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

A snowHead

@Steve Angus, lets have your update though please i look forward to them.

@Dr John, my experience this week is that when busy they are pretty much filling up every chair, they seem to have 3 entrance filters and these are staffed at busy times and the guys and gals only let full chairs go.

A snowHead

A pleasant day

Starting off nicely - the calm before (or is that after) the storm!

So after dropping Olivia at creche I was off back to meet the team at their accommodation. I did my Periscope before the lesson this morning for a change:

https://t.co/nUFvE02TlA and the perma-link
https://t.co/K8eZPmxCnV

With the weather looking set for the day I headed with A on a little trip... destination Les Brevs. So we did lots of good technique stuff up the Bellevarde side skiing some greens to help with technique.

There was an incident as one of the racers training on the stade bonnivie crashes near the bottom and ended up coming through the netting area below the loading area for the Borsat lift.... at first glance it looked as if the person had fallen off the lift but alas it was not the case... Anyway the SAMU chopper had to land right next to the lift (it stops for take off and landing).

'A' did very well tackling some tricky runs on the way towards Les Brevs and by pure coincidence we bumped into his brother and friend on the way down there so all ended up having lunch together at one of my favourite places to eat in the resort - L'armailly.... perfect pizzas!

Whilst we were there another of 'A's' brothers friends came down so we ended up being a table of 5....

After lunch it was a dash back to Val via the Vallee Perdue and boy it was in excellent condition - probably the best I have ever seen it in!!!! Lots of fun for the boys!

Les Boisses looking lovely in the sun!

I have not been terribly exciting this evening so not much else to report. I am going to try and see the Frostgun freestyle snowboarding final tomorrow night at the bottom of the Face if I can.

Weatherwise it should be another nice day tomorrow before the weather closes in on Friday again - a little anyway!

TTFN

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

You need to Login to know who's really who.

A day in the valley...

Today's video update from the slopes and permanent link too (as the first link will expire after 24 hours)

https://t.co/mtctfCip3y and the perma-link
https://t.co/yBR90ieuA8

So I spent the day down on the nursery slopes as the team wanted to try their hand at snowboarding. After dropping Olivia at creche and heading up there I found them all returning with their shiny new rental gear and big grins on the faces... The weather was lovely again and it was chilly initially but quickly heated up.

Little by little we worked our way through the progression and had a fun morning.

Lunch was a social affair at the Brussels with them all and it was a jolly nice lunch at that.... the most amazing burger it really was! Thanks very much! Little treats like that are certainly not expected but if occasionally they do happen it is most enjoyable!

So successful was the morning that they all wanted to give it another go in the afternoon so onwards and upwards we marched until by mid afternoon they were ready for the chairlift. I always get a little worried when students get to the linked turns point as you are still consciously making moves and it is not committed to muscle memory yet a while... as a result it doesnt take a lot to drop an edge and over you go and as a result coxics (sp?) and wrists are at danger! Also there were no problems and to get some linked turns in was a great end to the day.

See you next years folks!

This evening I took a wander down to the Frostgun event as you can see in the Periscope.

Weather wise there is a slight chance of a little snow tomorrow but I dont think we will get anything until early next week.

A rare sight over Val last night of a meteor.... photo courtesy of Radio Val

In local news apart from the freestyle event there is a train strike that will affect trains this Saturday (some 70% of them will be affected). This will not only have problems for those using the trains but it will only make the roads busier. The roads are expected to be mega busy anyway with another major French holiday week. In fact some 31000 cars are expected on the roads! Leave plenty of extra time folks or leave early (or much later)

The car that plunged into the lake the other week with the occupants narrowly escaping by jumping out the doors just before it went over the edge has re-emerged as the water levels drop (as is normal for this time of the year). Photo courtesy of Radio Val

The BMW test cars all lined up for a test drive.... anyone?

The FrostGun event in full flow. Certainly BIG Air by the skiers!

And that is about it for this update. Tomorrow I am on an all day private snowboarding lesson (lots of boarding at the moment) and then Clare is working Saturday whilst I have the day off.... so Olivia and I will have to have some fun father / daughter time!

