* Whistler is “Games ready”
* Olympic Snowboard venue Cyprus Mountain to host events as planned despite warm weather.
* US overtakes Europe For Deepest Snowbase in the world
* Another few feet in the Alps.
* More than 40 die worldwide in avalanches in the past week.

Heavy snow across North America, dubbed ‘Snowmaggeddon’ by media there, has resulted in travel chaos, but has also seen the country’s highest accumulated snow depth at Kirkwood in California overtake Europe’s deepest non-glacier accumulation for the season to date at Chamonix, both a few centimeters over four metres (13.3 feet).

Not every part of north America is experiencing great snow cover, unfortunately one of the few losers in the current snowy forecast is 2010 Winter Olympic snowboarding and freestyle skiing venue Cypress Mountain, close to Vancouver, which is battling with warm weather and a resulting lack of snow. Whistler, further north, has declared itself Games ready.

In Europe conditions have quietened a little after heavy snow at the end of last week which means conditions are generally excellent across most of the continent.

However avalanche danger is high in many areas off piste, with Italy suffering a number of deaths, leading to the possible introduction of legislation to levy large fines for those who ski or board in areas with an avalanche danger warning and of imprisonment for people who also set off avalanches.

Greater death tolls were reported in Iran (8 people) and India (17 soldiers) after extreme weather conditions brought heavy snow followed by strong winds creating unstable conditions.

In Europe, it has snowed a lot on the French mountains throughout the past week, with the heaviest snow leading up to the weekend. The snow is continuing today and is expected to continue for the next few days. Up to 60cm (2 feet) has been reported over the last week with resorts like Meribel, La Plagne and le Grand Bornand all reporting big falls.

The Vosges region, one of the lower mountain area for ski resorts in the country has received a particularly notable covering of up to 50cm (20 inches) at 1,200m. At Gerardmer, one of the region’s leading ski areas, Fabrice Clair, manager of the resort, said “It has snowed more than 50cm on one day, greatly increased the snow depth which had been very thin at the beginning of winter. It’s now 1.2m (4 feet) in place thanks to artificial snow, but there is an average layer of natural snow from 50 to 60cm over the entire ski area.”

Across France as a whole Chamonix Mont-Blanc has the top snow depth of 4m (13.3 feet) with Oz en oisans and Vaujany below Alpe d’Huez at 3.2m (10.6 feet), Flaimne and La Clusaz have 2.9m.

Switzerland also witnessed snowfalls last weekend. Arosa and Klosters in Grisons were among those issuing powder alarms on Saturday. Even more snow fell in the Valais with Champoussin receiving 60 cm (two feet) in only 48 hours. The resort issued just another powder alarm this morning because of a further 30cm (one foot) snowfall, as did its neighbour in the giant Portes du Soleil ski region, Morgins.

The Swiss WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF expects 10-20 cm of new snow for Switzerland’s’ northern slopes and for Lower Valais this afternoon – but also “widespread considerable avalanche danger”.

The deepest snow depths in Switzerland are at Lötschental and Engelberg with 262cm/245cm (8-9 feet) respectively . Andermatt, Saas Fee, Laax and St. Moritz each have two metres or more. All of them had some new snow in the last week.

Austria too has had a lot of fresh snow in the past week.

Martha Schultz of Mölltal glacier’s lift compay told us the ski resort had 40cm (16 inches) of new snow last weekend so there were “very good conditions” on the slopes. “But please don’t ignore the current avalanche situation,” she added. On Sunday 30cm (a foot) of new snow in 24 hours had caused a powder alarm for the glacier, which currently has the greatest snow depth in Austria – three and a half metres *12 feet).

Willi Krüger of Pitztaler Gletscherbahnen told Skiinfo, “On the Pitztal Glacier the snow cover, which was already great, was topped by 30cm of fresh snow in 48 hours at the weekend. You can only call this ideal conditions”.

Sölden got 27 cm of new snow last week. They have a snow cover of 192cm (over six feet) on the glacier today. For this afternoon and for tomorrow more new snow is expected in Austria.

To the north, the heavy snow falls of last week lessened a bit in Germany last week. Still there was up to 53cm (nearly two feet) of new snow in seven days in Upper Bavaria. Ofterschwang in the Allgäu region had 33cm (13 inches) in a week. Yesterday snow started falling again in Germany and weather forecasts say there is more snow to come today and tomorrow.

