* Chamonix Snow Tally Reaches 4m.
* Rain at 2010 Olympic Venue closes slopes.
* 2km long snow slope opens in The Netherlands, ride up provided by free six-seat chairlift..
* Good conditions in the Alps .
* Good conditions in North America.

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc is currently reporting the deepest snow in Europe with a four metre (13.35 feet) accumulation.

The new snow last week, particularly on Friday, saw the French mountains receive healthy increases to their snow depths.

Further snowfalls are expected for the end of the week, particularly on Thursday with around 30cm (a foot) more snow expected at Tignes and Val d’Isere with Argentière and La Clusaz expecting 25cm (10 inches) more.

The Grand Massif area is also doing well with 270cm (nine feet) of snow lying.

Pierre Claessen, Manager of Flaine Tourist Office said, “This year, we received the most important snowfalls at Christmas. The snow is really good but people have to be careful when free riding as conditions off piste are very dangerous at the moment.”

The avalanche risk is especially high (4/5) at Abriès, Alpe du Grand-Serre, Auron, Ax les Thermes, Isola 2000, Les 7Laux and Serre Chevalier.

Switzerland has seen good snow falls in the past week with 40cm (16 inches) of new snow at Gstaad – Glacier 3000, which now boasts some of the deepest snow in the country with 181cm (six feet) of snow on upper slopes and 45cm (18 inches) in the valley.

The top snow depths in Switzerland however is at Andermatt-Gotthard with 220cm (over 7 feet). Saas Fee has 210 cm (7 feet) and St. Moritz just a little less with two metres (6.65 feet), it received 45cm (18 inches) more snow in the past seven days.

In Austria, Sölden had 37cm (15 inches) of new snow in the last week (it now has a 185cm/6.2 foot base)and Heiligenblut 35cm.

The Mölltal G0acier still has the most snow in the country (3.1m/10.3 feet) with the Hintertux Glacier on 205cm (just under 7 feet).

Germany received a lot of new snow with several powder falls in Bavaria yesterday. This came at the end of a week in which more than 80 German resorts reported 10-45cm (4-15 inches) of new snow.

The Zugspitzplatt has the deepest snow depth with 180cm (six feet) Oberstdorf has a little less with 170 cm (5.7 feet).

Northern Italy has reported some of the biggest snowfalls in the past 24 hours with Courmayeur and Val Senales both reporting 40cm of new snow, La Thuile 30cm (a foot).

These top off a week of heavy snow in the north of the country which has seen some of the biggest snow accumulations in Europe of the past seven days, with Limone Piemonte reporting 195cm (6.5 feet) and Arabba Marmolada 120 cm (four feet).

The country also has some of the world’s greatest snow depths – the Presena glacier above Passo Tonale reporting 430cm (14.3 feet) and Bormio 3m (10 feet).

Bormio will be staging a special non-competitive Peak to Creek event (peaktocreek.it) on January 16th at 10am with a 10km, 1800 vertical metre descent from Cima Bianca 3012m down to Bormio 1215m itself.

It’s been good news in the Pyrenees in the past week too with plenty of new snow boosting the previously rather average conditions in Andorra and helping Spain’s resorts open more runs.

In Eastern Europe conditions remain largely good in northern countries but less so in the south with some ski areas in Bulgaria such as Borovets and Pamporovo struggling with just a few centimeters of snow and warm temperatures.

Bansko is not suffering as badly as it had built up a bigger snow base in December and most runs are open there.

In Northern Europe temperatures have been low across Scandinavia although there’s been less fresh snow than the previous week. In Sweden Hemavan broke the season record with – 40.8 C on Saturday night. More snow is expected across the region at the weekend.

One unusual twist on the cold weather that is affecting much of the northern hemisphere is the opening of a new 2km long ski run opened on January 9th in the southern Netherlands in northern Europe. The temporary trail winds down around the 90m high Wilhelmina mountain.

The ‘mountain’ – which is in fact a spoil heap from a former mine – is already home to the world’s largest year round indoor snow centre, Snow World Landgraaf, with its 550m slope.

In a remarkable twist the centre allowed its indoor six-seater chairlift to be used by skiers and other snowsports fans to reach the top of Wilhelmina indoors, exiting the building through an emergency exit. Hot chocolate with whipped cream and mulled wine were served up to visitors.