TTFN

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Snowing in Val D'isere, vis doesn't look great either.

You'll need to Register first of course.

"The BMW test cars all lined up for a test drive.... anyone?"

Is that free?

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

Heavy snow and variable vis at the moment, going is hard work. Face was good for a couple of runs first thing before it really closed in, then santons back to village. Been looping sollaise with the girls top to tree level is very poor vis but much better once you hit the trees, if this weather stays the same for today and the forecasted sun comes in the morning it will be pretty stunning tomorrow.

After all it is free

@dogwatch, the free test drives are round the back - 3 series on summer tyres Twisted Evil

Tired and ready for a day off!

It is the Friday of half term and tomorrow I get a day off skis.... well mainly because Clare is booked all day and someone needs to look after Olivia!!! I am looking forward to spending some time with her and having a lazy day! I think the weather (and the roads for that matter) will be better left to their own devices anyway!

Today I was surprised to see there had been a few cm's of fresh overnight and it would continue snowing relatively heavily all day.

I was on a one off all day private snowboarding lesson with a lady from California.... over for just 5 days to take a spare room in a chalet her friends from London were taking for the week! We battled the elements and had a good day making several changes and she said she felt much more confident by the end of the day and looked to me a lot more comfortable with the terrain she was riding!

In fact we finished a little early as I think she was somewhat tired but that is the way it goes sometimes. We enjoyed a nice lunch at the Bellevarde restaurant which was a nice change as I rarely eat in there.

This was about as good vis as it got on the Val side of the resort.

Anyway after I finished with the boarding for the day I attempted to do my periscope.... it was a jolly cold day and the battery has sapped more than I thought so it took a couple of goes to get it all out.

https://t.co/SkjdYP7UR1 and the perma-link (for the FIRST part!)
https://t.co/eN0JVHmk1k
https://t.co/xlnT9LQKTH and the perma-link (for the SECOND part!)
https://t.co/1zosNFH89G

I picked Olivia up then Clare took her to a friends baby naming ceremony whilst I popped to Blue Note for a ski school end of half term drink!

Since then I have mainly been watching England almost win the cricket match - how close!!!!!.... and have a fairly chilled evening.

The roads tomorrow will be swamped and the train strike could make matters worse. The French press are putting travel warnings out for tomorrow - with all the traffic coming and going it will be a busy day.

And that is about it for today - short and sweet.

TTFN

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Enjoy your day off Steve, I must say I think your Periscopes have been great. I tune in when I can and I've been really enjoying them (I'm radionewsbird!). I think one day you had over 100 people viewing, very impressive!

Hope Olivia has a wonderful day with her daddy x

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

How were the queues and pistes over half term? Just driving back from a week in Champoluc and thinking about next year.

I'm a bit spoilt by usually skiing with the family over Easter holidays!!

snow reports

@kitenski, my experience having spent many a half term in various resorts but first time in val at HT. Pistes are a little busier than i am used to but i think that is more to do with

A. Not knowing the resort as well as i do say 3vs or Obergurgl.

B. Weather, meaning you need to pick the runs that afford better conditions and visibility.

The lift queues haven't been horrendous with only one queue i would consider long at about 5-10 minutes queue, but we have chose first lifts wisely, eg bus to la daille or le fornet. Rather than the olympique or sollaise out of the village.

Me and the girls just came down face which was a little scraped but virtually empty and had a quick lunch and jumped on a completely empty sollaise chair.

There has been the odd piste which was very busy but in general not at all bad.

Late posting - sorry

Well good morning (yes it is Sunday morning and I am late posting yesterdays report).... Had a lovely day with my little girl yesterday (thanks HoneyBunny and yes had over 100 people one day) but by the evening when Clare got back from work and we had gotten her into bed and opened a bottle of wine and settled into a movie I totally forgot to post - whoops.

Anyway a late posting now sorry.

