Nick D, Bjorn_again_Daehlie, might see you out there, heading out on the 30th for a week with the family
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
New snow has been very heavy and a bit of a crust has formed already. Planning to do pyramide tomorrow if Pic Blanc opens so hopefully things will be better higher up.
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?
Been warm & wet at lower levels apparently, will see for myself tomorrow and will attempt to update this thread with a few pics to round the season off assuming they've finally powered the wiffy up in our building!
Yes, rather moist in Alpe d'Huez at the moment as it's just above freezing here so I suspect it's been raining lower down. Good amount of snow though , perhaps 10cm so DMC 2ish and above should be good as it hasn't been too windy unlike last time. I should be able to ski during the day Sun-Tue next week so let me know if anyone is around and would like to ski together.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Huge dump of snow overnight but visibility very poor. Weather supposed to improve tomorrow. Just about to venture out so will report back later
Arrived on saturday and woke up to five cm of fresh snow on Sunday but visibility in the morning was poor with low cloud and snow shower's. Monday was a bluebird day, tried to follow the sun in the morning so went to auris then did the serene after lunch but it was getting lumpy high up and soft lower down so the family didn't enjoy it as much as they should. The amount of snow here at this time of the season is Amazing and we are skiing runs not normally open in January. Just need to pick the area and expect it to be heavy in the afternoon
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Tuesday has been a sunny day with only a few clouds, as you would expect at this time of year crispy conditions The morning and getting heavy ad the day goes on. The higher runs are holding up fine and the tunnel is probably at its best/easiest I've ever skied it after the initial drop in you can virtually take a fall line descent and soft snow after each turn.
After all it is free
After all it is free
Agree about the Tunnel, was in great shape on Monday afternoon, in fact the best snow of the week so far. Found decent conditions on the glacier & Sarenne yesterday morning but Perrins was a bit heavy later in the day. Lovely snow over at L2A today, very well guided by Claude B & family
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Final update as heading home tomorrow . For anyone trying to get a last minute week in the amount of snow for this time of year is amazing and the fact you can still ski the serenne tells a story. The only thing I would say is the snow is vanishing around the resort due to the high temperature and sun. There is no signs of rocks or bare patches but the talk from the instructor's us that they may shut the odd satellite village next week including auris to save money. Till next year see u and thank you ADH. Unless I can buy s place or persuade the family EK us the way ahead
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Vis was ropey again on Friday and spring conditions prevalent on lower slopes. Still some decent turns to be had OP if timed right including as low as Radar above Villard which had experienced a fairly large wet slide just off the Petit Prince. Snow depths remain incredible with no rocks bare patches evident even on the lower pitches of the Sarenne which are often shot this late in the season.
Hope to get back for a weekends touring in May, if not that's 2012/13 season done for us
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
This simply isn't fair, this was a mates son at the bottom of Perrins this morning, where was I?.....Loughborough
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.
With a big rise in temperatures this weekend and some pretty sketchy conditions the totster and I decided to take off to l'Alpe d'Huez for a bit of piste skiing and to check out some of the famed 67km of black runs. First stop the unpisted Balme in the Mamottes II sector.
snow was pretty soft with valley temperatures in the mid 20s and the zero degree mark at 3700 meters.
The Charbonierre, which runs by the old coal mine is reputed to be a pretty stiff run
the entry involves a traverse around an avalanche prone bowl. It had been closed on Saturday but opened this morning
Next stop the Sarenne, reputed to be the longest black in the world
a quick stop for a memorial photo but the totster was keen to crack on as it was nearing lunch
Totster rating: "probably a medium red in one of our local resorts, a bit over rated". It's been 20 years since I've skied the Sarenne and enjoyed it, great scenery, 1800 meters of descent. We mis-timed things a bit, we left the Pic Blanc at 11am and wanted to arrive at ADH for lunch, it took us 20minutes to ski the run so spent some time on the Marmotte blacks.
Icing on the cake for the afternoon, the tunnel had opened after avalanche control work.
Tot thought the tunnel entered and exited on the same side of the mountain - despite it being completely straight. I guess small kids have a different way of viewing things.
a lot of folk stuck at the exit with their knees knocking together
I know the tunnel quite well. It is a bit of a responsibility taking a small child down this route to be honest. You have to take the easiest line which was a traverse high to the far side of the bowl where it is possible to get in a first turn without too much exposure or steepness then look for the least mogully route down the first 100 meters of relatively steep skiing. We went around for a second lap before skiing down to Vaujany which had the best snow in the afternoon.