It is not clear how long the snow and thus the ski run will last, but temperatures have remained around freezing, dropping to minus 5 Celcius at night, the same as the indoor temperature at SnowWorld.

Conditions are still generally good across North America. All the resorts in Tahoe as well as Mammoth in California are open and reporting fresh powder and a base of 6 to 9 feet (1.8-2.7m) in Mammoth, 3 to 6 feet (90cm -1.8m) in Squaw Valley and 2 to 3 feet (60-90cm) in Heavenly. It has been a dry winter in California to date with no threat of avalanches.

At Vail Rob Katz, Chief Executive Officer commented on the start of the season, “We are pleased with our early season, particularly given the current state of the economy and since snowfall came late to our Colorado resorts this year. Below average snowfall at our Colorado resorts leading up to the holiday season limited the amount of terrain open, which negatively impacted skier visits, including pass visits, during the early season and the beginning of the holiday season. Fortunately, recent winter storms brought significant snowfall to our resorts, which allowed us to open the vast majority of our lift serviced terrain at our five resorts. For example, Vail Mountain on December 18, 2009, had only 19 of its lifts and 28% of its terrain open, whereas Vail Mountain now has 30 lifts open and 95% of its terrain open, including all of the Back Bowls and Blue Sky Basin.”

Whistler has reported more fresh snow and the pattern has been repeated at many other Western Canadian resorts in resorts in Alberta and British Columbia. Whistler has a 2.35m (7.5 foot) base on the upper mountain and has received around 3cm (a foot) of new snow in the past few days.

However further south Olympic venue Cypress Mountain was forced to close on Monday due to heavy rain – not a great sign with the Games three weeks away and the half pipe needing to be maintained in good shape.

On the East Coast the weather has quietened down after the New Year storms with limited fresh snow in the past week. But most areas now have healthy bases and the weather has been cold enough for more snow making, so getting chance to clear access roads and prepare the pistes properly is seen as a good thing by most resorts.

* Snow and low temperatures in the Alps
* Eastern European resorts open en masse after low temperatures and fresh snow.
* Great snow across Canada
* Heavy snow on each side of the US
* More snow and a new chairlift opens today in Spain
* Fresh snow in Scandinavia and Scotland.
* Good conditions in Belgium.

Most of the world’s major ski regions are reporting relatively good snow conditions ready for the season’s peak Christmas and New Year holiday weeks. Low temperatures across the northern hemisphere have allowed for snowmaking to operate a maximum efficiency through the world’s now hundreds of thousands of snow guns, but this has hardly been needed at many resorts where the Alps, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Scotland and both coasts of north America reporting at least a foot (30cm) of new snow in the past week and in some cases as much as 1.2 metres (four feet). In most ski areas the snow is currently still falling.

Conditions in France are continuing to improve in the Alps with most resorts reporting snow over the past few days, and this is continuing right now.

La Clusaz appears to be doing the best, posting yet another 35cm (14 inches) of snow overnight this morning. It has received the most snow in France over the past week, with 117cm (nearly 4 feet) in the past week and now has the deepest reported base in France as a result, with 1.4m (nearly five feet).

Many other major French resorts are not far behind however and conditions are currently great at most, with fresh powder on a solid base. Les Contamines Montjoie and Peisey Vallandry each have 130cm (4.3 feet) bases with La Plagne and La Rosière1850 only 5cm (2 inches) less.

In common with the rest of Europe temperatures have been very low however, dropping to about -16°C in Le Grand Bornand on Sunday morning. All major French resorts are now fully or partially open.

Switzerland continues to top the list for powder in Europe. Today Vercorin reports a remarkable 90cm (three feet) of new snow, and eight out of the top ten snowfall reports in Europe are in Switzerland.

Andermatt-Gotthard claims the most snow in the country with 2.5m (over eight feet), St Moritz has 1.8m (over 6 feet), Laax 168cm (5.6 feet) and Engelberg 165cm (5.5 feet). After Vercorin with 1.6m (5.3 feet), Champoussin on the French border in the Portes du Soleil has had the most snow in the past week with a metre of fresh.

Italy continues to have the greatest snow depth in the world at the Presena (3.8m/12.7 feet) and Marmolada (3.2m/10.6 feet) glaciers above Passo Tonale and Arabba respectively.

The country has also seen some of the heaviest snowfall in Europe through the past week. With the north-western regions of Piemonte and the Aosta Valley doing especially well and snow falling in Turin. Bardonecchia and Macugnaga both reported 50cm (20 inches) of new snow each yesterday, Cervinia and La Thuile 40cm (16 inches) each.

