Weather and Snow

Although Kamchatka lies at the similar latitude to Great Britain, cold Arctic winds from Siberia combined with the cold Ohotskoe sea current cover the mountains of peninsula in snow from October to late July.
Winter months are known for their low temperatures and strong winds, that is why volcano skiing is not enjoyable then. The Spring months bring more comfortable weather - warmer, but still bringing snowfall which transforms into light powder until the end of April, or even the beginning of May on the altitude.
Depending on the part of peninsula, climate can be very different, from marine/coastal climate close to the Pacific ocean shore, to classic continental climate in the middle part of peninsula. Below you will find some general descriptions and numbers, true for skitouring areas around Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. In other areas, depending on climate type and altitude, weather can vary a lot. Don’t hesitate to ask us about expected weather for your trip and dates.

In the locations of most of our skitouring programmes, the weather and temperatures should be:

March - night temperature varies from minus 10 to minus 20, depending on the place , day temperature is around minus 5-7 in the shade, but it feels significantly warmer in the sun. March is considered as winter month in Kamchatka, so we are definitely looking for powder skiing this month.

April - night temperature varies from minus 5 to minus 15, depending on place, day temperature is around minus 3-5 in the shade, but it feels significantly warmer in the sun. In general, the weather is identical to conditions in March/April in the Alps. Snowstorms happen once per 10-12 days. Mostly powder skiing, with corn skiing on southern aspects in the second part of the month (still powder on northerly aspects).

May – night temperature in May is usually about minus 3-5 degrees Celsius and the daytime temperature is around 0 in the shade. But it feels significantly warmer, or even hot on the sun, good sunglasses and sun cream are necessary parts of gear. Snowfalls are rare, especially in the second part of month. Generally the weather is stable in May and cyclones don’t last long. In fact last year’s statistics show we were skitouring/splitboarding about 90 percent of the time. In general, the weather is identical to conditions in April in the Alps.

June - the night temperature in June is usually about 0 degrees Celsius and the daytime temperature is around plus 5-7 in the shade, but it feels significantly warmer in the sun. In general, the weather is identical to conditions in May in the Alps. Most of the time we ski corn snow, with high chance for powder skiing right after snowfalls, on northerly aspects and higher 1500 meters

Most reliable weather forecasts for Kamchatka are Yr.no and Mountain Forecast

March and April
In this time of the year in Kamchatka we are definitely looking for powder skiing. Whatever the snow conditions are, our experience and local knowledge help us to provide best possible skiing in the areas. In past years all our guests were satisfied with the snow quality, check the Testimonials section.
On the second part of April, corn snow appears on southern aspects, so you can ski powder in the morning and corn on the afternoon!

May and June
This time of year in Kamchatka, we are mostly looking for corn (spring) skiing. Second only to powder in the "favourite snow conditions" category might just be corn, that delicious grainy Spring snow created by the perfect mix of slope aspect, warm temperature and sunshine. Skiing the Kamchatka corn snow is definitely some of the best Spring skiing on Earth. Hard, cold morning snow melts with the first light of sun, creating the ideal gliding surface at noon. We find smooth, soft skiing - like skiing powder and carving at the same time.

Still, with new storms coming, we might be able to ski some powder, especially on northerly aspects and high altitude.