 Poster: A snowHead
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-14 as we were strolling back up the road, full of magret de canard. -17 according to the hotel website.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@noako, For Lavachet try Tignes Spirit
Just back from the Jam Bar -16 now. 
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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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@chocksaway, Tignes.net showing a balmy -21c at village level this morning
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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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According to the thermometer readout on the Vallon Blanc, it was -16 at 9am for ski school dropoff time. Will warm up quickly in the sunshine now though.
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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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Morning all from the lounge at Geneva where security was a model of Swiss efficiency this morning, no queue at all. Just got to crack passport control here and on the Lancashire/Yorkshire border.
So a quick weather update, enjoy the rest of today as its heading downhill! Tomorrow will be snowy, cloudy and windy as well as being warmer so there will be snow at all levels in the morning but it may well be sleeting/raining up to 2000m by lunchtime. Friday morning will be similar with the rain snow/line at 2000m The wind will drop in the afternoon and there may well be the odd sunny period in the afternoon. Now Saturday will start with light snow in the early morning, this will intensify in the afternoon. The all important rain/snow line will start at 1900m dropping to 1500 by lunchtime and then right down the valley by tea time. So I can definitely see jams on the way up as the traffic hits its peak in the afternoon. You may get away with leaving on Saturday morning before around 6.30AM, of course if the temperature drops a bit or one Parisian gets assed without snow chains a jam could easily develop. Sunday looks nice, mild with sunny periods and fluffy clouds. Currently the rest of next week looks mainly sunny and mild - a good week for the mountain restaurants.
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@chocksaway, Hope your trip back to the UK has gone smoothly.
Temperature was still baltic today but snow conditions great. Despite it being half term we hit no lifts queues around Solaise/Pissaillas and Fornet and the slopes didn’t seem very crowded. Our formula of a quick coffee stop at 1130 then lunch at 2 seems to work well as we enjoy the quiet lunchtime slopes.
Muppet family awards today went to the 2 instructors that lined up 20 pupils across Face blocking the whole piste before sending one down at a time this morning and the parents that allowed 2 kids to go sledging down Face at 6pm when the Piste bashers were out 
Let’s see what the morning brings weather wise but cloud and sleet seems to be forecast.
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Looks like around -5 this morning, with a good 10cm of snowfall overnight. Still snowing steadily now, looks like it might continue for a while. Will be a poor vis morning for sure...
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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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We ve had about 6 inches overnight down here in ste foy from what I can make out from the windows....and it's still falling.
What's the charts showing chocks for today and tomorrow... cheers
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Just back from ski school drop off in Le Lac. Still snowing heavily, but temp is showing as 0 on the Vallon Blanc. Probably a good 20cm so far, I reckon, maybe a bit more. The folks setting up the market don't look too chuffed! A couple of big bangs earlier, but I didn't notice the avalanche state number.
Back inside now for tea and croissants. 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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The official amounts are 14cm in the village and 20 on high - up to about 8am.
Looking at the charts the snow is going to continue all day with strong winds and a rain/snow line at about 1900m so miserably damp low down and cold up high! Light snow will continue to around breakfast time and the cloud will progressively clear and the wind will drop. So there will be some delays as the pisteurs rearrange the snow on high, but it looks like a good afternoon, as it has been quite warm the best snow will be at altitude, lower down the heavy wet snow will initially give rise to an increase in avalanche risk, at altitude wind blown snow will be an issue - stay safe. Saturday - Snowmageddon or not? It will cloud over into Saturday and light snow will start before first light with a rain/snow line around 1600m so snow chains will be needed to get out of the villages if you do not have snow tyres. The snow line will drop a bit as the day wears on and the snow intensity will increase. So there will be big queues to get up the mountain especially in the afternoon, hopefully the police will make chains mandatory from the lay by below the dam. Going down - leave early would be the top tip. Sunday now looks mainly cloudy with very light snow showers, there may be the odd sunny period. After a chilly start Monday appears to be a bluebird with pleasant temperatures by lunchtime, though this forecast is far from certain.
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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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Hi All
After a little bit of Tignes resort advice. Have a family trip (plus others) booked for the 25th March for a week - we are staying in Val Claret.