So yesterday started overcast and chilly but there was sun in the sky. Clare headed off to work and I occupied myself with a few domestic things before taking Olivia to soft play at the swimming pool complex.... normally we dont like paying the €5 for the soft play there but as a treat I knew she would love it (so did I actually as I spent time chasing her around the ball pit as there was (initially) no other little'uns there). By the time we came back out it had clouded over and light snow was falling!

Olivia took her lunchtime nap and I caught up on some more things. Between the two of us we caused chaos in the flat with toys everywhere just before Clare got back from work! So some tidying up was required!

The usual dinner, bath and bedtime before Clare and I settled down for a quiet evening together finished a nice 'catch-up' and relaxing day!

It was pretty chilly in town but there was no wind blowing.

During the day there must have been about 15cm of snow fall on the mountain and quite a little less in town. There were some lovely pockets of snow up there I believe too!

I did take the opportunity to do my Periscope yesterday afternoon : two days ago it was the battery that let me down and for some strange reason it was strange connection issues.... even though I had been chatting for a couple of mins already when you watch this back it will come in half way through.... TODAY it will be better - it can only be!

https://t.co/jm6QAgkZ2o and the perma-link
https://t.co/tMOKNOYyGQ

The expected heavy traffic materialised (there is still the train strike until this evening (local trains) which will make the roads busier than usual) and by 7.30am going down the valley the Tunnel de Sioux lights were on.... and by 1200 coming up the valley there were 10km of jams.... I trust everyone survived and has now made it!

The tourist office have produced a nice video summarising the Frostgun freestyle event this last week which is pretty well worth a watch!

http://www.webtvvaldisere.com/upload_vids/2016-02-19%20Frostgun%20Big%20Air%20Ski-Snowboard%20v2.mp4

The weather is now set to stabilise in terms of snow and today is going to get very warm before returning to more normal temps and a possibility of snow later in the week.

I am teaching this morning before we ALL finally get some family time together this afternoon.

More updates later on.

You know it makes sense.

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

@Steve Angus, quick question. Should have asked before but, do you know why they have the flood lights on the bottom half of Face, and why they are switched on most of the evening?

A snowHead

Because it looks pretty.

A snowHead

Which it does, but isnt exactly 'green' is it.

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

Skiing isn't green. Not in the slightest, from the emissions getting there, to heating a town-full of tourists in a cold place, to covering a mountain with ugly lifts and bull-dozed pistes. Lighting the Face is the least of it.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Well Thankyou Val D'Isere , we have just had one of our best family ski holidays , 6 families ( a total of 21 ) all thtoroughly enjoyed themselves , all accomodation was great in the Aquila residence near Rond Point , the weather was truly a mixed bag , blizzards on Sunday , sun shine on other days , exactly what you want to get the true alpine experience , the snow was fantastic , the pistes were well groomed each night , queues were not too bad at all anywhere , we ate in some lovely restaurants , Attelier Edmond , Brussels ,La Fruitiere ( in the wine cellar ) , but the favourites were Le Panormaic and Peau de Vache . Left at 6.00 am but in hindsight should have left an hour earlier as we hit traffic and bad weather so a 14 hr Val to Colchester door to door journey ( was hoping for a 12 hr ) The Tourist Office put on lots of entertainment in town so the evening strolls to bars and shops was great fun , the street oppossite Victors was closed 6 lorry loads of snow dumped and a temporary boarder park was set up , plus of course Frostgun .
Anyone in 2 minds of thinking of going to Val , just do it ,it is a great place and there are another 6 x families converted who will definitely return.
Thankyou Val D'Isere

You'll need to Register first of course.

A taste of Spring

The day started warmly and only got warmer.... it was one of those late Winter days (Spring officially starts on March 1st) when it feels like Spring is just around the corner.... well technically it is but I think we have another 2 weeks or so until we get proper Spring days popping up. Anyway it was just above zero at breakfast time but quickly warmed up with the sun!

