 Poster: A snowHead
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Can anyone in resort confirm whether they are trying to run the cannons on Valentin? From the webcams, Lutin and Diable look like they need a big dump to open now but I can still see white on Valentin (with maybe one bare bit). It looks salvageable with a bit of natural snow and cannons. But I'm looking from a very distant webcam.
Also is the closed Bellecombes run coming down under the chair skiable or does it have rocks poking through?
Arriving Saturday, not a fan of downloading 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@belette, would have thought that you need quite a bit of snow on Valentin to make it skiable because of its steepness.
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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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You're probably right... the only time I've skied it before was right at the end of the season when it was a manky brown slush puppy, so holding out hope that it's one of those runs they really work hard to keep open. But there are limits on what I'm prepared to do to my bases in the pursuit of skiing to resort!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@belette, think you are right that they like to get Valentin open.
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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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I can see a bit of a mackerel sky on the webcams (though it looks hot there at the moment!)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altocumulus_mackerel_sky
"Another common place that it is found is in the warm sector of a depression preceding the cold front and associated showery weather, however usually here it is obscured by lower stratus clouds."
Come on cold weather!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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There is some artificial snow on the Valentin, but not enough to open the run. It is also a solid sheet of ice - some idiot was busy trying it from half way down this afternoon and you could hear the scraping from the Berangere's car park. The black run under the Bellecombe chair is closed for the good reason that there isn't enough snow to cover the rocks and anyone trying it at the moment is asking to die.
The rest of Bellecombe is open but is something of an ice rink and wasn't a great deal of fun even on a pair of serious piste skis. Toura and further up isn't bad, though a couple of the runs hitherto open are now closed again for lack of snow and surfeit of rocks. The track frpm Bellecombe back to Cretes is a mixture of very thin snow and sheets of ice - I'm not sure I rate its chances of surviving the tropical spell predicted for the end of this week.
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Damn, that's not good news on any front... at this rate should've gone to Scotland for Christmas! I was hoping there'd be some reasonably challenging terrain (not challenging by dint of millions of skiers forced onto few pistes) further up but sounds like it is too thin there too. Come on snow...
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@Lizzard, thanks for the report. Great antidote to "The snow was perfect" crap that we sometimes get. Valentin is a great piste to watch. Always plenty of muppets who overrate their ability. Always (alarmingly) adults taking their snowploughing 4 year old down it, too. Hope that conditions improve for Christmas/New Year, otherwise there are gonna be some crowded pistes in the higher sectors.
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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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Well, we had 3 very good days of skiing. Everything 2200m and up (except for fee sector) is open and conditions are very good given the circumstances!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@belette, as far as I know the Grande Galaxie is not currently in operation - check with the lift office before you go trekking off elsewhere.
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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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Both ADH and Serre are open for sure; Serre is doing quite well considering you normally think of it as a sunny resort that gets hammered in bad snow years.
Serre:
Open trails
38/100
Open lifts
28/61
ADH:
Open trails
21/135
Open lifts
21/70
I hadn't realised when I started looking at venturing beyond Alpe d'Huez but the TO we are going with organises a coach to Serre on Wednesdays so no trek or admin required  the only snaggle will be if resorts start getting all protectionist and limiting access to those from others in the same pass area to limit congestion/preserve snow. We'll see!
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How does it work when you go to one of the "other" resorts? Do you have to go to the ticket desk or does your L2A card simply work for AdH / SC? Is there a precedent for visitors being turned away in that way belette?
I'll admit that until today I have been caught up in the "no-snow" hysteria but in the end that's why we booked L2A, because even in a bad year it would still be ok. The inclusion of the other resorts means that, with a bit of driving, we will be able to get a "resort's worth" of pistes visited over the new year week.
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You know it makes sense.
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I think there is precedent, I'm struggling to remember when but I remember going one year in the dim and distant past where a resort got a lot of criticism for closing doors to everyone except "local" pass holders. I can't remember which one it was or where though, sorry. And it may have been because there was insufficient snow at the "visitor" resort to allow its holders to ski at all, so everyone was heading to the resort where there was still snow. I'm not especially concerned about it happening between LDA/ADH/SC as all are in similar positions at the moment.
