Winter 17/18 snow report
It’s fair to say there was some apprehension in the air during the build-up to the 2017/18 ski season. With a run of three warm winters behind them, many resorts, and skiers, were worried that another year of poor snowfall was on its way. And, with a scorching hot summer in 2017, even the highest snowsure glaciers in Europe were in trouble.
Happily, we needn’t have worried. The snow began falling on the high altitude slopes as early as September. And it really didn’t stop…
Following a healthy start to the season and great Christmas coverage, January saw things amp up considerably. Many resorts, especially those in the western Alps, reported record dumps of snow. Engelberg, Switzerland, reported the deepest base worldwide, reaching a staggering depth of 740cm on its Titlis Glacier by April.
While resorts looked like the very epitome of magical winter wonderlands, there was undoubtedly some logistical challenges involved with such huge snowfalls. Transfers were disrupted, avalanche risk reached a maximum rating of five in some resorts, and skiers holidaying in the most dramatically affected resorts had to shelter inside rather than hitting the slopes during the heaviest snow.
Nonetheless, a long season lasting well into spring (even summer in some resorts) and fantastic powder conditions, once slopes re-opened, meant most of us gave winter 2017/18 a huge thumbs up.