The Alps Snow Thread - Season 2014/2015

[Blessed Weather]

I just had a look at snow webcams and there was plenty of snow higher up in the Portes du Soleil today.

 

One first glance, a typical spring scene down in Morzine however on closer inspection you can easily see the snow line on the trees towards the top of the Pleney amongst other areas. . 

 

http://www.snoweye.com/grabs/0018/03.jpg

 

Looking at historical webcams there was snow even in Morzine resort level earlier today

 

http://www.bergfex.com/morzine/webcams/c3222/

 

Yes Julian. There seems to be lots of snow at height; generally speaking right across the Alps. So good skiing/boarding to be had for those lucky people over there for this final week in many resorts.

 

And what your Morzine post highlighted is a common sight at this time of year - the narrow ribbons of snow extending down into the villages, enabling people who have enjoyed the upper pistes during the day to ski back to the village at the end of the day. Hats off to the piste teams who work so hard to keep the lower pistes going.

 

Front de neige du Pléney Mon 6th April

 

Switching over to Austria, the start of this week continues to look cold and snowy. The wetter.at website reporting:

 

Weather crazy: While we were sweating almost exactly 101 days ago with sunshine and up to 14 degrees on Christmas Eve, today it is now much cooler at Easter. The West remains ten degrees cooler than at Christmas! And even snowfall is now not uncommon.

Snow possible even up to 300 meters The northern Alps it can snow from Vorarlberg to Upper Austria above 600 meters. Sometimes it is even 300 meters white. Up to 15 inches of new snow are possible again. The bad news: the next week it will remain too cold.

http://www.wetter.at/wetter/oesterreich-wetter/Ostern-kaelter-als-Weihnachten/183253157

 

Euro4 for 18.00 today, Monday 6th, confirms the snowy picture in Austria, with the snow only slowly dying out on Tuesday. 

 

 

 

Edited April 6, 2015 by Blessed Weather

[carinthian]

Guten Morgan all,

 Yes Malcolm, a good end here to the ski-ing season with an abundance of fresh snowfall. Picture from Good Friday. Today is very cold with frequent snow showers and gusty wind, presently -5c in the village and -10c on the berg. Should get more sunshine as the week progresses and then that's it with most of the hotels taking a break for the close season. Myself will be looking to visit Blighty as soon as I see those Westerly winds cease.

[J10]

Looks lovely there in Austria.

 

Malcolm how safe are the home runs later in the season, or do you have to use your common sense.

 

One other thing I would be very interested in is how would everyone rate this season in terms of snow quality.

Edited April 6, 2015 by J10

[johnholmes]

re your .last question Julian

by the time I got there (Downhill day in Wengen) and conditions were good thereafter with snow at times, even better after I left with superb conditions through much of February, still good with height there now. Not sure but would probably rate it in that region as better than average ONCE the snow arrived and that was later than normal.

hope that helps

[carinthian]

Hi Julian, looked lovely a few days ago in the sunshine but nasty and cold today, so a good day to catch up with the football and Rugby from home. A good season following the excellent season of 13/14 here in the Salzburgerland region. I think much of Austria has been ok for the ski-ing season with regular top ups and no persistant Euro High and limited warmth. Certainly the increased use of snowmaking machines at higher levels has certainly improved and prolonged piste conditions and is now a integral investments for many resorts to compete for future business. Overall would rate 7/10 and certainly much better than many of the  1990s and early 2000s, but still some way short of the excellent snow conditions of the late 70s and early 80s when I started ski-ing.

 C

[Blessed Weather]

Looks lovely there in Austria.

 

Malcolm how safe are the home runs later in the season, or do you have to use your common sense.

 

One other thing I would be very interested in is how would everyone rate this season in terms of snow quality.

 

That's a very interesting question Julian! The blunt answer is that they can be bloody awful! And, of course, there are a number of factors at play.

 

1. Quite often the runs are narrower than would normally be the case, as the piste teams don't want to spread out precious snow too widely and thus thinly. My webcam post above from Morzine clearly shows that at play at the Pleney.

