Want ski fresh powder in the Alps in July?

It may be the first full month of summer, but savvy skiers and boarders need not go without their regular snow fix. Skiinfo.com continues to report on snow conditions at Europe’s glacier ski areas, which are either still going from the 2007-8 season, or have just re-opened for a few months of summer snow fun.

Anyone following the snowfall reports updated several times a day on Skiinfo.com will know that fresh snow can still fall at these high altitudes at any time of the year. Last Saturday July 12th for example, Skiinfo.com reported a few inches of fresh snow on the glacier ski area shared by Cervinia in Italy and Zermatt in Switzerland around the Matterhorn and by today (Wednesday July 16th) this had reached 15cm (six inches). Similar falls were reported at the recently re-opened Saas Fee glacier ski area which has a terrain park and half pipe in operation. A second Italian glacier, Val Senales, also reported 15cm (six inches) of new snow yesterday.

There was still more fresh snow on the Stubai glacier in Austria, as it closed for winter 2007-8 yesterday. It plans to re-open for the 08-09 ski season after just a few months in early Autumn.

The fresh snow is a big bonus for skiers and boarders still carving up Europe’s ski slopes in July. In summer it’s usually a case of getting up on the slopes by 8 or 9 o’clock in the morning before the warm summer sun turns the snow cover slushy by lunchtime. Then its summer sports like horse riding or mountain biking in the afternoon, or just relaxing by the pool. Whatever you choose to do, make sure you splat on lots of sun cream to keep your tan under control – with UV rays bouncing off the snow at you as well as hitting you from above, you can quickly cook if not properly protected.

Terrain parks can be as good in summer as in winter and some of the world’s best are open today for lucky boarders and skiers to enjoy.

Despite the closure of the Stubai and Kaunertal glaciers for snow sports, Austria still has the biggest choice of summer ski spots with four glacier ski areas to choose from.

The Tux glacier has the most ski terrain open, with fresh snow last month and a snow depth of 165cm. There are nine lifts currently operational serving 15km of piste with temperatures averaging -2 Celcius at the top of the glacier.

The Dachstein Glacier is open daily and is currently reporting a 590cm snow depth, albeit a tad crusty. Three lifts and two runs are open but the main attraction is the Atomic Super Park.

At Kaprun six lifts are serving the ski runs on the Kitzsteinhorn glacier and snow depth are about 60cm (two feet) with some fresh snow falling. The Molltal glacier has up to 213cm (seven feet) of snow and has three lifts serving the ski runs at present.
France’s three remaining summer ski centres are all open at Les 2 Alpes and neighbouring Tignes and Val d’isere. Besides Val Senales and Cervinia in Italy, a third choice is Passo Stelvio. In Norway the summerr ski areas of Folgefonn, Galdhoppigen and Stryn each operate a single long drag lift and are all reporting accumulated snow of up to an incredible eight metres (27 feet).

For more information, visit Skiinfo.com.