The PlanetSKI Snow Report
25th February 2024
Last modified on March 3rd, 2024
Another snow storm is hitting the Alps but only in a few favoured places in the south-west. PlanetSKI reports from the Alps. UPDATED
Sunday 3rd March
There has been some heavy snow in the Alps.
Sadly only in a few favoured places in the south-west Alps with more set to come.
Here’s PlanetSKI editor, James Cove:
In France Montgeneve and Isola 2000 are set to do well and the snow will reach as far north as Val d’Isere.
Sestiere in Italy should also see some decent amounts of snow in the latest storm.
As will the resorts in the Monte Rosa region – Alagna and Gressoney.
“The rest of the French Alps, the south-western Swiss Alps (e.g. Zermatt) and the western Aosta (e.g. La Thuile) will see some snow, but probably only in the 5-15cm range at best,” said Fraser Wilkin from weathertoski.co.uk
“The rest of the Alps (i.e. the northern and eastern Swiss Alps, the eastern Italian Alps and all of Austria) will miss out on this storm.”
PlanetSKI has been in Sainte Foy in France the past couple of days where the on piste skiing has been little short of exceptional.
Sainte Foy, France. Image © PlanetSKI
Evidence of the season’s snow fall is in evidence.
Sainte Foy, France. Image © PlanetSKI
There has also been some decent, but chopped up, off piste terrain.
Sainte Foy, France. Image © PlanetSKI
Do check back…
Saturday 2nd March
More snow is set to fall and by the end of the day there could be significant snow in parts of the Alps around Monta Rosa in Italy and Switzerland.
“Between Saturday morning and Monday morning, as much as 50-90cm of new snow could fall in areas including Isola 2000, Sestriere, Cervinia, Zermatt, Saas-Fee and the Monte Rosa region,” said Fraser Wilkin from weathertoski.co.uk
The rest of the southern French Alps, especially resorts close to the Italian border (e.g. Montgenèvre) and as far north as Val d’Isère, will also see significant snow.
The northern French Alps (e.g Portes du Soleil, Chamonix) will see less, with perhaps closer to 10cm.
PlanetSKI will be in Morzine in the Portes du Soleil on Sunday so look out for our reports.
In the meantime our editor, James Cove, is in Sainte Foy in France today.
Here’s what it looked like first thing:
Sainte Foy, France. Image © PlanetSKI
Do check back for further reports and James’s impressions of Sainte Foy.
It’s a resort he has always wanted to visit, but never quite has.
More to follow…
Friday 1st March
The weather has changed in much of the Alps as the forecast front moves in.
PlanetSKI was in Les3Vallees in France first thing in the morning.
This was the scene looking across to Meribel and Courchevel – not very inviting.
Les3Vallees, France. Image © PlanetSKI
At the higher areas of L3V snow is due today – fingers crossed.
It is due to stay like this for most of the day lower down and then it cheers up a bit in this part of the Alps on Saturday.
PlanetSKI’s James Cove has moved on from Les3Vallees today, Friday.
He passed La Plagne, which is up in the clouds too.
La Plagne, France. Image © PlanetSKI
One PlanetSKI was up there.
It is similar in Les Arcs.
Les Arcs, France. Image © PlanetSKI
And sticking with the road sign theme… James is off to Sainte Foy.
On the way to Sainte Foy, France. Image © PlanetSKI
And guess what?
Sainte Foy, France. Image © PlanetSKI
But if he had carried on up the road to the top of Val d’Isere & Tignes he would have found himself above the clouds on the highest slopes.
PlanetSKI reporter, Sally Lovegrove, is fortunate enough to be out on the slopes of the resorts.
Here’s what it looks like:
Val d’Isere/Tignes, France. Image © PlanetSKI
“It was a really cloudy morning so I had really low expectations as we set off from Val d’Isere,” said Sally.
“We headed towards the famous Lessières lift hoping to see the view, but it was shrouded in cloud.
“Then we kept going up and the cloud just lifted and we had 3 hours of incredible clear skiing, with empty slopes and no lift queues.
“What a day!”
“I changed my skis at Intersport to something more suited to the softer snow as the temperatures are so warm and they proved to be brilliant,” Sally added.
Val d’Isere/Tignes, France. Image c/o PlanetSKI
Val d’Isere/Tignes, France. Image c/o PlanetSKI
Over in St Anton in Austria it is back to clouds.
“Rain is falling in resort, with snow at mid-stations like Gampen,” said reporter George Eykyn from the resort in the Tirol.
On Sunday there is set to be more rain and more snow at altitude in parts of the Alps
The amount of snow that may fall varies but some say there could be 20-30cms in places.
Maybe more.
