Snow Report 25 November 2016 - Europe & Japan

The first snows making it down to village level arrived this week for many ski resorts in Japan. In Europe, the season really gets started this weekend with some more ski stations opening.

Happo One 25.11.16 - www.happo-one.jp

JAPAN

Snow began falling yesterday in Japan, down to town level as well as the peaks.

The snowy weather has arrived in Honshu and Hokkaido at the same time, so everyone's getting a whitening in the mountains! Just a dusting in Niigata and Nagano, but a nice little dump in Hokkaido.

Opening dates at my featured Japanese ski resorts:

Yuzawa (Kagura) - ASAP
Niseko (Grand Hirafu) - ASAP
Nozawa Onsen - part opening 26th November (maybe!)
Hakuba (Happo One) - 17th December (part opening 26th November - unlikely!)
Zao Onsen - early December
Myoko Kogen - mid-December

FRANCE

Good snow in France for the end of November, particularly for those stations that are above 2000m. Val Thorens opened last weekend and already has 13 lifts running.

Val Thorens 26.11.16 - Val Thorens Facebook

Val d'Isere is opening tomorrow with the Pissaillas glacier/Iseran, Fornet, Solaise, and Bellevarde sectors all open. Chamonix (Grands Montets) is also opening this weekend.

Grand Tourmalet in the Pyrenees has put back opening to the 3rd December.

Opening dates at my featured French ski stations are:

Val Thorens - OPEN - 80cm@2300m, 13/30 lifts, 32/85 pistes
Val d'Isere - 26th November - 10cm@1850m,
Grand Tourmalet -  3rd December
Chamonix (Grands Montets) - 26th November - 58cm@1972m
Isola 2000 - 3rd December
Les Arcs - 10th December
Val d'Allos - 10th December
Serre Chevalier - 7th December (with a pre-opening on the weekend of 3/4th December)
Super Besse - 10th December

ITALY

There is still some snow at higher altitudes in Italy.

Monterosa 23.11.16 - Monterosa Facebook

Madonna di Campiglio opened last weekend and is opening again this weekend for skiing on the Groste area.

Similarly there were slopes open at Valchiavenna, which is reopening this weekend along with Monterosa.

Opening dates at my featured Italian ski stations:

Madonna di Campiglio - 26th November
Madesimo - 26th November
Monterosa - 26th November
Val Gardena - 3rd December

Snow Report 17 November 2016 - Europe & Japan

Its looking like there might be a strong start to the season in the European Alps, with snowfalls through the weekend and more on the way.

Les Arcs 15.11.16 - Les Arcs Facebook

JAPAN

For Japan, however, not much snowfall in the past week, with some warm temperatures across the mountain regions. A return to cooler temperatures today in Hokkaido, but remaining warm on Honshu.

Opening dates at my featured Japanese ski resorts, subject to snow:

Yuzawa (Kagura) - 19th November
Niseko (Grand Hirafu) - 23rd November
Nozawa Onsen - part opening 26th November
Hakuba (Happo One) - 17th December (part opening 26th November)
Zao Onsen - early December
Myoko Kogen - mid-December

Argentiere village 16.11.16 - Chamonix Facebook

FRANCE

Snow fell through the weekend. It was a nice dump actually, and snow fell quite low for this time of year and is sticking around.

Chamonix has groomed some slopes as a result, opening for skiing at Grands Montets this weekend.

Opening dates at my featured French ski stations are:

Val Thorens - 26th November
Val d'Isere - 26th November
Grand Tourmalet - 26th November
Chamonix (Grands Montets) - 3rd December (partial opening weekend 19th/20th November)
Isola 2000 - 3rd December
Les Arcs - 10th December
Val d'Allos - 10th December
Serre Chevalier - 7th December (with a pre-opening on the weekend of 28/29th November)
Super Besse - 10th December

Valchiavenna 16.11.16 - Facebook

ITALY

Snow at the higher northern resorts through the weekend. Good cover at some ski areas already means opening dates have been fixed and brought forward.

Opening dates at my featured Italian ski stations:

Madonna di Campiglio - 19th November
Madesimo - 26th November (with a pre-opening on the weekend of 19th/20th November)
Monterosa - 25th November
Val Gardena - 3rd December

Snow Report 10 November 2016 - Europe & Japan

Greetings snow fans!

We're not too far away now from the Northern snow season openings - the first typically occur in late November. The weather is changing and as autumn begins to give way to winter there has been a bit of snow around to get us in the mood.

Niseko - Niseko webcam

JAPAN

A fair bit of snow fell earlier this week on Hokkaido. A dusting was observed on the peaks in Honshu, such as at Hakuba and Yuzawa.

Opening dates at my featured Japanese ski resorts:

Yuzawa (Kagura) - 19th November
Niseko (Grand Hirafu) - 23rd November
Nozawa Onsen - 26th November
Hakuba (Happo One) - 16th December
Zao Onsen - December
Myoko Kogen - December

FRANCE

Some good snowfalls earlier this week in the Northern French Alps. with snow down to resort level.

The glacier at Tignes - Tignes Facebook

The Grand Motte glacier at Tignes opened in October with five trails available. However, we are a few weeks away from proper resort openings.

Opening dates at my featured French ski stations:

Val Thorens - 26th November
Val d'Isere - 26th November
Grand Tourmalet - 26th November
Chamonix (Grands Montets) - 3rd December
Isola 2000 - 3rd December

Cervinia - Cervinia Facebook

Les Arcs - 10th December
Val d'Allos - 10th December
Serre Chevalier - 12th December (with a pre-opening on the weekend of 28/29th November)
Super Besse - 12th December

ITALY

Breuil-Cervinia is open for skiing on the upper slopes.

Opening dates at my featured Italian ski stations:

Monterosa - 25th November
Madesimo - Opening date not yet fixed
Madonna di Campiglio - Opening date not yet fixed
Val Gardena - 3rd December