Tot had a transmit avalanche beacon on all day. We skied strictly on open pistes but one run up on the Sarenne was covered by an avalanche around lunchtime on Sunday. No idea what caused the slide as we were at lunch at the time.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Quote:
"probably a medium red in one of our local resorts, a bit over rated"
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
davidof,
Excellent pictures. I am now feeling particularly annoyed having locked up and left Alpe d'Huez last Tuesday........... You picked the best there, although Combe Charbonierre and Tunnel are probably my top 2. I just like hearing the husband / wife and boyfriend / girlfriend "conversations" at the exit from the tunnel, "why have you brought me here ?, I'll never believe you again" etc. You don't need to be a language expert to work out that the French, Dutch etc. couples are having much the same discussion.
I took my 2 kids there for the first time at about 7 or 8 years old as I remember but I had the benefit of another good skier following behind. (We now do it the other way round and they follow behind me to pick up the debris etc. which is strangely satisfying in a way.)
We quite often found it was easier to try and go further than the end of the "knee knocking" queue, do a step turn (?) and then pick a gap through everybody desperately trying to lose height by various means immediately below the start, and traverse over out of the way.
It's a brilliant run when it's soft and plenty of snow, and the ramp this year by the lake was almost non-existent because of the snow depths. I once fell not far below the entrance, not my fault obviously , it was quite icy, moguls were pretty small and I had lost both skis and slid pretty well to the bottom. I tried every method of self arrest that I knew / could think of and only just stopped before that centre section of rocks. To add insult to injury 2 snowboarders kindly brought my skis down for me ( Actually I believe it is a pretty difficult piste for snowboarding so they did well.)
When you say Vaujany did you go down La Fare ? I always think that when the bottom of that turns to mud, that is pretty well the end of the season.
And yes the Sarenne still has a charm about it, nice views of Les Deux Alpes and if it is quiet still feels sort of wild. Not sure whether the plan to put snow cannons on the lower section will spoil that a bit. Certainly not necessary this year, I have not seen it so rock free for a long time.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
skitow wrote:
davidof,
Excellent pictures. I am now feeling particularly annoyed having locked up and left Alpe d'Huez last Tuesday........... You picked the best there, although Combe Charbonierre and Tunnel are probably my top 2. I just like hearing the husband / wife and boyfriend / girlfriend "conversations" at the exit from the tunnel, "why have you brought me here ?, I'll never believe you again" etc. You don't need to be a language expert to work out that the French, Dutch etc. couples are having much the same discussion.
Worth noting for SH, you can pole back out of the tunnel as one woman was doing when we were there. There is no sham in doing so. When we exited there was quite a crowd as you can see, one or two very good skiers, they all seem to be on Cham 97's this year, who went straight down the fall-line. As we arrived behind the queue a load of snow slid off the slopes above, the avalanche/rock protection was completely full. My boy shouted "avalanche, we better get out of here before it all goes, he provided a translation for the French speakers" which didn't help the ambiance. . Kids, eh?
Quote:
We quite often found it was easier to try and go further than the end of the "knee knocking" queue, do a step turn (?) and then pick a gap through everybody desperately trying to lose height by various means immediately below the start, and traverse over out of the way.
Yup, you can see where the boy is. We skied up behind them and traversed almost to the netting.
The tunnel is to be avoided when it is icy, often in the winter or early in the day. I've seen people rag doll off the moguls from top to bottom. While we were there a few people did the whole slope on their backs having lost their skis at the top but it was soft snow so they probably didn't go more than 70-80 meters.
The Sarenne closed at 12.30 on both days due to the avalanche risk so that may have pushed people to attempt the ski down via the tunnel.
> When you say Vaujany did you go down La Fare ?
Fare was closed both days, I suspect it was mud at the bottom as you say. Looked great at the top. But we were on a zero off piste, zero closed piste weekend.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Quote:
a lot of folk stuck at the exit with their knees knocking together...
people rag doll off the moguls from top to bottom
Been there, done those...
Great totster steeze!
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
davidof, Lovely pics, the snow depths have been incredible this season (but lots of bad vis and windy days to boot) I've paddled through the river on the Sarenne run-out more than once at Easter! We planned to do the opposite and take the kids to visit some of the smaller local resorts but sadly didn't ever quite manage it, maybe next winter
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?
Great pics as usual. La Petite and myself decided to close the season out on Saturday at Chamrousse (where we started in mid Dec). Great conditions with 5cm of fresh overnight at resort level, and the snow kept good until about 2pm ish. Due to the great snow this season we skiied mainly in the smaller resorts in the Vercors, whcih was really nice (and cheaper). I only managed 1 day at AdH all season (and that was in fog), which was a shame.
