snow
The Alps came up for air today (Tuesday) after another weekend of record-breaking falls, which cut off some Austrian resorts and saw the avalanche risk hit 5 - the highest level.

Up to a metre and a half fell in parts of Austria, in particular the Arlberg region around Lech and St Anton, which were both cut off completely, as were Stuben and St Christoph. Only six lifts in St Anton - out of a possible 39 - were turning yesterday, due to high winds.

Obergurgl was also inaccessible because snow was overwhelming efforts to clear the roads and some lifts in nearby Ischgl were stopped because they were completely buried in places.





Snow journalist Sarah Coad, who is in St Anton, reported: 'St Anton now has a summit snow depth approaching 5 metres, and there is a metre in the valley. Few runs were open on Monday due to high winds. There is a huge amount of snow clearing going on in town, the pistes are very powdery and full of moguls, and the avalanche level is at 5.'




Some resorts in Switzerland recorded over a metre in 72 hours, including Engelberg and Andermatt which now has a summit depth of around 550cm. Klosters clocked up 80cm, the Jungfrau area saw 70cm and Verbier around half a metre.

Much of the northern French Alps saw their first really substantial falls of 2019, with up to 60cm over the weekend in the Portes du Soleil area and 80cm in the Grand Massif (Flaine, Samoens). Chamonix area resorts recorded about 40cm, while there was about 30cm in Tignes/Val d'Isere and Les Arcs/La Plagne. The Three Valleys saw around 25cm, while further south, Les 2 Alpes had around 20cm. Risoul, on the other hand, saw not a flake.

(Read more here)