2. Next factor is how many runs back to the village does a resort have, and how many have the team managed to keep open. This dictates how crowded the runs that remain open become during the 'rush hour' down to the village in late afternoon.

3. Finally, conditions on the 'snow ribbons' can vary day-to-day, depending on temperatures during your stay. The deterioration of lower pistes usually happens over a longish time, i.e. it's a gradual deterioration as season-end approaches. But whilst you are in the resort, if it's a cold week, they're fine. But if it's a very warm week, a quagmire of slush!!

 

I'll use Val Cenis in the French Alps as an example of what can happen. Three years ago I went in March. Of the 5 possible runs back to the old village only two remained open and one of those was a long, steep red run, so many people avoided it. The week was exceptionally warm, hitting 16c in the village most afternoons. The remaining blue run became an absolute nightmare every afternoon from 3.30 onwards as everyone funnelled into a section of the run where the natural terrain made the piste very narrow. It was carnage every day, with huge piles of slush, too many people and 'fallers' forming human obstacles! I should have known better than to return to the village that route, but after a long morning's skiing and a relaxing lunch, I opted for the 'easy' way back down. Bad move! I hurt my knee quite badly as, avoiding an 'obstacle', a ski dug into a large pile of slush, stopping one leg dead whilst I kept going! It took 18 months before my knee fully recovered.

 

With regard your question about the seasons snow conditions, I was planning to pull together a 'last post' next weekend with my take on the overall season.

 

Whilst everyone is actively posting today and whilst this season's thread is still fresh in our memories, may I ask you, John, and Carinthian (and indeed anyone else who has a view) a question please?

I'm sure you will have noted that my posts this season have been more varied than last, covering topics such as rock falls, avalanches, transfer day road chaos, rescues from chair lifts and telecabins, etc, etc. So, what do people want from this thread? Should I continue with such posts, or should I stick more closely to matters of weather and climate? Your honest views would be most welcomed! 

 

Cheers chaps. Sorry if that was all a bit long-winded.

[carinthian]

Malcolm, I love your in put and enthusiastic posts about all things in relation to ski-ing and its environment. Stay as you are and with Julian you make a good team. I think John and I are entrenched with Switzerland and Austria but love to be involved with the thread. I think heart in heart we just love the Alps and long may it so until we drop. I know quite a few over here read this thread.

 C

[J10]

That's a very interesting question Julian! The blunt answer is that they can be bloody awful! And, of course, there are a number of factors at play.

 

1. Quite often the runs are narrower than would normally be the case, as the piste teams don't want to spread out precious snow too widely and thus thinly. My webcam post above from Morzine clearly shows that at play at the Pleney.

2. Next factor is how many runs back to the village does a resort have, and how many have the team managed to keep open. This dictates how crowded the runs that remain open become during the 'rush hour' down to the village in late afternoon.

3. Finally, conditions on the 'snow ribbons' can vary day-to-day, depending on temperatures during your stay. The deterioration of lower pistes usually happens over a longish time, i.e. it's a gradual deterioration as season-end approaches. But whilst you are in the resort, if it's a cold week, they're fine. But if it's a very warm week, a quagmire of slush!!

 

I'll use Val Cenis in the French Alps as an example of what can happen. Three years ago I went in March. Of the 5 possible runs back to the old village only two remained open and one of those was a long, steep red run, so many people avoided it. The week was exceptionally warm, hitting 16c in the village most afternoons. The remaining blue run became an absolute nightmare every afternoon from 3.30 onwards as everyone funnelled into a section of the run where the natural terrain made the piste very narrow. It was carnage every day, with huge piles of slush, too many people and 'fallers' forming human obstacles! I should have known better than to return to the village that route, but after a long morning's skiing and a relaxing lunch, I opted for the 'easy' way back down. Bad move! I hurt my knee quite badly as, avoiding an 'obstacle', a ski dug into a large pile of slush, stopping one leg dead whilst I kept going! It took 18 months before my knee fully recovered.

