The view from............ Val d'Isere and the Espace Killy

A snowHead

Even chillier

With light snow falling again at breakfast time and the prospect of a stiff breeze with an air temperature in town overnight down to about -12 I was not hoping for too much this morning. The themo in the end at the top of Tommeuse was showing -20 and then there was windchill on top of that - cold day!

I had been up early to catch up on some things anyway and was hoping that Clare was going to be allowed a lie in by Olivia but that was not to be!

I was off early to get over to Tignes as I was meeting atop the Toviere nice and early. The wind chill at the top of the Olympic at 9am was something else and skiing down directly into the wind along the OK was quite tricky work and more so given the pockets of wind blow snow slowing you down and the flat like making said pockets act like snow snakes ready to trip you up.

Alas all the links were open and I had a jolly good morning with a fellow snowhead (you may notice folks that I don't usually make people identifiable on here - sometimes mention first names but unless asked or given specific permission I dont put names or faces up... sometimes usernames from here but that is only occasionally). We essentially lapped around down to La Daille so as to make the best of the weather. Some really tidy skiing was spotted... a typical example of a solid skier with lots of 'ticks in the right boxes' but to a typical skier would not look particularly flashy but still skied well. Often the flashy and fast skier is perceived as the top dog on the slopes but often they lack many technical issues.

It was pretty chilly and certainly before the La Daille bubble was able to open and therefore riding the Etroits chair up it was COLD.

Alas the morning was over quickly and I got back to spend a few hours with the family and a nice afternoon we had. The highlight being the family trip to the Rize cafe where Olivia demolished a 'Babychino' (sp?) and played around nicely.

Clares father popped around this evening for a cuppa and a chat and apart from doing the usual admin this evening it has been a very quiet evening indeed.

The main things going on in town today were the opening of the Manchet Express and Arcelle runs for the first time this season and also the ongoing set up work on the Joseray piste on the side of the Le Face in preparation for the Mens Europe Cup racing later this week.

Think that is all for now - tomorrow is a new week BUT I think I finally get my first full day off skis in about 4 weeks this coming weekend which will hopefully allow me to charge my batteries and NOT have to set the alarm clock for once.

Get yourself down to get on the first Funi of the day at 8.45 from La Daille (unless you have to go into town for some reason) and you can be rewarded with it virtually to yourself AND get up the hill before anyone else to enjoy fresh tracks!

And the Periscopes today:

https://t.co/tFc330ywcB or the perma-link:
https://t.co/ZPO2DSMpeZ

My top tips video on off piste group management and mountain craft
https://ktch.tv/64SW?s=02m20s&e=04m37s[

TTFN

P.S. I received (and have now replied) to my first video skiers / snowboarder analysis clip on my Twitter account this evening. Thanks for sending that in - you know who you are. So for those that are not in the know yet... simply post a video clip of you / family member / friend or whomever skiing / snowboarding to my Twitter feed by tagging @SteveAngusSnow and I will give you some free feedback on your performance ready to be shared with the world!!!! If you are keen.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@Steve Angus, Hi Steve. My girlfriend and I will be coming out to Tignes on Sunday the 24th. She's a looking to have a couple of half day snowboard lessons. Is there anyone you could recommend? You seem quite busy, so I assume you'll be booked up.

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Val getting some "good" press this morning from the Daily Fail!! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3404104/Passed-snow-carried-home-friends-boozy-Brits-drag-chic-French-ski-resort-gutter-Locals-blame-noisy-rowdy-behaviour-Val-d-Isere-Magaluf-ice.html

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Johnnyseven, Hi Johnny, last time we were in Tignes we used TDC Ski: www.tdcski.com. They were very good and cover both Tignes and Val d'Isere.

You'll need to Register first of course.

@Steveee, Thanks, i'll pass the details on to her. Trying to decide if I want to have a cheeky lesson too.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@Steveee, @Johnnyseven, thanks for the messaging. Yes indeed I work at TDC Ski and Snowboarding school.... I have some availability for snowboarding lessons next week. Drop me a PM on here and let me know when you were looking for next week and I can give you more details etc.

After all it is free

@5pike, hmmm yes seen this banded around all day and the Mirror article the other day too..... it is factually incorrect and tbh seems like sensationalist journalism to me!

