More Glacier Resorts Open After Heavy Snowfall
2nd October 2021
Last modified on October 13th, 2021
Three more glacier resorts open some slopes this weekend as heavy snow falls. It takes the total to eleven glacier areas open in Austria, Italy and Switzerland with two in France opening later this month. There’s also been some decent snow in Colorado, USA. UPDATED
We start this updated PlanetSKI October snow report in Colorado.
The resort of Silverton to be precise.
The first skiers out (obviously) were the ski patrol as the resort is not open to the rest of us mere mortals.
The Ski Patrol has a say in when the lifts can turn and were required to ‘inspect’ the slopes.
“The ski patrol of course fired up the chairlift and upon reaching the high alpine were greeted with some sweet powder turns to kick off the 2020-2021 ski season,” said the resort.
“It’s been colder than normal for this time of year and it certainly appears to be on par to be another big winter for Silverton.”
Here’s what it looked like:
Image © Silverton Mountain
Image © Silverton Mountain
Image © Silverton Mountain
Other resorts in Colorado have fired up their snow guns as the temperatures have dropped.
We have full details in this related story on PlanetSKI.
Meanwhile back in the Alps in Europe the glacier resort of Hintertux in the Tirol in Austria has taken the lion’s share of the fresh snow and is reporting around 50cm.
The resort has updated us with some latest images.
Image ©Hintertuxer Gletscher
Image ©Hintertuxer Gletscher
Image ©Hintertuxer Gletscher
Elsewhere in the Tirol the resort of Stubai has opened with great early season conditions.
It has seen more than 30cm of fresh snow with the clear skies over the weekend as the lifts started turning for the season.
These additional images come from the Hintertux glacier in the Tirol in Austria where skiing goes on year round and some slopes are open.
They were taken at the end of last week.
Around 30cm has fallen at altitude.
“We are really happy to see such snow,” said Elena Protopopow from the region’s tourist board.
Hintertux. Image c/o Tirol Tourist Board.
Hintertux. Image c/o Tirol Tourist Board.
Hintertux. Image c/o Tirol Tourist Board.
Hintertux. Image c/o Tirol Tourist Board.
Currently the Tirol region has five glacier areas open for skiing and snowboarding: Hintertux, Soelden, Pitztal, Stubai and Kaunertal.
We reported on the opening of Kaunertal at the end of last month.
Kitzsteinhorn in SalzburgerLand Austria also fired up some lifts at the weekend.
The Glacier Park at the ski area opens this coming weekend on October 16th.
Engelberg in Switzerland also opened some slopes on its Titlis glacier on October 9th.
It brings the total of glacier ski areas open in the Alps into double figures – 11 to be precise.
Saas-Fee and Zermatt are open in Switzerland with the Italian areas of Val Senales and Passo Stelvio offering some glacier skiing.
Passo Stelvio has seen 25cm of snow in the storm.
Later this month on October 16th Tignes is due to offer skiing and snowboarding on its Grande Motte Glacier.
It’s already looking good in nearby Val Thorens.
Val Thorens. Image © Val Thorens Tourist Office
Val Thorens. Image © Val Thorens Tourist Office
Val Thorens. Image © Val Thorens Tourist Office
PlanetSKI will be in Val Thorens for the resort’s opening at the end of November.
And while we’re looking at images of the snow in France here’s Val d’Isere:
Les2Alpes in the Isere region is opening for the half-term holidays, from October 23rd to November 7th.
It has also seen more than 30cm of fresh snow in the past few days so conditions should be pretty good when it opens.
“The Alps have seen some fresh snow at altitude over the last few days, meaning that most of the glaciers, which can still be threadbare in September, are now in pretty good shape for the time of year,” said the alpine weather expert Fraser Wilkin from weathertoski.co.uk last week.
Due to a generally wet summer the glacier ski areas in the Alps saw some decent amounts of snow at altitude and are in pretty good shape for the autumn skiing and snowboarding season.
There’s some skiing to be had in Norway too.
Conditions have improved in Norway allowing Scandinavia’s highest ski area Galdhopiggen summerski centre to re-open this weekend after a 2 month shut down of its summer ski operation. pic.twitter.com/I30VfTzDZm
— Snow Forecast.com (@SnowForecast) October 3, 2021
Last weekend, October 9th, Ruka in Finland also opened some slopes and cross-country trails.
Levi too opened at the weekend.
In Finland it will be on man-made snow and snow stored from last winter.
And there’s been some snowfall in the Pyrenees too.
Over in North America there have been a few dustings of snow.
The resorts of Loveland, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin in Colorado, USA, usually battle it out to be the first to open.
The snow guns at Loveland and Keystone are now firing after the temperatures dropped.
Oh, it’s snowing. ❄️❄️❄️ pic.twitter.com/pnssOzW7vh
— Arapahoe Basin (@Arapahoe_Basin) September 30, 2021
Meanwhile there is an autumnal feeling further north in Canada.
At Sunshine Village in Alberta to be precise.
The resort is usually one of the first ski areas in Canada to open with skiing usually lasting into May.
Here on PlanetSKI we are keeping an eye on the autumn snowfall and what it may mean for the approaching winter.
Do check back for our updated reports…
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