Your 6 day pass includes:
•For ski passes of 6 days and over : one free entry to swimming pool or ice rink per day and 2 days in Alpe d'Huez / Oz / Vaujany (VFD shuttle service twice a week). 1 day in Serre Chevalier, Puy St Vincent, Montgenèvre Voie Lactée and Sestrière.
You only have to go to the ticket desk at Montgenevre and Sestriere in the Milky Way, the others your pass should work automatically. Puy St Vincent isn't open at the moment, don't know if it will. It's quite a drive in any case.
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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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@belette, I am aware that those resorts are open (as is Montgenevre). However, the Galaxie system is a reciprocal one, and under conditions like these it is usual that resorts won't accept pass holders from elsewhere in order to avoid becoming overcrowded and trashing the pistes for their own punters. This is particularly treu when some places (usually 2Alpes) have significantly more snow/better conditions than others. At the moment the system isn't operating.
@Kingofthec, if you go to Montgenevre or Sestriere, make sure you take with you the paper ticket which you are given with your pass. It has a voucher for a day pass, and you won't get one unless you can show the voucher - just having the pass isn't enough.
And before anyone starts, no the link to La Grave is not open. 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Lizzard, you are quite intent on being a downer aren't you? At the moment, if you were to go on %age open, all of the resorts I mentioned are in pretty much the same situation, so there is little benefit to closing shop. Yes it's busy over Christmas and yes the snow is poor, hence post of 17:49.
Even on the very worst case scenario if you were determined enough (or just had a car) you could pitch up at any of these places and buy a daypass, and get some skiing in, rather than sitting around moaning 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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| Quote: |
if you were to go on %age open
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If. But there's more to it than that, as we all know.
Obviously you could push off and pay for day passes. However, that would presumably affect your plans regarding purchase of a week's pass in 2Alpes, so it's to your advantage to be warned in advance that the system may not be running. I might ring them up and ask tomorrow if I remember.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@Mollerski, OK, just for you: conditions are fabulous, with fresh powder everywhere from glacier level all the way down to the Bas des Pistes. There will be free helicopter trips to all the other Galaxie resorts during Christmas week, while in 2Alpes there will easily be enough snow to open Fee, Thuit and the Vallee Blanche. In fact you'll probably be able to ski to Venosc Village, where Santa will meet you with his sleigh and fly you back to your apartment.
Unfortunately I didn't spot that this thread was posted in the Fairy Tales section rather than under Weather and Snow Conditions - my bad.
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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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@Lizzard,
That'll do, I'm on my way!!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@belette,
Lizz 'ard is a glass bone dry kinda gal. 
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Well I did hear there is actually skiing at L2A, which is more than can be said for some lower less fortunate resorts. My son is there now and he went expecting the worst and is reporting good but limited sking, although a bit weird downloading on a chairlift!! Now, is there a wee bit of counter-propaganda going on to disuade people from flooding into L2A? For those of us that just can't last 12 months without a ski, any ski is better than no ski. I can certainly reminiss about some rather desperate trips to Glenshee and the Lecht!! I am smug because I would have been booking to ski on the 27th Dec. However I do have the dilema of booking shortly for Feb 1/2 term..........will the conditions improve or will it truly be ski-season armagedon??
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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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Lol...I gathered!
In all seriousness, it's good to know exactly how things are in resort, what's feasible/what's not... But invention is the daughter of necessity so (being committed to Christmas week now) I'm trying quite hard to avoid getting stuck scraping down the side of the same 20 runs avoiding a thousand bodies. I think it will be OK and I think (especially if you have a car) it can be an interesting week. Had a great week last year at very beginning of December hopping between resorts in pre-opening. Admittedly with almost zero crowds!
