WORLD SNOW ROUNDUP #210
Issued: 29 September 2021
By Patrick “Snowhunter” Thorne
European Roundup
North American Roundup
Southern Hemisphere
WORLD OVERVIEW
It has been a second week where we have seen snow falling in both southern and northern hemispheres, as the seasons change on either side of the equator. In the north, as we approach October, more glacier areas have opened in Europe and we’re (hopefully) only weeks away from the first resort opening in North America.
In the southern hemisphere, by contrast, ski areas are continuing to close and most of those that remain open, are closing either this coming weekend or the one after. Here, temperatures are rising as we move further into spring. The snow hasn’t stopped falling though and one area in Tasmania, in Australia, has announced plans to stay open an extra fortnight after a big late-season dump there.
Among the more interesting snowfalls to report in the past seven days were the first significant coverings of higher slopes this autumn for many areas in Scandinavia and eastern Europe at the end of last week where the first turns of 21-22 have been made.
In terms of the pandemic, more businesses and full countries in the northern hemisphere have begun announcing their opening plans and rules. Increasingly common themes are that ski area staff must be full vaccinated and children 12 and up along with adults wishing to ski or board will be wise to have the green pass showing they’re fully vaccinated or evidence they recently rested negative or recovered from an infection.
EUROPE INTRODUCTION
This time last year the Alps were seeing some huge early-autumn snowfalls up high. Alas, there’s no sign of anything that massive again so far with mostly clear skies over the past week. But, nonetheless, glacier areas are continuing to open to start their 21-22 seasons and we have at least double the number of ski areas that were open at the start of the month, from 4 to 8. The Kaunertal, usually open through to the start of next June, has begun its eight-month season (hopefully, as the past two were shortened by lockdowns). Half of the areas open in the Alps are in the Austrian province of Tirol, the other half in Italy and Switzerland with the French 21-22 season due to get underway next month.
That said, the past week has also been marked by fresh snowfall up high in parts of eastern Europe, for some the first of the autumn. Pamporovo in Bulgaria, Jasna in Slovakia and Kopaonik in Serbia were among those reporting light snow cover, along with some resorts in Poland and Romania, more than two months before their seasons are due to begin.
Men named Martin, Andy and Santiago filmed themselves making the first turns of 21-22 at Păltiniș ski area in Transylvania, Romania, on snowboards on this snow. It may be the first ride on fresh snow this autumn in the northern hemisphere at a ski area below 2000m altitude and without a glacier.
The season start is more imminent in Scandinavia where resorts like Geilo, Voss and Roldal reported fresh snowfall too.
In terms of main season operations, Italy has announced ski area opening rules for winter 21-22 including all resort staff must be fully vaccinated and wear surgical standard masks. Open air lifts can run at full capacity, enclosed lifts at 80%. Other pandemic mitigation rules must be in place. Skiers aged 12 and over must carry the new ‘green pass’ to show they have been fully vaccinated, or recently tested negative, or recently recovered from an infection.
ALPS
ALPS REPORT| Back on the 7th of September the Stubai glacier posted, “For all statistics fans, in a long-term comparison, the ski season at Stubai started in September in 80% of cases. So keep your fingers crossed that it starts this year with mid-September,.” Alas, mid-September has now passed and we’re running out of days in September but the Stubai is yet to open, reflecting the fact that it has not been very snowy so far in the Austrian Alps. Both it and the Kitzsteinhorn are now looking to mid-October for opening. But that has not stopped four glaciers opening in the Austrian Tirol, with Kaunertal joining the list on Saturday. Hintertux (0/90cm / 0/36”), Pitztal (0/15cm / 0/6”) and Solden (0/53cm) are the three other glaciers already open.
Temperatures have been extremely warm on glaciers, hitting +10 Celcius up at 3000m at the end of last week before cooling at the weekend, with Hintertux warning this has led to some sectors becoming “extremely icy” during the thaw/freeze process.
There’s still no centres open in France, although its now only a few weeks until Tignes is due to start its 21-22 season. But there are two centres open in Italy, Passo Stelvio (5/155cm / 2/62”) and Val Senales (0/80cm / 0/32”) with 6km and 2km of runs open respectively.
For Switzerland, October is also expected to see half-a-dozen areas opening but for now there are the two choices as it has been since mid-July, Saas Fee (0/155cm / 0/62”) and Zermatt (0/150cm / 0/60”), both with 15-20km of runs open.
