J2Ski Snow Report - March 6th 2025
J2Ski Snow Report - March 6th 2025
Published : 06-Mar-2025 06:35
Zell am See, Austria (and most of the Alps) got a lot of sunshine, and had quiet slopes, this week...
Sunny in the Alps, snow in the Rockies and (again) in Japan. Snow in the forecast for some parts of the Alps, Dolomites and Pyrenees next week.
The Snow Headlines - March 6th
- Sunshine dominated in the Alps.
- The deepest snow in Japan (and the world) reaches 7.5 metres.
- Heavy snowfall is forecast for the Pyrenees.
- Up to two-feet of snowfall in The Rockies.
Snow forecasts worldwide.
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World Overview
Spring has sprung in the Alps, even if we are still only in meteorological springtime; the traditional Astronomical seasonal measure still has a fortnight of winter to go.
Despite widespread spring conditions, most resorts have all their terrain open (more or less) so it's great spring skiing in the sunshine from mid-morning to early afternoon on the groomed runs and longer at higher altitudes. The avalanche danger has also dropped.
Elsewhere in Europe, the Pyrenees is the region that's currently cooler with regular snowfalls.
Scandinavia has had some snow too but it's had rain in some places too as temperatures have warmed.
In North America, the rain issue has impacted the East Coast as well and it has also been a drier week overall - although with snow in the Rockies.
Europe
Austria
It's been a week of near-constant sunshine in the Austrian Alps with warm, sunny weather and afternoon highs getting above +10C in lower valleys. It's classic springtime freeze-thaw weather, with overnight lows on higher slopes getting below -10C still.
Most Austrian ski areas continue to have almost all of their slopes open, despite temperatures causing the valley snowlines to climb ever higher. The Arlberg region around St Anton and Lech has the most terrain open in the country with 285km of slopes, more than 95% of its full area.
France
It's been a sunny week across the French Alps too, bringing beautiful conditions on the groomed runs after last week's snowfalls. It is March though so no surprise that temperatures are now reaching +10C in the afternoons in valleys, impacting snow quality.
All of the big French ski regions continue to report their slopes as 80-90% open for now.
There's no huge change in the forecast really other than a front expected to make its way north from the Pyrenees on Sunday which could bring 10-20cm accumulations, perhaps more, before the sunshine returns, to more southerly ski areas like Alpe d'Huez and Serre Chevalier. Further north though may not see anything or just a few centimetres.
Italy
It's been a largely sunny week in Italy as well after some light snow showers at the weekend, mostly focussed around the Trentino region where ski areas posted accumulations of up to 40cm over 72 hours with typically 5-15cm per 24 hours.
Other parts of the country remained dry and whilst the clear skies delivered low overnight temperatures, daytime highs at low elevations reached +10C impacting the quality of the generally thin cover on lower slopes.
Despite that most Italian ski areas remain almost fully open, the largest in the west, the Milky Way/Via Lattea with about 80% of its slopes and Dolomiti Superski in the East at 90%.
Aosta valley ski areas may benefit from the snow moving into the area early next week, which should at least provide a freshen-up, if not some decent powder.
Switzerland
Swiss centres have enjoyed the sunny weather too, with temperatures climbing into double figures above freezing in the afternoons in valleys and the snowline rising up the valley sides.
The freezing point has also been getting as high as 2500m altitudes after lunch but has still been dropping down to resort level overnight, giving the familiar springtime freeze-thaw conditions.
As elsewhere most Swiss ski areas reported 80-100% of their slopes open with several resorts including Saas Fee reporting 2.5m+ bases up high.
The sunshine is expected to continue for the next few days with a front moving in late in the weekend and early next week due to bring a change to conditions then, with moderate snowfall.
Scandinavia
More unsettled weather in Scandinavia than further south, especially in the region's west which has been one of the few parts of Europe reporting snowfall this week.
Unfortunately, it's also been reporting rain, sleet and gales at times so it's a case of some good days, some not so good. The rain and sleet reported at resorts like Hemsedal and Voss reflect the fact that we've gone from constantly sub-zero temperatures in January and February to currently a -8 to +8C range in the southern part of the region.
Overall though everything is looking pretty positive in terms of open terrain – at the maximum of the season to date for most areas.
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees have turned out to be the corner of Europe that's seen the most snowfall this week. It's been mostly low-level, a few centimetres here and there, particularly on the French side with St Lary posting 6cm on Monday, the most reported anywhere in Europe that day!
The snowfall has intensified a little in the past 24 hours and is expected to continue through the weekend as much of the rest of the continent remains dry. Temperatures are cooler here too in the -10C to +3C range so it seems that for powder hunters, this weekend the Pyrenees are the place to be.
Scotland
Scottish centres have seen some snowfall but also rain and sleet showers at times with temperatures climbing above +10C at base levels. So there's little open beyond the small areas of all-weather snowmachine maintained slopes at Glencoe, Glenshee, Cairngorm and The Lecht.
That said some natural snowpacks survive on high slopes and ski tourers at Glencoe have been able to use the access Chair to reach some of it, whilst at Cairngorm the re-opened funicular takes skiers and boarders to an in-bounds area around the Ptarmigan T Bar.
Nevis Range is yet to open this winter.
Eastern Europe
It's been a dry and sunny week right across the sweep of Eastern Europe from the far north in Poland and Slovakia to the south in Bulgaria.
The southerly Balkans have been posting lower temperatures than the Alps further north at times, although here too it's now been hitting +10C and higher at lower elevations.
Fortunately, reported spring base depths for resorts like Bansko and Borovets remain the best they've been for several years and both report almost all their runs open.
There's currently no real change in the forecast, with warm, sunny weather through the weekend, just a little cloud bubbling up in the north early next week.
North America
Canada
It's been a largely dry week across Canada with just some light snow showers in the West adding 5-10cm of fresh cover, although, in fact, bases have dipped about 10% as with slightly warmer weather and the snowpack settling, things have dropped slightly.
Across the west of the country, conditions remain excellent with great snow cover and everything open, temperatures up to -15 to +5C from their previously constantly sub-zero state.
It's a slightly more mixed picture in the East. Again conditions are good on the whole with everywhere open, but we have seen a return of warm weather spells bringing sleet and rain as well as the snow showers.
USA
A quieter week across the US with some snowfall, but not a lot, reported in the Rockies and on the West Coast, particularly for Utah and California.
The past 48 hours have seen up to 30cm of snowfall reported in Colorado and Utah's Snowbird say they've had 58cm (2 feet) since Monday.
As with Europe, temperatures have been climbing and sleet and rain has visited the Midwest and Northeast after the frigid winter months, leading some centres there to close temporarily until the rain has passed and the slopes regroomed.
Mammoth in California continues to post North America's deepest base at 4.5 metres after big snowfalls there last month.
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