Spring resorts remain open
Although most resorts have now closed, there is still some skiing to be had and, after a year of mixed snowfall, many now have excellent powder snow conditions.
There was 40cm of fresh snow yesterday at the Hintertux glacier
Of course, most resorts end their seasons by the end of March and most by mid-April – coinciding with the end of the Easter holidays – but a handful of glaciers and high, snow-sure resorts usually manage to keep going longer for die-hard skiers, and this year is no exception.
Ironically, as resorts close left, right and centre, the snow conditions in the Alps are superb right now.
Thanks to a change in the direction of the Jetstream, which has allowed Arctic air to enter Europe in the past few days, there has been heavy snowfall in many parts of the Alps. Consequently, many resorts closed at the weekend with heavy hearts. Some ended their season with parties, pop concerts and fun races as we reported in an earlier story. We took part in the Ortisei Spring Race Party – you can read how we got on HERE!
Many of the big Alpine resorts closed their doors at the weekend, including La Plagne, Méribel, Verbier, St Anton (where we were skiing just after Easter – you can read our report HERE) and Courchevel. The resort posted up this little ‘thank you’ video from the resort!
The following resorts are still open:
Until 1 May: Chamonix, Cervinia, Tignes, Val d’Isère and Ischgl, where the season ends one day after their massive Top of the Mountain pop festival – click HERE for details.
Until 8 May: Sölden (glacier), Livigno, Tignes (glacier) and Val Thorens.
CairnGorm Mountain remains open in Scotland, with fresh snowfall this week
Bizarrely, skiing is expected to continue into the first week or two of May in the Scottish Highlands following the heavy snowfall and bitterly cold temperatures of recent days. Cairngorm and Glencoe are remaining open for the foreseeable future. In fact, this weekend, Cairngorm is staging the Ptarmigan Freestyle Jam at its Snowpark.
And if you just can’t wait until next season, the Austrian resort of Hintertux – which received a whopping 40cm of fresh snow yesterday – is planning to keep its glacier open throughout the summer; and there are 365-days of skiing on the Zermatt glacier too, conditions permitting.
Other related posts:
Glacier skiing
Why ski in springtime?
Springtime skiing
End of season resort finales
Photo credits:
CairnGorm Mountain Facebook page
Hintertux Facebook page