Austrian ski areas typically received another 20-30m (8-12 inches) of snow at the start of the week,

St. Anton currently has 28 lifts opened and 68km of slopes prepared. After the powder alarm on Monday (20 cm) and 5cm of new snow so far today (Wednesday) the resort has 130cm (4.3 feet) of snow on upper slopes now and 30cm (a foot) in the valley. Wilma Himmelfreundpointner of St Anton Tourism commented, “I had the pleasure to enjoy the perfectly prepared slopes and the great mountain view on Sunday and I can only say it’s a winter’s dream.”

Across Austria the Mölltal glacier continues to have the most snow with 230cm (7.6 feet) , the Kaunertal glacier 191cm (6.3 feet) and the Hintertux glacier 170cm (6.6 feet).

Großglockner/Heiligenblut has had the most snow in the country in the past week with 40cm (16 inches). A quarter of it falling today. Bad Kleinkirchheim had 30cm (a foot) yesterday.

It snowed all weekend in Germany. The Allgäu Alps reported the biggest snowfalls in the country, but there was considerable powder in the central uplands, too. Temperatures reached a low of – 28C and immense snowfalls caused traffic chaos while hundreds of skiers and snowboarders entered the slopes in the Sauerland region and enjoyed up to 35cm (14 inches) of new snow that had fallen over the past week.

Ofterschwang reported 25 cm of new snow last night. The resort is open partially and will open completely on Christmas Eve tomorrow. Rainer Hartmann, manager of Ofterschwanger Bergbahnen was happy about the cold temperatures allowing snow production and also about the great snowfalls last night: “Now we can offer our guests a great ski resort for Christmas!” he said.

The Zugspitzplatt has the most snow in the country with 170cm (5.6 feet), Oberstdorf – Nebelhorn has 110cm (3.6 feet).
Heavy snow and low temperatures across most of Eastern Europe has allowed about 75% of the ski areas to either fully open or at least open some slopes in Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia to open at the weekend.

In Bulgaria, Pamporovo and Borovets have joined Bansko in opening their slopes this weekend, a week after Bansko. Snowfalls of up to 430cm have been reported and Bansko has the greatest base depth of up to 70cm (2.3 feet).

Romania‘s leading resort of Poiana Brasov has partially opened following fresh snow there, it is currently reporting temperatures in double digits below zero.

Most of Slovenia‘s ski areas also opened at the weekend too, after the warm snap that affected much of mainland Europe finally ended. Krvavec, which has been voted the best resort in the country by a Croatian Ski Magazine for three years in a row, has a 55cm (22 inch) base.

Most of Slovakia‘s leading ski areas have also opened at the weekend, the new Kosutka ski centre which opened last winter has 40cm (16 inches) of snow.

To the north some serious snow arrived last week in Scandinavia, particularly from Thursday through to Tuesday. In Sweden Bydalen got the most with 45cm (18 inches) of new snow, followed by Vemdalen with 39cm (16 inches). Hassela got 30cm (a foot) and Tandådalen 22cm (9 inches)

Vemdalen and Ramundberget have the greatest snow depths in the country at the moment with 80cm (Nearly three feet) to enjoy off-piste. The forecast shows really low temperatures all over the country for the upcoming Christmas Holiday.

It’s a similar picture in Norway with cold crisp weather (25 below zero this morning in Hemsedal) and fresh snow. Voss was one of the main beneficiaries, issuing a powder alarm at the weekend.

Spain has also had snowy news and the very cold weather currently common across Europe. A succession of Atlantic fronts has brought a mixture of snow and rain in the last few days. Now ski resorts are looking to the Christmas holidays optimistically. On Monday it snowed again in Madrid and snow is expected again all over Spain’s Ski resorts in the next few days.

Baqueira currently has the most terrain open in the country with 77km. Formigal is a few kilometres behind with 71km and has some of the deepest snow at 90cm (three feet). Conditions have improved a lot in Masella (25-55 cm powder and 41km) and has opened today a new ski area served by a new chairlift called La Pia Express.

Sierra Nevada is reporting 20-100 cm of powder snow but it is currently closed due to the strong wind.
Andorra has had a little new snow too but snow depths could still do with a perk up – they’re currently in the 30-60cm (1-2 foot) range.

