| Snow Report - 26 Feb 2015 | | Last snowed | 24-Feb-2015 |
| Fresh snow | 25 cm |
| Lower slopes | 70 cm |
| Upper slopes | 270 cm |
| Pistes | | Piste state | Excellent |
| Runs to resort | Excellent |
| Off piste snow | Tracked |
| Comments | Fresh snow providing some great skiing |
| Lifts open | 21 |
| Lifts total | 21 |
Snow Overview - Switzerland (snow news updated 26-Feb-2015)
The sun was shining brightly on Thursday 26th February and with cold temperatures in place across the Swiss Alps, the snow conditions are excellent. Packed powder conditions are to be found on piste and off the slopes there are some powder pitches still there to be skied.
Conditions in the 4 Valleys area, encompassing resorts such as Nendaz (60/200cm) and Verbier (60/190cm) are fantastic following around 40cm of fresh snow this week. The Ski Club Leader in Verbier has been reporting great conditions on the off piste itinerary runs, although they became tracked out quite quickly.
Saas-Fee (70/270cm) is in great condition at present, with heavy snow over the weekend setting up the slopes perfectly for the sunny spell of weather this week. There are great piste conditions across the mountain and thanks to the sunshine, the visibility was excellent - this can occasionally be an issue on the high altitude slopes above the resort.
Conditions at Leysin (40/130cm) and Les Mosses (50/60cm) have improved significantly thanks to the recent snowfall. Any bare patches have been covered up nicely and some good off piste conditions have even been reported in recent days.
Lots more snow is in the forecast for Switzerland in the coming days as snow clouds move in during the course of Thursday night. A further 20cm is forecast prior to the weekend before a further spell of heavy snow sweeps in on Sunday and Monday. Current forecasts are suggesting between 20 and 60cm could fall, with the heaviest snow in the northwest of the country.
European Weather Outlook
Yet another period of snow is set to move into the Alps from the west during Thursday night, continuing through Friday to drop a further 20cm for many resorts. Almost anywhere can expect new snow by Saturday morning, but the heaviest falls will be in the north and the west. The sun may make a brief appearance on Saturday before another wave of snow, this time much heavier, sweeps across the Alps. On current forecasts, Sunday and Monday are set to be dominated by heavy snowfall, with the most intense precipitation falling in the north and west of the Alps. Snowfall totals are currently looking to be around 20cm in Italy and eastern Austria, but increasing steadily further north to between 40 and 80cm in France and Switzerland. Some of this may fall as sleet on the lower slopes on Monday as the freezing level nudges up just above some resort bases.
The heavy snow that has been dumping on the Pyrenees all week is set to slowly peter out during Friday, but not before a further 25cm of potential new snowfall. Saturday and Sunday are looking brighter which is great news, but following all the new snow lots of work will need to be undertaken by resort teams to open up the slopes. Bear in mind too that the freezing level is set to rise to around 2,500m this weekend which could produce some serious avalanche conditions following all the new snow. Please stay up to date with the very latest avalanche forecasts as the situation is currently very dangerous.
Thursday’s sunshine in Bulgaria is set to be replaced by thick clouds on Friday and snow is expected to fall. Some of the snowfall is expected to be very heavy, with up to 40cm forecast for the upper slopes by Sunday.
New snow is predicted this weekend across Scandinavia, with Norway expected to catch the most with around 20cm predicted on Sunday and Monday. The snow is set to be lighter in Sweden, but fewer sunny breaks are expected and a similar amount can be expected, perhaps more at Salen.
Cold weather returned to Scotland during Thursday, firming up the pistes across the country before the arrival of yet more snow in the coming days. For the best chance of brightness then aim for Saturday and Sunday, although both days could see some snow showers falling at times.