Italy has had a good deal of heavy snow across the country, leading to great powder conditions, but high avalanche risk. Monterosa has had some of the biggest falls of the past seven days with 72cm (2.4 feet) accumulated.

The Pyrenees are still looking very nice with more than 1.5m (five feet) of sbnow on the top of the slopes in Andorra.

More cold weather and snowfall are expected through the week there and in Spain, where the top ski resorts have reported powder snow conditions.

Formigal has some of the deepest snow in the area with 220cm depths and 136km of slopes open. It will celebrate the Pirineos Sur Winter Formigal this weekend, a fusion musical Festival with performances from the School of Samba da PraÇa, Dj Wagner Pa and Jazz Rap Band US3.

Sierra Nevada in the south of the country has the deepest snow in Spain however and is reporting 300cm (10 feet) on upper slopes and 99 km of runs open.

Scandinavia saw some of the biggest falls at the start of this week. In Sweden 11 resorts reported between 15 and 25cm (6-10 inches) during the past 7 days. The most was at Kappruet with 25cm but the region’s largest ski resort, Åre was only just behind on 24cm.

The biggest snow depth in the country at the moment is in Ramundberget with 117cm followed by Vemdalen with 115cm. The weather forecast looks promising with more snow in the south and far up north. Sween’s most popular radio show, Rix Morronzoo broadcasts live from Åre this week from 10-13 Feb.

In Eastern Europe there’s been a few inches of fresh snow at most resorts and conditions are now good at most areas across the region with up to 1.5m (five feet) of snow on upper slopes at Bulgaria’s Bansko.

In Northwest Europe there’s still snow in Belgium and the Netherlands. The recent snowfall (this morning) led to mega traffic jams in Belgium of up to 900km, in part because trucks blocked tunnels in Antwerp and Brussels due to snow on the road and in the Netherlands the was a 380km traffic jam which is longer than the distance from the very south to the northern border of the country.

Snow Fun can still be found in the East and Southern part of Belgium where Nordic and Alpine resorts have built up to a 40cm (16 inch) snow layer. Alpine resorts Spa and Baraque Fraiture are leading, together with the Nordic resort Losheimergraben.

Across the North Sea all five Scottish ski areas remain open, with most receiving some new snow in the past week and Cairngorm continuing to have the deepest snow, although all resorts have good cover. Cairngorm staff were rewarded this week with a special commemorative bottle of whisky from a local distillery in recognition of their efforts to ‘dig out’ the ski centre from the heavy snow in January. Next week the resort will be organising torchlit descents to celebrate the Olympics.

In North America there have been snowfalls at most resorts, particularly on the US West Coast in California and further north in Alaska, where Alyeska has had the biggest snowfall in the world over the past 7 days – 107cm or 3.6 feet. Other resorts across the West have had big falls of 2-3 feet, although the snow hasn’t been quite as abundant in Colorado and other ski areas in the Rockies, although most have had good falls there too.

More unusually large falls have been reported in South eastern US states like Virginia where ski areas have reported 50cm (20 inch) accumulations an there have been similar large falls in other southern US states to the west like Arizona and New Mexico.

Whistler, host venue for the men’s and women’s alpine skiing competitions, will athletes training on the Olympic courses from today. The first alpine competition is the Men’s Downhill on February 13th, the first day of Games competition.

“International Olympic Committee delegates recently skied the course and were very pleased with the results,” says Tim Gayda, Vice President of Sport for the Olympic organisers VANOC. “From the beginning of the season, VANOC and Whistler Blackcomb crews have worked hard together to prepare the courses to create a very dense base of snow that involved a massive snowmaking effort.

Add to that the incredible amount of natural snow that has fallen in Whistler this season, and we’re now ready to deliver an Olympic-class alpine skiing venue that will live up to the reputation that the renowned Dave Murray Downhill course holds the world over. We look forward to debuting the spectacular new woman’s course on Franz’s Run. We’re in to the home stretch on our final preparations.”

Deep snow at Whistler Blackcomb is not unusual, but reaching the average annual snowfall (10.13 metres/ 33 feet) this early is truly unique. Since snow reporting began in the 1979/80 season, this is the first time that Whistler Blackcomb has received this much snow by the end of January. The prior record was set in 2006/07 when 945 centimetres or 31 feet of snow fell by January 31.