 

With regard your question about the seasons snow conditions, I was planning to pull together a 'last post' next weekend with my take on the overall season.

 

Whilst everyone is actively posting today and whilst this season's thread is still fresh in our memories, may I ask you, John, and Carinthian (and indeed anyone else who has a view) a question please?

I'm sure you will have noted that my posts this season have been more varied than last, covering topics such as rock falls, avalanches, transfer day road chaos, rescues from chair lifts and telecabins, etc, etc. So, what do people want from this thread? Should I continue with such posts, or should I stick more closely to matters of weather and climate? Your honest views would be most welcomed! 

 

Cheers chaps. Sorry if that was all a bit long-winded.

 

Hi Malcolm I think your contributions have been a joy this year, and really has enhanced the thread massively. Please keep your contributions coming

 

To be honest this is my favorite thread on Net Weather.

Malcolm, I love your in put and enthusiastic posts about all things in relation to ski-ing and its environment. Stay as you are and with Julian you make a good team. I think John and I are entrenched with Switzerland and Austria but love to be involved with the thread. I think heart in heart we just love the Alps and long may it so until we drop. I know quite a few over here read this thread.

 C

 

Cheers for that, very much appreciated.

 

also a big thumbs up for the comments on this season.

Edited April 6, 2015 by J10

[johnholmes]

I'm sure you will have noted that my posts this season have been more varied than last, covering topics such as rock falls, avalanches, transfer day road chaos, rescues from chair lifts and telecabins, etc, etc. So, what do people want from this thread? Should I continue with such posts, or should I stick more closely to matters of weather and climate? Your honest views would be most welcomed! 

 

your posts, all of them, are fine with me, this thread is a haven of pleasant posting from folk who enjoy the winter snow season in the mountains. Keep it all coming Malcolm, and Julian, very many thanks for all the effort you put into it each year.

[Blessed Weather]

Many thanks Julian, Carinthian and John. I really appreciate your very kind comments. I was hoping you were OK with my posts covering broader topics, but as a relative newcomer to the thread I wanted to check!

 

I do wish we could get a few more regular posters in here though. It does sometimes feel a lonely place when days go by with just me posting. I start worrying that I’m either coming across as hogging things, or boring the pants off everyone!

 

Carinthian - your kind comment about team 'Julian & Malc' has got me thinking. Maybe the two of us could develop a double act? The Two Ronnies of the Alps! Touring the resorts giving after-dinner talks to chalet guests!!   

[J10]

Many thanks Julian, Carinthian and John. I really appreciate your very kind comments. I was hoping you were OK with my posts covering broader topics, but as a relative newcomer to the thread I wanted to check!

 

I do wish we could get a few more regular posters in here though. It does sometimes feel a lonely place when days go by with just me posting. I start worrying that I’m either coming across as hogging things, or boring the pants off everyone!

 

Carinthian - your kind comment about team 'Julian & Malc' has got me thinking. Maybe the two of us could develop a double act? The Two Ronnies of the Alps! Touring the resorts giving after-dinner talks to chalet guests!!   

 

As long as I get the funny lines, I am OK with that.

 

It would be nice to get more people involved in this thread, but it is quite a bit of a niche topic. .

Edited April 6, 2015 by J10

[carinthian]

Many thanks Julian, Carinthian and John. I really appreciate your very kind comments. I was hoping you were OK with my posts covering broader topics, but as a relative newcomer to the thread I wanted to check!

 

I do wish we could get a few more regular posters in here though. It does sometimes feel a lonely place when days go by with just me posting. I start worrying that I’m either coming across as hogging things, or boring the pants off everyone!

 

Carinthian - your kind comment about team 'Julian & Malc' has got me thinking. Maybe the two of us could develop a double act? The Two Ronnies of the Alps! Touring the resorts giving after-dinner talks to chalet guests!!   

