Today we were finally able to ski in Sauze d’Oulx! You no doubt will be aware that the opening date of the 6th December was postponed due to the conditions, a fait that many ski resorts across Europe shared. Still many remain closed waiting for that first significant snowfall.

Thankfully the Milky Way was blessed with some snow at altitude in November and early December before warm air and rain seemed likely to ruin it all. The past week or so the temperatures have dropped allowing the snow cannons to operate which has made a big difference.

Today limited skiing was available from Sportinia (2100mts) upwards. Only 4 lifts were open and we were restricted to just skiing Sauze but it was great to be finally up there. The pistes that were open were firm without being icy and the coverage was good.

It was a pity that the link to Sestriere wasn’t open as I’m sure that there will be enough snow in the bowl and beyond but I guess you have to keep in mind that one of the busiest times of the season is only a few weeks away and with no snow on the horizon the lift company will be doing all they can to preserve what we have.

It continues to be warmer than it should be at this time of the year and the forecast for the week coming is for the temperatures to increase so I doubt that we will have much opportunity to operate the cannons. It would appear that a rather large high pressure system in the Atlantic is pushing warm air our way with little change this side of Christmas.

This season is already better than my first back in 1988/89 when the resort never opened! Things can change very quickly and I remain positive for the coming season. I took up the camera today to give you all an idea of what the snow was really like under foot. I hope you enjoy it and you are filled with a little optimism after watching it.

Opening day video