@Steve Angus, my girls had 3 afternoon lessons, with Scott for two days, and, can't remember who did it the 3rd day, but they had a blast. Gave me a bit of break, as they don't understand why 'Mama needs more coffee - - NOW". lol

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I am hoping someone might be able to recommend somewhere to store skis +/- boots here in Val D'Isere for about 6 weeks. I will be traveling back to USA in a couple of weeks, then returning to EK mid-March. It would be nice to not have to schlep all my gear back with me. Thought I would try Snowberry as I know they offer ski storage for weekly visitors. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Teasing

It was mighty chilly first thing this morning but as forecast it did warm up a little as the day progressed. Now at 2230 local time it is about -10 here in town so the freezing level is certainly rising!

Anyway HeidiAmsterdam glad to hear your kids enjoyed their 3 afternoon lessons with Scott - I will let him know they had fun. Meanwhile Vasta there is a gear storage place that opened this season right on the snow front next to the ESF office - maybe they could help. Snowberry you could give it a go. I would offer (we store things in our van) but the problem is that it has just gone down to Bourg for a multi week repair job so will not have it for a few weeks.... as a result everything we have stored inside the van is currently on our balcony / in our flat at the moment so we are bulging at the seams! Sorry.

Anyway back to the update for today.

I met my day 1 of 3 clients (just the two of them actually) for the start of a Development Plus clinic... the plan is for piste development on day 1, off piste day 2, moguls day 3.... thats the plan anyway!

Since Arcelle opened for the first time yesterday I decided to get involved. In fact we were the first down it and it was sublime... we ended up doing about 6 laps and it was in the best condition I have ever known it.

Working on various drills there were some positive changes!

Late morning and I was disturbed to look up and see people putting the first tracks of the season in the East face of the Charvet..... a dodgy decision made even more dodgy as they took the even steeper and riskier route down. Alas it looks as thought they got down OK. However as suspected about another 100 groups were already moving onto the slope within about an hour. I personally would have waited a while longer before even considering taking that slope on but there you go!

The weather was trying to turn sunny all morning and we did get a glimpse of sunshine but generally the light was dull to put it mildly.

By lunchtime the clouds were thickening overhead

and by late afternoon it really was flat light

The afternoon was spent taking Clares father and his friend out for a ski around... They love their off piste but the wind has stuffed up large swathes. Also the fatigue levels were rather high from them so we took it quite easy. Sampling some pitches off Verte is always a good 'sniffer' run and it was obvious that we may get the odd little bit of nice snow! Anyway a run through the Jardins Borsat followed by another run into the Familial (a funky version of) were nice ways to spend the afternoon.

At 4pm we had a ski school meeting that ended up taking a couple of hours before coming home and see Olivia just before she went to bed.

And that brings you up to date apart from sharing todays Periscope.

https://t.co/GGPrMt1vFO and the perma-link
https://t.co/zyhUoWQaE2

Shattered.com again this evening so signing off.

TTFN

snow reports

what are the usual skiing conditions in early march in the espace killy?

Just like to @Steve Angus, for another great lesson on Sunday, it's been really cold this week but the snow is great and the skiing even better, also met a fellow Snowhead Kennyboyo on Monday.

You know it makes sense.

@drvosjecha, usually excellent in my experience. Great snow usually, longer daylight hours, not as cold as Dec/Jan (usually!), everything open unless affected by, say, avalanche risk or high winds. Favourite time of year to ski.
Watch out for first week of month from a crowds point of view. It is still French school winter holiday (Paris week in 2016 I believe) and half-term in some other European countries too. That said, the excellent lift system in EK copes better than most. Don't tell everyome though wink

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

drvosjecha - March is my favourite month to ski.... lots of nice snow still, longer days and temperatures a bit warmer. Everyone seems to be more relaxed as Spring is in the air. However an early Easter this year could make it quite busy.... but generally the whole of March is great! Great skiing for sure!

RichardB - thanks for the endorsement and thanks for booking - your skiing is coming on in leaps and bounds! Hope the rest of the week is just as much fun. Good luck!

