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RoundupsSki ResortsWeather

Australian Area Opening For Winter 22 Early, This Weekend

A huge snowstorm currently hitting Australia has led the country’s largest ski area, Perisher, to announce it will open a week earlier than planned, this coming weekend. With perfect timing for the start of the 2022 ski season, the storm has already brought more than 30cm (a foot) of snowfall to Perisher’s slopes and another end of the week. Other Australian ski areas are reporting similar accumulations with Mt Buller describing the storm as, “A ripper start to the season.” The resort has announced that the Perisher Front Valley slopes served by the Village 8 Express chairlift, Mitchell T-Bar and Carpet #4 will be open and that lifts will begin loading at 8:30am. “Early season protocols are in place: Early…

Snowhunter 31st May 2022

Weather

Late Spring Snowstorm Hits the Rockies

A huge snowstorm has brought over a foot of fresh late-May snowfall to the Rocky Mountains a week after several ski areas in the region ended their 21-22 seasons early due to poor snow conditions. Arapahoe Basin reported 16 inches (40cm) of fresh snowfall to start the weekend having staged a rail jam with skiers and boarders in T shirts and short a week ago. A week ago... The wider region had also seen temperatures hitting 90F (32C) just 24 hours before the snowstorm arrived. Winter Park also had its Mary Jane slopes open in Colorado for the final day of the season on Saturday, also reporting 16” (40cm) of snowfall. A third area, Breckenridge, which had originally planned to…

Snowhunter 22nd May 2022

Ski ResortsWeather

Only Summer-Only Ski Area in US Not opening in 2022

The Beartooth Basin summer ski area on the Montana – Wyoming state border won’t open this year. The area usually opens from late may or early June, once the access road that's buried for eight months of the year and then stays open so long as the snow cover lasts. The centre’s operators said earlier this month that, on a pre-opening visit, they were concerned to find low snow cover. At the time they said they would attempt to manage snow in order to be able to open but were not optimistic, and that picture has now been confirmed. Formerly known as the Red Lodge International Ski and Snowboard Camp, where athletes would train year-round, it was established in the…

Snowhunter 20th May 2022

EnvironmentWeather

Will North America’s Sole Summer-Ski-Only Ski Area Open in 2022?

Beartooth Basin ski area on the Montana/Wyoming border has said it may not open this year due to inadequate snow cover, a final decision is due imminently. At the start of the month resort staff posted, “We made it to the Basin and were greeted by very low snow. Over the week, Mother Nature began to cooperate and has been snowing. A snowcat is heading up this week to help farm snow into Beartooth Basin. We plan to operate, but we cannot be certain of opening. No tickets are available until we are certain we are going to open. Fingers crossed!” Established in the mid-1960’s by Austrians Pepi Gramshammer, Eric Sailer and Anderl Molterer as an Alpine Ski Racing summer…

Snowhunter 12th May 2022

RoundupsWeather

Australian Ski Resorts Start Snowmaking as Snow Falls Before 2022 Season Starts

There’s excitement in Australia as cold temperatures have led to the first dustings of snow on ski slopes in Victoria and New South Wales. The country’s 2022 ski season is just over a month away, all being well. The country’s largest ski resort, Perisher, is reported to have fired up their snow guns to make snow on top of the light natural falls. Most Australian ski areas start their seasons in early June every year, coinciding with the Queen’s Birthday holiday long weekend in the country. They open whether there’s snow or not, although the arrival of all-weather snowmaking systems mean that several have some snow cover regardless of natural conditions. Hotham 4.5.22 Recent seasons before the pandemic also saw…

Snowhunter 5th May 2022

Weather

Ski Area With Western World’s Deepest Base Extends Season to Mid-May

Alyeska Ski Resort in Alaska, which has been posting the deepest base of any major ski-area outside of Japan for much of 2022, has announced it will be staying opening longer into Spring than it had planned, opening weekends through to May 15th after the original season-end date on April 24th. Alyeska is one of the few ski areas to exceed a 4 metre base this year, currently posting the snow lying 4.2 metres (14 feet) deep on its higher slopes. It says it has had nearly 17 metres of snowfall so far this season. “After last night’s storm, we are well above 660 inches of snowfall for the season, with a base depth of around 165, give or take,…

