Snow Report 26 February 2015 - Europe & Japan

School holidays are coming to an end. Its nearly March, which means its almost springtime in the mountains. Milder, longer, sunny days beckon, hopefully punctuated by dumps of fresh snow!

JAPAN

Happo One 25.02.15 [Source: Happo FB page]

Talking of spring it has been spring-like already in Japan with a mild, sunny spell hitting recently. Makes for a change!

The weekend was mainly fine everywhere in the Japanese mountains - clear, blue skies. No snow though (except for 15cm at Zao Onsen). There was even a run of a week without snow in Niseko, which is very unusual for this time of year.

Normal business is always resumed, however. After some unwelcome rain across the Japanese resorts into Monday, snow arrived for Niseko into Tuesday.

While other areas remained cloudy through this week, some snow is forecast to arrive tonight after a little rain, Unfortunately there is the suggestion of a return to more rain on the weekend. Lets hope that doesn't eventuate.

Happo One: 290cm@1400m, 170cm@850m
Nozawa Onsen: 415cm@1650m and 190cm@650m
Akakura Kanko: 415cm
Gala Yuzawa: 440cm
Dynaland: 250cm
Zao Onsen: 220/145cm
Niseko Grand Hirafu: 410/160cm

Val d'Isere 25.02.15 [Source: Val d'Isere FB page]

FRANCE

School holidays are coming to an end and the slopes will be fairly empty in the coming weeks, with some of the best conditions of the season!

There was some snow at the weekend in the French Alps (about 10cm in the north - Val d'Isere, Les Arcs, more further south - Isola got a nice dump).

Another dump arrived on Monday and into Tuesday in the French Alps. Serre Chevalier scored 35cm, while Chamonix and Val Thorens reported 25cm. Les Arcs got 13cm.

After some fine days to enjoy the freshened slopes, the snow should return tonight, locally heavy, setting up a nice weekend.

Isola 2000: 200/150cm

Monte Rosa 24.02.15 [Source: Monterosa Ski FB page]

Serre Chevalier: 190cm@2800m/50cm@1400m
Les Arcs: 158cm@3200m, 93cm@1600m
Val Thorens: 190cm@3200m, 110cm@2300m
Val d'Isere: 167cm@2500m, 95cm@1850m
Chamonix: 210cm@3275m, 90cm@1800m

ITALY

The weekend saw snowfalls in the Italian Alps, including at Madonna di Campiglio (50cm), and Val Gardena (10cm). A top-up for Val Gardena arrived on Tuesday (20cm).

Not a lot of snow in current forecasts for Italian resorts, but maybe a bit more more chance for those in the Aosta valley.

Monte Rosa (Gressoney-la-Trinite): 255/105cm
Madesimo: 480/250/200cm
Madonna di Campiglio: 220cm@2250m, 90cm@1500m
Val Gardena: 110cm@2500m, 15cm@1400m

Snow Report 13 February 2015 - Europe & Japan

JAPAN

Nozawa Onsen 10.02.14 [Source: Nozawa OnsenFB page]

It was a mainly fine end to last week for the Japanese mountains, one of the longest spells of clear weather for a while. It never lasts too long at this time of year, however. The snow returned again late in the weekend, but it continued through the week bringing lots of new snow.

Sunday - dusting in places

Monday - Myokokogen 30cm, Yuzawa 20cm, Hakuba, Nozawa Onsen 15cm, Niseko 10cm, Shiga Kogen, Zao Onsen 5cm

Tuesday - Yuzawa 30cm, Hakuba, Myokokogen, Shiga Kogen, Zao Onsen 20cm, Nozawa Onsen 15cm, Niseko 10cm

Happo One 13.02.14 [Source: Happo FB page]

Wednesday - Niseko 45cm, Zao Onsen 10cm, Yuzawa 5cm, Shiga Kogen, Hakuba, Nozawa Onsen, Myokokogen - dusting

Not much powder has fallen since, except 10cm at Zao Onsen yesterday. But a two-or-three day dump has started today and so its on for this weekend bringing big falls for Western Japan and Hokkaido, clearing late on Monday.

Happo One: 320cm@1400m, 170cm@850m
Nozawa Onsen: 405cm@1650m and 220cm@650m
Akakura Kanko: 400cm
Gala Yuzawa: 450cm
Dynaland: 230cm
Zao Onsen: 230/150cm
Niseko Grand Hirafu: 430/160cm

FRANCE

Serre Chevalier 09.02.14. {Source: Serre Che FB page]

It was a snowy end to last week in France. That was followed by a fine weekend, and mainly glorious sunshine and clear skies all through the week. A good way to follow up a dump!