Best day of the season for snow so far for me

I have to admit that I wasn't expecting too much out of today.... flat light, etc. Anyway I met the same team as yesterday morning and the plan was for off piste in the morning. We skied my various options and routes off piste up Solaise. I was mighty impressed at one point when one of my team told off a fellow brit who followed us up a hike (a short one at that). At the top this hanger-onner said to my back marker "hope you guys know where you are going".... to which he replied "have you got a transceiver," "urm (puzzled dont know what one of those are) no," "well you shouldn't be here then." So my back marker skied the route and the other guy at a distance sheepishly followed.... STUPID!

Anyway we generally found nice snow and the clouds were coming in thicker and thinner but never threatening really at any time of the day to totally clear up.

The afternoon was quite similar to the morning although the vis in general was slightly better. I should have thought that we had about 20 cms on average extra snow up there and at altitude about 30cms of fresh and with little / no wind it was perfect winter snow.

The skiers in the afternoon were both VERY strong - one could easily have gone for his Level 3 BASI qualification I should think and his brother was almost as strong. It was good to really give me ankle a work out and it held up well. I still dont think I would want to put my own boots on yet as they are just too tight around the ankle... we shall see. As I have an off piste group next week all week it was good to really work it out today!

Anyway we got some super nice snow - especially on the Signal shoulder and Sunny Bowl - pow over the knees.

The only downside to the day on the slopes was that one of my am team popped a knee right at the end so we limped back down the piste side slipping and last I heard he was seeing the physio this pm... we shall see if he is there tomorrow - I doubt it unfortunately!

I also managed a huge stack this afternoon too... vis had come in for a short while and I didn't see a wind lip... right ski stopped (didn't come off) and I rolled head over heels in the pow down the slope - quite interesting really.... took a while to get the snow out of the goggles but saw the funny side of things!

The pisteurs had planned to do a heli operated PIDA avalanche control on several large and inaccessible slopes this morning but the weather inhibited that today.... so instead they are going to do it tomorrow morning probably. So especially somewhere like the East Face of the Charvet they may control - could be a good show if you can see it! But it might be early at 8am!

After the last few poor newspaper articles that were factually incorrect amongst other things it was refreshing to see a generally pretty balanced article in the Telegraph today:

https://t.co/H1RIwkiQfg - Daily Telegraph

@DLucas85 from my Twitter feed posted this nice moody picture from Tignes today!

The view down the valley towards town.... that cloud was just at the wrong altitude most of the day!

Todays Periscope:

https://t.co/N2bim2MpJ4 and the perma-link
https://t.co/Wl7lWA2eGq

This evening Clare was out at a meeting and I did the Olivia pick up, dinner, bath and bed before Clares father popped around for dinner. So by the time he left I was rather behind schedule so it has been another busy day and I am certainly looking forward to getting into bed in a moment!

And I think that brings everyone up to speed today.

TTFN

A snowHead

The sun is getting there

Well as you will note I am posting this a little later again... there is a good reason and it goes along the lines of.... finished work yesterday.... finished the daily parental duties, got changed, went out with some friends and long standing clients to a wonderful restaurant in town (1789), ate and drank merrily, a nightcap and bed.... so here I am the next morning! Sorry folks!

But seriously thanks for a wonderful night boys - have a great ski the rest of the week and ill be sure to see you real soon I am sure.!

So Wednesday 20th January was another wonderful day to be in Val d'Isere and the Espace Killy. The sun was trying its best (I am sure it will really take hold today!) to defeat the cloud but either way with a much higher cloud base it generally caused no problems to the visibility for the most part.

Unfortunately one of my morning team was indeed 'down' - sprained medial ligament on his knee.... hopefully a couple of days off and he will be back skiing before he leaves at the weekend - with a little bit of luck! So my group was down to just the one person.... lucky guy (or not as he has to work twice as hard to keep up with the drills etc I am setting him!). Anyhows was bashed the tommeuse moguls with success all morning.

During the morning I failed to hear any helicopter activity and I cant read about any signs of their activities so I am not sure the PIDA heli blasting did indeed take place in the end! - however this is a video of some blasting done in Les Arcs last week!!!!! https://www.facebook.com/gellon.pierre/videos/10208251228739146/

The Mens Europa Cup GS action took place today on the Joseray piste down the side of the Face..... these boys (and their female counterparts) are the equivalent of national B team standard and especially for countries like Austria etc they really are ranked in the top 50/60 in the world at most and probably for most other nations on the planet they would be in their countries 'A' team.... so the standard is exceptionally high!

