US Edition
The build-up to the 2024/25 ski season is rapidly gathering pac, with hundreds of resorts already open in Europe and North America – and the big players battling to see who can open the most early-winter terrain.
The Alps saw big snowfalls in November and December, and so far the weather has been promising, with low temperatures and increasingly heavy snowfall. As usual for this early point though, conditions are looking best on higher slopes.
Elsewhere in Europe, there was excitement in Bulgaria at the weekend with a big snowfall at Bansko depositing 50cm of pre-season snowfall – the resort looks set to open early this weekend. The north-east’s largest centre, Slovakia’s Jasná, got its season started with a fresh snow covering too.
It’s less good news in the Pyrenees, where no slopes have been able to open due to warm temperatures. Scandinavia, too, is yet to live up to its “snow-sure” status at this early point in the season, with few of the big-name areas able to open. The exception is up in Finnish Lapland, where Levi and Ruka are already into their third month of the season. The forecast for the coming week is more promising in both regions.
North America has had a much better start this winter than last, with most of the big-name resorts opening in time for the Thanksgiving holidays. La Niña weather system in the Pacific is expected to bring colder temperatures and more precipitation than average, with the north-west due to do particularly well. That’s already happening with resorts in Canada’s British Columbia posting up to 3m (10ft) snowfall totals.
Japan’s season is also underway with hopes of a bumper winter, again thanks to La Niña. Famous resorts, including Hakuba, Niseko and Nozawa Onsen, are posting early-season snow depths of up to 125cm.
France
There was relief in the French Alps a fortnight ago as a huge snowstorm brought up to a metre of snowfall to high slopes after a fairly dry November – it arrived just a few days before the season was due to kick off. Tignes and Val Thorens were the first resorts to open, and La Rosière has managed to open the most terrain so far, with 20 per cent of its slopes. The Tignes/Val d’Isère has now also opened, and all sectors of the Trois Vallées will open this weekend. There are mixed signals, though, on the quality of the early-season conditions, with Avoriaz and La Plagne opening early, crediting the snowfall, while Chamonix has set back its target opening date for the past few weekends.
The forecast
Heavy snowfall is expected through the weekend, with the snowline dropping to sea level and accumulations of up to 70cm by Monday.
