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Record May snowfall in some parts of Switzerland

Photo: Adrian. Unsplash. Record May snowfall in some parts of Switzerland

Record May snowfall in some parts of Switzerland.

From Swissinfo.ch

Areas of Switzerland saw record snowfall for the month of May overnight from Saturday into Sunday. Most snow fell in the central and eastern alpine regions, but the most dramatic records were observed in lower-lying Bern and St Gallen.

The Swiss capital of Bern woke up to four centimetres of fresh snow on Sunday morning. The previous record for the month was one centimetre in 1945.

The eastern city of St Gallen saw 19 centimetres of snow, up from the 12 centimetres recorded on May 7, 1957, according to the Swiss meteorological service MeteoSwiss.

Record May snowfall in some parts of Switzerland
Record May snowfall in some parts of Switzerland

People have been advised not to take walks in wooded areas, especially in deciduous regions, as wet snow caught in trees could cause branches to fall off.

Weather forecasters have warned of further problems likely to be caused by the unseasonal cold snap next early week. MeteoSwiss forecasts sharp groundfrost in the lowlands on Monday and Tuesday.

Continue reading “Record May snowfall in some parts of Switzerland”

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20 Inches of New Snow at Aspen Snowmass in the Last Seven Days

Aspen Mountain from the town of Aspen. 20 Inches of New Snow at Aspen Snowmass in the Last Seven Days.

20 Inches of New Snow have fallen at Aspen Snowmass in the Last Seven Days. Aspen Highlands Opens Early for the First Time Since 1992

Aspen Snowmass welcomed five inches of new snow in the last 24 hours with accumulations reaching up to 20 inches of snow in the last seven days.

Aspen Highlands opened early today for the first time since 1992 with five inches of new snow on a 40-inch base.

1st December on Aspen Mountain. Photo: Aspen Snowmass. 20 Inches of New Snow at Aspen Snowmass in the Last Seven Days.
1st December on Aspen Mountain. Photo: Aspen Snowmass. 20 Inches of New Snow at Aspen Snowmass in the Last Seven Days.

Aspen Mountain received five inches of snow and Snowmass received four inches in the last 24 hours and the forecast is predicting more snowfall by end of day.

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Snow in the Alps this weekend and the week to come

Driving with snow- check if you need snow tyres and/or snow chains. Photo Adrian- Unsplash. Skiers Face Winterisation and Ski Rack Charges Adding up to £179 On Car Hire Bill.

It has been snowing hard this weekend in the Alps, finalising the summer time as the clocks turned.

As per SWI – Swissinfo.ch – Arosa got over 70 cm and the Eastern Alps were affected in particular with snow in low altitudes.

Parts of Graünden got 30 to 70 cm of snow at over 1,200 m over sea level.

You can see here the difference in Davos from Saturday to Sunday, twitted by SRF

https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/1056179352503808000

SRF is also warning of large snowfalls and rainfalls between Monday and Tuesday

SRF Meteo photo - They caution that on Monday and Tuesday there are risks of large rainfall across some Alpine regions.
SRF Meteo photo – They caution that on Monday and Tuesday there are risks of large rainfall across some Alpine regions.
SRF Meteo announces heavy rain from the Upper Valais over the Ticino to Southern Grisons.
SRF Meteo announces heavy rain from the Upper Valais over the Ticino to Southern Grisons.

Arosa got the highest snowfall at 72 cm.

Lenzerheide webcam - Bergfex cameras.
Lenzerheide webcam – Bergfex cameras.

Snow also fell down at 500 meters in some places, such as Zurich airport. But snow needs to fall at over 700 meters above sea level to stay. Southern Valais got 20-30 cm of powder snow and the Jura also got some snow, as you can see with these cows trying to find grass to eat.

Cows trying to find the grass under the snow at the Vallée de Joux in Jura- Photo Keystone -Jean-Christophe Bott- Swiss.ch.
Cows trying to find the grass under the snow at the Vallée de Joux in Jura- Photo Keystone -Jean-Christophe Bott- Swiss.ch.

