Serre Chevalier 2022/2023

A snowHead

Get well soon Ullr !

A snowHead

@Snowysarah, there are buses running along the valley in the evenings, timetable https://en.calameo.com/read/000053011376aafd670c0?page=1

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

@Snowysarah, try Hotel Plein Sud in Chantemerle run by a good friend.

Really welcoming bar, many Brits, locals and those on holiday.

Re restaurants we only go to Briancon in the inter season as plenty of choice amongst all the villages.

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Thank you all!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

How easy is it to get from Oulx train station? Is there a shuttle or bus?

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Nope, taxi only, try Snowcabs

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Woke up and it was grim, wind cloud, light snow flurries and not too much overnight fresh. OH went back to bed, then weather cleared, was going to ski tour in the trees but now sitting in the gondola nigh on first lift, as I type this, though it did stop for a while and I thought bollox!

This weather is unexpected. Met an ESF guide who put his clients off today which he now regrets especially as he signed up to teach little ones.

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Was a most unexpected bluebird day for a few hours before the weather closed in a little.

We finished the morning off with a hike up to the old Balme ski lift hut and you can see in the video how the light was a lot flatter than earlier.

http://youtube.com/v/Go5CnyyM23Y

Unfortunately, as usual, the forecast accumulations didn't happen, that said @KenX, and I had a good morning.

Up top was cold and when we hit the pistes they were in great condition, so hopefully, they will last well until the next top-up.

Decisions as to what to do over the next couple of days?

WOW have had my back to the window, and just got up after typing the above, and it's nigh on a blizzard outside, not too sure how long it will last?

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Today was a really fun day! It was very quiet in the morning but I was not complaining. I owe that Ben Birt chap off fatmap a beer if I ever meet him. There was maybe about 15-20cm of fresh? The blizzard has now calmed down but its still snowing in the valley. The valley run was still a bit worse for wear but loads better than Sunday.

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@Timmaah, the trouble is with Ben he lets too many people in on the secret stashes Laughing

Bumped into him today leading a group of skiers, @KenX, and I had been enjoying one of the classic lines all to ourselves and then Ben and his group turned up and that was that, suppose he has to make a living but I said to him groups should be banned Laughing

I was using my old favourites, Black Crows Atris 108's mounted with some heavy old Marker touring bindings, but I had also packed the skins, so ended up doing a couple of mini climbs to get to some nice stuff, plus meant I didn't have to hike. Toofy Grin

The first line the snow was not too bad, but still wind-blown.

I then went further afield out of the resort, skiing down then climbing back up and that was far more wind-blown, still good fun, even climbing back up on the heavy gear, image below.

OH was skiing with my daughter encouraging her to venture further away from the piste and play in the fresh, which she enjoyed, and the pistes again are in superb condition.

Had a message from a friend who is out here for the first time, staying a month, and he said how much he is enjoying it here and can see why we bought a place. I fixed him up with a guide who took him Izoard way last Saturday, and he has him again tomorrow for half a day, and then a full day again Saturday.

Not too sure what to do tomorrow as light could be flat, so maybe XC beckons?

Hey all

Thinking of coming here 26th Feb to the 5th of March

From what I've read SC has a very good snow record, but with the current season I am not sure

Also I've seen a few videos on youtube with a lot of green and brown on the sides (Not great snow coverage)

I know it's anybody's guess what's gna happen for the rest of the season with the snow, but do you think it is a relatively safe bet to come on those dates ?

Cheers !

You know it makes sense.

@Jimbo94, I think you need to read back through the pages of this thread to know the whole picture as it were Toofy Grin

Basically, we did far better than 75% of French Alpine resorts, so I doubt if the videos you saw were from Serre Che.

However, there is still a long way to go till your planned dates and things can change, if you can come a week later as it will not be as busy, as your dates are High Season French holidays.

This was from the Daily Telegraph recently.

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

Yes I had read through a lot of the thread, but since there is sometime until our trip I was more asking based on your experience with the time we are coming, if you think it is likely or unlikely that we will have any fresh snow Smile

That's really kind and helpful of you to share thank you !

I understand that February is busier than March in most resorts. To be honest the only reason for trying to squeeze in the end of February rather that having the whole trip in March, was due to the snow quality and avoiding the warmer temperatures that March can bring, not sure if maybe you think that's pointless? The reason being that although a lot of resorts can guarantee decent skiing on piste due to snow cannons, I just hate to see any green and brown when I'm skiing (I know it sounds spoilt!). I like the snow in the town and the snow topped trees to really feel cut off from the "real world".

Also what I guess you also didn't know is that this is the only French resort we are considering Smile

So I wasn't comparing to the others which have suffered this season, seeing the table above, you really seem to have done quite well considering !

