PA #8: It will be ON in the Italian Piedmont!

PowderAlert #7 was a good one. Unfortunately, the temperatures were rising yesterday, but the cold air returned today. A small front is heading for the Gulf of Genoa and is passing the northwest of the Alps. This will result in snowfall for the northwest of the Alps at first, but once the storm has passed the main alpine ridge, we see a storm developing in the Gulf of Genoa. The result is a current from the east to southeast that will bring snow to the Italian Piedmont. In this forecast:

• The complete Alps are white
• PowderAlert #7 was pretty good
• Discount on Mountain Acacemy
• PowderAlert #8 is coming up
• Where to go?
• Long term: no precipitation and higher temperatures?

The complete Alps are white

It’s the 8th of February, but finally the complete Alps are white. Even the Dolomites got some fresh snow on their green alpine meadows last week. You shouldn’t drive to Carinthia or the Dolomites right now, but they finally have a base over there and that offers perspective for the storms that are hopefully still to come this winter. Anyway, you can still find the best conditions in the Alps in the regions below:

• The west of the Berner Oberland
• Haute Savoie, western Wallis and Courmayeur
• Savoie and Isère
• French southern Alps
• Piedmont and Aosta
• Ticino, southern Engadin and Lombardia

You can still find good snow in the east of Switzerland and in the north of Austria as well, but you’ll find the best conditions in the regions above right now.

PowderAlert #7 was pretty good

It was sometimes struggling with the temperature, the wind and the avalanche danger, but if you were in the right place on the right time you could ride great powder between the trees. The situation above the treeline was (and still is) critical, because of the combination of wind, snow and some local old problems in the snow cover. Especially those who could extend their weekend into Monday and Tuesday found some great snow to ride in. Yes, PowderAlert #7 was a good one. Just check out all the reports we’ve received.

But the combination of lots of fresh snow, heavy winds, a fluctuating temperature and problems in the excisting snow cover claimed the life of a freerider from Russia in Valfréjus this weekend. Please, keep asking yourself the following questions:

• Do you have the right knowledge?
• Do you (and the other riders in your group) have the gear (avalanche beacon, shovel and probe)?
• Have you read the local avalanche forecast?
• Do you know which parts of the mountain you have to avoid that particular day to minimize the risk?

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PowderAlert #8 is coming up

It’s snowing in the northwest of the Alps today. A small front is heading for the Gulf of Genoa and is passing the northwest of the Alps. This will result in snowfall for the northwest of the Alps at first with a snow line deep in the valleys. I expect the most snow in the northwest in the pre-Alps of the Isère, Savoie, Haute Savoie, northern Lower Valais and the west of the Bernese Oberland. You can expect 10 to 25 cm of fresh snow. In the rest of the northern Alps you can expect 15 cm or less.

The storm will arrive in the Gulf of Genoa during the day. This will result in a current from the east to southeast that will bring snow to the Italian Piedmont (yes, that’s a ‘retour d’est’). It’s already snowing and the snowfall will intensify the next couple of hours. Thanks to the increasing air pressure on the north side of the Alps and the cold air coming in from the east, this front will stick around. The weather will remain unstable on the south side of the Alps the next couple of days and this will result in snowfall for the southern and western Piedmont.

Last week’s storm resulted in 25 to 50 centimeters of fresh snow especially in the western and southern Piedmont. There’s more snow coming down the next 48 to 72 hourys. I expect 20-40 cm of fresh snow, but this could be (a lot) more in the areas where the storm hits the Mont Viso. The good thing is that the snowline will be around 700 meters and it will snow deep into the valleys. It’s on the next 72 hours in the western and southern Piedmont

Where to go?

These are the go-to resorts for the next 96 hours. There’s plenty of accommodation available, so click on one of the resorts below, book your accommodation and enjoy some great powder!

• Prali
• Pragelato
• Via Lattea
• Bardonnechia
• L’Argentera
• Crissolo
• Limone Piemonte

The weather will remain unstable on the south side of the Alps after Thursday, but it is still difficult to say where the most snow will come fown. The jet stream as an engine is still there, but it’s much weaker. Right now, the models assume that the front will slowly move to the east from the Piedmont. This would result in snowfall in the northern Piedmont, Lombardy and the Dolomites. The precipitation might even move (thanks to a current turning to the northeast) to the north side of Austria. But that’s still far away and not very certain. Do you want some fresh powder? Go to the resorts mentioned above.

Long term: no precipitation and higher temperatures?

The high pressure that’s forecasted for the north side of the main alpine ridge, should control the southern Alps as well on the long term. If that happens, the temperatures will rise and you don’t have to expect a lot of precipitation. But it’s not sure when this transition will actually happen. The models have trouble with the instability south of the Alps. Anyway… the Piedmont is ON the next couple of days.

Stay stoked. Morris