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Hey, and Serre Che isnt a bad choice either. Again struggling lower down but high up looks sweet. Some of the best early season snow fell here in Nov.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Hey, and Serre Che isnt a bad choice either. Again struggling lower down but high up looks sweet. Some of the best early season snow fell here in Nov.
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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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| Quote: |
Obviously the lack of snow is less than ideal, but it's more frustrating when you're attempting to make the best of a bad situation and people just offer up problems
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When you're attempting to make the best of a bad situation what you want is the most accurate information - factual information - you can get. If you don't like it, I guess that's tough. Don't shoot the messenger. Accurate information from an experienced person on the ground is far more useful than a load of "well it's better than being in the office" stuff.
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Factual information does not need to come with a side of snide remarks (the element I am objecting to - as I said above, it is useful to know how things stand). Contrast this thread with the Arlberg thread for an example of that.
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You know it makes sense.
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On a completely irrelevant note, did you know that belette is French for weasel? And what 'snide remarks'? All you've had there is a load of factual information - hardly my fault if you don't like it.
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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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| pam w wrote: |
| Don't shoot the messenger... |
Whether the messenger survives or not, often depends on how the message is delivered.
Lizz certainly doesn't go in for sugar coating and could possibly be guilty off adding a dash of condescension at times. Only a dash.
Last edited by Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name: on Wed 17-12-14 9:55; edited 1 time in total
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Yes, that's why i chose it.
Re: snide, upthread you're implying it's silly to ask about some of this stuff (of course x, y and z are completely unskiable) when people who aren't in resort have no way of knowing because there's only so much you can tell by looking at a grainy image or clicking around the internet. On passes I guess we are all in the same position in that you can only confirm by speaking to a human at the lift pass offices (and maybe they won't confirm yet).
At the end of the day, we all just want to ski, the sooner some proper snow comes to ease things a bit the better. Just a shame it seems to have no plans to do so in the next week...
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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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Oh, mollerski expressed it more succinctly than I
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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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| Quote: |
a human at the lift pass offices
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that might be Lizzard but I don't know if she's working for the lift pass office again this year...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Ok then, if that's the case it'd be helpful to know if it's usual that the grande galaxie system only functions when all resorts included are open, or if the decision is taken on a rolling, conditions dependent basis. Obv it's not Lizzard's job to answer questions on an internet forum, but it's nice to have some context.
ETA: typo
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Wed 17-12-14 10:38; edited 1 time in total
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I have no plans to do any work whatsoever this winter. Or not a lot, anyway.
Word from the lift office is that the Galaxie system is not currently in operation, and will not start until snow conditions across all the relevant resorts show significant improvement. Given that the forecast is currently for no snow and yet another rise in temperature after the weekend, I would bank on it not being open for next week, so anyone planning on skiing the other resorts should put some thought into what type of lift pass to buy.
Access to elsewhere is by bus/helicopter (Alpe d'Huez), or car (all other resorts). Technically you could get to Serre Chevalier by bus, but you'd end up with about two hours skiing, so it wouldn't really be worth the bother. TOs won't run a coach trip if there's no free skiing elsewhere.
The heli trips run daily, but only if they can fill both outward and return trips. Given that day trippers will have to pay for passes, I imagine there will be less demand than usual, so bus may be the most reliable option - they run on Weds and Thurs, depart about 08:30. This is a bit irritating from a pass-buying point of view.
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Ok, that's really helpful. Will have to do some maths to see what makes most sense vs available skiing/hassle of travel/cost of the various passes. If I had a car out there I think I'd just hop round resorts but sadly limited...
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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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Car hire in Bourg d'Oisans if you want it:
CarGo Le Bourg d'Oisans
ZA Route de Grenoble
38520 - Le Bourg-d'Oisans
Phone : 04.76.80.26.97
Fax : 04.76.79.10.75
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Thanks - going to figure out a plan b (and c, and d). Be interesting (!) to see how long the queues are next week, I haven't skied a peak week in ages so expecting a shock to the system. 
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FAQ
Fustration mebee? 