 Poster: A snowHead
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❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️
One week to go.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Me too @Timg60, well 8 days actually (not that I am counting)!!
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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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Was it as windy as the forecasts suggested Chocksaway?
Just had a look at the Toviere webcam. There's barely a snowflake on the restaurant roof there and the snow looks to have drifted half way up the doors on the Tov' lift exits at the lee side. 
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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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@GeorgeVII, Maybe not quite - but it was howling!
We can now go down the hill but not to Val Claret whilst they blast above the road.
Palafour and Paquis open plus village lifts. Tichot to come and then that's it for the day.
Traffic jams building down the valley as chains are mandatory from Moutiers for the 3V, so blocking the real skiers from getting here.
Meanwhile it took 35 mins to dig one of the cars out down below. Lucky the Plods didn't tow them away as they dug it out:
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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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How's that snow line looking mr Chocksaway?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Its slowly moving up the hill, should be sleet with you shortly and rain in Boisses around 1900. Snow not settling much on the balcony now.
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Thanks. A friend is leaving in the morning and we are wondering if he should dig the car out now!
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If its deep I would, cos if the snow gets wet and freezes it will be almost impossible. I don't think there will be enough rain to shift the snow other than on the roads where the passage of traffic cuts it up.
hence my balcony has already been cleared by the chalet boy!
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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 quite a day up here! Its still snowing heavily though it is quite warm and not settling on my cleared balcony. It seems those going downhill have had more problems than those coming up. Friends are currently in the queue at the lights in Aigueblanche - so a standard Saturday in that respect. Chains now only required from half way up the hill from Bourg so things are easing a bit. Still a long way to go though.
The snow will continue until the early hours, though the snowline will rise to 2000m helping the situation. Tomorrow will be mild and sunny but there will be an awful lot of avalanche work to do on the slopes so expect a very much delayed opening and lots of blasting. Clouds will build up late afternoon and it will snow again by about midnight, the temperature will drop as this happens so the snow will be down to Brev or thereabouts. Monday morning should see a stiff breeze and sunny periods until after lunch when the next snow assault will start. The wind will pick up and it will blow a gale through the night, the snow will continue into Tuesday, perhaps stopping in the afternoon. Wednesday looks wild with heavy snow showers and winds that will see most of the resort closed. Beyond that its all a bit unpredictable.....
For those coming out tomorrow, the roads will be much quieter and black. Flying from the UK should present few problems but it will be windy and wet so expect a bumpy ride. The crosswinds may temporarily be out of limits at Leeds Bradford. Over here Geneva will be fine but there is a chance of early fog at Lyon, Grenoble and Chambery. Lyon and Grenoble should continue operating normally but if it forms at Chambery it will be closed for a while.
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On a bus from Grenoble, got to Albertville ok, now barely moved in 2 hours. Tignes still feels like a long way away!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I heard they were holding all buses at albertville due to the traffic. Could be a long wait.
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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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@chocksaway, I live in Guiseley and can see the Chevin end of LBA's runway landing lights from my bedroom window. I've been looking at the weather forecast for here for my Sunday morning cycle and it does look a little dodgy for early morning.
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@wynnne, Seemingly there has been a slip of snow onto the road to the 3V just after the exit from the motorway. So traffic is backing up onto the motorway. I have some mates on a bus close to Moutiers, have just asked if they are moving.....
@stevew, I wouldn't wear a cap with a big peak!
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You know it makes sense.
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@wynnne, Just had a reply - they are crawling towards Moutiers.
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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One is still there..........
Aye and 2 years ago when I ended up in Montmelian for a night - or was it 3 years?
Tigski has just landed at Grenoble - about to issue advice!
They are preparing refugee centres in Albertville and Moutiers.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@chocksaway Thanks for the update we’re now crawling, seems to be number of cars breakdown down which aren’t helping.
My wife will never come skiing again if we spend the night in a gym, so fingers crossed we (and everyone else on the road) makes it.
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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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@wynnne, good luck!!
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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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Just had notification that it will be 5/5 on the Avi Risk tomorrow morning.
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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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@chocksaway, 5/5? Confined to Barracks? 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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well I am stuck in Edinburgh for the night in the airport hotel - flying out to Chamberry now in the morning... not happy but I guess I should get there tomorrow...
after getting stuck on a bus for 16 hours 3 years ago its better to have a nice meal and sleep early here tonight... but lost a days skiing...
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@GeorgeVII, Potentially
@scottydonald, See above!
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Sadly a ski tourer was killed in an avalanche somewhere on Col des Fours in Val D'Isere today. That's the area to skiers left as you are half way down Cugnai, that then goes up to the ridge that overlooks Pisaillas.
RIP
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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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Just seen 3 people ski down Palafour with head torches. A slope that was closed this afternoon due to avalanche risk. The black flag will be up tomorrow morning as well - Discuss!
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Idiots
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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They must really like skiing. Sure it's not the pisteurs?
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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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@Minion1980, I did wonder, but through the binos they were not in uniform and went straight into the bar at La Place having scuttled by the Almes chair base station at speed presumably to avoid the snow front and any reception committee!
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| chocksaway wrote: |
| @Minion1980, I did wonder, but through the binos they were not in uniform and went straight into the bar at La Place having scuttled by the Almes chair base station at speed presumably to avoid the snow front and any reception committee! |
Bloody idiots!
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You know it makes sense.
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Tigski is back in Tignes!
