We thought we’d share a few of the best pics and videos from the powder-hungry population of Fernie!

Back on Tuesday the excitement was getting to fever-pitch in town

Stopping your car for more than 2 mins isn't wise!

Karen Pepper Snorkelling!

Robin Siggers capturing Fernie's steep and deep

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We’ve just got a couple funny picture sequences from the cat skiing day at the end of our most recent development and performance camps, proving there’s a lot more to it than just epic riding… you get to roll around in the snow as well.

Here’s Jenny our course host demonstrating how to stack with style (all pics courtesy of Courtney Haeusler at Fernie Wilderness Adventure):

Blue Bird Day at Fernie Wilderness Adventures - PERFECT.

Jenny looking good.

Something looks a little odd!

Oh NO!

NO SKI, She'll need that!!!

Has she saved it?

Probably not!

And down she goes.

And under.

And upside down.

It's not every day you catch that on camera.

Here’s what Jenny had to say:

I think that last Friday was one of the best I have ever had up a Fernie Wilderness Adventures. The snow was the perfect depth for bombing around their terrain and wising around those little trees.  This photo sequence is of Craig Moore when he got a little stuck on the flats.  Body boarding seemed a lot easily. Love these.

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There are few photos that have really caught our eye. Here’s the first one that’s been doing the rounds, apparently it’s the road into St Anton a few days ago:

There have also been a couple of corkers post on TSA’s Facebook page. Check out the state of this lift station in Courchevel:

This is in France, not sure where this is… but can it be real???!!!!

If you’re in the Alps, have fun and be safe!

Have you seen any more crazy snow photos from this season? Post links below!

Find out more about our instructor courses and holidays in Serre Chevalier, France.

December was extremely kind to the Alps, with heavy snowfall setting up an amazing base in the first couple of weeks of the month. In most resorts, frequent top-ups continued throughout the month and made for one of the best Christmas conditions for a long while!

Temperatures have fluctuated at times and some lower slopes were hit with some rain over New Year. This hasn’t dented the substantial base too badly and conditions are set to improve massively with the storm that is now thundering through the Alps. Some resorts have seen “crazy” amounts of snow over the last 24 hours, which has brought many of them to a standstill. Check out this article about violent overnight storms from The Ski Club.

Warm weather and rain followed by heavy snowfall is a recipe for major avalanche danger. So, as you’d expect, a lot of resorts are closed until they can be made safe. So, if you’re out in the Alps at the moment, take it easy off piste until the new snow settles in and, of course, heed any warnings from the resort.

Photo courtesy of @leetownend

It’s certainly looking to be a great year to visit Europe, and is much needed after the disappointment of last season. If you’ve still got holidays to plan, check out our chalets in Meribel Mottaret and our 1 week ski improvement camps in Serre Chevalier. You’ll have an amazing time!

Find out more about our ski and snowboard improvement camps in Canada and France here.

Here’s the video diary from their final week, as they “prepared” for the big day.

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It’s only the 1st of December, but already fears are starting to rise about the snow conditions in Europe this winter. Following a disappointing season last year, hope is starting to dwindle that this year will be any better.

However, things are looking far more optimistic on the other side of the Atlantic, with the second “El Nina” winter in a row. The Western Canadian resorts in BC and Alberta have been absolutely pounded with snow over the last month. Many resorts are already in full swing, with powder days aplenty, and the snow isn’t showing any signs of letting up.

Whistler pow, in November! (Photo: Michael Neumann www.whistlerblackcomb.com)

The contrast between European and Western Canadian resorts at the moment is stark. Here are a few webcam shots from some of the bigger resorts. Pictures speak a thousand words!

EUROPE on 1st December 2011:

Meribel, France

Courchevel, France

Morzine, France

Val d'Isere, France

Chamonix, France

St Anton, Austria

Soll, Austria

Hintertux, Austria

Verbier, Sitzerland

CANADA at dawn on 1st December 2011:

Fernie, BC, Canada

Whistler, BC, Canada

Red Mountain, BC, Canada

Sunshine Village, Banff, AB, Canada

Lake Louise, Banff, AB, Canada

Mount Norway, Banff, AB, Canada

Although Europe has had a particularly warm November, with very little precipitation, there is hope for some snow this weekend, with a cold snap on its way in. There’s definitely some catching up to do if the big European resorts want to open on time. Fingers crossed!

Without doubt though, Canada is the place to be this season if you’re looking for a powder fix! At the moment it’s looking like the snow will just keep on coming.

Find out more about Canadian ski and snowboard holidays, powder camps and improvement courses here.

By the looks of this video from Gordon, the lessons are starting to really improve their technique and their legs are starting to get used to that powder-burn!

There’s still time to join one of our 3 week or 11 week ski instructor courses or snowboard instructor courses this season. Visit nonstopsnow.com.

Anyway, just to make our snow withdrawals even worse, I thought I’d try to brighten up our desktops with some nice snowy pics. Here are a few sites that have got some really good desktop wallpapers that you can download for free:

For Snowboarders:

Whitelines – A massive selection of snowboarding wallpapers, spawned from their ground-breaking “Friday Fix” email.

Onboard – A suspiciously similar format to Whitelines, but with a little more Euro-bling

TTR – Good work from the TTR here. They’ve set up a nice little collection with some heavy-weight snaps from their sponsors.

High Altitude – A little more oldschool / cheesy than the others, but there might be something there that floats your boat.

Transworld – The global heavy-weights of world snowboard media with some pretty ridiculous shots

For Skiers:

Skiing wallpaper pickings seem to be pretty slim… but here are a couple to get you started:

Ski Union – Another suspiciously similar format from the Factory boys… following in the footsteps of Whitelines. Still, mustn’t grumble, this is probably the best ski wallpapers on the internet today!

High Altitude – Again, on the cheesier side, but there might be something in there for you.

If you’ve got any good wallpaper resources let us know! Use the comments below or drop me an email on pete@nonstopsnow.com.

Don’t forget to forward this on to your mates – Let’s brighten up some desktops!

If you are lucky enough to be able to hit up the southern hemisphere this year, check out our New Zealand ski instructor course here.

Eric Pollard and the guys at Nimbus Independent are getting better and better each season. Their videos are slicker and longer, and they now have  a great archive of “POV” Go Pro footage, so you can sit in front your PC with your helmet and goggles on pretending you’re a pro skier.

Their “En Route” films are free to stream online and a great watch; good banter, awesome snow and terrain and awe inspiring skiing. Pollard, Fujas,  Mahre Bencheter aren’t about tall tees and 1260s, they tend to wear understated clothing, rip huge gouges in metre deep powder and float massive 180s off 40ft cliffs.

Here’s Nimbus’ latest production: En Route Approach. It was the first sunny lunch break in a week today, but this flick kept me firmly glued to my seat inside.

En Route Approach from NIMBUS INDEPENDENT on Vimeo.

This season Fernie had pushing 12 metres of snow. If you want some intensive coaching in progressive snow conditions and world class terrain, look no further than our selection of performance/development camps in Fernie:

Skiers:
2 week ski camps/3 week ski camps/6 week off-piste MTM ski camp

Snowboarders:
2 week snowboard camps/3 week snowboard camps/6 week off-piste snowboard camp