The latest snow reports and conditions in resorts across France, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Canada and the USA from the Ski Club of Great Britain. (Updated every Monday and Thursday afternoon)

Snow Overview - 20th February 

Summary

Many resorts across Europe received further snowfall on Sunday 19th and Monday 20th February. This has simply improved the already fantastic conditions and means this winter season should last well into the spring months. Although this snowfall was lighter when compared to recent heavy dumps, it meant resort operation teams could cope as the majority of lifts and links remained open on Monday.

The recent cold temperatures have maintained the slope conditions well, however the temperature is rising by the day. On Thursday 23rd February resorts in France, Austria and Italy should experience temperatures in the plus range, a first in many weeks. This will therefore soften the snow and create spring-like skiing in places, and especially on lower lying, south facing slopes.

Up to 25cm of fresh snow fell in parts of Canada. Whistler was where 25cm fell while Banff got about 15cm of snow and Silver Star around 11cm. Fresh snow fell in parts of America too with Timberline receiving the most, at 23cm.

Austria

Recent heavy snowfall means conditions at our featured Austrian resorts are fantastic. On Monday 20th February, snow continued to fall over many Austrian resorts. The Stubai Glacier at Neustift (75/340cm) enjoyed 25cm of fresh snowfall, however visibility was rather limited.   

Light snowfall was the dominant theme across many areas where resorts typically received around 5cm on Monday. Such resorts included the Ski Welt area of Ellmau (100/280cm), Soll (100/280cm) and Scheffau (100/280cm). 

The skies are forecast to clear on Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd February, until precipitation is set to make a come back on Thursday 23rd February. However, temperatures are rising throughout the week, so lower altitude Austrian resorts could unfortunately experience rain rather that snowfall later this week.

France

Light snowfall refreshed the pistes nicely for many featured French resorts over the weekend and into Monday 20th February.  The great news is that on Monday the clouds had largely cleared in time for skiing, delivering a beautiful bluebird day. This was typical in Flaine (99/375cm) and La Rosiere (212/345cm) where around 10cm of snow fell in the early hours of Monday creating beautiful fresh conditions in lovely sunshine for visitors during the day. The Portes du Soleil area also welcomed 10cm of snowfall on Monday, although low lying cloud made visibility rather poor in certain areas such as Avoriaz (250/290cm). 

Many resorts, including Chamonix (50/430cm), enjoyed a light dusting of 5cm on Sunday 19th February and like other neighbouring resorts it was a bluebird day on Monday. They also had all 58 lifts open so skiers could enjoy a huge amount of superb fresh terrain. Down the road the Ski Club Leader in Argentiere (150/430cm) commented that the conditions were superb over the weekend.

Switzerland

The majority of our featured Swiss resorts welcomed a healthy amount of fresh snowfall.

For instance, Saas Fee (80/345cm) and Engelberg (85/541cm) enjoyed around 20cm on Sunday 19th February. This further improved the already fantastic riding conditions. 

The Jungfrau region received similar amounts of snow too. The Ski Club Leader in Wengen (90/190cm) said on Sunday that the 15cm fresh snowfall was more than forecast and meant the pistes were a real joy to ski. 

The skies started to clear on Monday 20th February and many resorts enjoyed relatively clear skies with great visibility.

Italy

On Monday 20th February, conditions were a real mixture across our featured Italian resorts. Snow continued to fall in some areas of the country including the Dolomites. Here, Selva Gardena (65/90cm) received the most with 20cm, closely followed by Arabba (51/82cm) with 18cm. Cavalese (10/120cm) and Cortina (20/65cm) enjoyed 10cm and 5cm respectively. 

In contrast, some Italian resorts enjoyed clear sunny skies, like in Cervinia (70/260cm). They did however enjoy 5cm of new snow on Sunday 19th February which nicely refreshed the pistes. 

It appears the skies are set to clear for much of Italy over the next few days creating great skiing conditions.

