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Snow-Forecast’s Rolling News on Ski Resorts Re-Opening (2020-21)

Last Updated: 23 November 2020 at 19.10 GMT (Updates so far since 5 May: 337) The web's most comprehensive guide of ski resorts opening around the world during the pandemic. Around 60 Ski Areas Are Currently Open Worldwide In 10 Countries on 3 Continents: Asia: China, Japan, Kazakhstan. Europe: Finland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland. North America: Canada, USA Browse by country: North America: Canada USA South America: Argentina Chile Europe: Austria France Italy Norway Scotland Slovak Republic Slovenia Sweden Switzerland Africa: Lesotho South Africa Asia: China Japan Oceania: Australia New Zealand NEW: Spain's SierraNevada which was due to open this weekend says it won't open until virus conditions improve. Baqueira Beret, another leading Spanish area, say they'll open on 11th December, later than usual (23 November) Largest ski area in the US, Park City, is open for season (21 November). Canada joins list if countries with ski areas open for season now in double figures…

Snowhunter 21st November 2020 1
Gear

What did we discover during lockdown?

Back when we all thought the world would end due to the Millennium Bug (it didn't), we made a t-shirt. It was the first one we produced and features an early logo derived from the fridge in our home office. If you're like us, you may have whiled away some lockdown hours tidying your shed. "be part of snow-forecasting history with a chance to own one of our first ever t-shirts!" That's what I did, and in a Tesco bag full of broken snowboard bindings I discovered this rare example. It gave us an idea: make a limited run of these shirts and surprise the first few hundred Snow-Forecast.com fans who subscribed by sending them one. Now you can own…

Nick Russill 22nd June 2020 3
Ski ResortsWeather

Powder Conditions in Western Canada With Up to 92cm/3 Feet of Snowfall Reported in Past Week

The ski season is continuing to get going in Canada where snow conditions are arguably the best in the world at present. Sunshine near Banff (pictured) reported 92cm (over three feet) of snowfall in the past week taking its season-to-date tally to nearly 2.5 metres (over 8 feet) already.  There’s been powder conditions here all week, and at other open areas, with daily top ups of the snow. Big name resorts Big White (117cm/117cm / 47/47”) and Sun Peaks (95/95cm / 38/38”) are among the latest to open, with Big White posting the deepest base in North America (and probably the deepest fresh snow base in the world) from opening day. Vancouver’s local ski hill at Grouse Mountain (77/77cm /…

Snowhunter 21st November 2020
Adventures

Explore the Scottish Backcountry Virtually Next Thursday

Our overseas ski trips may be looking increasingly difficult to organise this winter but many British skiers and boarders don’t realise how many backcountry opportunities Scotland has to offer. Next Thursday 26th November at 8pm Ellis Brigham Mountain Sports and Atomic will be hosting an online presentation of the opportunities available: Explore the Scottish Backcountry The free live session with Gavin Carruthers and Blair Aitken will see the duo chat about what makes Scotland so special, why backcountry skiing is becoming so popular and where their favourite spots are. Gavin and Blair have over 20 years of off piste experience in Scotland between them and offer British Backcountry experiences including journeying days, gully skiing coaching and Ben Nevis ski trips.…

Snowhunter 20th November 2020
RoundupsSki Resorts

Luxurious Book Featuring More Than 200 Piste Maps Now Available In UK

Rather like classic album covers, the creation of piste maps, especially back before the era of digital mapping, is a source of fascination and delight to many skiers and boarders. Most famous of all the map designers and a living-legend in the industry is ski artist James Niehuesh, whose maps, over past three decades, have helped countless skiers and snowboarders navigate down the snow-covered slopes of resorts across North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. His maps have been printed literally hundreds of millions of times. Now a luxurious new coffee table book The Man Behind the Maps: Legendary Ski Artist James Niehues published by the Open Road Ski Company is available for the first time outside North America…