Snowhunter 20th March 2022

EnvironmentRoundupsWeather

The World’s Spring Ski Centres in Good Shape for 2022

The half-dozen ski areas in Asia, Europe and North America which only open in spring are mostly in good shape for their 2022 ski seasons. Riksgränsen (pictured below), the “world’s spring skiing capital” is due to open this weekend for its 2022 season which famously incorporates skiing under the midnight sun in May and usually a re-opening in late-June for Midsummer. It reports plenty of snowy lying. It’s also believed to be the only ski area in the world to have operated throughout the pandemic. However, the three Norwegian glacier centres of Fonna (pictured top earlier this month), Stryn (pictured below last week) and Galdhøpiggen are the ones posting images of lift towers almost completely buried by snow. They usually…

Snowhunter 28th February 2022

RoundupsWeather

Major Snowfall in Western USA

A snowstorm has deposited up to three feet (90cm) of snow so far in the Western US. Heavenly in California (pictured top) reported 50cm (20”) of new snowfall in total, Palisades Tahoe 43cm (17”) Further East ski areas across the Rockies report deep powder with Aspen in Colorado posting 19” in just 24 hours. The storm is being particularly welcomed as it’s the first major fall for two months, since the last big dump at the end of December. Ski areas had been open all or most of their terrain thanks to those early falls in December but have had little of the light powder snow skiing and boarding to offer for which they’re particularly renowned, until now. …

Snowhunter 24th February 2022

Weather

World’s Deepest Base Nears 5 Metres (200”)

The world’s deepest base in 2022 is inching up towards the 5 metre mark in Asia, and has recently passed the 4 metre (13.3 feet) mark in North America but despite some big accumulations in the past few days Europe’s numbers are running below average in most areas, with the deepest snow being reported until recently in the far east of the continent, above Sochi in Russia’s Black Sea region, at a resort which eight years ago began hosting what became known as “The Tropical Winter Olympics” due to the warm temperatures. Back in 2014 temperatures were regularly above 10C. This February its cooler and Rosa Khutor ski area which hosted Olympic racing in 2014 reported the snow lying 401cm…

Snowhunter 5th February 2022

Weather

Japan Posts World’s Most Snowfall & Deepest Bases But Still Closed to International Travel

Ski areas in Japan are posting the world’s deepest bases at present and some have already had over 10 metres (33 feet) of snowfall in the 21-22 ski season. SnowJapan.com reports that Kiroro has gone through the 10 metre/33 feet seasonal-snowfall-to-date stat over the past week and is posting the world’s deepest snowpack for a leading ski area with the snow lying 4.7m (over 14 feet) thick at the top of the runs. Geto Kogen (255/400cm) has also just passed the 10-metre seasonal snowfall to date total (it’s on 1111cm, in fact). Due to the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus, Japan closed its borders to all new foreign arrivals again from November 30, 2021 until at least…

Snowhunter 27th January 2022

EnvironmentRoundupsWeather

December Snowfall Totals Pass 199” (5 Metres) in California

Exceptional snowfalls over the past fortnight has taken December totals past the 199 inches (5 metres / nearly 17 feet) for at least one resort in California, others are getting close to that total. The highest total reported by The Palisades ski area (pictured above and below) is now the resort’s snowiest December on record. Most of the snow has fallen in the latter half of the month after a warm and dry November and December. The palisades had initially opened in late October after an unusually heavy snowstorm then but had been forced to close and had then been unable to open on its originally planned November date due to lack of snow. There have been two huge snowstorms…

Snowhunter 29th December 2021

Ski ResortsWeather

Super Storm Dumps up To Five Feet of Snow on US West

A major snowstorm that hit the West Coast of America between Sunday and Tuesday has led to accumulations of up to five feet (1.5 metres) of snow on ski slopes in California. It’s a massive change after the region was impacted by a six-week warm and dry spell following an unusually heavy late October snowstorm. The Palisades above and top today. Many of the resorts that had had to postpone opening for several weeks due to too little snow are now scrambling to open after too much arrived too fast. Mammoth Mountain has managed to stay open throughout the dry spell after opening early in late October. It reported snow drifts reaching the top of its 24 foot (8 metres)…

Snowhunter 15th December 2021

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