Western Canada is still receiving plenty of snow after the record falls of November. Red Mountain in British Columbia says it has received 73 cm (29 inches) of new snow since last week and Fernie 35cm (14 inches) in the past 48 hours.

Whistler continues to build its incredible base ahead of the Olympics, with healthy falls through the past seven days meaning another 1.2m (4 feet) has fallen. Whitler’s season-to-date snowfall is now already nearing 7 metres (21 feet) and its mid-mountain base 2.5m (8.3 feet). Currently it recommends The saddle Gs course as one of the best on the mountain.

Eastern Canada is also looking good. Mont-Sainte-Anne has the largest open terrain in the Province of Quebec with 30 slopes open and nearby Stoneham Mountain Resort is following close by with 9 slopes. In total, almost 50km of slopes are available to skiers and riders, in addition to the 109km of XC trails open at the Mont-Sainte-Anne Cross-country Skiing Center!

The low temperatures of last week allowed Mont-Sainte-Anne to pursue its snowmaking efforts with 100% of its system in operation. Snow guns have now been moved to the mountain’s expert terrain to open a maximum number of runs for the holidays. So far the resorts have received 143 cm of snow.

It’s a similar picture in the US where, like in much of Europe, cold temperatures and heavy sow have brought chaos to metroplitan areas as well as plenty of snow to the si slopes of New England in great time for christmas and the New Year.

Whiteface mountain reports it has “a ton” of snow, most other resorts in the region are claiming several feet of new cover (30-60cm).

At Squaw Valley USA in California it just won’t stop snowing. Three weeks into December and the resort has already received 100 inches (2.5m) of snow. Days-on-end of snow accumulation have allowed resort operators to get the mountain 100% open for the Holidays. Revelers can catch Santa and his Elf in the Village or out on the slopes, enjoying the phenomenal conditions.

* More than 6 Feet of snow in 7 Days At Squaw Valley
* Snow in Madrid
* Cold weather for the Pyrenees, Alps and Northern Europe
* Germany gets much needed snow.

Over the past week the big snow news has been in the Western US where resorts in California have reported an average of almost a foot (30cm) of snow per day for the past week. Squaw Valley says it received more than six feet (1.9m) in seven days, and expects more at the weekend. The snow was greatly needed to boost base levels, which are now up around 1.5m (five feet) and represented nearly a fifth of the usual annual snowfall at the resort.

In Europe the best news of the past week has been a dramatic lowering in temperatures. This has led to double-digit below-zero temperatures at higher elevations, but more importantly means lower slopes are seeing subzero temperatures enabling the snowmaking guns to work even if mother nature isn’t providing enough of the natural stuff in some places.

It has been very cold since Sunday in France, just in time for the big increase in skier numbers expected at the weekend. Nearly all of the major resorts are now open, more than 40 in total and all are expected to open this weekend.

Overall there has been little fresh snow in France in the past week with about 10cm (four inches) falling on the Pyrenees and both the north and the Southern Alps. A little more snowfall is expected this Friday. La Clusaz currently reports the deepest snow in the country with 140cm (4.6 feet). Cauterets, La Plagne and Alpe d’Huez all have at least a metre.

World Snowboard Day returns for its 4th edition this Sunday, December 20th. The idea is to discover for free the joys of snowboarding and the snowboard culture.

Austria has had some new snow with lower temperatures helping to bring the freezing point further down the slopes.

The glaciers still have the greatest snow depths was Molltal leading the way with a 230cm (7.6 foot) base. Kaunrtal is not far behind with 1.9m (6.3 feet). The latest fresh snow in the country of 10-20cm (4-8 inches) has been reported at Eben, Zauchensee and Flachau.

Most Austrian resorts that are not yet open will open this weekend: “We’ve had fresh snow but a little less than expected, at the moment there’s 35cm (14 inches) on upper slopes.” said Anna-Christina Moser of Alpbacher Bergbahnen, “Snow conditions are good now not only because of the latest snowfalls but particularly because of the cold temperatures, allowing our 85 snow guns to produce snow 24 hours a day.”

Alpbach opens this Friday December 18th and will have their longest slope in operation and all the lifts at the Wiedersbergerhorn.
Stuhleck Semmering and Kleinwalsertal celebrated their winter openings last weekend.