The news is not so good at Cypress Mountain, the Olympic venue for snowboarding and freestyle events, is continuing to battle to be Games Ready however, although Olympic organisers insist it will be. Cypress is close to Vancouver which has been unseasonably warm all year and most of the snow at resort level has melted. The venue has been using hay bales to build structures like the half pipe and has been trucking in snow to cover them, rather damaging the ‘green’ reputation the Games have been striving for.

With no good news on lowering temperatures as the Games get closer the organisers are now using a Sikorsky S64 Skycrane, the second largest helicopter in the world, to transport snow onto the Olympic competition areas. Snow from the upper regions of the mountain will be moved by the helicopter and transported to the areas they are needed.

* Germany “drowning in powder”
* Up to a metre of snow in 48 hours in the Pyrenees
* Up to a metre of new snow for resorts in Norway
* Belgian snow causes traffic chaos and powder heaven.

It’s cold across Europe and it’s been snowing, often heavily, right across the continent, with hundreds of powder alarms (snowfall at an individual resort of more than 20cm/8 inches in 24 hours) over the past five days. The snow is still falling and conditions are excellent at almost all major resorts, but beware of avalanche danger conditions off piste.

There have been more than 50 powder alarms for French resorts since last Friday. The Pyrenees have seen the heaviest snow, with one resort reporting a metre (3.3 feet) of snow in 48 hours over the weekend.

Vincent Doutres Business Manager of Espaces Cauterts in Pyrenees siad

“In Espaces Cauterets we have a superb snow. This week it snowed a metre in 48 hours. The ski area was entirely safe this weekend but we closed 15% of the terrain for security reasons. Those runs are in a slightly sensitive area. Our guests must beware of off-piste skiing as the avalanche risk was 4 / 5 in all stations of the Pyrenees because of heavy snowfalls in recent days. The snowpack needs a little time to stabilize. The snow conditions are ideal for the 20,000 skiers expected next week for the February vacation.”

There have also been large snowfalls in the Northern Alps with Avoriaz reporting 60cm (two feet) of new snow. Chamonix Mont-Blanc reports its base remains the world’s deepest at4.2m. Alpe d’Huez now has 3.2m (Nearly 11 feet), Flaine 282cm (9.5 feet) and La Clusaz 2.7m (9 feet).

To the east, Swiss resorts have reported huge snowfalls over the past few days, led by Filzbach – Kerenzerberg which has received two metres (Nearly 7 feet) of new snow in the past week.

Andermatt has the second deepest snow depth in Switzerland at present with 2.4m (8 feet) on the mountain and 150cm (5 feet) in the valley. On Friday the resort issued a powder alarm and has also reported 45cm (18 inches) of new snow in seven days.

“At the moment there is more than enough snow to enjoy all kinds of winter sports here in Andermatt. Freeriders will also get what they want. On the slope with its beautiful new snow it’s a real pleasure to enjoy the great skiing and boarding.” Peter Heinzer, managing director of Andermatt-Gotthard Sportbahnen, said.

Most of the leading resorts have reported between 30 and 60cm (1-2 feet) of new snow over the weekend, including Crans Montana, the Four Valleys and Saas Fee.

Italy has seen plenty of snow in the past week too, if perhaps a little less than the northern Alps. Falls of 30-50cm (12-20 inches) over the past week have been reported by resorts like Andalo and Piancavallo. The Marmolada glacier has a 3.8m (nearly 13 foot base), Bormio 3m (10 feet) and Courmayeur up to 245cm (8 feet).

In the Central and Eastern Alps, Austria has been seeing some big snowfalls too, right across the country. St Anton has reported another 15cm (six inches) of snow today which follows on reports of 20cm (8 inches) yesterday in the SkiWelt, Kitzbuhel, St Johann and many other Austrian resorts.

Over the past week Austrian resorts have accumulated up to 80cm (2.7 feet) of powder, with the Kleinwalsertal region reporting 75cm (2.5 feet) of new snow and St Johann 60cm (two feet).

Germany to the north is absolutely drowning in powder at the moment with more than 100 powder alarms, for snowfalls of 20cm (8 inches) in less than 24 hours, since Friday.

In the Allgäu the resorts Alpsee Bergwelt and Grasgehren reported half a metre of new snow on Sunday. The latter has 180cm (six feet) of snow on its upper slopes now. Oberstdorf’s ski resort got 20-30cm yesterday.

The biggest snowfalls of the last few days were reported from the Sauerland (Central Uplands) though Giller-Hilchenbach topped the list with 70cm in 24 hours this morning. Medebach had reported the same yesterday.

