Overview
It may be April but the season is still going strong for the majority of resorts, with most French and Austrian resorts still open. Many Alpine resorts reported a Foehn wind over the weekend, which has impacted the snow base in some locations. The warm wind was still present in many locations on Monday. The low temperatures we saw through March have helped to preserve the snow cover at many locations so the bases are deep enough to withstand a little warm weather though. The mild spring conditions mean that spring riding could be enjoyed across the major skiing locations in Europe in Monday, with fantastic softening snow at most resorts.
France
The Foehn may be present but most of the French resorts are still open for skiing, with lovely spring snow conditions. The snow quickly softens providing a forgiving cover to enjoy late season skiing. The best snow depths are reported at resorts up at the top of the Northern Alps, like Chamonix (0/700cm), which reports a base of 7 metres up on the Aiguille du Midi. Second in line is the neighbouring resort of Vallorcine (0/350cm), which has three and a half metres of snow on their upper slopes. Flaine (88/315cm) in the Grande Massif ski area is also in good shape with over three metres of snow on the upper slopes.
Austria and Germany
Austria and Germany had the greatest number of resorts close over the weekend. Even with these closures, most of the resorts in Austria are still open. It is a slightly different story in Germany where only two of our featured resorts are still open for snowsports. The sunny weather which blessed the majority of Austrian resorts on Monday provided some lovely spring riding conditions. The season is winding down now though and many resorts closed the season over the weekend including the Ski Welt resorts.
The good news is that the temperature is forecast to drop this week, with the freezing level getting down to around 1,500m by the end of this week. Heavier cloud cover is predicted to move in too, which could result in some light snowfall.
Italy
Spring conditions have taken hold over many resorts in the in the Milky Way region due to rising temperatures of late. Good conditions still prevail despite this increase, however, with good skiing on well-groomed runs on offer to riders currently. For the best conditions head to Sauze d’Oulx (30/70cm), where 46 out of 59 lifts were running on Monday. Elsewhere, the Aosta Valley and Monterosa region are still offering good skiing conditions. Temperatures have seen a slight rise in recent days, with pistes on the lower mountain softening up accordingly. The best conditions can be found on the upper mountain where below freezing temperatures have ensured that the slopes remain in excellent condition.
Andorra
It was a cloudy day across Andorra and a few snow showers were falling on the upper slopes and some poor visibility in places. The skiing remains good across the country with pistes starting firm in the morning and softening in the afternoon. For the best skiing head to Arcalis (80/140cm) who currently have 9 out of 14 lifts running.
North America
The best skiing in America can be found over at the east in Vermont where Killington and Sugarbush reported 5cm of fresh snow on Sunday. The snow continued to fall through Monday too. In Canada, following the closure of Silverstar, Kimberley and Red Mountain, some great skiing can still be found in British Columbia, especially at Fernie and Revelstoke who boast impressive snow depths.
For a full, up to date snow report, go to the Ski Club website.