Sandra Janser of Kleinwalsertal Tourismus said, “Last weekend we officially started the winter season and the long awaited snowfall arrived right on time. The slopes are in good condition now and we’ll open more lifts as soon as the snow will allow it”. Currently Fellhorn/ Kanzelwand has eight lifts in operation, Ifen and Waldmendinger Horn are likely to join next weekend.

Parts of Switzerland have received up to 55cm (nearly two feet) of snow in the past week. Laax, which is reporting the second deepest snow base in the country at present with 168 cm (5.6 feet) was one of the major beneficiaries with 51cm (20 inches), Disentis got the 55cm. Arosa and Kanderstag added 30cm (a foot) each.

Italy continues to report some of the healthiest snowfalls in Europe, with another 70cm (2.3 feet) in Val Gardena in the Dolomites, and 60cm (two feet) for Limone Piemonte in the west of the country. This week the snow started to cover central Italy (Lazio e Abruzzo) and for next two days the forecast are for snowfall down to altitudes around 400-500m in these areas.

Arabba Marmolada has the greatest snow depth in the country, and in Europe at present with 312 cm (10.5 feet), the Presena Glacier above Passo Tonale has 300cm (10 feet) and Bormio 190cm (6.3 feet).

The Sky Mountaineering World Cup will be staged this weekend (18 -20 December) in Pila and the Aosta Valley. The race makes ski mountaineering manageable in small stages and participation is limited to athletes with ski mountaineering licences from official bodies in Italy or any other country.

Cold weather has arrived in the Pyrenees too and last Monday has snowed in Madrid and today snow is expected again all over Spain. Aramon’s Javalambre (opening Friday December 18) and Valdelinares ski resorts received the greatest snowfall.

At the moment Baqueira Beret, with a 30-60cm (1-2 foot) base has the most terrain open with73km of runs, whilst Astun, has the most snow with an 85cm (nearly 3 foot) base on upper slopes. Most of the other resorts have similar bases to Baqueira but more limited terrain. Outside the Pyrenees in Spain only Sierra Nevada with 20-40cm (8-16 inches) and 10km of runs available is open for skiers.

Aramon, which runs several leading Spanish ski areas, has announced a big event for this winter called “Pirineos Sur Winter”. The First Edition of the Festival will take place in Formigal from February 12 until March 13 and feature a mix of local and International artists like Brazilian Carlinhos Brown on the programme.

It’s a similar snow picture in Andorra where snow depths are shallow and the snow hard packed, but again the current weather conditions should mean an improvement by the weekend.

In Eastern Europe, Bansko in Bulgaria had its annual celebrity opening last weekend with its biggest swathe of former ski stars yet in attendance including Permin Zurbriggen, Mark Girardelli, Paul Accola and Patrick Ortlieb. It reported 50cm of much needed snow arriving just in time for opening day and Bulgaria’s other leading resort, Borovets, has received fresh snow too and aims to open shortly.

In Northern Europe Germany has been enjoying its first good snowfalls of the winter. In many parts of the country it’s snowing again today and weather forecasters are predicting more over the next few days with temperatures below zero in most areas. The Central German Uplands currently have up to 25cm (10 inches) of snow. Snow making systems in Winterberg have delivered 20cm (8 inches) of snow and Wintersportzentrum Sellinghausen issued a powder alarm with 20cm of new snow. In the Schwarzwald, where the snow is falling, there is 20cm of snow on the Feldberg at the moment, in the Allgäu there’s up to 50cm (20 inches) of snow.

Further north in to Scandinavia resorts in Norway and Sweden have been reporting falls of 15-30cm (6-12 inches) through the last week. In Norway Voss was one of the big winners with 15cm (6 inches) of new snow. As with the alps it has also become very cold making good conditions for further snowmaking.

Across the North Sea to Scotland, Cairngorm above Aviemore remains open with a dusting of fresh snow, and more snow forecat over the next few days which could be good news for its neighbouring Eastern Highlands ski areas of Glenshee and The Lecht which have not been open to open so far.

As reported above the biggest snowfalls of the past seven days have been in the Western US states, but further north the snow is still falling with Whistler reporting another 10cm (four inches) overnight.

The picture has further improved on the East Coast too, especially in Quebec with resorts like Mont Ste Anne and Stoneham reporting up to 50cm (20 inches) of fresh snow and new snow and lower temperatures in New England to the south too, where resorts like Attitash in New Hampshire, Stratton in Vermont and Sunday river in Maine have reports 12-18 cm (5-7 inches)