World’s Deepest Base Nears 5 Metres (200”)

The world’s deepest base in 2022 is inching up towards the 5 metre mark in Asia, and has recently passed the 4 metre (13.3 feet) mark in North America but despite some big accumulations in the past few days Europe’s numbers are running below average in most areas, with the deepest snow being reported until recently in the far east of the continent, above Sochi in Russia’s Black Sea region, at a resort which eight years ago began hosting what became known as “The Tropical Winter Olympics” due to the warm temperatures.

Back in 2014 temperatures were regularly above 10C. This February its cooler and Rosa Khutor ski area which hosted Olympic racing in 2014 reported the snow lying 401cm (13.3 feet) deep on its upper mountain last month, though it now says the number is back to three metres (10 feet).

The world’s deepest reported base at present appears to be in Japan where Kiroro (pictured top) says it has 490cm (16.3 feet) lying on its upper slopes. It’s one of a growing number of Japanese areas to report more than 10 metre (33 feet) of snowfall so far this season.

In North America the deepest bases jumped above 4 metres (160”) at the end of December after major storms but then dropped back through January which was warmer and dryer. However, they are building again with Alyeska in Alaska (below) taking the deepest base measure back past the four-metre mark, now at 427cm (14 feet).  It says it has had 480 inches (1225cm) of snowfall so far this winter.

In Western Europe most ski slopes are open after good December snowfalls across the continent and resorts have reported up to 110cm (44”) of snowfall this week but again it was a largely dry January and the resorts that normally post 4 or 5 metre (160-200”) depths are currently still running way behind those kinds of depths this year.

Ski areas in the Pyrenees, unusually, posted the deepest snow in the region for most of December and January (up to 330cm/11 feet) but here to depths have dropped back after dry January and Austria’s Loser ski area currently tops the table at 3.4 metres (11.3 feet), up 40cm/16” this week,  with Germany’s Zugspitze glacier, which reopens today after two days closed due to a major snow storm, third in Europe on 290cm/116 inches at present.