the 9km of open pistes but the snow will soften during the day as it is warm.

Cloudy skies are going to dominate the Austrian ski scene this weekend and they will be accompanied by rain showers.

Chile

All of our the open Chilean resorts we report on have received fresh snow, providing superb powder riding conditions at the end of this week.

Portillo (75/160cm) reported 45cm of snow falling on Wednesday and all of the lifts are open on Thursday so it is a superb time to be riding in Portillo.

All of the Three Valleys resorts received around 15cm of fresh snow on Wednesday, adding to the snow that fell earlier in the week. El Colorado (130/150cm) reports the deepest snow base of the three resorts El Colorado, La Parva (115cm) and Valle Nevado (49cm).

Chapa Verde (120/160cm) is also blanketed in a covering of new snow, and the resort should open for their season on 3 July.

Overcast cloud cover at the open resorts on Thursday means that the light is a little flat, but some sunshine is expected to break through on Friday. Some clouds will still be about though and could deliver more fresh snow.

France

All of our reported French summer skiing destinations are open for skiing during the morning.

Val d’Isere (180cm) opened last weekend and the resort has enjoyed a great first week to their season. As with the other French resorts it is only possible to ski during the morning, so head onto the slopes early as the snow quickly softens and becomes heavy. All of the summer skiing lifts are open on Thursday.

Hot and sunny weather blesses all of the French resorts on Thursday so do ski early in the day as the snow becomes wet and heavy by late morning. Clouds are expected later in the day that could bring some thundery conditions, but it will brighten up again on Friday afternoon for a fantastic weekend.

Italy

Cervinia (170cm) is open with three lifts operating on Thursday. The snow base has dropped by 10cm since Monday but with more than a metre and a half of snow on the slopes there is more than enough cover.

At Val Senales (210cm) the same number of lifts and pistes are open as Monday, seven of each.

Unfortunately the Presena glacier above Passo Tonale is now closed for the summer season. They will now not open for their winter season until October.

The weather at the Italian resorts is a mixture of sun and cloud on Thursday and this is expected to be the case all weekend.

New zealand

The last resorts to open in New Zealand will be Mount Olympus (66cm) and Rainbow (30cm), which both plan to open on Saturday 4 July.

Mt Lyford (130cm) is in superb shape following 50cm of new snow falling on Wednesday. All of the main runs have been groomed and fresh lines can be skied pretty much everywhere else. The start of the weekend is forecast to be quite bright and then more snow is expected on Sunday.

It is snowing at Coronet Peak (75cm) on Thursday morning and all of the lifts are open. The weekend looks very promising thanks to this wintry weather.

Mount Dobson (93cm) is now open daily and they are reporting the most snow they have ever had for this stage of the season – fantastic!

All bar one of the lifts are now open at Mount Hutt (106cm) following the opening of the Towers Triple Chair. The main trails have been groomed overnight to provide a nice smooth riding surface but the resort warns that that none of the trails to the bottom of the Triple Chair have been groomed.

All of the lifts are open at Porter Heights (90cm) on Thursday and the riding is excellent following a dusting of new snow on Tuesday. The resort reports the best early season snow conditions they have had in a long time.

Good skiing is available on the groomed runs at The Remarkables (60cm) on Thursday although the conditions off the groomed trails is packed and tracked out now. Clouds on Thursday morning are forecast to deliver fresh snow later in the day, which will be welcome by the weekend’s visitors.

Treble Cone has an average snow base of 92cm and the main pistes have been groomed overnight. The tips for today are Main Street in Home Basin and Wide Glide in the Saddle.

The lifts at Cardrona (100cm) are on hold on Monday morning due to strong winds, but they hope to be able to open at some point. The heavy cloud cover is expected to deliver new snow in the afternoon.

On the North Island Turoa (120cm) received 10cm of snow new on Wednesday and the riding is excellent on Thursday as a result. The snow has hard packed at Whakapapa (60cm) and they do warn of some icy patches, so ski with care. Fresh snow is expected to fall at both resorts this weekend.

Switzerland

The ski and board conditions are great at Zermatt (170cm) and there are three blue runs and five red runs open on Thursday. A mixture of sun and cloud is forecast this weekend.

Saas Fee (299cm) is scheduled to open for their summer ski season this Saturday, 4 July.