Even though the sun never fully won the day we did have some amazing views and scenery:

And at times the lighting was very special.... as I always say to people you never really get tired of the beauty of the mountains but I do have to pinch myself from time to time to remind myself of what I am seeing otherwise it would be too easy to become blasé about it all!

After lunch I was back with a couple I had once last week and have once more next week... it was moguls time again. I have to say I got my moneys worth on the Tommeuse lift today! We lapped around and around and made some great changes. The thing about moguls is that most people detest them and they are a battleground. However the most important thing is to instil the basics of getting down manageable moguls and there are a handful of simple basics that makes them easier. Once these foundations are in place a little more mileage can be gained.... when that starts happening the technique can be refined, success rates down them increase and then enjoyment comes but you have to make the whole learning process in them a cycle of positivity rather than negativity! Either way it was a successful afternoon I felt!

So as mentioned above after collecting Olivia and getting the babysitter (Clares father) in situ, Clare and I had a lovely evening out at 1789... I had forgotten how amazing their meat is.... booking is essential though as they are down a side alley near the Gallery des Cimes / Flash Pizza area.... but wow the steak was awesome and the Chateau Briand (Sp?) my neighbours split was stonking too!

I have a couple of more videos to share with you all as usual. BUT BEFORE I DO THAT A REMINDER:

Feel free to upload videos (short clips of a few seconds are fine) of you, friends and family skiing / snowboarding this Winter... preferably to Twitter. Make sure you tag me in the clips @SteveAngusSnow (my Twitter handle) and I will give you some feedback for FREE on your technique etc and share it back on Twitter! Spreading the love!

So anyway here is the first video.... our TDC Ski School Snow Report of the week - this week featuring my beloved Clare!

http://youtube.com/v/kDPqM1Q0HSw

Any finally the two links to the same Periscope daily video updates for the day.... the first link is only valid for 24 hours and comes direct from the Periscope App and the second is via a service website called Katch.me where the videos are saved for ever and a day!

Enjoy.... TTFN

https://t.co/EQXlPQaGdz and the perm-link (no download or account required!)
https://t.co/QZm2cnwGVO

A snowHead

Loved Clare's snow report. And thanks Steve for a great lesson yesterday - we're off out to practice now!! Should be a great day. Glad you had a good evening. We ate at Le Lodge last night - it was really good there and would recommend it to anyone coming out to Val D'sere. Great service, good choices on the menu and the food was wonderful. Good value to boot!!

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@Steve Angus,
Wow! Stunning photos Steve. Some of those could be competition material. Or can I sense a 'The View from VD & EK' 2017 Calendar Mr. Green

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@Steve Angus,

Great to see you both at 1789 last night and had a light lunch today after the meat and profiteroles! Had some great mogul tuition from Clare this morning on the Tommeuses bumps which was very appropriate as Chris, Rob & I went down the Sache run this afternoon which was pretty much a mogul field top to bottom! Cheers, Tony

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Hi Steve, first of all thank you very much for all the info on Val, you do a fantastic job. I'm after some some advice I'm arriving on Saturday for a week and thinking about booking onto one of your 3/5 half day off piste/adventure clinics if there is availability, but don't know which one. My experience of off piste is one week off piste with snowheads (not much powder) also I ski off piste all the time when condition allow but my technique is pretty poor. I would prefer the excitement of the adventure week but might need more instruction. Also if it does not snow next week, will it be worth while joining one of the groups?
Thanks again, and will say hello if I bump into you!!
Stuart

You'll need to Register first of course.

Vasta - she will be happy you liked the snow report! Glad you are off out to practice - saw the video Tom uploaded so will comment on it soon. Le Lodge is one of our favourites yes.... great place.

intermediate - glad you like the photos - have some good ones today too will post in a moment! A calendar - now that is an idea!!!!! "Competition material"????????????

tony996 - thanks for last night yes - I had indigestion most of the day too! Glad Clare put you through your paces!... and it was put into practice! Hope to see you back out here before long!

