We’re still in the middle of PowderAlert #10 and it’s snowing like crazy. Some roads have been closed due to avalanche danger and some resorts didn’t open their lifts because of the huge amounts of snow that were coming down. It will still snow in the Italian Piedmont tonight, but the current turns to the northeast right after and that means you can get ready for PowderAlert #11. The start of the winter wasn’t that good, but March could just be a great month to ride powder. If you are traveling to the Alps the next couple of days and you want to support wePowder and this forecast, book your accommodation using this link. We receive a small percentage of every booking made through this link and this helps us a lot to improve wePowder and advice you even better. Thanks in advance! In this forecast:
- Lots of freshies for the southern Alps
- PowderAlert #11 for the northern Alps from Tuesday
Lots of freshies for the southern Alps
The base is improving fast in the southern Alps, especially in the resort where it will still snow tonight. The base is no longer a problem in a lot of resorts. But we still have to deal with two issues. Are the lifts open in your resort? What about the avalanche danger? Please check both before going out and make the right decisions.
A second front arrived on Sunday afternoon, bringing higher temperatures. The snow line got up to around 1200 - 1450 meters, with the exception of the western and southern Piedmont at the south side of the Alps (as I mentioned on Friday). The current hits the Piedmont directly, so they don’t have to deal that much with rising temperatures. It will snow heavily in the Piedmont in the night from Sunday to Monday again. Tree runs are a must!! Don’t go into the alpine. The tips for Monday:
- Western and southern Piedmont: Especially the Milky Way (thin base), but also Courmayeur and La Thuile (less snowfall, but a good base). The other resorts lack a base.
- The northern Piedmont: Especially the Monte Rosa (thin base), the other resorts have a thinner base and less snow in the forecast.
- The southern valleys in Haute-Valais. Treeruns in Zermatt and Saas Almagell will be awesome!
- The Haute Tarentaise and the Haute Maurienne : The most eastern lifts of Val d’Isère and the treeruns of Val Cenis.
PowderAlert #11 for the northern Alps from Tuesday
More snowfall in the Piedmont in the night from Sunday to Monday. It stays cold and Monday morning will be quite good in the Piedmont. The current will move to the north-northeast thanks to two low pressure areas (one above Italy and one east of the Alps).
You can see in the Föhn diagram that the temperature will rise in the southern Alps. The temperatures will drop on the north side of the Alps and it will start snowing. It will snow heavily in the Swiss Bernese Oberland, Vorarlberg and the Kleinwalsertal in the night from Monday to Tuesday. The temperature on the south side of the Alps will rise.
This means you can pack your bags on Monday and drive to the north side of the Alps. There’s a PowderAlert the north of Switzerland and teh west of Austria for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Same goes for the French northern Alps from Thursday. The list below shows the transition from PowderAlert #10 to PowderAlert #11. Besides resorts in the Italian Piedmont, you can now also find resorts situated in the Bernese Oberland and western Austria on the list. This list will only show resorts on the north side of the Alps from Monday.
This will be the chase the next couple of days:
- The Piedmonte will be good on Monday and than north for PA #11!
- You can ride powder in the Bernese Oberland and the west of Austria on Tuesday and Wednesday
- You can ride powder in the French northern Alps, the Bernese Oberland, the west of Wallis and the west of Austria on Thursday
There are more storms in the forecast for the weekend from the 5th to the 7th of March. The storm track is still a bit uncertain and so far the storms have a western component (warm and cold fronts alternate), and in such a situation you’ll often find the best conditions in the French Alps, western Valais and the Aosta. But obviously things can still change.
More details about PowderAlert #11 tomorrow, so you’ll know where to go. If you want to book your accommodation: support wePowder and use this link.
Stay stoked! Morris