I was teaching a nice couple from Nottingham - regular readers / views on Periscope and on Twitter (a reminder if you dont follow me on Twitter then you can @SteveAngusSnow is my handle). Val Thorens was their previous experience and whilst one was rather nervous (which is understandable if you dont have too much experience under you belt) the other was self taught. We had an enjoyable morning and after a tentative start on the Village we finished on Madelaine. After talking them through where would be sensible to ski in the afternoon I joined Clare and Olivia for a slap up lunch at the Sun Bar in the sun which was very enjoyable!

I fitted in my Periscope (which seems to have worked) outside the Peau du Vache restaurant half way up the Face:

https://t.co/tIVaYkilKK and the perma-link
https://t.co/7Teq6fvNvC

The snow today got to that stage when it was rather soggy by the end of the day... but it was still excellent. I talk about some ways to 'ski' the Spring slopes to get the most of your ski day in todays scope too!

After Olivias sleep Clare and I decided we could not wait any longer and decided that we wanted to give Olivia a shot on skis.... well it was going to be a case of try it and see. Just straight running on the flatest of slopes. The first hurdle was to get her some boots and skis small enough from Snowberry - after much disdain she finally kept the boots on and to be honest it was fantastic as she actually slid a few metres all by herself... mission accomplished. So she can technically say she first skied when she was 1.... but it is a tentative connection!

Daddy cameraman, Mummy teaching and Olivia staring!

It was a serisouly enjoyable experience... I just hope she comes to enjoy it as much as she gets older as she actually had quite a giggle today. But as Clare took her swimming this morning too she was a tired little girl by the end of the day!

I have been meaning to comment that whilst living in this town (and probably any ski resort) you see so much of the same thing on a weekly basis happening over and over again; Saturday evening 'newbies' arrive in town and hundreds of people carrying ski stuff through the streets back to their chalets; kids desperate to get a snowball fight in. Monday am the hordes getting on the lifts; Monday 4:59 die-hard skiers taking on the Face. Friday 4:59 the masses including hundreds way out of their depth giving the Face a go as a 'leaving present to themselves' and making a hash of it.... you get the picture! And whilst I am at it I am still amazed at how people come on holiday and leave common sense at home... just this evening on the bus home with Olivai - the road is for vehicles people; pavements are for walking.... people sauntering up the road side by side making it impossible for the bus to pass - hello people!

However I have NO idea what happened here - a local '73' plate stuck in the snow below the Bellevarde Express chair first thing this morning!

And finally bar one for today another example of good prices for food on the mountain... this time from the 'Cabane' at the bottom the nursery slopes:

And really this is the final thing for today... the edit of my top tips from the other day about 'when' in the season to come to Val / Tignes

https://ktch.tv/7l9p?s=04m04s&e=06m31s

And that is all for today.

ansta1 - yes as it is 'pretty' and gives a talking / show piece point for people - pretty pointless most of the time I know
gwatts10 - great sounds like you had a good holiday - hope to see you back here soon.... good recommendations re places to eat!

TTFN

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

Great to see your little one on skis. A wonderful milestone. Trust you took lots of photos and video. The BBC will lap it up for sports personality, when she takes a medal in the 2034 Olympics for team GB

After all it is free

good to hear that you think spring is in 2 weeks as that is exactly when I come out. looking forward to lots of blue skies

Great photo of Clare with Olivia! snowHead

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Hi Steve,

Thanks for a great lesson yesterday, kat and I really enjoyed it. Her confidence is now much better and she feels excited for the rest of the week Smile

I feel much happier with my technique and everything feels much more natural now rather than forced.

After leaving you at the Olympic lift we headed up to the belvard restaurant (remembering to take your handy shortcut down the steps). We met up with the rest of the group bar one who was getting ready for her afternoon lesson. Although seriously pricey, kat and I shared an enormous slice of lasagne, which was actually pretty good.

We then headed down the verte run where kat and I managed to keep up with the rest of the group, however we peeled off just before folie and headed back to the Solaise to practice some more drills and technique.