Elliot S Thanks!!!!! Hmmm I hear your quandary. Well I can confirm looking at our planner that we have both an 'intro' and an 'adventure' off piste group running next week. It also just so happens by chance that the adventure group is fully booked but the intro group has space.... also more coincidental is that I am taking the intro group and that I think it is going to be a fairly high end intro group as some of the people in it did the group with me last year so this year they were keen to push onwards! As far as your level in relation to our level is concerned.... really the most important thing is technique which leads to the ability of the group to push the boundaries a little. I should think that by the sounds of things without too much technique you may be better in the intro group as we are all about improving performance as a school. The ability of the adventure group to create 'excitement' can only happen if everyone in the group is up to the challenges... so going at the pace /ability of the weakest person. As far as whether it would be worth while going in a group if there is no fresh snow.... it depends on how you look at it.... as well as improving performance we often know where there is (hopefully) likely to be the best snow which you may not find on your own.... not promising but we like to think we may know where to sniff it out..... conversely if you are just chomping at the bit for good snow then it could be worth the miss! Your call! Either way if I see you I see you, if not then have a good week!

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

WHAT A GORGEOUS DAY!

Well it was jolly chilly first thing this morning; about -15 first up.... and it would take several hours before the sun gradually made it feel warmer than that! Anyway the pisteurs were busy from about 7.30 for a good hour and a half blasting away on the mountainside! They finally got around to heli blasting several suspect slopes around the resort after the heavy snows of the other weeks. However nothing seemed to have shifted anywhere. So this is a sign that things are perhaps starting to stabilise - finally!

https://www.facebook.com/1130303713650017/videos/1469276376419414/
PIDA blasting - thanks to Radio Val d'Isere for this video!

In other local news the Val Park (freestyle) finally opened - they have been working really hard for days on end since the end of the storm to shape the park and get it sorted...

Anyway I had the same guy as I had had in the group lessons this week in for a private so we worked up on the Val glacier on carving and we were also lucky that we were able to get a couple of nice runs on the freshly groomed Glacier run before the crowds arrived!

It was a jolly successful morning I thought!

An amazing shot I think... it almost looks as if the plane is flying around the mountain and having to swerve to avoid it!

Atop the Solaise you get a good view of what the new top gondola station will look like complete with a viewing platform out the side looking eastwards!

As I was waiting for the bus this morning I got a nice shot framing the chalets through the trees.

Lunch was taken at the Sun Bar and then in the afternoon I took my second lot of seasonnaires in their group out for their first of 6 lessons with me. A JOLLY nice group of girls from various tour operators - it was a most enjoyable afternoon. We lapped around the Arcelle for a while before heading to the Val glacier and they loved the trick of the day - backwards skiing today! More of the same next week girls!

Clares father popped around for dinner this evening and he leaves tomorrow and then Clares mother arrives on Saturday and will be staying with us.... nearly 3 weeks of the in-laws..... blimey!

I had planned to try and capture the Airstar pedestrian night on the Periscope this evening but got my timings wrong so missed it - however I still think my Periscope this evening was pretty good... especially when you get close ups of the ice sculptures!

https://t.co/h0XnYTWr9u and the perma-link
https://t.co/d4bNZkGgK8

Talking of ice - this is a picture of the mens downhill course for the infamous Kitzbuehel downhill - the race is this weekend. You can see how much water they have been sprinkling on the course to get it glistening like this!

Kitzbuehel downhill - ice ice baby!

In other local news unfortunately a pedestrian got hit by a car last night at the Rond pond des Pistes... not terribly serious injuries but it would seem as if they slipped over just as a car was approaching!

The police were also called to a certain hotel in town (name withheld) after a drunk British holidaymaker it would seem went into the wrong room in the middle of the night.... they thought it was their room. When the actual tenant of the room (rightly) objected to the intrusion a fight broke out... ah the joys!

Finally for this evening I have now managed to put the latest in my series of tips together.... this one details how to keep ski / snowboard equipment safe on the mountain for when you have to leave it e.g. at meal times! Happy viewing.

https://ktch.tv/69Pr?s=04m41s&e=07m41s

And I think that brings you all up to date for the day.

Night night folks!