Would the Tignes experts be able to let me know the best runs to target for catching the sun in the morning ie those runs where the snow will soften first after the overnight freeze. Is there a set route to follow to keep in the sun as it moves across the mountain? Group is fairly mixed so easier runs would be great.
Many thanks !
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@Griggs, the southeast facing runs will get the sun first. IIWY I'd head up the Tichot and Grattalu lifts and either ski those runs and/or head around the bowl towards Le Lac via Grand Huit etc. They're all blue runs with red options for the more adventurous.
Beware the bottom of the Carline run back into Val Claret, there is a small steep section just as you reach the village which although graded blue is often considerably more difficult especially when icy first thing or bumpy late on.
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You know it makes sense.
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Hi
Many thanks @moosepig for the advice. I have skiied Tignes a few times before but not for a number of years. I do recall the steep pitch at the bottom of the Carline run ! Are we better therefore to come down from that side of the mountain somewhere closer to the Palafour lift and then cross over the Front de Neige at Le Lac and head back up what used to be the Aeroski to approach Val Claret from Piste H? We are staying at Club Med which just up the piste from the Bollin / Fresse lift station.
Griggs
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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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@Griggs, that's a good idea as - if I recall correctly where the Club Med is - it means you can ski straight in. If it were me, rather than using the Toviere I'd probably head up the Paquis chairlift (from front de neige, take the little bridge to skier's right of the Maison De Tignes next to the cashpoint) and down Piste H (which is now called Henri) as that avoids the bumpy bottleneck at the top. Also it'll be late March and probably quite warm and gondolas are not the place to be IMHO 
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Griggs, I would go up Bollin/Tufs and ski down Creux first thing as its in the sun. Back up Tommeuses and then Piste Henri. Alternatively if you are worried about Carline go up Tichot and Grattalu and lap Grattalu until you are bored then ski down Piste Lac to Grand Huit and down into Le Lac by Anenome/Kadjar.
The weather is a bit unpredictable at the moment. But there will be a lot of traffic tomorrow with 30000 vehicles heading out and 35000 heading towards the resorts above Albertville. That is enough to cause chaos without the weather. Tomorrow will be snowy all day with a breeze at altitude. Initially it will be sleet in Tignes and Val D'Isere but the rain/snow line will work down the hill through the day to just above Bourg. So for getting out it will probably be not too bad, the road clearers will be able to keep on top of it but anyone arriving after lunch will probably need chains, so expect long delays. Sunday will start sunny and colder but the cloud will build in the afternoon with more snow showers overnight into Monday. But by breakfast time we will be left with sunny periods, but the cloud will return in the afternoon and more snow showers overnight. Tuesday would now appear to be a day of heavy snow showers and cold, with the odd glimpse of the sun if we are lucky, before a nice day on Wednesday with just a few fluffy clouds on the peaks, it will be chilly though.
For those in the air tomorrow it should all be OK for flying. A bit damp and dreary at the continental airports but that means it will be snowy in resort! Good luck with the traffic.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| chocksaway wrote: |
| lap Grattalu until you are bored |
I think I could lap Grattalu all day without being bored!! It's possibly my favourite run in the EK.
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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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Piste Merles, despite being graded red, is usually easier than Lac when it's busy. Merles is one of my favourite runs in the Tignes bowl, you can really let rip down there 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@moosepig, Shhhhhh!
Well hopefully the jams do not build too much as I see chains are now obligatory from the Dam! The weather will be much better tomorrow. After a chilly start it will be mainly sunny with a few clouds on the peaks. Monday will start with blue skies and sunshine, but expect a milky sky in the afternoon and then the cloud will build up through the evening. This heralds the return of winter as Tuesday will be cold, windy with light snow all day. The wind should drop in the afternoon, not much new snow but enough to freshen the pistes. Confidence is very low on Wednesdays forecast, it might be snowy, it might be sunny, or more likely it will be a combination of the two!!
For the fliers tomorrow the only issue would appear to be the chance of fog at any of the London airports, it may well happen at one of them to slow things up a little for departure.