 

 Hi, touring the Alpine resorts sounds wonderful ! I do notice quite a few other members and guests view this site and I have received quite a number of PMs regarding Austrian resorts, particularly Katschberg .The contribution  Malcolm, Julian and JH make on here is impressive and depth of knowledge of individual resorts and general weather forecasting for the Alps seems spot on. This experience is very evident in your posts. I would go as far to say its the best Alpine Net Forum anywhere, beats The SCGB and many tour operator sites. I do know fellow Alpine Club Members and some in the media rate the site highly and I dare say get some of the information published in travel sections. Anyway, time to sign off for this season as a trip to Blighty beckons. I do like the high summers as well in the Alps, particularly hot summer days and rumbles of thunder in distant mountains and the beer of course. Will post in All thing Austria section until next season.  Keep well all.

c

Edited April 7, 2015 by carinthian

[Blessed Weather]

What a beautiful day in the Alps! Clear blue skies. Groomed pistes ready for an enjoyable mornings skiing. And deck chairs ready to relax in....

 

La Plagne Saas Fee St Christoph

[seaside 60]

What a beautiful day in the Alps! Clear blue skies. Groomed pistes ready for an enjoyable mornings skiing. And deck chairs ready to relax in....

 

La Plagne La Plagne Tues 8th.jpg Saas Fee Saas Fee Tues 8th.jpg St Christoph St Christoph Tues 8th.jpg

St Christoph looks like its mid winter not spring there, real picture postcard stuff.

Been to St Anton well late in the season, ski in the morning early lunch,  also the real mans skiing shirt off and sking, just dont fall over lol...

[Blessed Weather]

Interesting report in the French press about the late season Easter break titled "What future for spring skiing resorts?".

 

Apparently resorts used to take 8 - 10% of their season's takings over the Easter period. This is down 70%. And many resorts relied on the Easter 'earnings boost' to move from break-even into profit. But since 2009, the French holidays have been set too late, with many ski resorts already closed. For instance, today sees the start of the "Spring Break" for Zone A (Grenoble area), but many French resorts close this weekend.

 

Last week the French government brought forward the schools "Spring Break" holiday by one week, but the mountain industry (employing 35,000 seasonal workers) wonders if this is enough.

 

There is mention of climate change and (interestingly) they report that since the late 1980's pistes below 2,000m have lost between 3 and 4 weeks of their snow season, with rapid melting occurring at the end of the season. And they worry because there is a rule of thumb that resorts must have 100 days of operation with at least 30cm of snow for minimum economic viability.

 

"Since the late 80's, the Alps have seen increased mercury by 1 to 2 degrees. At the Col de Porte, at 1320m, average snow depth has gone from 1.20m in the 60's to 50cm in the 2000's. An OECD report from 2006 estimates that a 2 degree rise would reduce 20% of the ski area and 4 degrees increase ( an IPCC perspective for the end of the century) would cause a 30 to 80% decrease".

 

 

Full report in French: http://www.ledauphine.com/loisirs/2015/04/09/quel-avenir-pour-le-ski-de-printemps-en-stations
 

Edited April 10, 2015 by Blessed Weather

[johnholmes]

Interesting that, for sure the glaciers in the region I go to have receded since I first saw them in the 60's. Be that man made or not it is a fact.

[J10]

http://www.snow-forecast.com/overviews/tips_full

 

SNOW NEWS UPDATED 9 APRIL 2015

 

INTRODUCTION Spring is in full swing across the Alps, the sun is shining and many resorts are winding down towards the end of the season. Conditions start off firm in the morning following sub-zero overnight temperatures, before softening as the day progresses. The mild weather is expected to continue over the weekend, although cloudier skies may bring some light rain showers.

