Picture book day in Germany after the snowfalls. | Image: Heidi Hurtig Instagram
A cold front sweeping across Europe which brought late season snowfalls to the Alps from Germany to Italy has led to a slew of smaller ski resorts re-opening for a late season fun day, weekend, or even a whole week. Scandinavia has also seen below freezing temperatures and some snow falling. The forecast for this week has a warm weather front bringing moisture to the Alps, the Appenine mountains and Scandinavian ski fields and there is more snow in the forecast, with some areas seeing up to 30 inches of snowfall this coming week.
Maarbachegg in Switzerland opened for one day on Sunday, April 21. | Image: Marbachegg Instagram
Marbachegg in Switzerland which was forced to close on January 25 this year for the season due to a below-average snowfalls, reopened for one day on Sunday, April 21. 700 people descended on the small resort near Lucerne for a last hoorah of the 23/24 season.
Likewise in Germany, small ski areas in the Black Forrest region re-started operations for a few days or the weekend. The ski lift at Kandel in the district of Emmendingen for example opened on Wednesday, April 17, as well as Friday, April 19, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. for night skiing. Thanks to the cold weather continuing, the ski area operated the Kandel Lift all weekend from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nearby Feldberg Ski Resort, which had already shifted to summer operations, decided to open its summer gondola for all and threw a retro-ski-weekend on Saturday, April 20, from 1:00 p.m. to 5 p.m. Cross-country skiing also opened at the Nordic Center in Notschrei on Thursday and will remain open until further notice.
Feldberg ski resort in the Black Forrest in Germany opened for one retro fun afternoon. | Image: Feldbergbahnen Facebook
In Italy, smaller resorts and ski areas in the Appenine mountains, such as Bolognola Ski opened again which have also been having a rather poor season due to a lack of snow and warm weather earlier in the year.
While snowfall in April is not that unusual, what concerns climatologists are the early warm periods that had been experienced in March and early April. This leads to a very early development of the vegetation, which is then damaged by late frosts or snow, potentially impacting harvests.
Nevertheless, the excitement in all the pictures of those who got to enjoy a rare late season ski day is rather palpable and we hope it will put a smile on your faces, too.
PHOTOS
Feldberg ski resort in the Black Forrest in Germany opened for one retro fun afternoon. | Image: Feldbergbahnen FacebookFeldberg ski resort in the Black Forrest in Germany opened for one retro fun afternoon. | Image: Feldbergbahnen FacebookFeldberg ski resort in the Black Forrest in Germany opened for one retro fun afternoon. | Image: Feldbergbahnen FacebookFeldberg ski resort in the Black Forrest in Germany opened for one retro fun afternoon. | Image: Feldbergbahnen FacebookFeldberg ski resort in the Black Forrest in Germany opened for one retro fun afternoon. | Image: Feldbergbahnen FacebookFeldberg ski resort in the Black Forrest in Germany opened for one retro fun afternoon. | Image: Feldbergbahnen FacebookFeldberg ski resort in the Black Forrest in Germany opened for one retro fun afternoon. | Image: Feldbergbahnen FacebookFeldberg ski resort in the Black Forrest in Germany opened for one retro fun afternoon. | Image: Feldbergbahnen FacebookFeldberg ski resort in the Black Forrest in Germany opened for one retro fun afternoon. | Image: Feldbergbahnen FacebookFeldberg ski resort in the Black Forrest in Germany opened for one retro fun afternoon. | Image: Feldbergbahnen FacebookThe chairs at Feldberg had been swapped out for gondolas, but the gondolas transported skiers up for a change. | Image: Feldbergbahnen FacebookNordic Center Notschrei in Germany opened up for cross-country skiing on Thursday and will stay open until further notice.| Image: Nordic Center Notschrei InstagramQuite the crowd turned out for the opening of the poma at Bolognola Ski Resort in Italy. | Image: Bolognola Ski InstagramExcellent conditions at Bolognola Ski Resort in Italy. | Image: Bolognola Ski InstagramBolognola Ski Resort was the first resort in the Appenine Mountains to reopen its lift after the April snowfall. | Image: InstagramGreat turn out for spring turns at Bolognola Ski Resort. | Image: Bolognola Ski Instagram| Image: InstagramSnow in the Black Forrest region in Germany | Image: Badische Neueste Nachrichten InstagramSnow in the Black Forrest region in Germany | Image: Badische Neueste Nachrichten InstagramPicture book day in Germany after the snowfalls. | Image: Heidi Hurtig Instagram
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