After all it is free

P.S. This as well Very Happy

GREAT NEWS:

http://edgemag.net/2016-01-21-valdisere-snack-hut-reopened-court/

Lord that Kitzbuehel run looks like an ice rink placed sideyways. Shocked

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Stupid question alert!!

Why make the race pistes that icy? Presumably for speed but jeez. I don't know how you would manage to get a turn in

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

On that stretch they probably don't! Toofy Grin

snow reports

If the piste isn't icy/very hard then ruts are formed and you really don't want to be turning at 80mph and hitting a rut - not a good outcome.

You know it makes sense.

Hi Steve,
Thank you for your reply, just sent Becky a email asking to book onto your clinic for 2 people. Looking forward to meeting you and the clinic.
Stuart

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

Re the piste being iced... yes it is basically to stop ruts developing which at high speed would be very dangerous. And of course later runners would have a disadvantage anyway!

A snowHead

Another nice day, quiet slopes and great snow

January is such a great time of the year to be here as the snow is normally excellent (more so this year), the pistes quiet and the weather can sometimes as it seems to be at the moment simply wonderful!

It was -15 first up but after enduring the first couple of hours like that you know the sun will take over eventually... I took the same person as I have had the rest of the week for his final session and the plan was to ski a lot and try and put into practice as much of what we have worked on the last week (and what he learnt with my colleague Terry the week before that) as possible.

At 9am we were able to witness the Europa Cup course inspection taking place.... I am always impressed as they memories all the turns and terrain changes for races such as this - such an impressive thing to be able to do and takes me back to my race days that is for sure!

Anyway we had a jolly nice morning and to be honest we had one of the best descents of my season (well it will be I should think) as we got down form the top of the Motte in Val Claret on the Double M in perfect corduroy conditions and our tracks were pretty much the first down.... it was a 'special' run that is for sure. So after being ahead of the curve and getting first tracks down the runs getting to the Grande Motte and down it we headed 'around the world' to ski to Brevieres. It really is VERY rare that in a 3 hour lesson I am abel to get to the Motte and down to Brev and back again but we made it and had a great time of it.... maximum turns type morning!

I called in my Periscope atop the Bellevarde at lunchtime (apologies if the connection came and went a little). I have broadcast from up there before and the signal strength I was getting on my phone suggested that it should have been OK but I think it dropped in and out a little from time to time. Anyway I think you will like the views!

After having a quick drink with Clares father before he left this evening, at lunchtime in the Sun Bar I met my second seasonnaire group for an afternoon working on bumps. A couple of laps of Tommeuse before heading to Brev - twice in a day - not that REALLY is rare for me!

I was especially interested in taking the Sache run again as the top section has some nice moguls on it whilst the lower section has been pisted and in pretty nice nick!

A quick drink with colleagues at the Fall Line (for a change of scenery) followed by a sneaky take-away has rounded off the day. Clares mother arrives overnight by the Eurostar so she will be with us by breakfast time tomorrow and I have another full day 'at the office' so I shall sign off now as I need an early night!

Todays periscope: https://t.co/SiXirCqqKj and the perma-link
https://t.co/gpP0pHyz9o

Some photos of the day to sign off with.

TTFN

P.S. I dont think there should be any issues on the road tomorrow for those travelling!

Not sure why they cant open the Tommeuse just 5 mins earlier at 9.10 as there is often a queue of eager people waiting to get over to Tignes on a day like this!

Although my favourite picture of the day - how can you tell looking at this picture which way the wind has been blowing - which way has it predominantly been blowing?

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@Steve Angus,

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Snow is deposited on the windward side. I.e. wind has been coming from behind the photographer?
Perhaps even a little over his right shoulder?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Steve Angus,

You'll need to Register first of course.

Rime is pointing towards the camera hence wind blowing from that direction ie behind camera?

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

right to left, typical desert/tundra scenery. good indication from the V underneath the final chair underneath the flywheel.

After all it is free

ajdetpwm, T Bar, JeanPaulValley - indeed folks (KNEW YOU CAN COUNT ON WELL INFORMED SNOWHEADS) - it is indeed Rime and it 'builds' into the wind.... super saturated hygroscopic nuclei bind together as they pass and therefore build into the wind.... full makes folks! Smile

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Help!!

The view from............ Val d'Isere and the Espace Killy

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