SAM Magazine-Krippenstein, Austria, Feb. 24, 2009-The snow just keeps falling across Europe as some areas are seeing record snowfall. In Austria, storms have been pounding most parts of the country with an additional meter expected for the week. "It's been amazing, says Kästle Skis president Siegfried "Sigi" Rumpfhuber. "One of the best seasons in memory." Zugspitzplatt Ehrwald recently reported 135cm (over four feet) of new snow, with Salbach Hinterglemm Leogang three feet and St. Anton am Arlberg two feet.

Austria isn't the only country that is benefiting. The big story is down south, in the French and Spanish Pyrenees, where resorts are having the best season in more than 20 years. "I was in Tavascan last week," says expat Julie Winter, who resides in Barcelona and regularly skis resorts located in the Spanish Pyrenees, "and it was closed due to avalanche danger because of too much snow. The other two ski areas also had too much snow to open. It's the most I've seen in seven years of living here."

In the French Pryenees conditions are much the same, with depths of more than 15 feet at some ski areas, including Gourette. Nearby Cauterets saw more than five feet of snow Feb. 11-12, with more than ten feet over the past 10 days.

In Switzerland, Sörenberg reportings seven feet of snow with Zermatt reporting a base of 24 feet on the glacier.

In Italy conditions are much the same: a solid December and January snowfall was enhanced by recent storms. Campo Felice-Rocca di Cambio in the Abruzzo region, one of Rome's local ski areas, had 8 inches of snow, while Ussita/Frontignano in the Marche region got the most in the country, 20 inches. The Presena Glacier above Passo Tonale and Arabba on the Sella Ronda are reporting 18 feet and 16 feet, respectively.

North America has also benefited from recent storms. The seven Ski Lake Tahoe resorts report more than 13 feet of snow in February alone, accounting with base depths over 150 inches in some areas. The longterm outlook for snow in Lake Tahoe is positive, with the active weather pattern expected to continue well into March. Mammoth has also benefited from abundant February snow, receiving more than half the season total (nearly 300 inches) in the first two weeks of the month. \