Spain's Formigal ski resort plans to open this weekend.

With the exception of Eastern North America, which is suffering from unseasonally warm temperatures and a complete lack of snowfall, most other parts of the Northern Hemisphere have enjoyed exceptional early season conditions leading to early openings.

Europe:

Resorts across the Alps, Dolomites and Pyrenees have reported big and on-going snowfalls.

Switzerland: Engelberg was virtually closed down by snow at the start of the week as a massive storm hit central Switzerland with over three feet of fresh snow. St. Moritz and the Engadin Valley received 1.3m (4.4ft). Most other Swiss resorts have done well, too. Sedrun, for example, received about a metre (three feet) of new snow on November 30th.

Austria: They had great snow in late October and early November, but suffered a warm spell along with the rest of the Alps through the middle of last month. But it, too, has also been receiving plenty of fresh snow. The Mölltaler glacier got 60cm (2ft) of powder and now has a 2.2m (7.3ft) base. Many other areas received between 20cm (8in) and 50cm (20in), including Axamer-Lizum, Sölden and Obergurgl-Hochgurgl. Most of these resorts were planning on opening this week.

France: More resorts are opening after good snowfalls across the country’s ski areas. Lans en Vercors, Val Thorens and Collet d’Allevard have already opened, alongside Meribel, Alpe d’Huez, the Grands Montets at Chamonix, Montgenèvre, Les Arcs and probably Courchevel 1850, Le Grand Bornand and La Clusaz. Val Thorens has reported 40cm (15in) of fresh snow and has one of the deepest bases in the country.

Italy: Bormio has the deepest base in the country at 2m (6.6ft), much of which fell in the past week. Other resorts reporting big snows include Madesimo with a metre (three feet) and Alagna, Cervinia, Livigno and Monterosa resorts reporting at least 45cm (20in) of new snow each. Many ski resorts will officially open for the season this coming weekend.

Spain: Forty-eight hours of heavy snowfall over the Pyrenees has left Formigal more than ready to open this weekend. Spain’s largest resort has over 1.5m (5ft) of snow on the higher slopes, around a metre (three feet) on the lower slopes, and more is predicted to fall over the next few days. There’s also fresh powder at Baqueira, Cerler, Panticosa and Sierra Nevada. All the main ski resorts will open on Friday for a four-day holiday.

Scandanavia: Conditions remain good at most Scandinavian ski areas to the north. Resorts in Norway reported up to 45cm (20in) of new snow in the past week, and this weekend there will be 38 ski resorts open.

Scotland: The ski season began in Scotland last weekend when Cairngorm opened runs. Torrential rain in the Scottish Highlands has been falling as snow on high ground, and with more precipitation forecasted, along with lowering temperatures, the start of the ski season is imminent at all five of the country’s ski centres. Cairngorm Mountain above Aviemore opened some beginner terrain at the top of the ski area this past weekend, accessed from the funicular railway.

North America:

Western United States: Temperatures are low enough for snowmaking, but precipitation has been rather limited and, outside of the Pacific Northwest, bases remain modest. In Washington and Oregon, many areas are open, with bases from two to seven feet, like Mt. Baker.

Eastern United States: A prolonged warm spell that stopped virtually all East coast ski areas from opening for Thanksgiving weekend has finally ended, and many resorts are reporting some snowfall and temperatures cool enough for the region’s mammoth snowmaking arsenal to fire up. Sugarloaf in Maine, Mount Snow and Stratton in Vermont and Whiteface and Belleayre in New York are among those who opened last weekend.

Western Canada: Most resorts have great snow cover, and several resorts opened early, or announced they’d be opening earlier than planned, including Fernie, Revelstoke, Silver Star and Kicking Horse. SkiRebel.com has reported extensively on Whistler’s record-breaking November snowfall, which in total officially passed 5.5m (nearly 18 feet) by the end of the month.

Eastern Canada: Although Toronto recently declared last month the driest November in 70 years without a snowflake, conditions have improved. Mont Sainte-Anne in Quebec opened last weekend after several postponements with at least four runs available. It reported 13cm (5in) of snow the previous weekend. Mont Sutton received 43cm (17in) of snow at the summit the same weekend, and it plans to open Dec 12. Mont Tremblant originally planned to open Nov 20th, and now hopes to open this weekend, a week before the 24 hour relay race charity event.

Sources: skiinfo.co.uk, SamInfo

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