North America Weekly Roundup #247

Timberline Thrives with Fresh Snow as Heatwave Hits Most of the US

• Timberline on Mt. Hood in Oregon remains the only US resort with lift-accessed skiing, reporting fresh snowfall and hosting ski teams for training.
• Fresh snow in northwestern states has enhanced summer ski touring conditions and led to temporary closures of summer operations at some resorts.
• Vermont's Jay Peak and Quebec's Snoprk Sommet Saint-Sauveur are offering short-term summer skiing events using stockpiled snow from the previous winter.

USA REPORT

Most of the US has been suffering a severe heatwave over the last week, but the northwestern corner of the continent has seen much colder, at times wintery, conditions. The only lift-accessed skiing still available is at Timberline on Mt. Hood in Oregon, which reported 21cm (7") of fresh snowfall last week. Conditions are best early in the morning, and the resort is currently full of ski teams training. Besides a few miles of downhill slopes, there’s a terrain park in operation. The fresh snowfall reported on mountains and closed-for-the-season ski slopes in northwestern states like Montana, Oregon, and Washington has led to good summer ski touring conditions up high, according to local reports, and caused resorts to temporarily close summer operations. Besides Timberline, Colorado's Copper Mountain has a large summer hike-to terrain park open to the public from Fridays to Sundays (it's used by private ski camps during the week). After the cold and snowy spell, temperatures have now warmed up since the weekend, although they’ve still been dropping back close to freezing at night. Nearly two months after the last centers closed for the 23-24 season on North America’s East Coast, there are a couple of re-openings to report, using snow stockpiled from last winter. First up, Vermont's Jay Peak opened a terrain park on Saturday as part of a summer solstice-themed weekend celebration, though it was for one day only. However, north of the border, Snoprk Sommet Saint-Sauveur, which had been one of the last three ski areas in Canada to close just over a month ago, is reopening a terrain park on its Avila slope from this Thursday, June 27, for six days until July 3. The terrain park will be open for daytime sessions from 10 am to 4 pm and evening ones from 5 to 9 pm. Daytime coaching will be on offer from a number of organizations. Skiing and riding are also available at the Big Snow indoor facility in New Jersey in as large an area as some of the outdoor summer terrain parks.

USA FORECAST

Mostly sunny weather is expected now, although with clouds bubbling up from time to time. Overnight lows will drop to the mid-20s some nights but will remain a degree or two above freezing on others. Daytime highs will reach into the 50s Fahrenheit.