Andorra

A light dusting of fresh snowfall was reported overnight in time for the lifts opening in the Grandvalira ski area on Andorra. The resorts we report on in this area are Pas de la Casa (110/150cm) and Soldeu (80/110cm). The Ski Club Leader in Soldeu reported enjoyable skiing over to Pas de la Casa over the weekend, so the new snow will only have made the skiing even better.

The weather is forecast to remain bright and sunny in Andorra over this week and across next weekend, with mid-mountain temperatures hovering around freezing, being just above this during the afternoons.

Norway/Sweden

It was another snowy weekend in most of our featured Norwegian resorts. The most snow fell at Oppdal (100/150cm) where 20cm of fresh was reported on the morning of Monday 20th February. Conditions are brilliant as you might expect and more snow is in the forecast for the coming week. 

11cm of fresh snow fell at Are (76/120cm) in Sweden in time for the lifts opening on Monday. After a slow start to the season they've enjoyed lots of snow recently and skiing is good both on and off piste.

Scotland

Skiing in Scotland was very limited on Monday 20th February due to strong winds. Cairngorm (15/35cm), Glencoe (30/50cm), The Lecht (10/15cm) and Nevis Range (15/40cm) were all closed on Monday. The Lecht is closed due to a lack of snow but the other three are closed because it's too windy. 

Glenshee (10/20cm) was the only one able to open on Monday. It's not as windy on their side of the Cairngorms so lifts were running, although the snow is fairly patchy in most places.

USA

There was another dusting of fresh snow in Colorado over the weekend with up to 10cm in some areas. The Ski Club Leaders based in Vail (104cm) and Breckenridge (135cm) said the skiing was great all over both areas. The Back Bowls and Bluesky Basin at Vail are all open now with great snow in most areas. 

23cm fell at Timberline (343cm) up in Oregon. It was quite warm though so the snow is fairly heavy lower down but higher up it is drier and more powdery. More snow is forecast there through this week and it should also turn colder. 

The resorts on the east coast are in fairly good shape too. While there was no fresh snow at Killington (61/91cm) it has remained cold and the snow is good.

Canada

It was snowing in most parts of Canada over the weekend, with up to 25cm falling in some areas. Whistler (245cm) was where 25cm fell on Saturday 18th February. The Ski Club leader based in Whistler spoke of superb powder skiing all over the mountain on Sunday 19th February. All the lifts were open and even the lower slopes into the village were nice and powdery. 

16cm of fresh snow fell at Silver Star (145/177cm) too. Like Whistler, powder covered the whole of the mountain and the fresh snow gave a new lease of life to the skiing. The runs off the Powder Gulch chair were in great condition and the fresh snow made them fun to ski. 

Revelstoke (224cm) also enjoyed fresh snow. They've had a great season so far and it's been the snowiest since their first season four years ago. So far 7.5 metres has fallen on the mountain so there's plenty of snow everywhere.

European Weather Outlook

It should, on the whole, be a lovely week of clear blue skies providing excellent visibility and pleasant skiing for France and Italy. 

A similar weather theme is expected for Austria and Switzerland. However on Thursday 23rd February cloudy skies are expected to return over the vast majority of resorts in these countries, and the clouds could bring scattered snow flurries. Unfortunately a handful of Austrian resorts could experience rain as temperatures are expected rise into positive digits for the first time in weeks.

North American Weather Outlook

It looks like it is turning cold again in Canada with some areas expecting temperatures down into the low -20C's later this week. Surprisingly, Whistler is expecting some of the lowest temperatures but it should be pleasantly cold across the board. 

A snowy week is expected in Colorado, USA with Breckenridge and Vail both likely to get snow every day this week. It should also be fairly cold which will mean the fresh snow remains in good condition. 

A dry week is expected on the east coast of America, but there could be some light rain and much milder weather late on and over the weekend. This will melt some snow but most places should have enough to be unaffected.