Alps Trip Late January

[jamesdeluxe]

The relative lack of lift/safety staff relative to the US is very apparent.

I've never thought about it but you're right -- you see ski patrol everywhere at U.S. areas/rarely in Europe. And if you get injured in the Alps, it's almost always an automatic heli ride for treatment. They don't mess with meat wagons.

 

[Sbooker]

Lots of rain to high elevation in Europe right now. :-(
I'm still procrastinating about whether to buy flights to Canada or Europe this Christmas and January. So many positives for both locations and roughly the same cost too.
Anyone want to help out with pointing me in the right direction?

 

[jamesdeluxe]

This just in from our Alps weather expert Fraser Wilkin. The subtext is: don't panic.

It rained to 2700 in some exposed northwestern parts of the Alps yesterday and to about 2200m in the western Austrian Alps today. It even rained in Obergurgl today, not something I can recall happening at this time of year with its very enclosed inner-alpine location.

Tomorrow, by contrast, will see snow down to 400m later in the day in parts of the northern Alps!

 

[Tony Crocker]

Canada’s Christmas snow record is certainly more consistent than in the Alps. 14-15, 15-16 and 16-17 were very bad in the Alps. This year was record low for Whistler though some of the interior Canadian areas were OK.