 Poster: A snowHead
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So pretty normal conditions for MOrzine at this time of year then? 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| kitenski wrote: |
| at what level does the rain turn to snow Phillip???? It looks like snow on the la tania webcam which is at 1300m.... |
I'm sorry, I don't know kitenski.
3 degrees on the comedy weather station - so I'd expect that snow would be falling around 1200m or so. It's absolutely chucking it down at the moment. Torrential.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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A mixed tale.
The magic number appears to be 1300. Below 1300m the snow is very, very rain affected. In fact it's a complete mess.
Above 1300m the pistes have had the best end of the snow / rain mix. The snow is well consolidated; very, very grippy and a huge amount of fun to ski. It may well be the best snow for carving I've skied on all season.
We went over to the Les Gets bowl this afternoon and the snow was equally good.
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Looking at the webcam and the bottom of the slopes at Les Gets doesn't look good - rain has done damage. 1 week to go so hoping for more snow but definitely no rain !
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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We had very, very heavy rain all of last night - sufficiently heavy to wake me up several times in the night (we sleep directly under the roof apex in the mezzanine). The only snow remaining around the apartment is the kicker the local kids made last week - it's completely bare beyond that.
We can see the side of Mont Chery from our apartment and snow there looks ok. The lift is running.
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Nightmare.
Late start with the intention of just doing a couple of hours before we start our BASI course next week. We headed up towards Ardent and started to get worried when we saw people parking up at Montriond lake to catch the ski bus up. Further up cars were parked solidly from half way underneath the avalanch protector right up Ardent.
Discretion being the better part of valor, we decided that it would be safer (in all respects) to head home and give the skis some TLC.
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PhillipStanton, Just back from my week in Les Gets. As we were in our bus this morning going to the airport lots of people driving up - something to do with there not being a cloud in the sky.
The snow at the start of last week held up well until that heavy rain but even then we had great fun with the kids near the Indian Village yesterday. Esprit ski were good in Les Gets and the small class sizes meant my six year old was going down the red into the Les Gets bowl by the end of the week.
Hope the snow holds together for all those going out in March. It is much thinner than last season and may not last in all parts this month, but maybe it will snow again, or just not rain would be good.
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First day of our Instructor Training course today - short turning our way across the Nyon and Pleney areas. Conditions are mixed - there are big holes in some areas of the piste, but the snow is very, very grippy and great for short turning on.
We're over in Avoriaz tomorrow, but we're snowploughing - so don't expect much in way of terrain news 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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PhillipStanton, "give the skis some TLC",...Fnahr, fnahr...
New euphemisms please umpire?
If it helps at all, we abandoned the Grands Montets and Le Tour at the same time-ish to head to the only parking in the Chamonix valley (as far as I could see) at Vallorcine...
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Avoriaz today. And before anyone gets excited I should highlight that it was "Central Theme" day - i.e. largely snowploughing - so terrain coverage was somewhat limited. (Yet again.) Up Super Morzine, across ProClou, up Arare and then straight to the Avoriaz nursery slopes for some "extreme", "hardcore" ploughing. Radical dude. etc.
The snow is, frankly, great - lots of it and well-consolidated. Everywhere apart from Zore / Tetras - but even that had good cover with no stones.
David Murdoch - don't you just hate all those people driving up from Geneva to take advantage of the snow conditions
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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PhillipStanton, oh indeed, yes I do.
Although as we are currently being pursued for French Social Security and pension contributions, I think I am allowed to be. Gits. What's a form E101 anyway?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Yesterday - by passed Avoriaz and headed over to Switzerland. A lot less people and the snow was very good. 1st days skiing in over a week and I was pleasntly suprised at how the snow has held up considering all the different weather we have been getting. It's the Morzine/Avoriaz Schools Ski Race this morning so I will be up at Nyon with the kids and some Teflon for their skis!!
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You know it makes sense.
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PhillipStanton, so is the snow good then?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Checking out the webcam, it is looking a bit brown at the bottom of Les Gets. Going on Sunday.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Swirly wrote: |
| PhillipStanton, so is the snow good then? |
Errr, not bad
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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kendadj, that's why webcams suck.
1. The bottom of Les Gets often looks a little brown at this time of year.
2. The snow really only fell in quantities above around 1,400m this year and the bottom of Les Gets is ~1,100m. So it hasn't looked particularly white for most of the season.
Higher up you should have tremendous piste conditions...
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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A bit more of a tour today - including the "improve your bumps skiing quickly or you'll regret it" approach to teaching bumps - the Swiss Wall - in a white out. Surprisingly enjoyable - although a guide dog would definitely have helped - if only to know when the lead went slack.
