No skiing at Scottish resort -- too much snow

Skiers found the slopes at a Scottish resort closed on Friday, not because the snow was sparse, but rather there was too much of it, the resort's managers said.

Cairngorm Mountain in northeast Scotland more often deals with a lack of snow but this year it is grappling with a different problem -- 185 centimetres (73 inches) of snow since Christmas in the worst bout of winter weather since the 1970s.

Resort staff toiled all day Thursday to clear snow, but they arrived back Friday to find their hard work was in vain after strong winds blew snow across access roads, creating 15 foot (4.6 metre) high drifts.

"We have come in this morning and it feels like groundhog day -- all our work yesterday has been filled in again," said Colin Matthew, the head of ski patrol.

"The mountain and all facilities, access roads and car parks will be closed today to allow digging out after major drifting during the storm," he said.

The resort's snow ploughs cannot even get through the drifting and it has had to hire special heavy diggers, said resort spokesman Colin Kirkwood, adding it could be Monday before the resort reopens.

But despite the temporary closure, Kirkwood said this year's harsh conditions had provided a welcome boost for business at Cairngorm, which faced controversy in recent years after a funicular railway ran well over budget.

"We're about 300 percent up on the point we were at at the same point last year," he said.

Cairngorm, Britain's sixth highest mountain, is one of the main resorts in Britain's small ski industry north of the Scottish border, with 10 lifts and 30 kilometres (19 miles) of ski runs.

Most of Britain has seen substantial snowfalls over the last month, in the country's severest winter for decades, although warmer temperatures in the last few days have melted much of the snow and ice further south.

Colorado Ski Resorts Get November Snow

"Winter Storm Warning" are the three words every ski fanatic wants to hear in November. It means snow is on the way and they are that much closer to strapping on the board(s) and catching some time on the slopes. A big October storm followed by an even bigger November storm set up many Colorado resorts for stellar snowmaking.

The snow really started pounding right about the time the Colorado Ski & Snowboard Expo pulled into town at the Colorado Convention Center in Downtown Denver. Every resort in the state made it and was set up and ready to go. The snow messed up traffic and kept up through the weekend, getting everyone in the mood to ski and ride.

Snowmass received 16 inches up top in the mid-November blast. Eldora, outside of Boulder, is open with a 24-inch base, four lifts, and four trails. Loveland opened Chair 2, and the U.S. Ski Team is training there. Monarch opens Nov. 25 with 5 feet of snow so far, and a 36-inch base.

The winter blast turned Steamboat into a Winter Wonderland with 14 inches of snow on Storm Peak. "Snow is something we're used to here in Steamboat. The past two seasons have seen more than 400 inches of snow accumulate. This is just another in a series of storms that started in October and is an early season reminder of what's to come," says Andy Wirth, with Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp.

Still snowing in Spain

Skiers in the Spanish and Andorran resorts enjoyed a late season dusting of fresh powder over the weekend, promising good conditions for Easter.

10cm of fresh snow fell on Monday in Formigal, Spain’s largest resort, on top of an upper slope base of 230cm. Over the border in Andorra, our featured resorts also enjoyed some fresh snow on Sunday but this has not dramatically changed the skiing as typical spring conditions still dominate. It's predominantly sunny this week, which means that although the snow is firm in the mornings, it will soften during the day, especially on the lower and south facing slopes. However the good news is that temperatures are forecast to remain around freezing until next weekend maintaining the good snow conditions. Cloudy weather is also expected for the middle of the week, which could deliver further fresh snowfalls.

The Vallnord resort of Arcalis is reporting the deepest snow base depths (140/250cm), but all of the other Andorran resorts we report on have at least a metre of snow on their lower pistes and around two metres on their upper slopes. Formigal is offering free lift passes with to all new bookings until the end of the season, which has been extended by another two weeks into May thanks to the great snow conditions.

Airboard inflatable sledge now in & reduced!

We're sure you've read the recent coverage of an accident involving a sledge which resulted in a child being killed. It's very important to use a specifically manufactured sledge, not a makeshift one, due to safety reasons. Our new range of Airboards took 10 years to develop, and are a safe way to have some fun sledging in the snow.

