WHERE’S THE FRESH SNOW?

3rd January 2019 | Jane Peel, Chief Reporter

Last modified on August 23rd, 2021

FRIDAY 4TH JANUARY

The first snow of 2019 started falling on the night of 2nd January in Zell am See, Austria.

It was no light snow, either.

St Anton had 9cm overnight, with a forecast 120cm over the next 9 days.

It’s looking like it’ll snow consistently through to next week.

So that’s where to head if you…

Especially as it’s no snow (but cold temps) in France.

Kitzbuhel also in Austria has similar reports: ‘Snow trending’

St Anton

Just for the view, take a look at Lech-Zurs in the Arlberg after snow, with sun yesterday.

More is falling this weekend, steadily.

Meanwhile over in France it remains cold, with hard-packed pistes and little sign of snow in the forecast.

But the weather is glorious.

“Awesome morning in @avoriaz1800, a tad windy but perfect blue skies,” said our friends over at Maison Sport.

THURSDAY 3RD JANUARY

The Austrian resorts have benefitted from significant falls over the New Year, with snow also reported in parts of eastern Switzerland.

The rest of the Alps has been dry with cold overnight temperatures resulting in hard, icy pistes.

“Things are looking very promising across much of Austria, with significant snow to low levels and more to come over the next few days,” says Fraser Wilkin of Weather To Ski.

“As for the rest of the Alps, while some Swiss ski resorts to the east of the Bernese Oberland have also seen snow (with quite a lot close to the Austrian border), most western Swiss, (eg Verbier, Zermatt), French and Italian ski resorts have seen little or no snow in recent days.”

“Unfortunately, with the weather stuck in a bit of a rut, there is no sign that these areas will see any new snow any time soon either.”

On piste conditions at high altitude in France are said to be generally holding up, despite the lack of recent snowfall.

But skiers in some French resorts report treacherous pistes.

One holidaymaker who has just returned from Chamonix says conditions on piste are not great.

“Absolutely rock hard… just need to pull back on the speed”.

An instructor at Chamrousse in the Isere told the media that the risk of injury was high and care was needed.

“It freezes almost every night and in the morning it’s as hard as concrete,” Gilles Szekely said.

“When you fall, you’re much more likely to break something.”

We’ll be bringing you the latest detailed snow report from Weather to Ski  soon with the news from across the mountains.

In the meantime, here are few more snowy Austrian scenes for you to enjoy, along with some great news from Fraser Wilkin:

“We can safely say that most of Austria is now ‘set’ for the season,” he said on Thursday morning.

Which is good as PlanetSKI will be based in Innsbruck in the Tirol for 3-months starting on February 1st and skiing as many resorts as we can across the Tirol and the rest of Austria.

Seems we have chosen the right season to do so.

• PlanetSKI moves to Innsbruck

Zell am See-Kaprun in Austria shared this video from Oostenrijk TV of conditions on Thursday morning, 3rd January:

Reaction to the snow in Austria

Meanwhile for the first time on PlanetSKI we have a snow report from Alaska.

One of our reporters, Ross Young, is there with his son, Fynn.

He will be posting a report on the area later but here’s a quick update on the snow:

“There’s been plenty of snowfall in Alyeska, making for excellent – if occasionally rather windy – skiing on the upper slopes,” said Ross.

“Lower down the mountain, yesterday saw temperatures hovering around freezing, leading to some ice forming on the runs into resort.

“Clear, cooler conditions are forecast for the next few days, with fresh snow due to arrive on Sunday 6th January.

“The upper areas of the mountain should continue to offer excellent skiing until then, both on and off piste.

“That said, much of Alyeska’s North Face – the main source of its ‘steep and deep’ reputation – is currently closed, with only Tram Pocket open.”

Alyeska, Alaska. Image © Ross Young

Alyeska, Alaska. Image © Ross Young

Alyeska, Alaska. Image © Ross Young

Alyeska, Alaska. Image © Ross Young

Alyeska, Alaska. Image © Ross Young

Alyeska, Alaska. Image © Ross Young