 Poster: A snowHead
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My wife and I are there from 26.7.08, would be good to have informal meet, Beer overlooking glacier. after a mornings ski? 
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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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Lovely photos recently easiski. Sorry to have been a bit of a hermit lately, but things are still quite fraught here! Great to see such a base still on the Serre Palas and the upper Jandri. Quite jealous not to be there now - Lamy chose a great year to rip our building apart!
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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.
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Roger C,
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can you advise on the best/closest largish supermarket to LDA for us to stock up on food on the way up to the resort? I guess there must be one in Bourd D'Osians?
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If you need large, ultra cheap food supplies on your drive up from Grenoble to L2A, we’ve found a sizeable, well-stocked new Lidl store in Vizille. It’s on 151 Rue des Forges (if you have a Tom Tom), just on the outskirts when you leave town. Watch the Lidl sign on the right of the road (is it the Route Napoleon ?). It has all the excellent wines (and liquors too) and shaded parking.
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There's a supermarket (Casino?) on the main road as you leave Bourg d'Oisans. If you use the bypass, turn right at the final roundabout back towards the town.
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Helen Beaumont, You're too late about this. I don't think it's any cheaper, although Lizzard does. I buy the own brand cheap stuff and find the Marche U in town deffo cheaper than the Casino. It may be slightly cheaper if you want to buy name brands though. Example: cheapest Casino orange juice = €1; cheapest Marche U orange juice = €0.67ish.
It was sunny today but with a very chilly wind. I managed a bit of work so went up and it was brassic up there!  The snow was hard, and the Roche Mantel is starting to get an icy (would be a puddle on a warmer day) patch int he middle. However we did ski down the Signal and that was fine right down to the bottom. They've done a good job on the main pistes after the rain and are shifting a lot of snow from the path I photographed the other day for stock on the lower parts of the Puy Salié. All in all, pretty good considering. Also we do have to think that this is 22nd July and we lost Signal and Roche Mantel on 20th July last year and 11th July the year before, so we're way ahead of the game, but more rain is deffo not required! 
I tried to take a photo, but the old batteries I found failed and although I took the photo with the phone I still can't download. Sagem are not being helpful, or else it's still that Vista isn't properly loaded on my laptop, but I'm afraid to re-load in case it mucks up everything that's already on here.  So sorry - had/have nice pic, but you guys can't see it.
I don't know when I'll be up again, maybe not until Sunday, but will try to do better then.
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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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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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easiski,
We're amazed - even overhere the nights are chilly ... must be Global Warming big time  - since we haven't experienced weather like this in a long, long time. We were more used to getting summer heatwaves than this, although cool, gorgeous weather.
France Meteo says no clouds till Saturday !
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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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easiski, Will your paintings be for sale online ? or from local galleries 
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clare mcbride,  Lovely day again today, much as yesterday and with another cool-ish night last night. I'm trying to work out how to send my glacier pic to Butterfly but the thumbnails are so small that I haven't found the right one yet! Here's a balcony pic showing some light cloud, but still sunny.
edit: photo not there - thought I'd saved it, but I couldn't see anything at the time!
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You know it makes sense.
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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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Nice pics. I want to be back there!!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Butterfly, Clever use of signature, you're a dab hand with this poota stuff
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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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clare mcbride,
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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We had a horrid day today with storms both at midday and then later at tea time. It rained a lot, and I'm afraid it probably rained on the glacier too. I'm meeting up bright and early with Roger C and we'll be off up to see if there's been any damage. I'll take a photo.
In the meantime here's a photo of the evening sky after the storm, with pretty clouds, and also (l-r) mr R32, mrs R32 and friends David and Andrea (who have dabbled on Snowheads). Jeu d'Esprit and her family popped round for a coffee and brought me a super apple pie - thank you. It was great to meet them all.
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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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Hope you don't mind me jumping on your thread, do they allow sledging/tubing on the glacier at all during the summer?
We are coming over next week I will mainly be Biking but we were going to have a few days ski-ing but my daughters are beginning to change there minds and are saying they want to sledge instead. Looks like I will need a trailer for all the toys.
Only been to LDA in the winter before, so looking forward to the experience.
Regards
Nick
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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extremenik, high mountains in the summer are rocky. Once you get over the realisation that glaciers make rubble on a grand scale, it is realy rather nice.
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| lampbus wrote: |
| extremenik, high mountains in the summer are rocky. Once you get over the realisation that glaciers make rubble on a grand scale, it is realy rather nice. |
Thats the Downhill mountain biking sorted then!
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extremenik, No sledging on the glacier in summer. Plenty of skiing still though. Downhill bike trails are marked like ski pistes, and you can see the piste map on www.2alpes.com which is the lift company website. If you want any more info just send me a PM or ask on this thread - no problem.
edit: there is the summer luge of course
Roche Mantel, Signal and Dome are still open and looking good today. This is the latest they've been open since 2003 (the summer that ruined everything). However it was hot and sunny and the final bit of the Puy Salie is showing signs of wear. Here's a photo taken about 13.00 today. There was almost no-one on the glacier - brilliant.
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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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Thanks, for your replies.
Easiski, I have researched alot on the biking, main reason I choose this resort. Have wife/daughters 9 and 11 who have only been on snow for two weeks. LDA and VAL, I'm used to ski-ing in Tignes/Val at the end of the season (experince of some spring conditions).
Coming mostly for the DH but want the family to experience everything, and we missed last 2 winters due to work commitments.
If I recognise you I'll give you a shout, would be willing to book the odd leason for the kids if they are up for it when they get there.
Regards
Nick
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hi!
nice to hear that there is a nice snow somewhere in the world this time..
Need some help.