We started at Super Morzine; through Avoriaz; up and down the Stade; up (and down and up) the Fornet bowl; down (and up and down and up and down) the Swiss Wall; down to Les Crozets (including the famous last words of "trust me, all pistes lead to Les Crozets"); up and over into Linderats and then, finally, to our spiritual home of the Avoriaz nursery slopes. Well, after all, where would a day be without a couple of hours of snowploughing.
As previously posted, I'm a Swiss Wall virgin and, in all honesty, I now can't really say that I've "done" the Swiss Wall. The snow was extremely benevolent - soft, squishy bumps - and the lack of visibility kept the main other hazard (people) in check. Although I did "enjoy" a 20-30m backwards snowplough down part of the top section on my second run after hitting a piece of cornice debris. Given such snow conditions it would be churlish to complain about the 4-6ft visibility... 
The snow continues to be in very good nick - although, kendadj, I'm sorry to report that the top of Pleney didn't really re-freeze last night. It's colder tonight though (1.8 degrees on the good ol' comedy weather station).
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| PhillipStanton wrote: |
to our spiritual home of the Avoriaz nursery slopes. Well, after all, where would a day be without a couple of hours of snowploughing.
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Are the Avoriaz nursery slopes next to the middle-sized park? I've spent a fair few hours experimenting with new and exciting potential ways to hurt myself there lately, will keep an eye out for a group of snowploughers 
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PhillipStanton, mate, the Wall is almost invariably horrible. Over skied, under snowed and just downright dangerous with all those people skittering around.
Although I retain just a certain amount of jealousy at my brother who skied it after 40cm of pwder on the first day of the season following the pisteur who had just opened it and was having another shot it being so fine. Just think...1km long of perfect flat powdery Wall. I think I'm going green again...
Sounds like your conditions would have been pretty awesome with a blue sky above though!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| David Murdoch wrote: |
| Sounds like your conditions would have been pretty awesome with a blue sky above though! |
I'll let you know - there's a blue sky as I write - and I've a feeling we're going back today.
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PhillipStanton, enjoy, it was the one run I wanted to do but didn't manage to while I was out there. When we were over that way I didn't think I was good enough and when I realised I was it was too late to head back. I'm not complaining though if I'd gone to do the wall with the procession of people down it I'd have missed out on fresh tracks in thigh deep powder. It'll be there next time but the powder might not be.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Clear blue skies this morning and a bit more brutal start to our morning as we went straight to the Swiss Wall without a warmup run on the Avoriaz Stade first. Three runs down the wall (one of which included an overhead "hello" from snowandtrek as she headed up the lifts!).
On our first run I saw why The Wall has its reputation. We were stood, as a group of 11, reviewing our first exercise on the run (anyone for a high-speed traverse across a 40 degree bump run?), when a body, sans skis, came heading down towards our group. Our BASI Trainer has reiterated several times that rule one on such slopes is not to try to be a hero - being hit from above is more likely to kill or badly injure you than the person falling. So we (very quickly) moved over and watched in complete horror as the bloke slid past us and down the piste. We were half way between the first and second pylons (for those of you who know the slope); the bloke's instructor was about 50m above the first pylon (with the poor bloke's skis - so he must have fallen very near the entry to the run).
The bloke stopped sliding about 100m before the pisted section of the run starts. On the way down he slid, barrel-rolled and cartwheeled. We don't know how badly he was injured - but when we were on our second run down The Wall he had stood up (face covered in blood) and was skiing himself off the run. Which just goes to reinforce the point above about not being a hero.
Anyway...
...many high-speed carving runs; a trip on the off-piste under the Mossettes chair and...
...back to the Avoriaz nursery slope.
Great snow everywhere. Firm off-piste. Beware the crust
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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PhillipStanton sorry for my ignorance but where is the wall (and what is the runs name)? Only skied Avoriaz once and didn't really have time to hunt it down, but would like to have a go next time we retrun to Avoriaz.
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brian
brian
Guest
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RetroSkier, Pas de Chavanette is it's official name I think, also referred to as Le Mur Suisse (Swiss wall). It faces away from the Avoriaz bowl down towards Champéry. I think it's marked as an itinerary on the piste map.
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You know it makes sense.
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PhillipStanton, Very jealous of you as I was ski hosting some ladies who wern't up to the Wall! Should be good next week blue skies and colder overnight.
Youngest daugther - Abigail won her year in the Morzine/Avoriaz schools race - she is 4! The older one Isabelle came a very respectable 4th (she is just 7) as she was suffering from stinking cold which she has now kindly passed on to her Mum. She had won the prievious 2 years so she felt this was s let down but as we had 1 Brit on the podium this yar we are keeping up the good work - that Teflon really works!!!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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My best day skiing of the season. 
