Snow report: A seasonal best for Bulgaria, while Canada feels the chill

Powder room: The slopes of Whistler

A bright and sunny start to the week came to an end in the Alps on Wednesday, with heavy snow in France and Switzerland. In North America, Whistler continues to provide good powder skiing with more snow in the forecast.

Austria has enjoyed a mostly sunny week, but there were light dustings at Lech and Zürs on Thursday. Obergurgl provided fantastic conditions all week. There was also light snowfall at Sölden; 5cm fell on the upper slopes on Wednesday. Consistent snowy weather is expected at most Austrian resorts this week.

Heavy snow hit France in the middle of the week. Alpe d’Huez received 25cm of fresh powder. Nearby Les Deuz Alpes enjoyed similar amounts. There was also heavy snowfall in Les Trois Vallées – Courchevel and Méribel both had 20cm and Val Thorens was hit by even more on the upper slopes. Most Swiss resorts enjoyed new snow in the middle of the week. The heaviest snowfall was at Les Diablerets and Gstaad where between 30cm and 40cm fell on Thursday. There was also powder skiing at Crans-Montana and Engelberg. Switzerland is expecting mostly snowy weather over the next seven days. Verbier is predicting the most, with more than 60cm.

Italian resorts had mostly clear and sunny weather, however there was still fresh powder in some areas. Chiesa and Cervinia enjoyed 25cm of new snow on Wednesday. There’s excellent skiing on offer at Arabba and Cortina. There will be regular snowfall across Italy this week.

Bulgarian resorts enjoyed one of their best weeks of the season so far after a decent snowfall. Skiers and snowboarders at Pamporovo, Bansko, and Borovets woke up to powder skiing on Tuesday after between 10cm and 15cm fell overnight. A light dusting of snow in Grandvalira, Andorra, improved piste conditions at Pas de la Casa and Soldeu.

Across the Atlantic, snowy weather in Whistler is set to continue with a half metre expected over the next seven days. Banff is expecting a much snowier period than last week, with 30cm forecast. After a relatively dry period for most US resorts, heavy snow is expected at Aspen and Crested Butte, and at Mammoth, California.

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