The Airboard inflatable sledge offers a completely new snow experience. Lying low on the air cushion on your stomach, helmet first, you take every curve as if you're flying. The ribbed underside of the board lets you control your direction mainly by shifting your weight. This close to the ground, the speed is all the more exhilarating! Brake by shifting the air board sideways.
Airboards are made exclusively from tough 'soft' materials to minimise the risk of injury in the event of falls or collisions. On impact, the Airboard acts like an airbag. The same applies on rough terrain - the flexible air cushion design compensates for ground irregularities.
Airboards were developed by Joe Steiner from Zug, Switzerland. It took 10 years of meticulous work to bring the Airboard up to his stringent requirements as far as comfort and security were concerned. Airboards are extremely convenient when you are on the move; they fold up into a small, light rucksack for carrying on your back. They also make great seats or recliners in the snow!

Going down the piste on an Airboard can be compared only to body-boarding on snow!
We've got a great range of Airboard's online at skiwear4less.com all at great prices! We've got a selection of adult & children's Airboards available, so click the image above to have a look now!

British skiers make the most of the snow

More than six million people are reported to have taken the day off work yesterday, and more than 3,000 schools were shut due to the heavy snowfall. It was weather that many people have not seen for 18 years, and as a result many railway stations, bus stops or roads were closed or impassable. Many people headed instead for the nearest park or field instead to throw a few snowballs.

One North London skier told how she and some friends headed up to Primrose Hill yesterday with their skis, via the London Underground. "The reaction from everyone on the tube was pretty much as you'd expect, the odd raised eyebrow and I'm not sure everyone appreciated the safety factor of checking the tube map out on the way home to make sure we knew where we'd gone." "We bumped into some seasoned long-skis-with-rear-entry-boots chaps on the top of Primrose Hill, then bumped into some guys from our season and were able to hijack their kicker. We were mildly perturbed by the grassy nature of the run-up and the even-more-grassy landing, but we acquired an audience at the top cheering each descent and started feeling like celebrities. We then skied off down to the pub for a spot of après where we were unceremoniously refused Jaeger-bombs, Chartreuse and Genepy, so settled for pints of Amstel instead".

Heavy snow hits the UK

South-east England experienced the heaviest snowfall for 18 years yesterday, and major airports were closed, motorways slowed to a standstill and many train services were cancelled as a result of the extreme weather. In London, commuters struggled to get to work after buses were suspended and many parts of the Underground stood down due to the dangerous conditions. Despite snow ploughs working to clear tracks, rail services in and out of the South East of England were mainly cancelled or severely disrupted. On the roads thousands of gritters were out but there was gridlock reported on many major routes including the M25.

The North Downs and Pennines bore the brunt of the blizzards with at least 10 inches reported in many places. However the snow extended across much of the country with four inches of snow being commonly found. In Scotland, heavy snowfall shut dozens of schools and caused difficult driving conditions and flight cancellations. Airports in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen have cancelled more than 60 flights due to the extreme conditions south of the border. The heavy snowfall hasn't hit all the Scottish resorts as yet, but Cairngorm and Glenshee have had some light dustings and all the resorts are expecting more snow during the coming week.

The Met Office has issued an extreme weather warning for England, Wales and eastern Scotland, and more snow was forecast for today.

Heavy snow returns to Europe's ski resorts

Storms are set to bring heavy snowfall to European ski resorts this week after a two week sunny spell.

More than a metre of snow is forecast for the French resorts of Les Deux Alpes, Alpe d'Huez, La Plagne, Les Arcs and Meribel, and the Swiss resort of Verbier. Lech and Obergurgl, in Austria, are expecting more than half a metre of snow, while the Italian resorts of Cervinia and La Thuile are expecting almost a metre. Many other European ski resorts are expecting between 25 and 50cm.

"This new snow has come at the perfect time," said a spokesman for the Ski Club of Great Britain. "It's been cold and sunny over the past few weeks, which was starting to affect conditions on south facing slopes," he added.

Snow has already begun to fall in some resorts, the French resorts of Val d'Isère and Tignes received 20cm of snow on Sunday and have a further 75cm forecast. In the Italian resort of Courmayeur, 15cm fell on Monday and a further metre of snow is forecast to fall before the weekend.

"These are some of the best conditions that I've ever skied in Courmayeur," said Jonny Baird, a mountain guide in the Courmayeur and Chamonix area. "There is powder everywhere and it's thigh-deep in places."

This latest heavy snowfall will top up Europe's pistes ahead of the February half-term. However, many resorts already have an excellent base layer after heavy snowfalls in November and December, which saw the best start to a winter ski season in Europe since 1974.