Our other options are Cervinia/Zermatt (High up to make sure we aren't dissapointed with snow), Val Gardena (Been dying to go here for a while, but I've heard snowfall can be quite erratic there so not sure if we are going to risk that) and maybe Ellmau in the SkiWelt (But altitude is not great there either so quite a risk also)

If you think March is not too much of a risk for the sun and the slushy valley runs maybe we can shift the trip a little bit, since so far everything is indeed coming up to be quite expensive due to high season

I've heard really good things about Serre Chevalier and it seems to be the cheapest option compared to the other Italian options, and more or less in line with SkiWelt

Hope this is not way too much for you to read Very Happy

A snowHead

Hello, obviously the legendary in resort snowheads are the best to consult... however there is this website which has a good snow forecast (I think it is though it would be interesting to find out if locals agree). It also has a useful snow history section. Actually for the Ecrins Mountain snow depths are good in March...

https://www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/Serre-Chevalier/history

A snowHead

@Jimbo94, The forum SiOPB off-piste trip goes to SC every 2nd week of March and in the 4 trips I have done since 2018 there has been a decent fresh snowfall every time. Snow in the town all week is a bit much to ask for at 1500m mid-March but I think a snowball fight has happened every year outside the Hotel.

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

Thanks all of you for time and help

@Lovetoski123 thanks, I know that website, I use it a lot, along with Powderhounds, weathertoski, j2ski and skiresort.info

@leggyblonde, yeah I know, this is why I think the right times and resorts for me are the highest, in the snowiest period Laughing

I think for this time I'm going to check out Selva in Val Gardena, as I've been wanting to go for many years, hoping for good snow ! But with 600-1200Km hopefully we are safe Laughing

I will definitely be visiting Serre Chevalier though, perhaps 3rd week of January next year which should be the sweet spot between the busy xmas/new year season and February high season and school holidays Smile

I have just seen that the snow at the top is 190cm which is quite phenomenal, hopefully I am not making the wrong choice in going to Selva !

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@Jimbo94, yesterday we were nagging about how we have not done various routes off the back of the resort, either when we ski down off the back and then climb back up, or climb up and down into another part of the resort, and we came to the conclusion that it was March when we tended to do these routes.

When we first came to Serre it was for the whole month of March, in the days when French High Season was just February, (now it runs into the first week of March), and snow cover was always excellent.

As for current conditions, as I type this it's snowing, but no significant accumulations are forecast for today.

It has been so empty up on the hill this week, and again, we met some people last evening, one guy who we met in the summer with his wife who currently lives in Switzerland, and he is seriously contemplating moving here, and he had dragged a couple of other mates down here to check it out, and they too just could not believe how quiet it has been, and one of them lives in Meribel and is a ski instructor!

Whilst the skiing has been excellent on the piste, off-piste again is questionable.

I had a nightmare ski tour day before, choosing totally the wrong route and should have gone with my initial gut instinct of N Facing forest.

We had some light rain and that froze the corduroy on the lower section of the Casse, so much so that going back up on the chair you could not see the idents of our skis.

Three hours later we went back down thinking that it might have softened up and my daughter slid about 30m and then the OH fell trying to go to her aid, lost both skis and ended up doing about 75m+ all the way down to where the Marteau crosses the Casse on the way to Aravet!

So crazy stuff!

Forecasts for next week are encouraging with the potential of 50+ cms from Sunday, though as ever what we get to what is forecast is always different.

Very bad news on Ullr, the attempted fix on the Achilles has failed, and he's now booked in for some "Super Vet" type surgery in Gap this Thursday!!

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Went touring around croix d'aquila today. It truly was a tour of four seasons snow-wise. From spring snow, ice, crust to dry powder. I was banking on the weather clearing and luckily it did. Lovely day to be out, even if it was a more technical ski. Only saw two other people, and echo weathercam's comments on how empty the hill (on+off piste) has been.

Sorry to hear the bad news about the pooch! Hope the surgery goes well

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@Weathercam, poor Ullr, paws crossed for a successful op.

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

After all it is free

@Hells Bells, @adithorp,
Thanks.....

So how much is the snow lottery going to dish out to us over the next few days, nearly every forecast has differing amounts.

A bit like last week, we'll be pleased to see 30+ and disappointed to see 20+

Yesterday I went cross country first tracks around 08:45 as the day before I went around noon and it was skied out by the British Army having various final day competitions plus it had warmed up a lot, so it makes it far harder going.

The difference is huge.

Then I went up the hill with daughter and OH and had a good ski, was very busy with weekenders taking advantage of reduced pricing, but once up there they all dispersed and by lunch time was very empty but the restaurants were packed.

We skied down Vauban into Briancon and as I came around the last bend I saw this guy, his mates thought it was hilarious with one of them telling me it was "normal" behaviour for him Laughing

So off out XC again before the weather closes in.