Thanks once again for a great lesson, and hopefully we'll see you again later in the week Smile

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

@Steve Angus,

snow reports

@Steve Angus, BTW, O has great stance in photo...but think you need to work on C's wink

ajdetpwm - heck yes!
kb36 - won't be that long now!
Iski - ta
Andymarsden1 - excellent glad you enjoyed and all went well.... keep on having fun... if you do want any more sessions then I go have some availability later this week.... drop me or the office a line. Take care. PS The Bellevarde restaurant is not the cheapest sorry.
intermediate - Toofy Grin

You know it makes sense.

A lovely morning.... but changed as the day progressed...

All day booking

It was plus temps at breakfast time but only just. This week is the annual week of the season when Red Bull bring out there top sellers in the various bars / clubs etc from the UK.... those bars etc that sell the most units get a very nice trip to Val... all expenses paid. So part of the 'package' was they get lessons.... so I was down to do the beginners boarders so off we went. I only had two guys and both of them were super keen to learn - one from Brighton and one from Glasgow.

So we ploughed through the various components bit by bit and they really took to it well and loved it (I think).

Lunch was taken at the Brussels en masse with the lot of them which was busy and hectic especially when magnums of rose came out but since the sun had now disappeared it was not as chaotic as it could have been! As instructors we take it on ourselves not drink in uniform until the teaching day has finished so it soft drinks for me!

Anyhows the afternoon was more of the same but we managed to head up Solaise and make use of the magic carpet run. I have to say that it was pretty busy (as expected up there today) but the queues were rather quick to move thank goodness.

The snow started falling late in the afternoon and initially this was light rain lower down but I am sure overnight it will mean snow all over but to what extent / how much. Eek!

Apres was taken at Cocorico's as the VIP area had been reserved (tomorrow (if the weather allows) it will be the Folie!!!). So after a beer there it was home to take over the normal evening family duties!

Not to much else to report this evening.

Todays periscope was done this evening from home as I wanted to show and talk people through the location on the village map of some key places / buildings / services etc.

https://t.co/IMidPSxjHO and the perma-link
https://t.co/ynwtzjuW4f

TTFN

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

Just catching up on the postd from the past couple of days. Love the pic of Olivia on skis. Knew it wouldn't be long before you gave it a go. snowHead

A snowHead

Ahh, no way.! We where keen on folie too! See you later!

A snowHead

Snowing again!

https://t.co/g2hB277S6o and the perma-link
https://t.co/0ueU33dyqz

So yes more snow.

The morning was a surprise as we had had about 10cm of snow in town and the weather was showing signs of breaking up and the sun coming out - but that soon changed back to snow again!

My Red Bull incentive trip guys were late getting up so we did not get going until about 9.30 in the end.... then a missing lift pass meant it was a rather wasted first hour. Anyway the boys did well and before long they were linking turns on the magic carpet run.

Lunch was taken in town (great food at the Gourmandine - at the Rond Pont des Pistes near Snowberry!) and then it was time to head up the Olympique and tackle the Verte down to the Folie.

Weatherwise the wind was not too severe during the day although got stronger as the day wore on. The snow however really came in harder and harder as the day progressed.

The Folie was pretty fun for the people on the incentive trip as they had the VIP area to themselves but the poor weather meant it was not as busy there as it could have been.... but it was still crazy as always.

Not much else to report really from my day...

A couple of the local youngsters in town are in the wars.... quite serisouly.... one local youngster broke his leg skiing on the Bellevarde mountain yesterday and another had a brain haemorrhage (not skiing related) on Sunday too.... all very upsetting for the local kids and parents!

The ESF (after it was cancelled last week because of bad weather) just about managed to do their show this evening so we had a nice fireworks display to watch at Olivias bed time!

The cinema this year has only managed to sell 5000 tickets since it opened in December (compared with over 20000 last season). OK the cinema has moved location this year but I think it is three things that are responsible for the downturn apart from the fact it is harder to get there and not as convenient! Secondly there is only one screen rather than two but I dont think they advertise nearly enough what is showing either. The last factor has been picked up on... not enough films in English which is a big draw for people! The price is cheaper now though which is a plus! They are still hoping to get 15000 (yea fat chance) tickets sold this season!