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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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The weather for tomorrow should be OK; there will be variable amounts of cloud on the peaks but plenty of sunny periods. The sky may cloud over mid afternoon, it will be quite chilly however. Overnight into Tuesday the cloud will thicken overnight and Tuesday will be cloudy and snowy all day. There will not be much snow but enough to make the light poor for most of the day. Following that it looks like 3 days of sunny spells with clouds moving slowly across the sky, it will be cold for late February but there should be some really good skiing.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Will be in Val Claret week of the 4th March - returning to the area after a great week last year in Val D. I'm sorting out private lessons for wife and me - we used Oxygene last time to good effect, but they don't seem to have a base in Tignes. Mrs P. prefers shorter lessons, so looking at 1 1/2 to 2 hour slots. Any views on Evo2 for this - they seem to be reasonably priced?
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A few changes in the forecast. Tuesday will be cloudy and cold but the light snow may well not start until mid afternoon, it will not be up to much in terms of depth though. The rest of the week looks much better. Wednesday and Thursday will be mostly sunny, but chilly especially in the mornings. There will be a few white fluffy clouds to break up the blue. After a very cold night Friday is looking very good, blue skies and sunshine. On the other hand transfer day now looks really quite snowy and windy on some forecasting systems, others just cloudy. Stay tuned.........
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| Pejoli wrote: |
| Any views on Evo2 for this - they seem to be reasonably priced? |
Evolution 2 have a good reputation.
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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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Well looking at the webcams the weather system seems to have almost fizzled out. I hope you enjoyed the unexpected sunny spells. There may still be some light snow showers later this afternoon, maybe not. After a very cold night (cold enough to upset the odd diesel engine) tomorrow will be the best day left this week. We should enjoy unbroken sunshine, with just a southerly breeze at altitude to make it a little chilly. Thursday will start similarly but the cloud will build during the day, the sky will be come obscured during the late afternoon. The evening looks quite windy. Friday will be cloudy and windy and light snow showers will probably start mid afternoon, followed by heavier ones in the evening. The rain/snow line will be well down the valley. This snow will continue into Saturday to about lunchtime, but as it is coming from the east we will get the snow and it will be a nice day in Chambery. So snow chains will be essential to escape the resorts if you do not have snow tyres, once you get to Albertville the traffic should flow smoothly. As the snow will stop and the sun may appear the later your arrival the better (for once). Sunday looks sunny in the morning but snow showers should develop in the afternoon. As ever with this type of weather the detail will change.....
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Morning from Ringway (a Yorkshireman couldn't possibly admit to being in LLLLancashire )
The actual detail of the forecast has changed a little and I expect it will again as there is a series of weak weather features over the next few days which can't seem to decide what they are going to do. The rest of today will be glorious, if a little chilly so get out and enjoy it! After a cold night tomorrow will start with a milky sky, it may be thin enough not to cause any bother at all but it will thicken a bit in the afternoon to steal the light. Friday will be cloudy and cold, there may be a few flocons in the afternoon. The wind will strengthen in the late afternoon and it will start snowing lightly sometime between Happy Hour and midnight. Saturday will be windy (high lifts closed) cloudy and snowy. The rain/snow line will be towards Bourg so getting out of the resort will require snow tyres or chains. The snow will intensify in the morning so expect queues down the hill, if you are on a tight schedule leave before 6am. Overall, on current projections, I think we will get 10-12cm on Saturday and the snow will stop late afternoon, so again, it will be slow coming up the hill unless you leave it till after 9pm (at a guess). Sunday will start with sunny periods followed by snow showers in the afternoon. If you are arriving over the weekend then bring your winter thermals, its going to be cold, very cold.
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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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In the words of Alice Cooper:
He's back
The man behind the mask
And you needed a mask today as the wind was really quite cold. The view from the breakfast table was quite good, blue skies, but the easterly winds soon brought wind and cloud from Italy which made it seem all the more cold. It certainly looked worse towards Le Fornet from the start, but the view looking north west from the top of the Combe Folle drag was not too bad:
If you look through the metalwork at the right hand side you can just see a bunch of skiers traversing to the Grand Couloir, they didn't look that sure of themselves! The cold has kept the snow in great condition. The pistes are tip top, just a bit hard as you come off the lifts with all the traffic. Off piste is still OK but we could do with a top up. We did manage some fresh squiggles down Familial and Jardins du Borsat - but you have to traverse. Lognan still had soft snow in parts, lumpy in others.