Snow is due to arrive across the French Alps (North and South) on the weekend, with some heavy falls possible. Snow could continue through to Tuesday, setting up the slopes well for the busy holiday period.

Isola 2000: 200/150cm
Serre Chevalier: 150cm@2800m/40cm@1400m
Les Arcs: 152cm@3200m, 97cm@1600m
Val Thorens: 160cm@3200m, 105cm@2300m
Val d'Isere: 155cm@2500m, 90cm@1850m
Chamonix: 110cm@3275m, 110cm@1800m

ITALY

Snowfalls at the end of last week have made a great difference to the slopes in the Italian Alps. February is looking very promising for great skiing.

It was a beautiful clear weekend in the mountains and the mainly fine weather continued through the week.

Monte Rosa 09.02.14 [Source: Monte Rosa FB page]

Snow is forecast to start this weekend, heaviest on Sunday and Tuesday. There could be some massive dumps at Madesimo and Madonna di Campiglio, with the Dolomites also doing very well over the next four or five days. Maybe up to a metre will fall?

Great news for the eastern parts of the Italian Alps which haven't had quite as much snow as those in the west, to date.

Monte Rosa (Gressoney-la-Trinite): 230/80cm
Madesimo: 430/230/170cm
Madonna di Campiglio: 170cm@2250m, 60cm@1500m
Val Gardena: 110cm@2500m, 20cm@1400m

Snow Report 3 February 2015 - Europe & Japan

January has gone already; can you believe how time flies? While January typically means good snow and quiet slopes, February brings school holidays in Europe and a public holiday in Japan.

Serre Chevalier 01.02.14 [Source: Serre Chevalier FB page]

In France, school holidays run from the 9th February through to the end of the month, with the Parisians on vacation for two weeks from the 16th February. Expect the popular big resorts to be busy.

Some Italian regions are on holiday for a week from 16th February, including the mountain areas in the west (Aosta, home to Cervinia and Monterosa) and east (Trentino). But the slopes will be busy in the east anyway as neigbouring countries, especially Germany, are on holidays and the Dolomites are a popular destination.

The Japanese kids don't get their break until March, but school parties are often up at the ski areas during term time. They're fairly easy to spot with their numbered bibs, all bunched together falling over. February 11th is a national holiday in Japan.

JAPAN

Nozawa Onsen 29.01.14 [Source: Nozawa Onsen FB page]

There were good snowfalls in Japan (Nozawa Onsen and Myoko Kogen 40cm; Gala Yuzawa and Shiga Kogen 20cm; Zao Onsen and Niseko 15cm) for the first day of the new month, and it has been pretty snowy in February since with some daily top-ups. Only Happo and Dynaland managed to miss out on the dumps.

Not a lot of snow is in the forecasts for the rest of the week, but perhaps some arriving on the weekend.

Look at these incredible snow depths!

Happo One: 320cm@1400m, 180cm@850m
Nozawa Onsen: 445cm@1650m and 235cm@650m.
Akakura Kanko: 380cm
Gala Yuzawa: 440cm
Dynaland: 230cm
Zao Onsen: 220/140cm
Niseko Grand Hirafu: 370/125cm

FRANCE

There has been lots and lots of snow in the French Alps over the last week. This has been the best storm this winter for sure. The northern French Alps did the best, but the southern resorts still scored almost half a metre. The weather cleared on the weekend for some awesome skiing.

Val Thorens 02.02.14 [Source: Val Thorens FB page]

There should be more snow for the French Alps this week, heavy in places, before a clearing weekend with blue skies.

Isola 2000: 140/100cm
Serre Chevalier: 150cm@2800m/40cm@1400m
Les Arcs: 160cm@3200m, 110cm@1600m
Val Thorens: 190cm@3200m, 135cm@2300m
Val d'Isere: 170cm@2500m, 95cm@1850m
Chamonix: 210cm@3275m, 95cm@1800m

ITALY

Snow fell in the west first and spread across to the east of the Italian Alps. It was hit-and-miss, however, and didn't really boost the snow depths like in France.

Madonna seemed to miss out completely, while Val Gardena got 20cm on the 30th January. The weather cleared for beautiful, sunny days on Saturday.

Monte Rosa (Gressoney-la-Trinite): 190/50cm
Madesimo: 430/230/170cm
Madonna di Campiglio: 165cm@2250m, 65cm@1500m
Val Gardena: 100cm@2500m, 20cm@1400m