It still hasn’t stopped snowing, especially in the Bavarian Forest and the Sauerland in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Balderschwang in the Allgäu has reported nearly 1.4m of snow in the last week. Werner Fritz of Guest Information Balderschwang said the current snow depth there is between 100 and 150 cm.

“At the moment we have ‘champagne powder’ that couldn’t be any better. The slopes are perfectly prepared”, he said.

* More Heavy Snow In Western North America
* Quieter In Europe
* Heavy snow in Russia leads to cancellation of international freeride contest at 2014 Olympics resort.
* Seven feet of snow (2.1m) in seven days at Utah’s Snowbird.

Europe has had quite a quiet week in terms of fresh snowfall but in most areas temperatures have been low, helping to maintain snow quality, and small snowfalls have helped freshen up terrain at a number of centres. In North America there have been more huge snowfalls on the west side of the continent.

In France, the cold temperatures have kept the snow in excellent condition for skiing. There’s been little new snow, except for a big snowfall recorded on Monday in the country’s Vosges region. Otherwise resorts have received 10 to 20cm (4-8 inches) through the week. However new big snowfalls are expected for tomorrow, Thursday.

Laurie Martin Communications Officer of Montgenèvre told us, “Snow conditions are optimal in Montgenèvre with 220cm at the top of the slopes and 160cm at the bottom. The whole area has been open since the end of December and the connections with the “Voie Lactée” (Milky Way) are also open, which is not always the case at this time of the year. The coming February holidays will be good for skiers. It has been snowing steadily since mid-December and we have a very good season, with skiers happy. The snow cover is good and stable and we expect new snowfall on Friday.”

Chamonix will host the Nissan Freeride on Saturday and then stage the postponed opening event on the next suitable day afterwards. The Russian event was due to have been staged in the 2014 Olympic venue of Sochi last week but had to be cancelled due to strong winds and heavy snowfall there.

Chamonix currently has the deepest snowbase in France with 3.9m (13 feet) on upper slopes. Flaine has 2.65m (nine feet), La Clusaz 2.6m (8.7 feet) and La Grave 2.5m (8.3 feet).

Snow began to fall again in Austria and Germany in recent days with more new snow forecast for tomorrow and in to the weekend – especially in the western Vorarlberg, Tirol and Salzburg provinces. Temperatures have been as low as – 20 degrees and colder in some parts.

The deepest snow is on the glaciers (Mölltal 330cm/11 feet, Kaunertal 209cm/7 feet on upper runs). Sölden got the most snow in the country this week with 25cm (10 inches) with Kleinwalsertal reporting the biggest single fall of 17cm (six inches). Maria Alm/ Hochkönig and Alpbach had 10cm (4 inches) each.

It’s a similar picture in Switzerland where Elm reported the most new snow of the past week, with 30cm (a foot) accumulated. Disentis, Davos and Saas Fee got 12-15cm (5-6 inches) each. Andermatt has the biggest snow depth with 210cm (7 feet). Saas Fee and St Moritz have only a few centimetres/inches less.

Italy has also had a quiet week although low temperatures have brought some snow at low altitude in the North of the country and also in the central Appennine mountains. It’s snowing there now with Limone and Prato Nevoso in the north west reporting 20-25cm (8-10 inches) so far today. The Presena and Marmolada glaciers both have the most snow with about 3.9m (13 feet) on upper slopes, Bormio has 3 metres (10 feet).

The cold weather has extended as far as Belgium where recent fresh snow fall (10cm/4 inches on 24 Jan), combined with the cold temperatures (-5°to -15°C) has led some nordic resorts in the East of the country to re-open their tracks. Baraque Michel, Mont Spinet and Losheimergraben are offering Nordic Skiing on 10cm of snow. Other resorts, and hopefully also the Alpine resorts will follow as more cold and snow is predicted for next week.

There’s been little new snow in the past week in the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain. Base depths in Andorra remain relatively good with 60-130cm (2-4.3 feet) at most areas providing perfectly adequate cover on all but the steepest slopes. A new terrain park has also opened at Cerler in Spain, claiming to be the largest in the country with 18 lements and a length of 2.5km

Although there has been little new snow this week, cold weather has helped Spanish ski resorts to maintain and improve conditions on the slopes and Cerler has some of the deepest snow in the country with 175cm (nearly 6 feet) on upper slopes. Typically resorts have 30-105cm (1-3.5 feet) at the base of their runs and 150-210cm (5-7 feet) on upper slopes. However Sierra Nevada in the south reports the greatest snow depth of three metres (ten feet) at the top and Formigal has the most terrain open with 136km (80 miles) of runs. More snow is expected tomorrow.