Not for what I skied, but for how I skied. More of which later...
Rain last night turned into overnight snow - a light dusting in Morzine (all of which has now burnt off) and 10-15cm at the top of Avoriaz.
I didn't actually go very far today - six runs down Brocheaux (in the Linderats bowl); two runs down through the trees from Chaux Fleurie and three runs down under the cliffs in the Fornet bowl.
Why was the day so good? Well, none of these runs were pisted and, after four runs on my own, things were working ok, but not well. All the technical stuff was ok(ish), but didn't really hang together very well.
I then met up with crasher who literally transformed my skiing in two runs - by sorting out my head. A case of "are you wearing the skis or just standing on them".
RetroSkier - if you look at the piste map the Swiss Wall is the run marked in orange (itinerary as brian points out) under the Chavanette chair lift on the Swiss side of the ridge. Confusingly, there are two Chavanette lifts - the chair on the Swiss side and a double drag in the main Avoriaz bowl. If you want to get up to the wall, though, go up the Choucas lift, turn left off the top and traverse across and under the top of the Chavanette drag lift. There's no point starting with tired legs.
The Chavanette chairlift on the Swiss side is one of the few lifts that allows downloading. I'd stongly recommend taking the chair over the wall first to survey the misery taking place below and ensure that you do, really, want to do the run.
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Poster: A snowHead
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PhillipStanton, My understanding is that the pisteurs are a lot more careful of when they open the wall than say 20 years ago. In 1898 - I was not there but heard 1st hand from a reliable witness - of a poor chap who fell near the top and stopped at the very bottom. Allegedly he started leaving blood stains about half way down (visibile from chair lift). I don't know if the event was fatal, but I can't believe it was happy.
On a happier note, sounds like you had a top day yesterday!! Well done!!! Shall we invite Crasher out for beers ((If you haven't already))?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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David Murdoch,
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In 1898 - I was not there
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Did you start the season before or after?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| David Murdoch wrote: |
| Shall we invite Crasher out for beers ((If you haven't already))? |
We should, indeed.
Just out to see if I can ski well two days running
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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question for PhillipStanton, I'm probably coming out to Morzine in a couple of weeks and looking at an option near the bottom of the Ardent gondola, what's the run like down to the bottom of it, would hate to take the gondola down. The accommodation is in Montriond - is this a one horse village or something with bars and resturants? Thanks in advance for your help.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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stevew - Montriond is a good, but quiet location. There's a ski bus that runs up to Ardent and that, IMHO, is the best place to start skiing for a day. The run down is a blue that can get slushy and chaotic at the end of the day. Most of the locals have a monkier for the run of "the arcade game", "Star Wars" (think of the Death Star trench in the first (4th) film) and a monkier of "chaos corner", "casulty corner", etc for one particular corner. It's a good run and I usually ski it. But I'll often download if there's an air of chaos.
Montriond itself only has a couple of local shops and one bar - although the Ridge Hotel, which has a trendy modern bar that does good food and live music, is only a 5 minute walk away. The centre of Morzine is a 23 minute walk (according to my friend who lives near the centre of Monriond and measures such things) . The ski bus will get you to the centre of Morzine in 5-10 minutes, but the last bus is at around 19:00 - so it's either a case of walking off any potential hangover (along a well-lit road with a pavement) or getting a cab (for around 15 euros).
To be honest, you can have accommodation in Morzine that is less convenient - especially if it's up the hill towards Avoriaz, where "500m from the town centre" usually omits that this is as the crow flies; is a 200m vertical climb and is closer to 1.5km if you walk a sensible route.
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Rest day today.
So I skied for a couple of hours.
Well, I had to given how well I skied yesterday. Just to consolidate the gains. Which I more or less have. I didn't ski quite as well - but didn't have crasher with me as he was very kindly doing the same head job on MrsPhillipStanton's short turns.
Uploaded from Super Morzine and just did six runs down the off-piste under the Fornet cliffs. The snow is still excellent up there - although there's a lot of breakable crust forming.
Must go...MrsPhillipStanton is keen to get back out for a walk to loosen up the legs.
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T Bar, Hmmm. I think I meant 1989... 
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| David Murdoch wrote: |
| T Bar, Hmmm. I think I meant 1989... |
I thought you were wearing well!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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PhillipStanton, thanks think I'll book in there then.
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Thanks for the kind words phil
Had a great day, ripping it up with 4dutch kids on the magic garden, then things got extreme in the garden of doom, with 5 3 and 4 year olds.
Nice snow though , good for the central Dream.
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FAQ
) and a shaky start on my part (i.e. cartwheel in the off-piste) gave way to some pretty decent skiing.
), except it wasn't the first day of the season and there was no pisteur. 
