Just as most of the ski areas in the northern hemisphere close down for the season, Jasna, the leading resort in the Slovak Republic, has announced it hopes to re-open its slopes. “And it's here! Spring skiing in Jasna starts on Thursday, 22nd April!” a spokesperson for the resort said. Ski areas in Slovenia operated up to January 12th, 2021 when the government announced ski areas would be closed for three weeks to try to slow pandemic spread. Ski areas were initially closed to at least February 7th, but this date had been constantly put back, in to April, as the pandemic continued at quite high infection levels in Slovakia. Jasna on 10th December, 2020 The Jasna slopes that still

Issued: 14 April 2021 By Patrick "Snowhunter" Thorne European Roundup North American Roundup Asia Roundup EUROPE INTRODUCTION Even as we approach the middle of the month, April continues to be a more wintery month than March was, with the snow returning to the Alps over the past few days and the mercury dropping to double-digits below freezing. Up to 35cm (14 inches) of fresh snowfall has been reported for some high altitude slopes, but the snow has been falling down to resort level in the valleys too. The snowfall has also continued up in Scandinavia and Scotland and it has even been cold, at times, in the southeast as well as the northeast of the continent. Despite that though, of the hundreds

The Middle Eastern kingdom of Qatar is offering boarders the chance to hit the hot desert sand this summer to make up for missing out on the snow version of the sport this past winter. “For 2021, the Qatar National Tourism Council (QNTC) is inviting those who missed out on a ski or snowboarding trip to visit the country when borders re-open to get out of their comfort zone and try something new - at a fraction of the cost,” a spokesperson for the organisation said. The QNTC is working in partnership with Q Explorer Tourism to offer this novel alternative in the spectacular dunes of Khor Al Adaid at up to a third off the price of the normal

Last Updated 18 April 2021 at 10.05 GMT (Updates so far since commenced on 5 May 2020: 637 The web's most comprehensive guide of ski resorts opening around the world during the pandemic. An estimated 500+ Ski Areas Are Currently Open Worldwide in at least 25 Countries on 3 Continents including: Asia: Azerbaijan, China, India, Iran, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey. Europe: Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany (some), Latvia, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine. North America: Canada, USA Ski areas in Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany (most) Greece, Iceland, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, Mongolia, Morocco, Pakistan*, Poland, Portugal, Scotland and the Slovak Republic want to open but governments in their countries or region

Despite the pandemic operating restriction affected ski areas the world over, a number of resorts have announced extended operating periods this spring. It is good news for those lucky enough to be able to reach the still-open ski-areas. For the first time ever, Swiss ski resort LAAX (below) is extending its ski season by three weekends, due to favourable conditions on the pistes. The resort had planned to close its slopes this Sunday 11th April, but have decided that thanks to what they say is great snow conditions, they will remain open every weekend until Monday 3rd May, the longest the winter season has ever run in LAAX. “This extended ski season will run alongside the resort’s newly launched spring