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Snow Soundbite (Updated 13 January) - Resort Snow Updates - SMS/Phone Reports

No longer are just snowsports fans obsessed with the white stuff. With the current snowy conditions in the UK a news bulletin doesn't go by without a snow update, and there's plenty outside the window in Putney.

The best news from the Alps is that Chamonix has over 4 metres (great news for the upcoming Freeride World Tour taking place on 30 January) - it's the deepest in Europe.

Baqueira Beret, SpainEuropean Alps
The new snow last week, particularly on Friday, saw the French mountains receive healthy increases to their snow depths. Big hitters were over 80cm in Formiguères, 60cm in Puy St Vincent and 50cm in Alpe d’Huez.

Further snowfalls are expected for the end of the week, particularly on Thursday with around 30cm more snow expected at Tignes and Val d'Isere with Argentière and La Clusaz expecting 25cm more.

The Grand Massif area is also doing well with 270cm of snow lying on the ground.

Pierre Claessen, Manager of Flaine Tourist Office said, “This year, we received the most important snowfalls at Christmas. The snow is really good but people have to be careful when free riding as conditions off piste are very dangerous at the moment.”

The avalanche risk is especially high (4/5) at Abriès, Alpe du Grand-Serre, Auron, Ax les Thermes, Isola 2000, Les 7Laux and Serre Chevalier.

Switzerland has seen good snow falls in the past week with 40cm of new snow at Gstaad – Glacier 3000, which now boasts some of the deepest snow in the country with 181cm of snow on upper slopes and 45cm in the valley. The top snow depths in Switzerland however is at Andermatt-Gotthard with 220cm. Saas Fee has 210 cm and St. Moritz just a little less with two metres, it received 45cm more snow in the past seven days.

In Austria, Sölden had 37cm of new snow in the last week (it now has a 185cm base)and Heiligenblut 35cm. The Mölltal G0acier still has the most snow in the country (3.1m) with the Hintertux Glacier on 205cm.

Germany received a lot of new snow with several powder alarms in Bavaria yesterday. This came at the end of a week in which more than 80 German resorts reported 10-45cm of new snow. The Zugspitzplatt has the deepest snow depth with 180cm Oberstdorf has a little less with 170 cm.

Northern Italy has reported some of the biggest snowfalls in the past 24 hours with Courmayeur and Val Senales both reporting 40cm of new snow, La Thuile 30cm. These top off a week of heavy snow in the north of the country which has seen some of the biggest snow accumulations in Europe of the past seven days, with Limone Piemonte reporting 195cm and Arabba Marmolada 120 cm. The country also has some of the world’s greatest snow depths – the Presena glacier above Passo Tonale reporting 430cm and Bormio 3m.

Scandinavia
In Northern Europe temperatures have been low across Scandinavia although there’s been less fresh snow than the previous week. In Sweden Hemavan broke the season record with - 40.8 C on Saturday night. More snow is expected across the region at the weekend.

Rest of Europe
It’s been good news in the Pyrenees in the past week too with plenty of new snow boosting the previously rather average conditions in Andorra and helping Spain’s resorts open more runs.

In Eastern Europe conditions remain largely good in northern countries but less so in the south with some ski areas in Bulgaria such as Borovets and Pamporovo struggling with just a few centimeters of snow and warm temperatures. Bansko is not suffering as badly as it had built up a bigger snow base in December and most runs are open there.

North America
Conditions are still generally good across North America. All the resorts in Tahoe as well as Mammoth in California are open and reporting fresh powder and a base of 1.8-2.7m in Mammoth, 90cm -1.8m in Squaw Valley and 60-90cm in Heavenly. It has been a dry winter in California to date with no threat of avalanches.

Whistler has reported more fresh snow and the pattern has been repeated at many other Western Canadian resorts in resorts in Alberta and British Columbia. Whistler has a 2.35m base on the upper mountain and has received around 30cm of new snow in the past few days.

However further south Olympic venue Cypress Mountain was forced to close on Monday due to heavy rain – not a great sign with the Games three weeks away and the half pipe needing to be maintained in good shape.

On the East Coast the weather has quietened down after the New Year storms with limited fresh snow in the past week. But most areas now have healthy bases and the weather has been cold enough for more snow making, so getting chance to clear access roads and prepare the pistes properly is seen as a good thing by most resorts.


More Detailed Snow Reports

Try these links for more details and the best of the rest.   J2Ski

Skiinfo.com Thanks to, for the comprehensive round-up of resorts, reporting on snowfalls, weather and general conditions

j2Ski - has some good snow reports over a range of resorts