 

AUSTRIA Although some resorts have already closed and many more are scheduled to close very soon there is still plenty of good spring time skiing available in Austria. The higher resorts and glaciers are still thriving with excitement so if you are looking to book a last minute trip then you should consider the likes of Solden (5/403cm), Obergurgl (29/141cm), Kuhtai (50/100cm) and Ischgl (30/150cm). All of these resorts still have excellent slopes higher up but naturally the resorts runs are quite slushy at the moment. The town of Mayrhofen (0/88cm) is currently booming as the annual event of Snowbombing is well underway. On Thursday 9th April there were 21 lifts running for all those out enjoying the sunshine, slopes and live music. The best slopes can be found up on the Rastkogel mountain but these are softening quickly in the strong sun or if you fancy watching some of the best freestylers in the valley then head to the Vans Penken Park. The sunshine is expected to stick around until the weekend when it may cloud over for many resorts, which could bring light rain fall.

 

FRANCE Sunshine and warm temperatures have been the story of the week in France, with the freezing level climbing above 3,000m and almost unbroken sunshine reported since Monday. Expect firm pistes in the morning before significant softening through the morning into spring-like corn snow by lunchtime. For the best skiing head high, where cooler temperatures prevent the slopes from becoming too slushy in the afternoon. The Bellecote Glacier above La Plagne (10/210cm) or the upper slopes above Argentiere/Chamonix (0/200cm) provide the best examples of this with Ski Club Ambassador's reporting great conditions on the upper slopes. Some of the lowest runs are however suffering from the mild weather and as a result some resorts, such as Le Grand Bornand (0/110cm) and Les Contamines (0/140cm), can no longer offer skiing back to the resort. Elsewhere, expect mostly slushy and/or worn slopes on the return to resort at the end of the day. Most of the open resorts are hoping to remain so until at least Sunday 19th April. However with the forecast indicating further very mild and, possibly at times, damp weather over the coming days, keep an eye out for some early closures  especially at low altitude resorts.

 

SWITZERLAND Snowfall over the Easter weekend set up our featured Swiss ski resorts in perfect condition for this week. Warm sunshine was reported at all resorts on Thursday 9th April, leading to some great spring skiing conditions. For the best chance of catching winter-like conditions, head to the upper slopes of Zermatt (0/280cm) or Saas Fee (53/390cm), where the Ski Club Leaders have reported that powder stashes are still to be found on some north facing slopes. Elsewhere spring conditions are dominant, with pistes setting up firm overnight before softening during the day into soft corn snow. Several resorts have begun to shut the lower slopes, such as Murren (63/273cm), Davos (51/224cm) and Arosa (100/130cm), but all continue to offer great snowsports in the upper areas once the snow softens during the day. Sunday 12th April sees the final day of lift-served skiing as many resorts, including Champery, Grachen, Lenk, Lenzerheide, Leysin and Villars.

 

ITALY With spring time affecting many slopes in Italy at the moment, we are seeing lots of pistes close and thus signal the end for some resorts over the course of the next seven days. There is still good skiing available up on the highest slopes and more so at the higher resorts such as Passo Tonale (60/420cm), Cervinia (30/290cm) and Val Senales (35/320cm).If you are quite fond of a pleasant spring time ski then Italy still has plenty to offer. Arabba (15/150cm) for example had beautiful clear skies on Thursday 9th April, so amazing views were on offer as was perfect visibility for the soft pistes. The upper most slopes are staying quite firm until the afternoon whereas the lower runs are softening up quite quickly. Almost all of the lifts were open with 26 out of 28 running, some pistes will be closed due to lack of snow so bare this in mind when you plan your day out on the slopes. The next couple of days will be a mixture of sunshine and cloud but the weekend could be cloudier still. The weekend's cloudy skies could bring light rain fall to the majority of the slopes.

 

GERMANY The spring sunshine has been taking its toll on the slopes of our featured German resorts, with temperatures hitting +10C at mid-mountain level beginning to melt through some bare patches. Good skiing can still be found on the upper slopes, especially at Garmisch (20/500cm) thanks to recent heavy snowfall, and at Obertsdorf (0/130cm) where the upper base depth remains good. This weekend is the last weekend of operation at both Reit im Winkl (0/120cm) and Spitzringsee (15/60cm), with some good spring snow skiing on offer on the upper slopes. Slighlty cloudier weather is forecast for the weekend, potentially leading to some light rain showers Lenggries and Berchtesgaden are now closed for the season.

