Free cat boarding at Copper

Copper Mountain is offering free snowcat access on Tucker Mountain.

According to the mountain' s website: "This is as close to a backcountry, big-mountain experience as you'll find in-bounds at any resort."

The cats have been in operation since 2 January and run from 10am to 1.30pm every day. Tucker Mountain closes at 2pm. It's first come, first served, so get there early.

Photo credit: Copper Mountain

Vail extends season

Vail has decided to extend its winter season by a week thanks to this year's epic snowfalls.

The Colorado resort was originally due to close on 15 April, but will now stay open an extra week, closing on 22 April.

The end of the season is celebrated with a massive spring bash, "Spring Back to Vail", which includes free concerts by top US bands, as well as deals on lift passes and lodging and the chilly-sounding World Pond Skimming Championships.

Photo credit: Vail Resorts

Another record for Whistler

Whistler snowfall hit a record high yet again this week after the latest dump brought this season's accumulation to 875cm.

That's the biggest total by this time in January since records began 27 years ago.

It won't take much for Whistler to beat its annual average snowfall of 10m.

The weather's currently clear and sunny, but another frontal system could bring more snow on Wednesday.

Photo credit: Whistler Blackcomb (webcam showing The Roundhouse restaurant, 14 January 2007)

Auf Wiedersehen Alpine skiing

Skiing and boarding in the Alps could be history within 45 years according to a new report on climate change.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development predicts that 75 per cent of Alpine glaciers will melt within this period, causing avalanches and floods and forcing ski resorts to close.

Only the highest resorts, such as Tignes (2,100m) and Val Thorens (2,300m), are expected to survive.

The reports will be handed to European governments this week.

This follows a poor start to this year's Alpine winter season. Despite a decent snowfall at New Year, mild temperatures since mean many low-level resorts are still lacking snow.

Read the full story on The Observer website.

Snow in Stowe for holiday weekend

Stowe, Vermont has been thanking the snow gods for the 10 to 18 inches (25 to 46cm) of white stuff it's received over the past week.

The fresh pow arrived just in time for the US holiday weekend. The resort also opened the Sensation Quad on Upper Spruce Peak on Friday 12th, meaning all four peaks were open in time for the holiday rush.

Stowe currently has the highest percentage of runs open in Northern Vermont, and conditions look pretty sweet on their home page video at www.stowe.com.

Photo credit: Stowe Mountain Resort

Sake and snow monkeys in Japan

The Christmas stockings are back in the drawer and the tree is shedding its last needles (unless it's one of those fancy no-drop ones of course).

The only proper way to cheer up is to book a holiday, and what better place to consider for your next snowboarding trip than Japan, this year's hot ski destination.

Check out my feature on 10 reasons to ski/board in Japan on the World Travel Guide.

Photo credit: JNTO