Europe Weekly Roundup #259

Stubai Glacier Kicks Off Winter Early with 50cm of Fresh Snow

• Unseasonal snowfall hit the Alps, with snow levels dropping to 1,000m and accumulations of up to 50cm at higher altitudes.
• Austria's Stubai Glacier is opening early on September 20th, while other glacier areas, like Pitztal and Solden, are set to follow.
• Strong winds and melting snow have interrupted some summer activities, but skiing is available at Zermatt, Saas Fee, and Passo Stelvio.

THE ALPS REPORT

It has been an exciting week for snow watchers in the Alps, even if much of the snow that has fallen over the last seven days has already gone, or will be melting away soon. Although snow at high altitudes isn’t unusual at this time of year, snowfall down to valleys at only 1,000m altitudes before mid-September is quite a rarity, but ski areas including Austria’s Lech and Kitzbuhel reported exactly that. As a result, they had to interrupt summer operations for several days whilst they awaited the snowmelt. At altitude, accumulations of 30-40cm (12-16”) were reported at 3,000m, including on glaciers like Pitztal, due to start its 24-25 season at the end of next week. However it's now been overtaken by the Stubai Glacier near Innsbruck which hadn’t planned to open until well into October but announced on Monday that after getting 50cm (20”) of weekend snowfall its going to open this Friday, 20th September instead. It remains to be seen if other glacier areas decide to open earlier than planned too. The region covered was also huge with snow reported as far south and east as resorts like Slovenia’s Kranjska Gora in the Julian Alps and Cortina d’Ampezzo and Alta Badia in the Dolomites. In the southwest, the Pyrenees saw their first snow. The unusual weather also brought strong winds at times, particularly in the northern Alps where some autumn activities offered by ski areas were cancelled or postponed. Three glacier ski areas have been open over the past week, with a fourth, Austria’s Hintertux (0/65cm / 0/26") appearing like it could reopen imminently after a month of closures, following a 25cm (10") summer snowfall, but at time of writing yet to do so. You can currently ski at Zermatt (0/150cm / 0/60") which has reported slightly more terrain open – up to 14km/9 mile – in recent days following more than half a metre (20") of snowfall on Europe's highest slopes over the past few weeks. Sadly for those staying in Cervinia though the year-round access to the glacier plan appears to have been scrapped and the lifts from the Italian side have been closed until late October just as the fresh snow arrives. Saas Fee (0/95cm / 0/38”) is also open with a previous landslip blocking the access road for much of last week now cleared and you can also ski at Italy’s Passo Stelvio (5/110cm / 2/44”) where there are 8km (5 miles) of slopes open. Strong winds have caused issues at times this week though, temporarily closing lifts. Fellow Italian area Val Senales opens for its 24-25 season this coming weekend, although initially, it appears only for race team training, not the general public. It’s its first autumn opening since 2022 after missing last year due to its main lift being replaced. Two more Austrian glacier areas, Pitztal and Solden, plan to start their seasons the weekend after next and that aim has been bolstered by the recent snowfall.

THE ALPS FORECAST

After the unusual early snowfall at the end of last week, there were several dry, sunny days in the Alps. We've now settled into a pattern of fairly cool temperatures with the freezing point varying between 2000 and 3000m altitudes. There’s unsettled weather and temperatures in the -5 to +5C range at 2,500m, mostly remaining below freezing on glaciers day and night. Light snow showers are forecast most days through this week but not the big dumps of the past week.

SCANDINAVIA REPORT

There’s been widespread snowfall on higher slopes across Scandinavia over the past seven days, most marked towards the end of last week when cold air moved down from the Arctic. It’s warmed up a little since. There’s currently nowhere open but the Galdhøpiggen summer ski area in Norway, with the region's highest slopes, is expected to reopen on Friday for the final six weeks of the season there. Then a fortnight after that the Levi and Ruka 24-25 seasons should be getting underway in Finland at the start of October as they uncover their mountains of stockpiled snow, saved from last season through the summer and spread back out on the slopes to create a few kilometres of ski runs each. Hopefully, they'll see fresh snowfall on top fairly soon.

SCANDINAVIA FORECAST

It’s looking pretty dry, warm and sunny for the remainder of this week on the Scandinavian mountains, with overnight lows up high close to freezing but daytime highs back up to +10C after the freezing temperatures at the end of last week.