 Poster: A snowHead
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Austria/Switzerland & Alps in general.
The way I see it.
There is no Pre October/November Snow at altitude
No rain or snow for the last 32 days
No permafrost.
High unseasonable temperatures for the next 10 days
It will DUMP (of course) at some time.
When it does DUMP it will be so Acutely dangerous.
This will cause ski towns to virtually shut down (for safety ) due to level 4-5 Avalanche risk.
IMO
Locals are already preparing for the worst.
This Season in Austria & Switzerland is heading for a write off.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Thu 24-11-11 12:29; edited 3 times in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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It's November 24th so how is the season which runs from the end of November to April a "write off"??? 
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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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stanton, I for one am a firm believer in positive optimistic thoughts at this time of year, but you are being very negative. Are you drinking Gin per chance?? 
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It's certainly an interesting situation. Not sure I'd be quite that pessimistic. Where I'm going on Dec 24th (Les Coches) there is nothing predicted for another week at least which has certainly startled me a tad. Being a trip with little uns I don't need the best conditions going but I do need something! Longer term I don't think you can be writing off anything this early. I think I will stop looking for a few days.. who needs the stress. 
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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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stanton, I injured myself race training in Tignes this week some years ago, I hopped around Lac in dust and only a polo shirt all week; it snowed second week in December and kept going steadily, I skied in early January and it was a very good late season as if Winter waited a month.
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Layne, Good idea, stop looking. What I have done in previous years is find a forecast I like then stop looking; in effect keeping the happy thought. This year I can't find that forecast anywhere and my old favourite, metcheck appears to be stuck in May 2011. I could always rely on Metcheck at some point to forecast snow, then I would just stop looking. A natural conclusion to that is that the current lack of snow is the fault of Metcheck for not updating their forecast!!!!!!
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Europe's Golden Age of skiing is over.
The Alps have become too dry and too warm.
Those in the know head to North America or Japan.
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Too many on here watching Donnie Darko
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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 Stanton. I got that feeling too but have booked 4 places in mid January. The only snow I have seen from the web cam is Zermatt.
It does look pretty bad this year.
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| Quote: |
Those in the know head to North America or Japan.
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Nah
Didn't find snow either. Couple years ago in Mar I skied Niseko like the end of the season; rock hard ice in the morning and slush wet snow in the afternoon.
Last Christmas went over to Vermont to ski 5 places. Each has about 40% closed due to a combination of lack of snow or visitors.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Whitegold wrote: |
Europe's Golden Age of skiing is over.
The Alps have become too dry and too warm.
Those in the know head to North America or Japan. |
Still?
1. This isn't The Lord of the Rings
2. Those in the know know that weather patterns go in circles, and strong la Ninas swing into strong el Ninos
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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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Man up and take it as it comes! 
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It might be fair to say that December could be a write-off, with associated loss of New Year peak-week earnings.
It's also definitely true that if it dumps an absolute ton of snow, the avo risk will go off the chart. However, that situation just needs a few days to normalize - the avalanches need to happen, nature takes its course, meanwhile what's left *is* the base and the frozen ground for the next lot. So the season as a whole isn't a write off just yet.
I'm not sure I agree with the logic that absence of snow and absence of permafrost means a hopeless season ahead. Because those are exactly the conditions you would expect in October... so my conclusion is that the season is just delayed a bit, with some early-season headaches.
Of course, it's statistically possible that it won't snow at all. But that's unknowable at this point, and pretty unlikely.
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You know it makes sense.
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No such things as permafrost in the Alps anyhow. Permafrost is, as the words suggest, permanent - i.e. still there in summer.
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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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It's a funny one. Last season was apparently the worst in at least a generation in many resorts, yet I skied at various points from September to June and had probably my best season ever. I was reminded of this by updating my photo album from last season, and concluded it was my best ever. I did get a couple of weeks in Japan with lots of snow, but I equally enjoyed great early (and pre-) season snow in France, fun piste conditions and great weather throughout the season, awesome April skiing in the Dolomites, a month of brilliant glacier skiing in May and even fresh tracks in June.
Maybe the people who have written off this season already have just forgotten how to have a good time?
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Poster: A snowHead
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My main worry is that the mother in law is coming for nearly 3 weeks at Christmas, and if there's no snow we automatically forfeit the free babysitting, and have to actually spend the whole time talking to her instead.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I remember headlines like this back in the late 80s, early 90s. There were some pretty rubbish seasons in the Alps and of course back then there was no significant snowmaking. By contrast my most recent ski trips have had far better snow than I remember from back then. One particular memory was of being in La Plagne at the beginning of March surrounded by brown fields and having to go up to the glacier. Even last season's trip to Kitzbuhel in March was way better than that thanks largely to snowmaking. Both 2009 and 2010 were excellent snow seasons. Now we have almost universal snowmaking in the Alpine resorts there's little reason to get over-stressed about a lack of snow. Very soon overnight temperatures look like they will drop significantly to allow this to happen.
I'm an avid weather watcher, but no expert. This has been a strange year, early very hot dry spring, cool wettish long summer and late dry autumn.
I can't help agreeing with paulio, everything seems a bit late getting going this year, but I'm not writing anything off. I'm going to have two great ski holidays and like rob@rar I'm going to have a fabulous time.
Humbug to all the Victor Meldrews out there.
