Patrick Thorne

Kiltarlity

Editor in Chief at In The Snow

Author and Snow Journalist at Freelance

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Articles

Ski Areas Ready for Star Wars Day

1 week ago | snow-forecast.com | Patrick Thorne

Several North American ski areas that are still open plan to celebrate the unofficial Star Wars Day tomorrow, May the Fourth (be with you). Around 40 Canadian and US ski areas are still open with tomorrow the last day of the season for about 15 of them. Some are going more Star Wars than others, with Banff’s Sunshine Village in Alberta, Canada, where there’s still another fortnight of the season left to run, one of the most keen, offering lift discounts to those who get fully engaged.
Whakapapa's Future Seems Secured As Snow Dumps On New Zealand

1 week ago | snow-forecast.com | Patrick Thorne

New Zealand ski area Whakapapa’s future seems secured as a new operator has been confirmed several years after the previous operators ran into financial problems. The ski area was one part of the former Mt Ruapehu ski area on New Zealand’s North Island. Together with neighbouring Tūroa Ski Area, operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts (RAL) claimed it to be the country’s largest ski area.
Sölden Announces Major Ski Area Improvements

1 week ago | inthesnow.com | Patrick Thorne

Sölden in the Austrian Tirol is one of the world’s most snowsure destinations with twin glacier ski areas and a season that often lasts from October to May. It has also invested heavily over the years in state of the art lifts and on-mountain attractions like its ice Q restaurant (pictured bottom) which featured in the 24th Bond movie SPECTRE in 2015. The resort also has the 007 Elements exhibition as a result of the film to visit too.
Ski Club Reps Return to Morzine

1 week ago | inthesnow.com | Patrick Thorne

It’s just gone half nine and the Portes du Soleil is bathed in powder-blue light. At the base of the Pleney lift in Morzine, a small group of us gather, skis slung over our shoulders, chatting with Chris, our Ski Club rep for the day. It’s the kind of crisp Alpine morning that makes you feel very lucky to be in the mountains, and even luckier to have someone show you around them. For the first time in ten years, the Ski Club of Great Britain has brought its reps back to Morzine.
Pre-2025-Season Snowfall in Southern Hemisphere

2 weeks ago | snow-forecast.com | Patrick Thorne

Ski areas on three continents across the southern hemisphere have been reporting fresh snowfall ahead of the 2025 season, which is now only a month away. Afriski in Lesotho was the latest to report a fresh covering of snow this morning, Sunday 27th April. It’s usually one of the first to open in the southern hemisphere, usually in the first week of June. More substantial falls have been reported in New Zealand in the last week with Mt Hutt amongst those reporting snowfall down to base level.
US Ski Areas Extend Seasons Into May

2 weeks ago | snow-forecast.com | Patrick Thorne

About 25 US ski areas in around a dozen states from coast-to-coast plan to continue skiing into May. Several are reporting that they’ll be opening later into the year than ever before, and/or posting their longest ever seasons as a result. Brian Head, one of at least four Utah ski areas (along with Brighton, Snowbird and Solitude), says that it will conclude its 2024–25 season on Sunday, May 4, with a record-setting 178 skiable days—the longest season in the resort’s 60-year history.
World Record Skier Aims To Clock Up 10 Million Vertical Feet (3,048,000m) in Season

3 weeks ago | snow-forecast.com | Patrick Thorne

An American skier has passed the 8,000,000 vertical feet skied in a year mark and is hoping to pass the 10,000,000 vertical feet mark by the time the 12-month period ends. Utah-based Thomas Hart has already nearly equalled his own Guinness World Record for "Greatest vertical distance skiing downhill in one year (male)" which he set last year having skied 8,513,340 feet (2,594,866m) between Nov. 30, 2023, and Nov. 30, 2024.
Amazing Snowfall Sets Up Alps for End-Of-Season Powder Paradise

3 weeks ago | inthesnow.com | Patrick Thorne

An incredible snowstorm in the Alps is currently dumping huge amounts of the white stuff on ski slopes. Overnight snowfall totals of up to 1.5m (five feet) have been reported with the snowfall expected to continue for much of today. Montgenvre is pictured top this morning, Les Contamines below. In the short term this is causing big issues for people in ski areas now. Most are closed due to the exceptionally high avalanche danger.
Massive Snowfall in the Alps

3 weeks ago | snow-forecast.com | Patrick Thorne

A huge snowfall is underway in the Alps, by far the biggest of the 24-25 season. Unfortunately, about 80% of ski areas have already ended their seasons. For those still open the storm is also so heavy that it has closed slopes, access roads and set the avalanche danger of a rare maximum 5 on the scale to 5 in parts of the Western Alps. There is also a fear of flooding in some areas with torrential rain on lower slopes and lower snowpack at times.
New Lift Will Access Australia’s New Highest Lift-Served Point

4 weeks ago | snow-forecast.com | Patrick Thorne

The new Mt Perisher 6 chairlift currently under construction at Australia’s largest ski area will not only increase capacity on the route by 60%, but also take skiers up to Australia’s new highest lift-served point at 2,042m. Although only eight metres (27 feet) higher than its existing highest point, the positioning of the new lift’s upper terminal will open up access to a lot of new terrain, Perisher says. That’s in part because pylons from old lifts that are no longer needed have been removed.