 

EUROPEAN WEATHER OUTLOOK The very mild and sunny weather is set to continue in the Alps on Friday, with the freezing level remaining above 3,000m. More clouds are expected over the weekend, with light rain possible almost anywhere, but sunny breaks are forecast in between the showers. As a result, spring-like skiing conditions are to be expected and snow loss on

Edited April 10, 2015 by J10

[J10]

Some very mild weather is likely for the Alps this week with Southerly winds, albeit with a cool down this weekend.This is likely to give some snow in places.

 

 

 

However the main story into next is southerly winds and very mild temperatures.

 

 

Not good for late snow conditions but good overall weather to enjoy and if you want to build up your tan.

Edited April 10, 2015 by J10

[Blessed Weather]

Some very mild weather is likely for the Alps this week with Southerly winds, albeit with a cool down this weekend.This is likely to give some snow in places.

 

However the main story into next is southerly winds and very mild temperatures.

 

 

Yes Julian. I think the piste teams for the resorts closing this weekend will be breathing a sigh of relief that they've shut shop before next week's waft of very warm air. I believe this is the first Alps wide showing of the +10c 850 hPa isotherm (or higher) this year. Even high resorts such as Tignes are showing overnight lows of +3c to +4c next week at 2,500m. So with no re-freezing of pistes overnight conditions will be at the very softest of the spring skiing range!

 

Wed 15th GFS   ECM

[Blessed Weather]

With the majority of resorts closing this weekend, I think it’s time I should (reluctantly) say ‘goodbye’ to the 2014/2015 season.

 

So as this will likely be my last post I thought I would sum up the season’s highlights (and lowlights!).

 

November – the season got off to a very poor start with the month seeing a persistent trough near the UK, a high pressure block in eastern Europe and thus the Alps enduring week after week of a mild S/Sw’ly air flow. Snowfall in the mountains limited to the very highest slopes.

 

December – the 8^th brought a headline in the Telegraph ‘Ski & Board’ online “Don’t panic yet about lack of snow….â€. On the 11^th Meteo France called it the worst start to a season since 2006. Christmas week arrived and for many resorts it bordered on the disastrous, with tales of refunds and cancelled ski classes. In a cruel twist, on Saturday 27^th widespread heavy snow finally arrived in the Alps, just as many disappointed Christmas holiday makers were heading off home. It brought traffic chaos to the French Alps.

 

January – the colder, snowier weather over the New Year period didn’t last long. The first half of the month went on to see some very mild temperatures and damaging strong winds. On the 10^th temps hit 18c at Salzburg airport causing Carinthian to comment “Those new ski arrivals from the UK must think they’ve landed in The Canariesâ€! Austria broke its record for the highest January temp that week. All change again on Saturday 17^th with heavy snow once again causing transfer day traffic chaos. The rest of the month was dominated by frequent Polar Maritime plunges bringing a welcome period of cold and snow. The Pyrenees did exceptionally well, recording some significant snowfalls.

 

February – the first half was cold and often snowy. On Saturday 20^th another heavy fall coincided yet again with transfer day bringing the season’s worse traffic chaos, with 250km of jams in the Rhone-Alps. This resulted in French MP’s talking of mandatory winter tyres in the French mountains.

 

March – the first week saw the return of an already frequent visitor to northern Italy over the winter – the Genoa Low. On the 5^th one such low saw exceptionally strong E/NE’ly winds effect the Alps. Dozens of resorts were affected with many lifts shut, entire glacier ski areas closed, Tignes resort temporarily closed and neighbouring Val d’Isere seeing a gust of 150 km/h. Mid-month brought yet another such low. As a result Italian resorts had a very good month with some very large accumulations on upper slopes.

 

April – saw a reasonable end of season for many resorts. In the run-up to Easter there was snow for many above 1,500m. The Austrian weather service even moaned that Easter was colder than at Christmas!

