17th December 2023
Last modified on December 18th, 2023
After some wild weather with snow, rain & high winds in the Alps it’s more stable, but there are high temperatures. Today we turn our attention to conditions in Norway. UPDATED
Monday 18th December
We have been hearing extensively on conditions in the Alps and North America in recent weeks from our reporters out in the mountains.
We will have a full update on Tuesday about conditions in the Alps and what the Xmas period may look like.
But today we hear from Norway – PlanetSKI editor, James Cove, is currently in Norefjell.
And here are those lower pistes James was talking about.
Perfect for high-speed carving, with barely a soul around:
And just as good lower down:
The day for James began with a fabulous dawn as he flung open the curtains of his hotel room at the Norfejell Ski & Spa as the sun rose.
Not a bad start to a Monday morning.
Norefjell, Norway. Image © PlanetSKI
An hour later, after breakfast, it was a bit lighter.
James flew in to Norway on Sunday.
He was on the inaugural Crystal Ski charter flight from Gatwick to Oslo:
So, in general what is skiing like in Norway at this time of year?
“In a word, fabulous,” said James.
That’s why he’s often be found in Norway in December.
He had the pistes pretty much to himself with just a handful of people around.
Winter has only just got going, so the lakes in this part of Norway are not totally frozen over.
There there are the hours of daylight as it is far north.
The sun does get above the horizon in mid -December, but not by much.
This image was taken at 11am.
This one at 2pm.
Shortly after 2.30pm James called it a day, though lifts officially continue to around 3pm.
Tomorrow, Tuesday 19th December, PlanetSKI will be turning its attention back to the Alps and focusing on France as we hear from several of our reporters out on the slopes of Flaine, Tignes, Les Menuires and Alpe d’Huez.
James is particularly interested in those reports, as he is leaving Norway later this week and heading over to Les Arcs in France for the Xmas break.
More to follow…
Sunday 17th December
Blue sky has arrived in the northern and western Alps with high pressure dominating proceedings.
The temperature has shot up with warm conditions prevailing.
It has been mostly sunny, and the freezing level has been well over 2,500m in places.
Temperatures are set to remain well above average for the time of year.
The massive fluctuations in temperatures have been a real aspect to the start of this winter so far, and have been one of the key indicators of conditions.
It is set to stay clear for the first part of the week with some cloud returning to the western Alps mid-week.
It has been a bit of a roller-coaster this past week or so and we have been following all the twists and turns in the weather as the ski season of 2023/24 gets underway:
PlanetSKI reporter, Simon Wilson, is in La Plagne France.
Here were his observations first thing on Sunday morning:
“Sunny and mild weather forecast for next two to three days at least,” said Simon.
“It is freezing at resort level but I am told it is -2c down in the valley with an inversion in place.
“There remains ‘considerable’ avalanche risk at altitude with the danger standing at Level 3 on a scale 5.
“Looks like most of the resort will be open today.”
And here is Simon’s update after a day on the slopes:
“The pistes in La Plagne are in excellent condition generally- the higher the better of course,” said Simon.
“It has been so warm today that south facing slopes were already getting soft by late morning and it was more like good spring piste skiing.
“The bowl above Plagne Centre is skiing particularly well with some pockets of powder still not completely skied out.
“Lower down towards Les Coches and Montchavin you can tell the pistes took a battering from the rain – but they have been topped up with arrival snow and perfectly skiable.”
PlanetSKI editor, James Cove, has arrived in Norway today – he is yet to put skis on with conditions looking good, though not spectacular.
“There was some excellent snow here a few days ago with locals talking about it as an excellent start,” said James.
‘Though the temperatures have been high in recent days with some strong winds that have made the slopes hard-packed and icy.”
James has flown into Norway on the inaugural Crystal Ski charter flight into Oslo that is set to bring thousands of UK skiers and snowboarders to Norway this winter:
Over in Canada PlanetSKI reporter, Ross Young, has been skiing this weekend in Lake Louise, near Banff.
“Thanks to a couple of snowfalls over the last few days the groomed runs are in great nick, especially the tree-lined slopes in the Larch area,” said Ross.
“The off-piste is skiable and great fun but it’s early season, so there’s still the occasional exposed rock to watch out for.
“Lower down the mountain, the skiing was good in the morning, but towards the end of the day the runs became icy in places.
“With no big dumps predicted over the next few days, we’ll be keeping our fingers crossed that the occasional flurry will top snow levels up.
“If that doesn’t happen, at least we’ll have the scenery to console us – Lake Louise is gorgeous.”
More to follow…