WeathertoSki reported that there was lots of precipitation this weekend across the Alps, mixed with rain and snow from 600 meters up. Mostly the snow sat from 1000m to 1500 across the north-western half of the Alps, and between 1500 and 2500 across the south-eastern half. 

Continue reading “Snow in the Alps this weekend and the week to come”

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Winter tyres laws when driving to the mountains in Europe and North America

Driving to the mountains on route nationale through France- Photo: The-Ski-Guru. Self-drive skiers need to plan now for Brexit.

When driving to the mountains, it is important to know the laws about carrying winter tyres and snow chains. Not all countries and states or provinces oblige you to wear them. I would suggest you to check before you travel. Even if there were no law for using snow tyres, I would at least recommend taking snow chains, because if you are caught in a big snowstorm, you will need them. If you can buy at least second hand winter tyres, do so. It is an investment, more if you are going to drive to the mountains each ski season.

Also, if renting a car, don’t assume the car will come with snow tyres, even if going to countries full of mountains everywhere, remember to request them when booking your car rental, and also reserve snow chains.

Driving to the mountains- check if you need to have snow tyres and snow chains. Photo Jeffrey Wegrzyn- Unsplash. Winter tyres, snow chains. Driving to the mountains
Driving to the mountains- check if you need to have winter tyres and snow chains. Photo Jeffrey Wegrzyn- Unsplash.

Here is a summary of where snow tyres are mandatory – please you need to do your own search, as this is not by any means 100% accurate- we cannot be held responsible for you deciding not to take winter tyres! Do your own homework!

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How to deal with high prone avalanche terrain. A talk with Coco Torres, formerly of Las Leñas, Argentina.

A Gaz-ex installation in a mountain - methods of containing high prone avalanche areas.

How to deal with high prone avalanche terrain – A talk with Coco Torres, former Mountain Manager in Las Leñas and now Operative Consultant for numerous ski resorts.

Jorge “Coco” Torres has left Las Leñas in the year 2010, having worked for several years as the Mountain Manager in charge of all the avalanches control operations, amongst all other mountain matters.

One of the maps of the off-piste of Las Leñas showcasing its couloirs, which are also coincide avalanche corridors. Las Leñas is a high prone avalanche area.
One of the maps of the off-piste of Las Leñas showcasing its couloirs, which are also coincide avalanche corridors. Las Leñas is a high prone avalanche area.

I’ve contacted him as I’ve always found fascinating how Las Leñas took control of their avalanches. Every time there was a storm at Las Leñas, which could last a whole week, we went on hearing bombing all day and all night. I know that Las Leñas is a high prone avalanche terrain.



Booking.com


Skiing in Europe, I cannot say I have heard too many bombs at all, so this prompted me to start putting together a couple of stories that will come out on the next months, on how the avalanches are prevented or controlled in different countries of the world.

Coco told me that he left Las Leñas (Mendoza, Argentina) in the year 2010, and since then he has been working as a consultant in mountain projects and developments. He is going to tell me the process used in Las Leñas at least until he left the valley.

Continue reading “How to deal with high prone avalanche terrain. A talk with Coco Torres, formerly of Las Leñas, Argentina.”

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Three accidents during the weekend break claimed several victims in the mountains of Switzerland, killing 9 victims

Pigne d'Arolla - Here 14 skiers could not get to a refuge caught by a snowstorm. Three accidents during the weekend break claimed several victims in the mountains of Switzerland, killing 9 victims

Three accidents happened during the weekend break, claiming several victims in the mountains of Switzerland, killing 9 victims. News from 20 minutes – In the Pigne d’Arolla region in the canton of Valais, 14 ski tour riders went into a storm and had to spend the night outdoors. Four of them did not survive the hardships. On Monday and Tuesday, two more victims died in the hospital, as the Valais canton police announced on Tuesday.