A weekend's skiing at ADH cost the same as our two season passes for our local Chartreuse resort. These mega domains are a real eye waterer. We'll probably be at Cham (rousse) this weekend for the last day, it will be cooler too. As Nick says, a lot of bad weather since November. We certainly had some great fun and no need to go far for good conditions. The could still open the col de Porte resort above Grenoble, over a month after it closed for winter there is so much snow.
The winter that wouldn't die! SATA just announce that ADH re-opens for skiing on 6th July - 25th August. Will be limited skiing up on the glacier but a nice way to spend a couple of mornings during our summer hols! I guess the Mega will have to start a bit lower down this year
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Arno, I think summer skiing on the glacier stopped the year we bought our place so 8 years ago. 20 Euros a day so don't think we'll be going up many times but will be a novelty. Trying to work out if I can cycle up with skis but decided it may be a bit tricky
After all it is free
After all it is free
but can you ski down with a bike?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Arno, Like your thinking
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Having given it some thought overnight my summer ski/bike plan takes shape.....first lift to Pic Blanc with bikes & skis, ski down first run carrying bike (current weak spot in plan!) chain bikes up at chairlift hut. Ski til lunch time then bike down Sarenne for lunch at resto in gorge then descend round Huez way to Allemont & bus up to Oz, what could possibly go wrong?
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Nick D, skitow was telling me that his eldest son has biked up from Bourges (road bike) then up to the top (MTB), then down the same way . I believe he's pretty useful on a bike.
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.
Claude B Impressive, cycling up ADH is a day trip for me , I do occasionally do an early morning road bike down from Oz and grind back up but prefer taking the Poutran lift up with my VTT & descending the new trail down through Vaujany for a beer in Allemont before getting the bus back .
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Nick D, I see Sata have listed season passes for next winter at 540€, about £460 ? I only had a quick look at the website but assume this includes use of their new "partners" lifts in Oz-Vaujany ?
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
skitow, Sorry for the delay responding, was out in Oz. Yep Im sure it's the whole domain, seems there's been a lot of posturing going on between the newly formed OZ-Vaujany alliance and SATA. I think the rumours of an Allemont-OZ mega-lift and investors buying up parcels of land in Le Roberand are all part of that ongoing battle. Cut-off is September 4th I think, earlier still than last year? and no summer use but 6€ one way up Poutran or 50€ family all day VTT passes aren't too bad I suppose. Getting back over to OZ after the tour was a bit of a cock-up, 500 people waiting at DMC mid station in the fog, luckily most were well oiled at that point!
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Big storms here tonight in Bourg d'Oisans. Unfortunately freezing level is 3000m but cold(ish) weather coming in.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Looks like the temps gone down and a dusting of snow has arrived this week, may hamper the install of yet another Telemixt lift to replace the old Jeux drags, unless its already finished.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Ah, the Jeux lift is going? It holds a special place in my heart as the first ever lift of my first ever skiing holiday, only actually last year fell off immediately (thought I knew how to handle button lifts but hadn't appreciated it would set off about 10x faster than the snowdome one) then once on, spent the whole time alternating between being terrified of falling off again, especially at that bend in the middle, and marvelling at all the nice green runs around me and how amazing it felt to be in the mountains finally after all the indoor practice in the UK! Happy memories...
Hope everyone enjoys ADH this year.
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?
My friend is currently in ADH, filming for the new Lance Armstrong film. Spoke to him before and he said heavy snow down to resort level.
My friend is currently in ADH, filming for the new Lance Armstrong film. Spoke to him before and he said heavy snow down to resort level.
I was wondering why there was a United States Postal Service truck in the resort today!
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
howiet, Nice pics, looks like a lovely day.
After all it is free
After all it is free
howiet, they are filming some scenes in town over the next 3 weeks. Keep your eyes peeled for them. They are using the road as well for some scenes just like in the Tour De France.
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.
Ricklovesthepowder, They were advertising for extras with suitable era cars & motos a few weeks back, they may have got their timing badly wrong if this weather keeps up, won't look much like July!
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
. For anyone trying to get a last minute week in the amount of snow for this time of year is amazing and the fact you can still ski the serenne tells a story. The only thing I would say is the snow is vanishing around the resort due to the high temperature and sun. There is no signs of rocks or bare patches but the talk from the instructor's us that they may shut the odd satellite village next week including auris to save money. Till next year see u and thank you ADH. Unless I can buy s place or persuade the family EK us the way ahead 
which is strangely satisfying in a way.)
. Kids, eh?
. I believe he's pretty useful on a bike.
.
