Base Depths Jump In The Alps Ahead of Spring

Ski resorts in the Alps have reported they received up to 1.6m (66”) of snowfall during the period from Friday to Wednesday.

Many have seen their upper slope base depths jump by between a third and two-fifths after months of staying fairly static pr seeing a gradual decline.

Tignes is topping the charts, now up to 3.9 metres (13 feet) on the grand motte glacier, up 1.2m (4 feet) on a week ago.  Glacier 3000 near Gstaad (pictured below on Wednesday and top) has posted the biggest snowfall – 1.6 metres (over 5 feet) and re-opened on Thursday after several days digging out lifts and buildings. Cervinia say they’ve had 1.5 metres (five feet) of snowfall.

Many other areas, particularly those with terrain above 3,000m in the French Alps, have posted more than a metre of snow.

The snowfall led a number of areas to report more than 3 metres (10 feet) of snow lying on their higher slopes, although some have since dropped back down just below. Those who have include Flane, La Plagne, Saas Fee and St Anton.

The best of the fresh snowfall has been in the Western Alps, particularly at Northern French resorts and those kin Western Italy and Switzerland.

However lower slopes below 2,000m tended to see heavy, wet snow and some rain. The avalanche danger level is also up in the Western Alps to 3 (“considerable”) or 4 (“high”) on the scale to a maximum of 5.

Last summer snow cover on glaciers quickly melted away and summer ski operations closed early. Although it’s unclear how fast the snow will melt later this spring and into summer, base depths, particularly in Tignes, now appear better than in 2022 so far.