ALPS FORECAST| The weather does look to be getting progressively cooler with more light, possibly heavier, snowfalls up high over the next few days before sunnier conditions return. Up on glaciers it should rarely get above freezing in the Alps even during the day and now dropping well below overnight.
SCANDINAVIA REPORT| The weather has taken a more wintery turn in Scandinavia at last with mountainsides turning white at the end of last week with what for many were the first snowfalls of the 2021-22 season run-up. Many resorts across Norway, in particular, posted images of their higher slopes turning white. The only ski area that should be open right now though is the Galdhøpiggen summer ski centre which closed in July as snow melted from the glacier but has struggled to re-open in early September. It reported a week or so back that the weather was not playing ball but that it had stockpiled snow to spread on the slopes. This past week there has been snow though so hopefully re-opening is coming closer, especially as its 2021 opening is due to end in a month’s time anyway. The latest report was that the centre was closed due to gale force winds until at least Wednesday.
It looks more certain that Finland’s Levi and Ruka ski areas will open as planned the weekend after next. Both are regularly posting countdowns to their opening days on the 9th, using snow farmed from last season.
SCANDINAVIA FORECAST| After a brief lull in the windy snowy/rainy weather to start this week its looking more changeable for the coming week once more, getting increasingly snowy at altitude towards the weekend.
NORTH AMERICA
NORTH AMERICA INTRO| With October here at the end of this week, excitement levels are continuing to build ahead of the 21-22 season start in North America. Ski areas in both Canada and the US are expecting to open for the season in the next month. Although the exact dates are yet known. Well, other than Lake Louise, which has specified the final weekend of the month as their target date. Keystone says “as early as possible in October” but needs it cold enough for snowmaking. The same is true for Arapahoe Basin and Loveland. Loveland is expected to start snowmaking for the 21-22 season, which will hopefully be in October, over the next few days.
NORTH AMERICA FORECAST| The sunshine of the past 10 days or so is set to finally ease through the remainder of this week in the Rockies and colder, potentially snowier weather is forecast up high, with sub-zero temperatures overnight also making snowmaking looking increasingly feasible for the resorts hoping to get moving on base-building for an early 21-22 season start.
It’s apparently bad news for snowfall this winter on North America’s west coast with the news of a La Nina winter being “70-80% likely” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in the US.
La Nina conditions alternate with El Nino and are used to describe conditions over the Pacific, which tend to impact climate for many months. Typically, La Nina brings drier conditions, El Nino more precipitation, but that’s not always the case.
However, NOAA is predicting above-normal temperatures and drought conditions continuing across southwestern North America for the remainder of the year.
SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE INTRODUCTION
The season continues to wind down in the southern hemisphere and more ski areas have now closed here at the end of their 2021 seasons than remain open. Against that though a number, including Mt Hutt and Treble Cone in New Zealand, La Hoya in Argentina and Ben Lomond in Tasmania, Australia have announced extended openings later into October. Mt Ruapehu, in New Zealand, has also confirmed that it intends to keep open into November, the last month of spring south of the Equator.
As to the weather, it has been mixed, particularly in New Zealand, where they’ve had up a foot (30cm) of snow to start this week but also wind closures over the weekend and last week due to gales. Lighter snowfall but more marked warm temperatures in Australia and plenty of sunshine for the Andes too.
AUSTRALIA REPORT| After forest fires at ski areas in California this month, the latest natural event that’s not really weather-related is an earthquake that hit Australian ski areas last week, reaching 5.9 just as the ski day was getting underway at 9.15 am last Wednesday. One ski area did post an image of a shaky webcam video of a skier descending a slope, but this turned out to be wind-related rather than quake. In short, the quake had zero impact on ski area operations. The Australian ski season is in its final days. Thredbo (0/125cm / 0/50”) and Perisher (5/125cm / 2/50”) were jointly posting the country’s deepest bases and equal 16km (10 miles) of runs open each, but Thredbo has now closed for the 2021 season as of Sunday. Falls Creek (0/50cm / 0/20″) reports the most terrain open though, with 20 runs totalling 20km of trails still operating. The weather of the past week has been a mixed bag with temperatures largely above freezing, but only by a few degrees and light snow showers, sunny days and some cloudy days featuring too. There have also been some very windy days. The slopes are reported to be largely empty with most of Australia’s main population centres still in lockdown and unable to visit ski areas. Most of the country’s ski areas will probably be closing for the season this coming Sunday. Is it possible the last ski area open in Australia this season will be in Tasmania? Well probably not but Ben Lomond ski area there, which has kept operating through the season despite challenges from lack of snow cover at times and despite lockdowns closing larger mainland ski areas, says a late-season dump means it hopes to stay open to October 10th now. The island’s second ski area, Mt Mawson, which unlike Ben Lomond has not really been able to operate all winter due to a lack of snow cover, was finally able to turn on its lifts and trails at the weekend too.