Snowhunter 18th November 2020
Ski Resorts

Scottish Ski Centre Announces Temporary Closure Due to COVID

Hopes that ski areas in Scotland might benefit from a domestic skier boom this winter as skiers look to ski in the UK rather than battle COVID and Brexit restrictions to reach the Alps may be in question after Nevis Range ski area by Ben Nevis announced it will, “temporarily close the business.” A Statement from the resort says, “Like many other businesses we have been reflecting on the current situation with COVID-19 and unfortunately we have reached the very difficult conclusion to suspend the sale of Season Tickets for Snowsports and temporarily close the business. With all of the travel restrictions and uncertainty surrounding winter operations we are not 100% confident that we can deliver a full season for…

Snowhunter 16th November 2020
Technique / SafetyWeather

Leading Austrian Ski Areas Plan to Open Later than End of Lockdown 2

Austrian ski areas that had expected to open in November, before the second lockdown in the country began, may not be opening the day the lockdown is expected to end – at the end of this month. Instead ski areas are looking to open some way into December, which appears to be in line with government plan to ‘gradually come out of lockdown in December’ rather than everything immediately re-opened. Ischgl, which traditionally throws a big ‘opening’ weekend at the end of November (already cancelled for this winter) is suggesting the most dramatic change – not planning to open until December 17th, about three weeks later than usual. The resort famously spent around a million Euros one year on autumn…

Snowhunter 12th November 2020 1
Roundups

WORLD SNOW ROUNDUP #165

Issued: 11 November 2020 By Patrick "Snowhunter" Thorne European Roundup North American Roundup Asia Roundup Southern Hemisphere Roundup EUROPE INTRODUCTION The weather story of the past week has been one of predominantly sunny and sometimes warm weather which has slowed snow-making efforts and rolled back snowlines from the October snowfalls. There's been little fresh snow to report except for another accumulation in the Pyrenees and the western Alps at the end of last week. The next round of the Alpine Skiing World Cup, due to be staged in Lech-Zurs this weekend, has been postponed to the end of the month due to the warm weather.The other story is concerning the virus.  With most of the main ski nations approximately mid-way into their…

MarcD 11th November 2020
EventsRoundupsSki Resorts

More Western North American Ski Areas Open for 20-21 Season As Up to 28” (70cm) of Snow Falls

The forecast snowstorm in Western North America has brought the first significant snowfall of the autumn to many ski areas right across the Western side of the continent. Ski areas reported anything between six and 28 inches of snowfall (15-70cm), along with a big temperature drop, transforming conditions from ‘unseasonably warm and dry’ to more like winter from Saturday on the west coast and Sunday in the Rockies. Keystone and Arapahoe Basin have opened in Colorado, joining Wolf Creek which opened a fortnight ago after a nearly two foot (60cm) snowfall back then.  It has reported a similar accumulation from the latest storm and opened three more lifts and much more terrain. Loveland and Breckenridge (pictured below) are expected to…

Snowhunter 10th November 2020
Lifestyle

Giant Ski Poles Appear in Austrian Tirol’s SkiWelt

Two giant wooden ski poles have appeared in the giant Austrian Skiwelt region, which connects the ski lifts and slopes of nine villages to create one of Austria and the world’s largest ski areas. This winter the region will unveil its latest high-speed lift, the brand new Salvistabahn, and as part of the celebrations it has created a new fotopoint featuring the giant poles at the new lifts top station. The station and poles are located at 1565m altitude above the village of Itter on the Kleine Salve mountain, with the bigger of the two poles about 5 metres high. Work on the poles is not quite complete as well as being something for people to take pictures of themselves…

Snowhunter 9th November 2020
Technique / Safety

Bulgarian Ski Areas Launch ‘Winter Sports Boost Your Health’ Message

The Sofia Globe newspaper is reporting that Bulgaria’s Tourism Minister Mariana Nikolova is to launch a ‘Winter sports boost your health’ message to promote ski tourism in the country this winter. The message is the latest in an increasingly vocal movement from European ski resorts that, they believe, the benefits of getting out in to the mountains for an individuals mental and physical health outweigh the risks of spreading the virus. Earlier in the year the ski resort of Bansko announced it would offer free ski breaks to the country’s frontline healthcare workers who were involved in the medical response to the pandemic in the spring. The Sofia Globe also reports that mid-range hotels in the country may also be…

Snowhunter 5th November 2020