The avalanche risk will be 3 tomorrow and they are starting PIDA work at 7.20am... the road is slippy tonight too.

It is turning into quite a season snow wise!

The view from the 'VIP' loo's at the Folie!

TTFN

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

Heh @Steve Angus, tuned in to your periscope last night, my first! Superb Toofy Grin

Definitely warming me up for our visit (18 days and counting) and fingers crossed the epic snow keeps coming.

Hope to tune in again next day or so Cheers snowHead

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Are we gearing up for a 'stacking' weather system?

Well folks surprise surprise there was some fresh snow again this morning - a nice little top up of 15cm or so. It was rather warm (still below zero in town) at breakfast time and likely to rise to just above zero.

I was teaching a young couple and without going into details he was a recently retired professional rugby player (and internationally capped I believe) and his girlfriend a personal trainer. The plan was to work on general piste technique on blue runs and work it onwards from that. The fresh snow and visibility coming and going made it tricky! However we battled through and it was one of those lessons where both persons needed completely different work so running two private lessons in one. We took at trip down the Arcelle and there was a fair amount of fresh snow and bumps to contend with but it was fun!

I had the afternoon off (tried to catch up with home stuff) so before that I fitted in my periscope:

https://t.co/cgszsUeQVj and the perma-link
https://t.co/TShwyz21FX

Among particular things I talked about are the dangers on (and off) piste you start to get with humid and heavier snow... knee twisting snow - be careful in snow like that and SLOW DOWN. Off piste you have dangers of snow sliding of course! In fact a natural release came right down across the exit from the Tour du Charvet between two guided groups at 10.30 this morning so be careful out there folks!

When you do get sticky snow and varying vis people can sometimes not adjust to the conditions at all and a perfect case I came across today even though I did not witness exactly what happened I saw the upshot. As the run narrows and then the cordons appear on the approach to the bottom of the Datcha lift you often get ridges building up.... someone failed to take the ridge into account for whatever reasons and when I came across the scene of the accident just below the cordons the person was flat on their back barely moving. I was still in the lesson at this point but in a situation like this I quickly have to act as a person of responsibility in a professional capacity in the same way you would expect an off duty doctor to help in a road accident if they were passing by (I am guessing so anyway and not knowing the legal implications). So the family were trying to set up crossed skis (correct) but way too close to the injury - I always say at LEAST 10 metres above the accident and in this case I moved the skis (it was a French family) right up to effectively close off that half of the chevroned area.... I heard the liftie shout up to me that the pisteurs had been called as he saw me get my phone out. So after securing the immediate area I left the scene and told the liftie that the person was conscious and the waiting for the pisteurs to arrive started. If he had been unconscious then I suspect a skidoo (heli couldn't fly) would immediately have been sent down to town to pick up the doc on duty. Anyway that was my good deed for the day.... by the time we were a 1/4 way up the Datcha lift I could see the pisteurs on their way!

So in local news there are two things on the agenda....

1) there is a jolly good chance that we could get a blocking weather front coming in this weekend as the winds swing around and cutting a long story short we could get a short 24/48 'storm' bring very localised (perhaps JUST in the Fornet / Solaise area perhaps that localised) HEAVY snowfall to the area.... perhaps the whole of Val and Tignes - who knows but certainly the outlook is for heavy snow this weekend and on and off snowfall before then!

2) The mayor has agreed to enter talks with the securite des pistes services about a dispute over pay and conditions that is brewing - we certainly dont want it to go down the route of Deux Alpes with their strike the other day!

And I think that is all for today apart from some pics from today!

Looked OKAY initially...

But it wasn't up there for long..... I bit no-one can tell me where that is?

The magic carpet really has nearly disappeared now.

TTFN

You'll need to Register first of course.

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

Has there been a big slide down below brev?

After all it is free

Just had a look on the webcams and if you look down the valley below brev there seems to be something on the left hand face.

Could just be the light?

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Help!!

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

snowHeads Forum Index >>> Snow Reports - weather - snow conditions