After receiving a phone call from Chocksaway moments after clearing passport control at Grenoble (flightradar stalker!) we made the decision to hit the road towards Chambery to do some shopping and get a bite to eat. This would give time for the traffic to clear. My own car was parked at the airport. The other option would have been go to Grenoble for the night where there was plenty of hotel availability.
After commiting to the Chambery route, we started getting messages from other people telling us that the road was gridlocked back to Albertville and most hotels in Chambery were full and Albertville definitely was. A quick change of plan resulted in a confirmed room in Aix Les Bains which is a very nice spotting stay anyway. Having no urgency we had a leisurely shop in Chambery and a KFC as a treat for Mrs T.
On arrival at the hotel I was told "No room at the inn" Very seasonal. No record of my confirmed booking through Hotels.com and totally full. The hotel staff did try other hotels for us to no avail.
Back on the road at 9.45 to Tignes, we caught up with the crawling traffic jam just through Albertville. Stop start to the traffic lights before Moutier which do serve a good purpose in thinning out the traffic on the mountain roads after that point. Really good progress from there on.
Seez to Tignes was interesting as the Special Equipment signs were all on show and we were in an ever diminishing flow of traffic. Ever diminishing due to going through 3 different checkpoints checking cars for equipment. All cars were thoroughly vetted at each point and no snow tyres meant put chains on. We saw this being applied to some 4wd vehicles as well. As we got higher we started passing plenty of cars with chain problems or simply not confident driving with them on. Further up there seemed to be some having to put chains on because they were struggling on their snow tyres with loss of traction.
We were very happy to finally arrive at the apartment at 2.50am. The roads past Seez did get gradually worse and were covered with a layer of hard packed rutted and frozen snow from the dam upwards.
The wind is now starting to howl down the valley so not much hope of skiing in the morning. Time for a glass of Lagavulin 😀
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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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Avalanche risk 5 and 8 runs open. Considering moving resort. Thoughts?
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Tigski, Given the reported conditions, I think you did pretty well getting there before 3am.
Not a lot you can do with weather like this when it appears on a Saturday, but people travelling unprepared or "chancing it" are a danger to everyone else and good to see so many police checkpoints on the road.
Have a good season 👍👍
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Lots of runs opening u, avalanche risk 4. Very few people venturing off piste - glad the message has got through. Spoke to J-C at Ski Fast this morning whose view was stay on piste as the snow off piste will be crunchy below 2800m. This is a man who barely even crosses a piste!
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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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@nelly0168, Thanks. I did feel sorry for some of the people trying to get up the mountain in exceptional conditions, and grateful for the prior warnings from @chocksaway, who was keeping a close eye on the situation for us. I am used to driving up and down the route so it must have been horrendous for the holiday visitors, some of whom probably never made it to their destination. They were probably annoyed at being stopped by the gendarmes, but would soon realise why they had been. It was just reassuring for me that the gendarmes were out in force in the dark, doing a great job of trying to keep everyone safe and the traffic moving. My hotel booking is another story!
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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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Its back to Dinah Washington:
What a difference a day made
Twenty-four little hours
Brought the sun and the flowers
OK I lied about the flowers, but thoughts of 13 and a half hour bus rides were soon banished as the sun shone and the pistes opened more rapidly than we expected. There were a few bits of cloud in the afternoon, but nothing to spoil the day. However it was very warm (and the drop of ran last night didn't help) so the pistes out of the sun were quite hard. There was not much activity off piste, the snow had a crisp surface and there were only a few lines across the pristine white and most of them were straight so not a powder day for most. I didn't get high to see if there was anything better up there though.
Here's a view of Le Lac late afternoon:
So what is the New Year going to bring - chaotic weather patterns, which as regular readers will know is an excuse to say that this forecast will change (of course its never wrong when written!). The sky will progressively cloud over tonight and light snow will start soon after the midnight fireworks. The wind will also pick up which will be a feature all of tomorrow so expect the high lifts to be closed, but the pistes to have been refreshed with a few cm of fresh snow. The sun should make an appearance early on for those who can make it out of bed, but it will cloud over from mid-late morning and moderate snow will start falling as the bars open. Note it will be a good 6 degrees colder tomorrow and with the breezes you will need all the layers you wished you hadn't put on today! Tuesday will be mostly cloudy with the odd sunny break and light snow should fall most of the day, the wind will drop though. Wednesday looks wild, windy, warmer and snowy down to 1900m or so by lunchtime. Thursday will be similar but its a bt far off to be specific. Have a good night!
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@GeorgeVII, thanks - just about to head down. 'Gala' Dinner in the apt with 2 mates. HNY to you and Lady G. The pud included some of your Baileys!!!
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@chocksaway good summary. Great day today, after all the dire warnings in the piste opening forecast.
Fireworks amazing too.
just today was worth coming to the Alps for. 
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Here we go! Finally got to VC yesterday afternoon after an unplanned stay in Edinburgh courtesy of Crystal - by all accounts a good call keeping us in Scotland on Saturday night, and a nice hotel. Skis collected and ready to start out this morning - hoping that the conditions aren't too harsh. Mind you, after some of the stuff we get in Scotland, we're used to the wind (and the rain, sometimes!)
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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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@MSG101, hello and Happy New Year to all.
If you see a purple helmet with 3 curved different coloured spikes along its crest and another grey camoflage helmet with ears and a tail on, do say hello anyone 
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So Mr Chocks, what's the snow line over the next couple of days? Could mean the difference between mega snow in Brev or none!
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FAQ