Now for the next few days we can refer to the old English weather lore of:
"When the wind is in the east tis neither good for man nor beast"
That also applies out here, it is going to be barkingly cold in the middle of next week. Again, tying the weather down and the amount of snow is tricky as the weather fronts are weak and wandering round like a bunch of itinerant seasonaires leaving Jack's Club! So here goes: Tomorrow will start with sunny periods, the cloud will build a bit like today and we may get a few very light showers of snow in the afternoon, that east wind will pick up in the afternoon. Saturday will be windy, the temperatures will not be too bad - but you won't notice trust me. It is likely that the snow showers will be very light, there maybe a slightly heavier one in the middle of the day. As to the amounts, its a lottery. Anywhere between 4 and 12cm of snow, on this the level of traffic chaos will depend! Sunday is all up for debate depending on which forecasting system you use. A good punt would be light snow showers with sunny spells. The mercury will drop sharply on Monday, again snow showers and sunny spells. Tuesday will be similar but 4 or 5 degrees colder and so it goes on. I would not be surprised if we see -20 over Tuesday night (yip more problems with diesels) and we are not likely to see temperatures above -10 during the day. Wrap up!
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You know it makes sense.
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The random weather continues. It was quite bright first thing but it soon clouded over and the light went flat with light snow which kind of precluded off piste. Most of the pistes were busy and in some areas are now a bit hard, notably Triffolet which required quite a bit of skill to negotiate, in parts it was icy. The other runs down into La Daille are now very firm after all the use they have had. By lunchtime it was quite miserable so I decided to go shooping so I too todyas photo on te way down - if you wondered where all the snow has gone from the village it has been trucked to below La Ferme restaurant:
Quite a pile to melt. As luck had it the sun did come out again as the cloud retreated allowing for some late turns for those going home tomorrow but the wind did pick up closing the Grande Motte cable car.
The weather is still very indistinct, so like today the cloud will ebb and flow and may give small amounts of snow. Tomorrow will start cloudy and this may thin through the day, the main problem will be the wind overnight and into tomorrow, this will move some snow around and preclude the high lifts so expect a progressive start. Ther may be the odd light snow shower after dark. On Sunday the wind will drop and again there will be a mixture of cloud, the odd sunny spell and a light snow shower. The cold arrives on Monday, the weather will look similar to the weekend but it is likely to be 10 degrees colder. Tuesday will be a repeat of Monday, but another couple of degrees cooler, a real shocker for the last days of February. Overnight into Wednesday we may well see less than -20 degs before another day of cold, sunshine and snow showers.
For those coming and going tomorrow the Tarentaise is expecting 33000 vehicles to arrive and 28000 to leave. I don't think the snow will add much to the delays (if at all) but that amount of traffic will cause jams in the usual places as the traffic is regulated. For the air travellers I don't see any problems at all to affect flying (although the French airports seem to have forgotten to update their forecasts this afternoon!!)
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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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Flat light, wind, light snow and -20c
Character building stuff for the Parisiens
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Poster: A snowHead
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We're due back in a couple of weeks for some nice warm spring skiing
Just as an aside, has anyone had any acknowledgement of their claims for lost skiing days in January? The silence from the STGM/Maison has been deafening. A bit reluctant to charge up our Tignes cards if we're due a credit note.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@GeorgeVII, A bit parky this morning and very windy, so heading down to Brev for a skin to Boisses ahead of a Jam Bar lunch, 2 games of rugby at L'Embu and a Savoyarde evening in the Eterlou. Leisure management at its best as a certain ski teacher might say.
Funny you should mention the reclaim, mate that was out over NY (claim for 3&4 Jan) had a reply late afternoon yesterday. Lots of legal guff about Force Majeure and T&Cs, bottom line they have credited his STGM account with €49.50 valid till end of 19 season. So probably worth waiting, if not you will have to come back next year!
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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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We had a refund for those Jan days from them about a week ago had to keep up the pressure but got there in the end so give them a nudge.
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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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I was told as I had bought a carte neige with my lift pass I have to claim with them.