AUSTRALIA FORECAST| The recent warm sunny weather should give way to colder, snowier weather at the end of the week. But, unfortunately, in-between times, as it cools, the precipitation coming in will most likely initially fall as rain. Warmer temperatures again from the weekend.
NEW ZEALAND
NEW ZEALAND REPORT| More New Zealand ski areas have been closing down for the season over the past week. Mt Lyford announced last Wednesday it was closing last Thursday saying that warm weather (8.8° max last week) coupled with strong winds (max gust 95kph last week) and the forecast of more NW and warm temps meant that, “mother nature has now made the call and our snowpack is just not holding up to the weather”. The centre operated for 33 days this season between weather and virus lockdown closures. The wind has been a strong factor in New Zealand over the past week with one area reporting its wind gauge broke when a gust in excess of 140kph hit. Coronet Peak reported 25cm (10”) of snow at the weekend and Ruapehu got a foot (30cm) to start this week. Against the closures, some centres have announced extended seasons. Mt Hutt (55/255cm / 22/102”), which has the deepest snow and the most terrain open anywhere still as it has for the past four months, says it hopes to stay open through to 25th October. Porters, which says it has more than 2 metres of snow lying, has extended their season through to October 10th. Mt Ruapehu, home to Turoa (94/205cm / 37/82”) and Whakapapa (52/178CM / 21/70”) ski areas and claimant to ‘the longest season in New Zealand’ as well as usually the last to close in the southern hemisphere each winter says that the plan there is to keep at least one of its centres open into November this year, the last month of spring in the southern hemisphere, conditions permitting. In a more unusual move, Mt Dobson has announced it will offer a helicopter service to bring well-heeled skiers up to the snow for the next few weeks, saying it has plenty of snow lying and could potentially offer the service right through to Christmas if there’s demand and the snow lasts. It’s partly being promoted as a “creative solution” as its access road is officially closed for the season.
NEW ZEALAND FORECAST| There’s no sign of any major change in the forecast for New Zealand with the main ski areas that are still open seeing mostly low daytime temperatures and staying well below freezing overnight. A mixture of sunny and snowy days, with midweek snow giving way to a sunny end to the week with more snow forecast at the weekend.
ARGENTINA
ARGENTINA REPORT| More ski areas seem to be staying open to at least the start of October in Argentina than over the border in Chile, although there is still the feeling that we’re into the final days of winter 2021 here too. The country’s and continent’s largest area by uplift Catedral (0/25cm / 0/10”), near Bariloche, remains operational although it has been battling warm weather the past week with temperatures double digits above freezing and full sunshine. It should stay open to at least this coming weekend though. Chapelco (0/30cm / 0/12”) is in a very similar position and both areas have 15km of runs open. Caviahue says it will end its 2021 opening run this Thursday, 30th September but La Hoya has dropped to weekend operations for the final few weeks of the season, with three days from 1st to 3rd October planned and then a final four days from 8th to 11th October.
ARGENTINA FORECAST| Argentinian ski areas that are still open should benefit from a big drop in temperatures and fresh snow forecast for the latter half of this week, with a dramatic drop to below freezing temperatures and up to 40cm (16”) of snow forecast for some areas.
CHILE
CHILE REPORT| The ski season is definitely into its final few days in Chile with Termas de Chillan one of the latest ski areas to close on Sunday and most ski centres in the country are now closed for 2021. It certainly feels like the end of the season with warm springtime weather bringing temperatures up into the teens above freezing during the afternoons and predominantly sunny skies. However, some of Chile’s ski centres do remain open including Antillanca (40/130cm / 16/52”) which has announced it will be operating through to at least October 10th. Corralco (230/60cm / 8/24”) is also aiming for the 10th and has the most terrain open in South America at present with 20km of runs. Valle Nevado (30/60cm / 12/24”) looks set to close sooner, on Thursday, 30th September.
CHILE FORECAST| The warm sunny weather of the past week will end for two or three days in the latter half of this week with a return to winter and fresh snowfall forecast for the latter half of this week. Daytime temperatures should be just a degree or two above freezing then, well below overnight and up to a for (30cm) of snow is forecast. Sunshine and warm weather will return at the weekend though.