In Eastern Europe there have been some snow showers, particularly in the Czech and Slovak Republic, but it remains a moderate, if improving, first-half of the season in Bulgaria where cover remains rather thin at Borovets and Pamporovo, although better in Bansko.

Scandinavia has not had much snow in the past week, with regional leader Are reporting 7cm (three inches) of new snow on Monday and Nalovardo this most with 11cm. The weather looks set to change in the next 24 hours with snow almost everywhere (It’s already falling) and up to a foot (30cm) of new stuff expected in the next few days in the mountains.

Resorts in Norway have begun issuing powder alarms today and Kvitfjell has one of the biggest snowfalls of the past week, with 33cm (13 inches) accumulated.

In Scotland conditions are excellent at Cairngorm, which continues its superb season with up to 1.8m (six feet) on upper slopes and 60cm (two feet) on lower runs. The area has been closed for prolonged period over the past three weeks as heavy snow blocked roads and buried lifts and restaurants, but is now fully open with great conditions. The two other eastern Scottish ski areas at Glenshee and The Lecht don’t have as much snow but do have enough to be in great shape. On the West Coast the other two Scottish areas of Glencoe and Nevis range are open but with less snow.

Heavy snow up and down North America’s Pacific Coast has brought huge snow accumulations to most resorts, and also caused operational difficulties at some.

In the north there’s been yet more now at Whistler, with the Olympics now just over a fortnight away. Its season-to-date snowfall is now nearly 10 metres (30 feet). Fellow host Cypress Mountain also had a respite from the thaw and rain that is threatening the snowboarding and freestyle venues, with some fresh snow there too.

To the south of the region thousands of southern Californians who flocked to Mountain High resort in the San Gabriel Mountains, which has received five feet (150cm) of snow in recent storms, were turned away by police due to dangerous road conditions and diminishing fuel and food supplies. Truck convoys were organised to deliver food, supplies and fuel to the area on Monday, with roads re-opening that evening. However more snow is forecast, if on a smaller scale.

John McColly, Mountain High’s Director of Marketing said, “There is a reason I am in this business. And this is it. Skiers and snowboarders that braved the storm are grinning from ear to ear. And I’m one of them.”

With the fresh snow there is an enormous temptation to go out of bounds but both Mountain High and the Los Angeles County Sherriff’s department advise against that.

Says McColly, “Anything outside of Mountain High’s boundaries is not patrolled so if you run into any trouble, you are on your own. There is plenty of terrific tree skiing and natural terrain within Mountain High’s permitted area so stay in bounds, enjoy the fresh snow, and be safe.”

It’s a similar story at other western resorts, Jackson Hole has reported more than three feet of new snow, Snowbird in Utah, seven feet in seven days.

Up in British Columbia, monumental snowfall over the last week has created perfect conditions at Mount Washington Alpine Resort. With a mid-mountain snow base of 320cm and 399cm at the top, the resort is once again the home of Canada’s deepest snowpack. The news couldn’t be any better for the first wave of Olympic athletes who arrive this week to train at the Island mountain. “We received over a metre and a half of snow in the last six days,” says Resort spokesperson Brent Curtain.

The Chinese Biathlon team arrived in the Comox Valley late Thursday and hit the snow on Friday, January 22nd. The team will train at the mountain’s popular Nordic Centre, an obvious choice for numerous cross-country and biathlon teams over the next month. A total of 26 teams from 15 countries are performing their final on-snow preparations at Mount Washington before heading back to the Lower Mainland and Whistler for the Games.

It’s been less promising on the East coast with warmer weather and some resorts reporting rain over the weekend, but it’s now colder in most areas and Smugglers Notch in Vermont is among those reporting fresh snow in the past 24 hours.

Elsewhere in the world, Japan’ Niseko looks set for record breaking January snowfall.

“Consistent snow falls for the last two weeks of December and another metre to celebrate the New Year here in Niseko have made for some epic skiing conditions with waist deep powder for everyone! With a village average top temperature of -2 °C and an average low of -8 °C since the New Year the base is in great condition. Get ready for some of the lightest, driest powder on the planet- the forecast is for continued moderate to heavy snow falls for the next week.” said an excited Ski Japan statement