In Britain, heavy snow in western Scotland over the past week has enabled Nevis Range to open for the first time this season and the resort is expecting a further 16cm of snow by the weekend. Glencoe, also in western Scotland, has 18cm forecast this week and is expected to open on Wednesday.

All Scottish ski areas open for first time this season

All five Scottish ski centres will be open by Wednesday this week, as heavy snow in Western Scotland allowed the two remaining centres yet to open for 2008-9 – Glencoe and Nevis Range – to open for the first time.

Glencoe plans to open this Wednesday at 10am, a spokesman commented, “Heavy snow over the last couple of days has improved the overall situation on the mountain. All runs are now complete although some are narrow in places.”

A spokesperson for Nevis Range to the north commented, “We are open for skiing! Fresh snow at all levels and most main runs complete but unconsolidated. Pisting is in progress and more runs will open as the week progresses.”

There has been less fresh snow in the East where the other three centres are located, and have been operating intermittently since back on Halloween 2008. However all three remaining centres there (Cairngorm, Glenshee and The Lecht) are open with limited terrain.

A cold Christmas and frosty New Year

After a sunny but cold Christmas period in the Alps, France and Switzerland are looking forward to more snow during the coming week, whilst over in North America, the heavy snow that continues to fall in both the east and west is a welcome sight.

In Europe, it's France which is expecting the heaviest of the snow over the New Year period. Isola 2000 in the Southern Alps, is expecting 75cm of snow over the next five days, in addition to the monumental amounts of snow they had two weeks ago. This resulted in the resort being completely cut off due to avalanches across the access roads.
The more northern part of the French Alps is expecting between 20cm and 40cm, which will be greatly appreciated by New Year skiers, as it has been very sunny in France for the last ten days and the pistes are getting increasingly packed down.

Switzerland is also expecting some snow during the middle of the week but isn't expected to be anywhere near as heavy as in France. The snowiest of the Swiss resorts should be Saas Fee and Zermatt where 31cm is expected to land by the end of the week.

Austria is set to be largely sunny for the coming week. Clear skies and cold temperatures should mean the fresh snow over the Christmas period can be perfectly preserved. Temperatures in the higher resorts will drop dramatically, especially in Obergurgl and Obertauern, so be sure to wrap up very warm this New Year!

Over in the US, Snowbird and Alta in Utah have both received nearly 150cm of snow in the last five days, living up to their legendary powder status. In Canada, Whistler should see a whopping 155cm of fresh powder over the next five days, whilst Revelstoke is 85cm and Kicking Horse is forecast a respectable 67cm of snow.

Snow for the Southern Alps!

The more southerly French resorts and the Italian resorts should benefit the most from the predicted storm, which could bring up to 100cm of fresh snow to some Italian resorts by Monday.

Cervinia, which has been open since early November, is expecting around 50cm over the weekend, and Madonna di Compaglio opened today, about a week ahead of schedule. They are expecting a phenomenal 100cm of fresh snow by Monday!

In France, Alpe d'Huez plans to open this weekend, along with Val d'Isère and Les Deux Alpes, and conditions are already looking good with a base of 60cm on the upper slopes and a light dusting expected on Saturday and Sunday.

Serre Chevalier is looking forward to 26cm of new snow thanks to the storm but doesn't currently plan to open until 13th December.

In Austria, it's been a great week for snow conditions and the Arlberg region and parts of the Ski Welt will be open from either Friday or Saturday. And in Switzerland, cold temperatures preserved the great snowfall that many resorts had over the weekend, and more is expected to arrive. Saas Fee and Zermatt should be particularly happy with over 60cm forecast in each resort!

Snow News

- There is fine sunny weather on Monday across the open Austrian resorts.
- The combination of last weeks fresh snow at Tignes and the cold weather this week is providing excellent riding conditions on the glacier.
- The Swiss resorts of Saas Fee and Zermatt both offer great autumn riding on their glaciers.
- Glorious sunny weather blesses the open Italian resorts on Monday.
- Geilo in Norway is open for snowsports but the amount of terrain available is limited at the moment.
- In Scotland Cairngorm is now closed for lift maintenance until early December. The Lecht is also now closed but this is due to the lack of snow.
- Breckenridge and Keystone in America opened over the weekend and Mammoth received 30cm of fresh snow on Saturday.
- Lake Louise and Mount Norquay at Banff in Canada both opened on 8th November, offering good skiing. Sunshine Village is scheduled to open on 11th November.