 

Other observations:

• Unfortunately the poor start meant a very poor base for subsequent snow to lie on throughout the season. Coupled with frequent cold sector/warm sector fluctuation of temps it resulted in the highest number of avalanche deaths for some years. As at end-March, over 100 skiers/boarders/walkers have tragically lost their lives in the Alps this season. And unfortunately this total is still rising into April.
• Snowfall seems to have occurred widely across the Alps this season. The frequent PM incursions from the NW benefitted not only the French, Swiss and Austrian Alps, but seemed to cause a high frequency of Genoa Lows which meant Italy often saw heavy snow too. The same NW incursions also saw some record snowfalls in the Pyrenees.

 

OK, enough from me, except to say how much I’ve enjoyed contributing to the Alps Thread this season. Thank you to everyone who’s posted on here this season, but especially to J10 (Julian) for his superb weekly blogs, Carinthian (Paul) for his regular on-the-ground insight from Austria and gems such as his post about ‘Andy on his horse’!, and John H for his invaluable knowledge on all things skiing, weather and the Lauberhorn race weekend!  

 

Have a great summer everyone. Just over 6 months to go before The Alps Snow Thread 2015/2016 starts!

 

Until then, see you in the other great threads on Netweather.  

[J10]

Thanks Malcolm for your great summary and for your contribution over the course of the season.

 

And seeing where we are in the season the  sound of Music comes to mind.

So Long Farewell Auf Wiedersen Goodbye.  

 

As for 2015/16 I need a sleep first and perhaps a drink. 

Edited April 11, 2015 by J10

[carinthian]

Just put this picture in the thread as still 2015. The early cold snap in Europe now producing some snowfall to resorts, especially above 1500m. The upper cold pool circulation now in reach of Swiss and French resorts. Picture from NE Switzerland at 1800m. Snow settling in Wengen but a bit less in this region. We have snow lying in Katschbery (1650m) but slushy with warmer surface air mixing in from the Adriatic but the snow line coming down over the weekend. Waxed the skis yesterday , just in case.

C

Edited October 15, 2015 by carinthian

[johnholmes]

not snowing in the village yet but forecast to do so, first reasonable cover on the ski runs down to about 5500ft, but it will thaw probably once the current cold pool warms out. Fingers crossed for a good snow season though. Last season just made it prior to the Lauberhorn.

http://www.lauberhorn.ch/en/?langId=2

[carinthian]

not snowing in the village yet but forecast to do so, first reasonable cover on the ski runs down to about 5500ft, but it will thaw probably once the current cold pool warms out. Fingers crossed for a good snow season though. Last season just made it prior to the Lauberhorn.

http://www.lauberhorn.ch/en/?langId=2

Hi John, I like that lauberhorn web site. Generally, the resorts with height did ok again last season. Would like the snowfall to be a bit more extensive this coming season so many of the lower resorts can get a bit of the Alpine action. Its 40 years ago next January that I first met my wife in the small resort of Alpbach. We are going back again for a vacation in February to stay at the Hotel we met in Inner Alpach. Since then, they have opened up a new ski area called The Ski Jewel that links several resorts in the area. Not the biggest ski-ing area in the world but certainly one of the nicest if my mermory serves me right . Keep fit for the Lauberhorn !

C

[manx_mick]

Hi John, I like that lauberhorn web site. Generally, the resorts with height did ok again last season. Would like the snowfall to be a bit more extensive this coming season so many of the lower resorts can get a bit of the Alpine action. Its 40 years ago next January that I first met my wife in the small resort of Alpbach. We are going back again for a vacation in February to stay at the Hotel we met in Inner Alpach. Since then, they have opened up a new ski area called The Ski Jewel that links several resorts in the area. Not the biggest ski-ing area in the world but certainly one of the nicest if my mermory serves me right . Keep fit for the Lauberhorn !

C

I have not been skiing for about 12 years now but i learnt to ski in Alpbach, lovely place and would love to go back one day.