And lets not forget the Pyrenees where heavy snow is falling at last:
And it seems like cloudy, overcast, wet weather is sweeping other ski regions too.
PlanetSKI’s Jane Peel has been out in the rain and fog in Trysil in Norway today.
Trysil, Norway, Friday 1st March. Image © PlanetSKI
“If you think that looks bad then you’re right,” Jane says. “But at least it stopped raining after an hour or so on the hill.
“With temperatures just above freezing to start with and persistent drizzly rain when the lifts opened, it was not the most enjoyable experience.
“Fortunately, the rain stopped and it was just the fog we had to contend with.
“Sadly the murk was not only at the top of the lifts.
“As the morning wore on the fog descended so it blanketed most of the resort and the temperature dropped to one or two degrees below freezing.
“The trees provided a bit of contrast and the snow – of which there is plenty – was perfectly skiable, even if it was more soft and springlike than it has been for the rest of this week.”
Trysil, Norway, Friday 1st March. Image © PlanetSKI
Do check back…
Thursday 29th February
Les3Vallees, France
It’s been a lovely day in the vast Three Valleys in the French Alps but it remains very, very mild.
The PlanetSKI editor, James Cove, has been touring the whole area.
And here is that full report from James about his whizz around L3V:
It was a fabulous day for it.
PlanetSKI’s George Eykyn is further east in the Alps – in St Anton in the Tirol in Austria.
St Anton, Austria. Image c/o George Eykyn.
St Anton, Austria. Image c/o George Eykyn.
St Anton, Austria. Image c/o George Eykyn.
Trysil, Norway
The forecast rain for the lowest slopes in Trysil today turned out to be snow.
It was, however, very, very wet snow with the return of relatively mild weather to the area.
In the wet snow. Image © PlanetSKI
“Temperatures hovered mostly just above freezing throughout the day,” said PlanetSKI’s Jane Peel, who is in the resort.
“It was a couple of degrees below freezing at the top but fog and high winds closed the upper lifts and, to be frank, with a reported ‘feels like -12’ in the windchill, I wouldn’t have wanted to be up there anyway.
“The slopes are still skiing really well, however.
“I had some some great runs above Trysil Turistsenteret (tourist centre) and Høgegga, which only became a little wet and heavy in the last few turns near the bottom.
“Time to dry out the kit now, though it could be in for a another drenching with the forecast looking similar on Friday.”
Prime drying spot. Image © PlanetSKI
Wednesday 28th February
Warm temperatures remain in large parts of the Alps with some welcome recent snowfall in places.
Many resorts have seen overcast and cloudy conditions today.
Our reporters are out and about in the Alps and Scandinavia:
St. Anton, Austria
“Flat light for most of today, a few sunny spells but cloud was sitting obstinately in the valley,” said PlanetSKI’s George Eykyn.
St Anton, Austria. Image c/o George Eykyn.
“Piste conditions are still very good, but a bit slushy on lower slopes,” added George.
“Off piste is heavier going now and invariably crusted in many places, either from wind-slabbing or partial melt and refreeze.
“Thursday should be the best day of the week for sunshine, and on Friday further snow is forecast with snow above 1,600m and rain lower down.
“Over the following days quite warm temperatures are expected, with 0 or -1 celsius the common lowest temperature.”
St Anton, Austria. Image c/o George Eykyn.
Meribel, France
PlanetSKI editor, James Cove, is in Meribel in the French Alps this week.
As James said there are a few misconceptions about current snow conditions in some sections of the media – both mainstream and snowsport.
This video from Meribel illustrates it rather well – poor snow lower down with no snow in the valleys, but decent coverage at altitude.
And here it is at the top of the resort at the Meribel/Courchevel junction, with plenty of people out enjoying the wintry conditions.
Meribel, France. Image c/o PlanetSKI.
Courchevel, France. Image c/o PlanetSKI.
Later we will be looking at the huge efforts the resorts have made to keep the slopes in such good condition, considering it has been the warmest February on record in the Alps with little snowfall.
Val d’Isere, France
PlanetSKI reporter Sally Lovegrove is currently in Val d’Isere, France, where there has been a dusting of fresh snow.
Val d’Isere, France. Image c/o PlanetSKI
Up on the slopes of neighbouring Tignes there remains plenty of snow
Val d’Isere, France. Image c/o PlanetSKI
“There is plenty of snow here but the pistes are quite choppy as the warm temperatures affect the snow as the day progresses,’ she said.
“There is loads and loads of snow off piste, and we did a tiny bit just alongside the piste and it was much nicer to ski on.
“It has been overcast in Val d’Isere for much of the day with pretty flat light.
“The snow depths remain good, with excellent coverage on all the high runs..”
