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Where’s The Snow in July 2018?

July is of course one of the hottest months of the year north of the equator but in the southern hemisphere it's when the ski season really gets moving and the good news is that 2018 has seen plenty of snow in Australia, New Zealand and South America. (Mt Hutt is pictured above on 24 June) As an added bonus the deep snow left from the exceptionally snowy 2017-18 winter in the Alps seems to be holding up well as there's even been fresh snow in late June in the Austrian Alps at high altitude and in a few less likely places at this time of year like Eastern Canada's like Newfoundland and (earlier last month), parts of BC too.…

Snowhunter 30th June 2018
EnvironmentWeather

How Much Snow Is There in the World?

NASA is reported to have launched a multi-year project to try to accurately measure how much snow cover the world has at any one time, and particularly how much water content there is held in that snow. Winter snow cover in the northern hemisphere is known to extend to over 46,000,000 square kilometres or just under a third of the Earth’s land area each year but scientists are keen to more accurately measure just how much snow there is at any one time – particularly is water content. In some areas snow is a critical water source and its volume can have both positive and negative  effects, supporting agriculture, recreation, and other aspects of local economies, but too much of…

Snowhunter 22nd June 2018
Ski ResortsWeather

Current Snowstorm in Australia Claimed to be Biggest For 18 Years

After 6 days of mostly cold and snowy weather, accumulations at resorts in Australia have reached up to 90cm (three feet) bringing great start-of-winter snow which is being branded 'Japan-like' by the country's snow enthusiasts. Australian ski areas opened a fortnight ago with very little snow cover and warm temperatures but things changed dramatically a few days later with what is widely being described as "the snowiest start to the season for 18 years.' Bases are reported to have reached more than 75cm already at ski areas including Falls Creek and Mount Hotham and the cold weather is expected to continue. even though the snowfall should ease off over the coming days, giving Aussie areas a great start to winter…

Snowhunter 19th June 2018
EventsSki ResortsTravelWeather

Last Weekend of the Californian 2017-18 Ski Season

In 2017 they made it to August after one of the snowiest winters on record, in 2018 the last Californian ski area still operating, Mammoth Mountain, will close for the season at the end of the ski day on Sunday, June 17th.   It’s quite a good result considering the poor winter snowfall in much of western North America, but Mammoth Mountain benefited from a snowy spring and will have clocked up more than 220+ days of skiing and riding by the time it closes its 17/18 winter season on Sunday. In celebration resort staff will be giving away Mammoth Beanies, coffee and pastries at the base of Face Lift Express [Chair 3] at 7:30am while supplies last.  The lifts will…

Snowhunter 14th June 2018
Ski ResortsTravelWeather

Ski Areas Open Early in South America After Up To A Metre of Snowfall

Ski areas in Argentina and Chile in the Andes mountains of South America, where the ski season is due to kick off this weekend or the next at most ski areas, are reporting some big pre-season snowfalls. Valle Nevado, one of the world’s newest major ski resorts which will celebrate 30 years in business this season, as reported the biggest totals from the latest snow storms, saying up to 1 metre has fallen there.  It will open tomorrow (Thursday 14th), several days early, thanks to the snow. https://www.facebook.com/vallenevadoskiresort/videos/10155343569810759/   Portillo, meanwhile, reported 28cm overnight and 40cm in the last 48 hours. Another resort opening early in Chile is El Colorado (pictured top and below), which has fully opened for the…

Snowhunter 13th June 2018
LifestyleSki ResortsWeather

Val d’Isère Re-Opens Winter (non-glacier) Slopes for Summer Skiing

This week, for the first time in the resort’s 82-year history, Val d’Isère reopened some of its winter pistes and lifts, situated just above the village, after they closed on 1 May 2018, at the end of a record-breaking season for snow cover. About 200 skiers and snowboarders took advantage of the exceptional conditions to ride the Funival funicular to the top of Bellevarde on re-opening day, where the first sections of slopes OK, Diebold, 3J and Verte offered skiing on snow lying more than a metre thick. After each run, enthusiasts could jump on the Marmottes chair for another go, exactly the same as in winter. David McCallum, a British property developer who lives in Val d’Isère said, “It…

Snowhunter 8th June 2018
LifestyleSki ResortsWeather

Australian Ski Season Underway Following “Warmest Autumn on Record”

Australia’s 2018 ski season got underway today and almost all of the country’s ski areas will be opening this weekend, regardless of the snow conditions. The country traditionally starts its ski season in early June for the Queen’s Birthday holiday weekend in the country. Perisher (pictured top) was the first to open, but says snow isn't great yet, but hopefully will be by this time next week. “Although the start to this years snow season is rather damp and disappointing, it is an improving picture over the coming week. Skies will clear and temperatures will drop below zero over the next few nights, allowing for some good snow making conditions. From Tuesday, a succession of fronts will sweep across the…

Snowhunter 8th June 2018
LifestyleSki ResortsWeather

1 More North American ski area Closes for Season But 2 Open For Summer

Arapahoe Basin in Colorado in USA, North America, rounded off its 234 day 2017-18 season last Sunday June 3rd. A-Basin kicked off its season on October 13, 2017, opening first in the state – and was the last to close. It was not the snowiest of seasons, but altogether the ski area, which is among the 10 highest in the world, reported about 300 inches (7.5 metres) of snowfall. “Have no fear, powder hounds - ski season will be here again in the high country before you know it… it’s only about 135 days away!” said A Basin’s Marketing and Communications Manager Adrienne Saia Isaac. Elsewhere in the USA, Mammoth Mountain (below last week) is open for one more week…

Snowhunter 8th June 2018
Ski Resorts

If Vail Resorts Was A Country It Would be 8th In The World For Ski Areas

Vail’s latest acquisition of four more US resorts takes its tally of ski areas to 18 – most of them in the US, but also Canada’s leading resort of Whistler Blackcomb and Australia’s Perisher.  The company has actually purchased 19 ski areas but merged The Canyons and Park City Mountain resort in Utah in to one to create the biggest ski area in the United States. With the purchase of Crested Butte, Vail Resorts now own five resorts in their home state of Colorado whilst Stevens Pass is their first resort in Washington State in the US Northwest.  They’ve also added to their US East Coast collection with Mount Sunapee in New Hampshire and Okemo in Vermont adding to Stowe.…

Snowhunter 5th June 2018
Adventures

First Ski Descent of Pakistan’s Laila Peak

A first ski descent of Pakistan’s Laila Peak has been made by French skiers Carole Chambaret, Tiphaine Duperier and Boris Langenstein. Located in the Hushe Valley near Gondogoro Glacier in the Karakoram range Laila Peak has an elevation of 6,096 metres (20,000 ft) and a distinctive spear-like shape. Its northwest face has a slope of 45 degrees for more than 1500 vertical metres. The mountain was first climbed in 1987 when a British expedition climbed the west wall and in 2005 Scandinavian extreme-skiers Fredrik Ericsson and Jörgen Aamot made an attempt to ski the mountain but were forced to turn back 100 metres from the summit due to poor weather conditions. Subsequent attempts to ski the mountain over the past…

Snowhunter 3rd June 2018