Cabane des Vignettes - Pigne d'Arolla - Switzerland Three accidents during the weekend break claimed several victims in the mountains of Switzerland, killing 9 victims
Cabane des Vignettes – Pigne d’Arolla – Switzerland

The 14 ski tourers all started on Sunday from the “Cabane des Dix” at 2928 meters above sea level. They were traveling in two different groups: a group of four and a group of ten people, one of whom was a mountain guide. Both groups wanted to reach the “Vignettes” hut at 3157 meters via the classic route “la Serpentine”.



Booking.com

Continue reading “Three accidents during the weekend break claimed several victims in the mountains of Switzerland, killing 9 victims”

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Packing list for your family ski holiday

Skiers Over New Year Prepare for a £450 Wipeout at the Car Hire Rental Desk. Photo by Adrian - Unsplash - taken in Mont Saint Helens, USA.

Going skiing with the family is great, but you need to plan your bag ahead, and be sure that your little ones will not be suffering from the cold, or if not, your holiday might be jeopardised if they are too cold for skiing.

A stop in the way when driving - Photo by Easton Oliver - Unsplash - Estes Park, Colorado
A stop in the way when driving – Photo by Easton Oliver – Unsplash – Estes Park, Colorado

When you are packing, I suggest thinking on your ski clothes first, and doing the normal clothes later. You will not need too many normal clothes if you are self catering, a couple of trousers, shirts or t-shirts and warm jumpers if you are planning to dine outside, unless you are staying in a hotel or chalet and you have to go out for dinner or you have included half or full board, that you might want to look smart every evening.

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The Panoramic Mont-Blanc lift, that connected Aiguille du Midi with Punta Helbronner has fallen down and will be closed this coming summer.

The gondolas that go on top of the Mar de Glace, from Aiguille du Midi in France (Chamonix) to Punta Helbronner in Italy (Courmayeur)

The Panoramic Mont-Blanc lift finished in the ground after suffering very weird conditions. A thick ice cover, thicker than the width of the cable covered a very long stretch of cable creating a very heavy mass, which made the cable collapse.

The Mont Blanc Panoramic Lift has fallen to the ground due to the weight of ice on top of its cable.
The Mont Blanc Panoramic Lift has fallen to the ground due to the weight of ice on top of its cable.

Continue reading “The Panoramic Mont-Blanc lift, that connected Aiguille du Midi with Punta Helbronner has fallen down and will be closed this coming summer.”

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Earthquake triggers tsunami warning for coastal Alaska, Canada’s British Columbia and a warning for the US West Coast. – Tsunami warnings cancelled- updated

Massive storm - photo by John Fowler - Unsplash

Updated 1:45 PM GMT time – News from CNN.com

Tsunami warnings canceled after magnitude-7.9 earthquake off Alaska

(CNN)Forecasters canceled tsunami warnings for Alaska and the US and Canadian west coasts Tuesday after an earthquake in the Gulf of Alaska stoked fears of damaging waves.

The tsunami alerts were canceled “because additional information and analysis have better defined the threat,” said the National Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska
Tsunami warnings in Alaska and Western British Columbia and US Coast. Photo by Michael Dam - Unsplash
Tsunami warnings in Alaska and Western British Columbia and US Coast. Photo by Michael Dam – Unsplash

Continue reading “Earthquake triggers tsunami warning for coastal Alaska, Canada’s British Columbia and a warning for the US West Coast. – Tsunami warnings cancelled- updated”

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A massive storm, called by CNN a winter ‘bomb cyclone’ to hit the East Coast of the USA

Freezing Temperatures - Photo by Rob Bye - Unsplash

A “bombogenesis” as called by CNN, can bring up to 12 inches of snow to the Northeast of the United States. Sleet and snow are expected in the Southeast on Wednesday.

A “bombogenesis” could dump up to 12 inches of snow in the Northeast.

Continue reading “A massive storm, called by CNN a winter ‘bomb cyclone’ to hit the East Coast of the USA”