I'm gonna come to the Les2Alpes about 10th of August. And I have not reserved any place to stay yet. Unfortunately (fortunately?) I'm alone this time and gonna spend much time on the slope. So, may be you can advise me some hotels/rooms/apartments/whatever to stay not so far from the resort (I have no car)?
Thanks in advance
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Good to hear the skiing is still good. Can you expand a tad on:
| easiski wrote: |
| 2003 (the summer that ruined everything). |
What happened that summer?
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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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extremenik, Certainly - next week is quiet after the lunacy of this week. I'd be delighted to teach your kids if they want. However even if they don't, don't be afraid to say hi.
yeremey, Welcome to Snowheads. There's a lot of available space in town at the moment, and I hear that French tourism is not good this year. However, if you want cheap B & B you could try either the Lutins or the Cote Brun hotels. If you want apartments there are a number to choose from, for just yourself it would be better to stay in a B & B though. If you want any more help, just send me a PM (private message) with any specific questions. The tourist office website is www.les2alpes.com
Butterfly, It was very hot for spring, summer and autumn and for the first time for many, many years all of the snow melted back down to the glacier. I gave up at the end of the first week of August as there were crevasses everywhere and hardly any pistes to ski and you couldn't actually teach anyone anything. I thought it was not fair to take money under what was essentially false pretenses. Of course not everyone saw it that way ........ basically the alps has never recovered because it's never been cold enough for long enough to hold all the snow that's fallen in the winter. Since then we've always got back to the glacier ice sometime in August and that's not good for the glacier - skiers and boarders scraping away at it. If we could have cold snowy weather from now on and then another snowy winter followed by another cool snowy summer, we might recover. Without the snow the glacier melts, without the glacier the snow melts .... symbiotic. This year we have more snow, not because it fell int eh winter but because it's been relatively cool and it hasn't melted. Last summer we had a much better season, following a poor-ish winter compared to the year before when we had a good winter with loadsa snow, but a hot spring and summer. I hope this makes sense because I'm in a hurry and tired and have to get up at 05.00 tomorrow, so may have written total nonsense!
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Thank you, easiski.
I will try.
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You know it makes sense.
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easiski, thanks for the explanation.
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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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easiski, Truly interesting stuff, daresay The People Who Know, Do, but couldn't part of the glacier be rested every year ?
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Poster: A snowHead
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Butterfly, just to add to easiski's comments on 2003, it wasn't just a bad summer for skiing, it was so warm that a lot of permafrost melted, something which is responsible for holding together a lot of the tops of mountains which would otherwise be extremely loose slag heaps! This devastated the climbing season with incidents such as 90 people being evacuated from the Hornli ridge of the Matterhorn. As an aspiring alpinist at the time I was worried about the reports suggesting it was the end of summer alpinism, however, as time has shown it wasn't and although numerous routes were dramatically changed or even destroyed and it's true to say a number of snow/ice fields never recovered much like the reports last year claiming the end of skiing this was a load of rubbish.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Swirly, thanks. I am just trying to remember anything that would make 2003 stand out in my mind, but I can't - not much happened to me that year, leastways not that the brain wants to recall.
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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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clare mcbride, Ideally the summer skiing season would be June and July and finish at the beginning of August. Unfortunately there's a little thing called the holidays, which makes it kind of important to be open then. There isn't enough glacier to rest bits of it, but the practise of making furrows to stop the wind blowing the fresh snow off the surface has really helped keep the falling snow up there.
Today's pic is of the Signal which we skied this morning and is still fine. It's showing signs of wear, but it's not as bad to ski as it looks in the photo. If we don't get it too hot or too much rain for the next few days we should still be able to ski Signal into the beginning of August. It's just a shame that there's no-one (relatively) here to enjoy it. Empty pistes are great, but not if it's your living.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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easiski, Good pics, as always.
How low down, in meters, can you ski at present?
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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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Hi easiski!
Great pics and info as always!
Not much consolation, but our dry slope is dead too on the work front, I'm twiddling my thumbs a lot. Is this the credit crunch?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Ooh I've skied Signal! Is that taken from the chair lift near the waterall?
Did your busy day today go ok?
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easiski, Come to UK and teach us SH on our local dry slopes Pleeeese
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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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  clare mcbride, We'll have to talk about that in December! It's a thought, of course. The trouble is I love the summer skiing and the good weather and the less frenetic atmosphere and so on - that's why I've stuck with it so long in spite of the problems. In fact the thing is that in the winter I'm turning away so many peeps that I can't afford to deal with tour operators anyway, and don't need an office in town. In the summer both of these would make a difference, but are not practical or possible for just that part of the year.... hmmmm.
today was a bit more in and out weather-wise, more clouds and a bit chilly when it was cloudy. It was also warm last night so there wasn't such a good re-freeze. That meant that it got seriously sludgy by end of business today. Heavy snow, but not really wet (which is OK to ski of course). Signal was closed today, I'm not quite sure why as it looked the same as yesterday, but I took a pic showing the closed signs from just above it. Roche Mantel was getting pretty dodgy though and quite narrow in places. Suddenly not such a green run. It really is the case that it's easier to ski a steeper run which is wider and in better condition than a flatter one with obstacles and so on on it.
I also took a pic of Les Echines which shows a big difference from the last one I posted - no-one except a lunatic is going to be skiing that for a while now. OTOH the reason that the snow was so heavy at 13.30 today is that there is still a lot of snow - last year by this time it was hard glacier ice which is easier to ski. Still - very good off piste training.
If any snowheads are here that I don't know about I'm having some peeps along to drinks on Thurs evening, so get my number from the tourist office and give me a bell - the more the merrier!
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FAQ
thus no chance to sell some more lessons this week. 
