The Alps have best snow conditions 'in a generation'
Heavy storms this week mean that skiers will enjoy records amounts of snow in Alpine resorts this Christmas.
Some 400,000 British skiers heading for the Alps over the coming fortnight will find the best Christmas and New Year snow conditions in a generation.
In resorts such as Val d'Isère which caught the harshest of this week's blizzards, the snow is banked 1.5m deep in the streets. Parts of the town were temporarily closed to pedestrians because of the high risk of avalanches.
Val and neighbouring Tignes have already enjoyed more snow in December than in any year since 1981 and seem set to beat all records by New Year's Day.
Following the storm pisteurs have struggled to open lifts and skiing has been strictly limited in recent days on safety grounds.
However, as the skies clear and the sun comes out this weekend skiers and snowboarders everywhere are in for a rare holiday treat. Those resorts in parts of Austria and Switzerland that missed out on the latest storms still have piste conditions that vary from "good" to "excellent".
Even Andorra which has suffered from rising prices and two disastrously poor winters has plenty of cover along with other destinations across both the Spanish and French Pyrenees.
Grand Valira, the principality's biggest area, has no new snow, but a respectable 70cm in the valley and 140cm on top.
Italy is currently offering some of the best skiing in the whole of Europe. Courmayeur and Champoluc in the Aosta valley benefited particularly well from falls earlier this week and Cervinia has a mighty 300cm of cover up on the border with Switzerland.
Further east, the Trentino resort of Madonna di Campiglio reports 30cm more snow and a snowpack that now varies between one and two metres deep, depending on altitude.
In the main Dolomites the snow cover is fantastic too – although they missed out on the really heavy snow that fell further west. At San Cassiano, in Alta Badia, the snow is up to 155cm deep in the valley and 230cm on top.
In Switzerland, Zermatt has around half a metre in town and 260cm up on the glacier. Vernier missed out on the biggest fall but still has 40cm in town and 130cm on Mont-Fort.
The west of Austria also has great snow, with St Anton and the Arlberg region receiving the best of it. In Lech, The snowpack on the Flexen Pass above Zürs is 120cm while Lech has 65cm in the village.
Popular Obergurgl has more than 250 cms up the mountain and 75cm down below. However, further east, Kitzbühel reports 64 per cent its lifts open and a snow depth of only 55cm on the upper slopes and 20cm in the resort. However more snow is forecast.
Resorts across Eastern Europe are opening up this weekend for the Christmas holiday, although snow cover is lighter here. Bansko in Bulgaria has between 25cm and 45cm.
Across the Atlantic conditions vary. Whistler has had a poor start to the season so far with only a handful of runs open. Last weekend the resort celebrated the opening of the new Peak-2-Peak gondola, but it has largley been over-shadowed by the collapse of the tower on the separate Blackcomb Excalibur gondola on Tuesday, which injured 10 passengers.
The gondola is not expected to reopen this season and much more snow is needed to bring Whistler up to speed.
Big White and other Canadian resorts have fared better. Revelstoke and Kicking Horse both have lots of new snow, but temperatures are as low as –30C making skiing a chilly experience.
In the United States conditions in the Rockies continue to improve with Colorado now in good shape for this time of year – and more snow on the way. Some of the best skiing is to be found in California where Mammoth saw 88cm fall in the last storm.
If you are skiing in snow-heavy Europe over the holiday, the avalanche risk will remain high and you should take extra care. Never consider leaving marked pistes without a qualified local guide.
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