Have you ever arrived on your annual holiday and been surprised by the sad state of the snow? So how do you find out what the conditions are like before you jump on a plane or into your car?
The internet allows skiers to see what is happening, minute by minute, in their favourite resorts via webcams and take advantage of cheap flights to go at a moment's notice when conditions are at their best.
The easiest way to find the webcams is to go straight to a central snow report site, such as onthesnow.com or snocountry.com. Or look for your resort through a ski web site such as ifyouski.com and click on 'snow reports'. Find your resort, click on it and then again on the 'webcam' link.
Reading the conditions
· The snow line in the background of the shot. If it is above the village, the likelihood is that the pistes at the bottom might be suspect. Keep a note of the snow line over a few days. If it is rising, that is a bad sign.
· The snow on the roofs of buildings reflects the recent snow history. Fresh snow lies thick and fluffy. Old snow packs down.
· Many cameras are situated near lift stations. The wear and tear where skiers leave the lift gives clues about the conditions. Check for signs of mud bleeding through the snow around the base of the lift towers and the sides of the buildings, which reveals how the snow is reacting to the air temperature.
· Check to see if there are a number of cameras available. The best impressions are the panoramic cameras that rotate through 360 degrees. Comparison can be made with the north and south facing slopes.
· Have a look at neighbouring resorts to make sure that the whole area is telling you the same story.
Using these guidelines, I studied the webcams at Whistler-Blackcomb before I was due to go for a week's break. Based on what I could see, I cancelled the trip, thus avoiding a long journey just to slide around on a few short and deteriorating pistes.
Useful websites
lawine.at - excellent site for the off-piste skier heading for Austria. At the moment, it is only available in German.
snow-forecast.com - general winter weather site.