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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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| paulio wrote: |
| My main worry is that the mother in law is coming for nearly 3 weeks at Christmas, and if there's no snow we automatically forfeit the free babysitting, and have to actually spend the whole time talking to her instead. |
Send her for long walks around the lake 
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The world ends in December 2012 anyway but Nostradamus did also mention in passing that the preceding ski season would be "a bit ropey".
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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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two years ago the best new snow of the season in the Sauze-Montgenvre-serre Chevalier area was the last week of March-2nd week April
so you can never tell
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| stanton wrote: |
Austria/Switzerland & Alps in general.
The way i see it.
There is no Pre October/November Snow at altitude
No Rain or snow for the last 32 days
No Perma Frost.
High Unseasonable temperatures for the next 10 days
It will DUMP (of course) at some time.
When it does DUMP it will be so Acutely dangerous.
This will cause ski towns to virtually shut down (for safety ) due to level 4-5 Avalanche warnings.
IMO
Locals already are pereparing for the worst.
This Season in Austria 6 Switzerland a write off. |
You really do like talking complete mince don't you?
Are you an unemployed NOTW "journalist"? Or just an ordinary idiot?
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I'm reminded of Verbier, in January of the same season cathy mentions (I think). Nothing below about 2100, man made slush/ice combo on the nursery slope which mrs paulio had to use (we were based in La Tzoumaz, and the nearest usable beginner run was Les Esserts, a 2-slow-gondolas-plus-bus-ride commute away - poor girl), surrounded by butterflies dancing in and out of the daffodils and primroses. Very, very odd.
All of a sudden, Tuesday night, metre and a half of fresh, everything open.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Waaay too early to be worrying about an entire season written off...saw on a couple of cams in the french alps they had already some decent piles of man made being established to supplement mother nature if she strikes lkke everyone else this year! 
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under a new name,
Every SH been here sometime knows stanton is our man when answering all matters regarding St Anton. Be respectful.
This year I have an interest in Gstaad, Zweisimman, Lenk, Adelboden, Gressoney, Campoluc, Cervinia, Zermatt, Pila and Saas Fee and have been checking their snow condition everyday via the web cams. There is no snow except Cervinia/Zermatt which is a glacier resort. The situation is as bad as reported by stanton because even freezing is rare, let alone snow in the resorts I checked.
On the matter of snow supply I thought last year wasn't that bad as I spent one week in Austria and then another week in France/Italy in end of Jan. It was perfect in Stubai, Solden, Obergurgl, Montgenevre, Sauze 'DOlux, Claviere, Cesana, Serre Chevalier, Risoul/Vars and Put St Vincent. The only problem I had was in L2A and LDH which were skiable down to the base level with limited runs.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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| Quote: |
The Alps have become too dry and too warm.
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Funny, it was "too warm" last year. I went skiing.
I'm going skiing next week.
And there's more snow on the webcams than the year I turned up to see grass, for which I managed a full 6 days out of 6 on the slopes.
All of the above are in the Alps.
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| saikee wrote: |
under a new name,
Every SH been here sometime knows stanton is our man when answering all matters regarding St Anton. Be respectful.
This year I have an interest in Gstaad, Zweisimman, Lenk, Adelboden, Gressoney, Campoluc, Cervinia, Zermatt, Pila and Saas Fee and have been checking their snow condition everyday via the web cams. There is no snow except Cervinia/Zermatt which is a glacier resort. The situation is as bad as reported by stanton because even freezing is rare, let alone snow in the resorts I checked.
On the matter of snow supply I thought last year wasn't that bad as I spent one week in Austria and then another week in France/Italy in end of Jan. It was perfect in Stubai, Solden, Obergurgl, Montgenevre, Sauze 'DOlux, Claviere, Cesana, Serre Chevalier, Risoul/Vars and Put St Vincent. The only problem I had was in L2A and LDH which were skiable down to the base level with limited runs. |
Why should I show any respect to someone who's spouting complete tripe?
Scaremongering does no-one any good.
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You know it makes sense.
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Half of stanton's post is factual, and the rest is his conjecture deduced from those facts. Your conjecture may be different to his.
Hope that helps.
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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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under a new name, andy, Guys, he's obviously trolling... Why bite?
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Poster: A snowHead
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There's nothing trolly about that post, at all.
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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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For GOD'S SAKE DB, stop trolling!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| stanton wrote: |
Austria/Switzerland & Alps in general.
The way i see it.
There is no Pre October/November Snow at altitude. |
Incorrect
http://www.bergfex.com/oesterreich/schneewerte/
| Quote: |
| No Rain or snow for the last 32 days |
Really? even though pics of fresh snow were posted in this thread
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=78906&start=80
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| High Unseasonable temperatures for the next 10 days |
the season is longer than 10 days
| stanton wrote: |
When it does DUMP it will be so Acutely dangerous.
This will cause ski towns to virtually shut down (for safety ) due to level 4-5 Avalanche warnings. |
For level 4 / 5 you need a major dump - how do you know this will occur, when will his occur? How confident are you that this will occur?
| Quote: |
IMO
Locals already are pereparing for the worst.
This Season in Austria 6 Switzerland a write off. |
"IMO" says it 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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Good troll there, OP. The typos and bad grammar were a nice touch.
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| Whitegold wrote: |
Those in the know head to Chill Factor or Xscape. |
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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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I did predict 2nd week December on another thread.
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