Val d’Isere, France. Image c/o PlanetSKI
Val d’Isere, France. Image c/o PlanetSKI
Val d’Isere, France. Image c/o PlanetSKI
Trysil, Norway
It’s been very different in Scandinavia where, unlike in the Alps, this winter has been colder than normal and there’s been plenty of snow.
PlanetSKI’s Jane Peel is there.
Tuesday 27th February
PlanetSKI is in Scandinavia at the moment where the snow is almost always reliable, even if the weather can be occasionally, er, challenging.
Trysil, Norway. Image c/o PlanetSKI.
“After several days of relatively mild weather, wintry conditions have returned to the region,” says PlanetSKI’s Jane Peel.
“It was minus 10 first thing Tuesday where I am in Trysil in Norway.
“It stayed well below freezing during the day on the hill and, with added windchill & fog on exposed slopes, it was a frozen-google-lens kind of day.
“And one where the best prospect seemed to be to seek out the treelined runs – of which there are, fortunately, many – and then retire early for a hot chocolate and a cinnamon swirl.”
Trysil, Norway on Tuesday. Image © PlanetSKI
Trysil, Norway, Tuesday. Image © PlanetSKI
Trysil, Norway, Tuesday. Image © PlanetSKI
Monday 26th February
Our latest video snow report was filmed on Monday afternoon, a long way north of the Alps.
Our Chief Reporter, Jane Peel, has arrived in Norway where, unlike the Alps, the winter has been generally colder than usual, though it’s a little milder now.
And here’s an even better view of the clear blue skies and snowy trees Jane mentioned.
Trysil, Norway, on Monday afternoon. Image © PlanetSKI
And here is Trysil on Monday morning before the sun came out.
Trysil, Norway, on Monday morning. Image © PlanetSKI
She’ll also be reporting later in the week about the good conditions across Scandinavia this winter, as we ponder if more skiers and snowboarders should be looking at Scandinavia.
It seems some already are.
In the Alps, many areas have seen fresh snow with the best of it in the south-eastern Alps where 70cm has fallen in places:
- St Moritz
- Livigno
- Passo Tonale
- Nassfeld
- The Dolomites
Other areas to mention are Zermatt in Switzerland, and Ischgl in the Tirol in Austria.
Ischgl, Austria.Image c/o Adrian Lamb.
St Anton in the Tirol in Austria is looking pretty good too as PlanetSKI reporter, George Eykyn, hits the slopes:
St Anton, the Tirol Austria. Image c/o George Eykyn.
St Anton, the Tirol Austria. Image c/o George Eykyn.
“Conditions are excellent in St Anton after a reported 30cm of snow last Friday,” said George.
“Avalanche risk was 2/5 (moderate) for most of Sunday 25th.
“Offpiste, on slopes taking a lot of sun, like Mattun, the powder was starting to feel warm and heavier but still skiable.
“Hinterer Rendl was excellent with its shaded north-facing slopes.
“Predictably, most powder has been skied out now.
“On piste, very good conditions especially at Kapall, on Schindlergrat and on Rendl.
“However by late afternoon warming sun had turned snow on many pistes such as around and below Gampen to “caster sugar” slush, interspersed lower down with icy patches.
“All that aside, the conditions in St Anton are really good.
“The forecast for the coming week is mostly sunshine and cloudy spells, average temperature, and a chance of a dusting of snow Monday night/Tues morning, then not much till Friday when there might be some snow and possibly rain at low altitude.”
We’ll be hearing more from George later in the week
St Anton, the Tirol Austria. Image c/o George Eykyn.
The snow caused an avalanche in central France on Sunday that killed four ski mountaineers.
We have reported the details in a separate article on PlanetSKI:
We followed the snow in last week’s PlanetSKI snow report – forecasting its arrival and then updating as it fell.
We should also mention the Pyrenees that has seen some snow, though not enough to transform the fortunes of the lower resorts.
“It is still possible to find some reasonable piste-skiing higher up, in both Spain’s Baqueira Beret (95cm upper base) and Andorra’s Pas de La Casa (20/55cm) and, with quite a lot of snow in the forecast, conditions should improve considerably,” said weathertoski.co.uk.
PlanetSKI is out and about in the mountains once more, with editor James Cove arriving in Les3Vallees on Monday.
The area has good conditions, especially in the higher resorts.
Val Thorens has a claimed base of 1.50m at resort level and 2.2m at the top of the resort.
Les 3 Vallees is the world’s biggest ski lift connected area with 600km of runs and 162 lifts.
James is aiming to ski the whole area, all the resorts, in a single day.
He has his GS race skis with him.
With 85% of the ski area located above 1,800m it offers decent snow coverage for much of the season.
Do check back…