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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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I got 3 lost days added back onto lift pass in jan no probs no form filling
Also advised to claim off carre neige for 4th day when less than 50% of lifts running and still office provided supporting paperwork to support claim still waiting for carre neige to process they gave acknowledged claim and given ref number so happy so far
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@chocksaway, thanks Mike. That doesn't sound like a pro-rata refund of the daily rate.
@Timg60, we always take out Carre Neige. Unfortunately we were given conflicting advice when we went into the office in January. We have had zero response to emails thus far. Will try again this afternoon. Failing that maybe we need to look into the Carre Neige claims route.
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Sun 25-02-18 11:19; edited 1 time in total
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@GeorgeVII, Its a bit more than 1 day on a 6 day pass.
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Well the retour d'est has delivered again. Regular readers will recall that this often brings a lot of snow to Le Fornet and progressively less as you head west. Well the Pisaillas glacier received 70 cm last night. Not surprisingly it has been shut all day, over in Tignes we had 10-15cm. This morning was very windy so we dropped down to Les Brevieres to skin up to Les Boisses, not many folks around, it being Saturday:
Anyone for Iron Maiden:
Run on and on
Run on and on
The loneliness of the long distance tourer
The pistes have benefitted from the top up, off piste was very variable, in Tignes there had not been enough snow to cover the bumps, in Le Fornet I suspect it will be good but windblown (gusts of 137 kph last night). The cloud has ebbed and flowed across the resorts, its now quite grey. The roads were OK as far as the village this morning, but there was much buffoonery as folks tried to do the last mile without chains causing carnage on the road to Val Claret. Its really quite warm so the streets are now awash, so should be alright for the rest of the day.
I think tomorrow will be like today, a reasonable morning with the chance of a light snow shower and a sharp breeze in the afternoon, it will be a bit cooler than today. Overnight the thermometer will plunge and it will be a very cold, but sunny, morning (definitely 2 layers colder!). Again some light cloud may well drift in from the east in the afternoon. The temperatures will drop further in the afternoon and evening (watch out for frost nip, especially with the little ones). It will be bone chillingly cold overnight (-20 in the villages) and Tuesday will be a sunny but very, very cold day. We will be lucky to see temperatures above -10, even in the villages. Wednesday will be a few degrees warmer and there will be more cloud about, but the winds may pick up. The weather is set to change on Thursday, but the models are disagreeing, but at some stage it will be warmer and potentially very snowy and windy.
For the snakes on a plane tomorrow there will be few problems with the weather, but it may be quite bumpy in the south of England and over here (the French airport weather forecaster must be on strike but from the overall synopsis it appears OK. The roads should not present a problem.
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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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@chocksaway, We finally got a response from the STGM this afternoon. They say that they have a dedicated team dealing with the backlog of claims. Also saying that it could take up to four months to clear this backlog.
Not sure that we could have claimed from Carre Neige as we weren't provided with a statement from the STGM. There may also be a 15 day cut-off for claims so it might not be an option now.
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Well this week is officially the busiest of the season In Tignes and Val D'isere according to the bookings people. So lets have a bit of Blur:
All the people
So many people
This was the scene on the snow front in Tignes at 12 o'clock:
Mobbed! There was some really thick cloud about today as you can see in the photo. As some stages you could only see 40m or so. At other times the sun came out from behind the cloud and visibility was good, but not for long! So off piste was out of the question so we had a lunchtime charge around the pistes which are in excellent condition after the recent top up. The temperature has dropped markedly (my thermometer has dropped 9 degrees between 10am and 4 pm. It is now snowing moderately.
So what can we say about the weather. COLD COLD COLD. Its time to think December/Jan temps. Tomorrow will be mostly sunny, some clouds may pop over from the east and there may be the odd flocon or two late afternoon. Meteo France are suggesting the warmest temperature will be -13 tomorrow so put all the layers you have on and then steal another from your room mate/partner/lover! Tuesday will be a bit more cloudy with the chance of a snow shower and it will be a degree or two colder. Wednesday is likely to be a day of milky clouds, the air will be a bit warmer but a breeze at altitude will negate any benefit. There is quite a lot of unsettled weather arriving for Thursday, it will be warmer, windier and snowier, so keep following for further details. Friday will be similar. Wrap up!!!
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FAQ
