Snow News last updated: 19 July 2010

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The weather at our featured European summer skiing destinations may be bright and sunny at the start of this week, but changeable weather is forecast before the weekend. Cloudy spells are expected which could deliver some wet weather. This could bring some snow to the glacier ski area towards the end of this week as the temperature is forecast to drop.

Fresh snowfall last week in Australia has improved the riding conditions and a light dusting fell on some of the New Zealand resorts over the weekend, freshening up their riding conditions.

Moderate to heavy snowfall is expected in South America this week so if you are heading to Chile or Argentina for snowsports your trip could be perfectly timed.

Las Lenas (40/85cm) enjoyed a nice sunny weekend but a cold one too.

Their snow is in great condition, especially on piste, but most of the snow away from the runs is fairly tracked out now. They could do with a fresh dump of snow, so the snow that is forecast on Tuesday night, 20th July, will be very well timed.

Cerro Catedral (10/150cm) has the deepest base depth of our reported Argentinean resorts.

Their snow is just as good as at Las Lenas and with 73cm of fresh snow forecast later this week there should be more awesome powder riding.

Skiing in Australia is still a lot better after the snowfall last week which brought upwards of 30cm with it. For a limited time there were fresh tracks to be had in the powder off piste.

At Mount Buller (26/82cm) it snowed again on Monday 19th July. Around 6cm fell over the course of the day which helped keep the snow nice and soft. Ten of their lifts were running on Monday 19th July so there is a good amount of variety in terrain.

The fresh snow that fell last week at Perisher (45cm) doubled their base depth and vastly improved their skiing too. For the first time this season off-piste skiing was realistically possible. The snow has now packed down which has helped cover up some of the rocks and stumps that were sticking out, away from the marked runs.

It looks like most of the snowy weather has now gone for the foreseeable future but it should be sunny and not too cold on most days.

The base depth has dropped again at Hintertux (125cm). The mild weather is taking its toll on the snow now and the runs are slushy from early in the morning. However, it is possible to ski there all day when most resorts only offer half-day skiing in the summer.

More mild weather is expected to continue until at least Friday 23rd July but it could turn a bit colder by the weekend, with freezing levels expected to drop to around 3000m.

The Dachstein Glacier (230cm) was closed on Monday.

It’s only possible to ski at Whistler (239cm) and Banff (145cm) in Canada now. Both resorts offer some good skiing as they received fresh snow on Tuesday 27th and Wednesday 28th April.

The weather at Banff is colder than you would usually expect at this time of year, with a mid mountain temperature of -4C and fresh snow falling.

Sunshine Village remains fully open and Lake Louise has seven out of a possible nine lifts operating.

Whistler has more limited skiing as only Blackcomb is open. However there are still 90 open runs available this week and on Wednesday 51 of them were groomed.

Skiing on Blackcomb should last until 24th May.

The bright and sunny weather that has recently blessed the Chilean resorts continued over the weekend and into Monday 19th July.

There is a lot of terrain open in the Three Valleys area which includes La Parva (256cm), El Colorado (130/210cm) and Valle Nevado (60cm).

The link from Valle Nevado to El Colorado was unfortunately not open on Monday 19th July so you could not easily ski throughout the whole area.The good news is that snow is forecast this week.

Termas de Chillan (110/250cm) and Valle Nevado are expecting the heaviest snowfall. Around 50cm of new snow could land by Tuesday 27th July.

The Pissaillas glacier at Val d’Isere closed on Sunday 18th July. Skiing is still possible at Tignes (80cm) and Les Deux Alpes (100cm). Both areas have typical summer snow conditions. Head up as early as possible if you want the firmest of the snow.

The park at Les Deux Alpes has wwenty-six lifts running on the glacier. Most of these lifts are in the park but there’s a good variety of skiing available elsewhere too.

As you might expect, given the bright and sunny weather across the majority of Europe at the start of this week, typical summer riding conditions dominate at the open Italian summer skiing destinations.

You can ski at both Cervinia (140cm) and Val Senales (240m) although the greatest amount of terrain is available at Val Senales where there are two red runs and three blue runs open.

Bright and sunny weather is forecast in Italy until Tuesday 20th July then wet weather could move in on Wednesday 21st. This is only expected to last for a day at Val Senales while it could last until the end of the week at Cervinia.

The Presena Glacier above Passo Tonale has closed for snowsports until the winter season begins.

A light dusting of new snow was reported at a few of the New Zealand resorts over the weekend. Mount Dobson (160cm), Mount Hutt (115cm) and Mount Olympus (85cm) all received a sprinkling of snow on Saturday 17th July, while Mt Lyford (180cm) faired a little better with 5cm reported on the same day.

Turoa (105cm) and Whakapapa (61cm) had a dusting fall on Sunday 18th July while Rainbow (32cm) reported new snow as recently as Monday morning, 19th July. The new snow is good news for Rainbow as they still do not have a deep snow base although there is already enough snow on beginner and intermediate slopes.

The T-bar is reportedly open up to tower number 8 but further snowfall is needed before they can allow this lift to open all the way. There is more good news in the forecast for the New Zealand resorts.

After a sunny day on Monday 19th July thick clouds are expected for the rest of this week and into next week bringing fresh snowfall to all of the resorts. Up to 33cm of new snow is forecast by the end of Tuesday 27th July.

This is the last week of summer skiing on the glacier at Whistler (100cm). The weather is still hot and sunny so make the most of the final skiing of the season while you can.

The park is open on the glacier this week and there is a small variety of pisted terrain available.

Great summer skiing can also be enjoyed at Timberline (160cm) in Oregon, America. Two lifts, Magic Mile and Palmer, are operating although the halfpipe is currently not available so if you want to practice your freestyle riding then you need to head to the Mile Canyon park.

The weather is forecast to be predominantly sunny again this week at both of our reported North American resorts so get up onto the slopes early for the best conditions.

The glacier ski area at Saas Fee (199cm) is open for snowsports with four pistes prepared as well as features in the snowpark.

You can also enjoy Swiss summer skiing at Zermatt (173cm) where four red runs and two blue runs are prepared daily along with freestyle features.

Sunny weather is forecast until Wednesday 21st July then clouds are expected to move in and these could bring some wet weather. The good news is that bright and sunny skies should again return by the weekend.

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