The British Army Medical Corps has now been replaced by others judging by the number of white vans that arrived late yesterday and are all parked up below us, hope its not too busy, though most stick to Classic XC.

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Catch netting, appears to do what the label says Eh oh!

@Weathercam,

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Another cracking early start this morning rewarded with "très bon damage" to the Cross Country pistes*

You might have to Google translate that if you're confused Laughing

And now the weather has closed in and it's started snowing, so as usual what is predicted and what we will eventually get will be vastly different, though one thing that all the forecasts are in agreement on is that it is going to be uber freezing, so snow will be very light, and unfortunately very susceptible to the wind.

Terrace WebCam is now panning around so you can see what is happening or not.

https://stylealtitude.com/serrechevalierweathercam.html

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Unfortunately it looked like mostly rain which was unexpected. Snow line looked to be ~1500m, hopefully some heavier than expected snow to make up for it Eh oh!

Hardly a flake has fallen here, although it was snowing heavily on the other side of the Col du Lauteret as we drove over last night about 5.30. Top of the mountain is hidden.

You know it makes sense.

Finally snowing down in the village of Briancon snowHead

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

Now snowing down in the village, fine flakes.

A snowHead

Yes coming down now and laying on the terrace, have aborted the cross country this morning as think even that would be a tad grim.

Forecast(s) unfortunately, as ever have cut their predictions back, and I think we're lucky to see 20+ over the next couple of days.

Might be going up to Cervieres later for a meeting with Azimut who have refurbed the Izoard hotel up there.

And then if you're bored take a look at this, the op Ullr is having this Thursday.

http://youtube.com/v/IaXm-VhTuwg

We have to be at the Vets in Gap for 08:00 so the game plan is afterwards is to ski Orcieres Merlette 1850 which is close to Gap, and then collect him later in the day.

WebCam is now panning around the terrace.

https://stylealtitude.com/serrechevalierweathercam.html

A snowHead

In the end, went out and did some cross-country drills in the 3-5cm of snow, as I was writing a blog on the advantages of first tracks on the XC groomed piste and wanted to confirm what I thought it would be like with the small amount of fresh....

https://stylealtitude.com/cross-country-skate-skiing-first-tracks-blog.html

Anyway like I say, don't think I'll be bothering with XC tomorrow Laughing

So will be interesting to see how much will be up the hill, here I reckon 5+ so you can probably double that for 2,000m and then, of course, we have what will come down tonight and the early hours.

As ever a clue will be if we hear any early morning blasting going on.

And just been speaking to someone in Cervieres and they only have 2cm so far!

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

Got about 5cm on top of our fence. Not over my boots yet, just been out with the dogs.

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Another killer day today. I was surprised by how much snow there was on the windward slopes. I was getting flashbacks to my season in Japan, lots of knee deep powder and face shots. First tracks at 11am was nice too.. even if I did have to spent 20 minutes finding my ski cause it pre-released. With these cold temperatures the North-facing backcountry should hopefully stay in pretty good nick

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Still settling the pup in, so walked today instead. He managed to burst out of a soft travel crate last.night so if the gaffer tape repair doesn't work we'll have to buy a metal one. Not sure on leaving him roaming the place while we go skiing.
It stopped snowing while we were eating lunch and it looks amazing out there.

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@KenX, and I opted for first lifts from Monetier this morning.

There unfortunately had not been too much more fresh overnight but we were optimistic at how much would be at the top of Bachas.

Only issue was the dear British army had commandeered one of the key pistes for their racing, so we opted to ski one of the reds and was pleasant with circa 10cm on the bashed piste underneath.

Next run I suggested Tabuc and we were first down so we had some walking/poling to do. We then did two more before a few others skied it, so in all 5 runs all pretty well untracked and I didn't have to go into the trees.

There were still a few moguls on the steeper parts and another 15cm would have been sublime, but I'm being fussy.

Then decided on a pitstop at the Peyra Juana which meant skiing close to the army racing. We then asked a couple of Marshall's if it would be cool to hike up behind the race start to gain access to some other closed pistes, and that was a successful plan.

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As we were walking back from the resto last evening it was snowing quite heavily, which was not really forecast.

Awoke to maybe another 5cm and as planned we headed back to Monetier hoping that they would open Yret as yesterday Cibouit was opened, but alas neither were open, so we did some laps over near where they race, going up in the trees first so we could drop in down past where they had closed one of the pistes, and we lapped those skiing 5cm on piste with some turns in the trees.

Then we did a Tabuc again as the lifts were still closed, and again went off into the forest, and then finally back up and Cibouit opened, so did three or four laps of that before heading back over to our neck of the woods to find my daughter and OH.

And they had been having fun too, with my daughter at least, from the evidence of the videos, skiing the powder really well.

So proud Dad moment Very Happy

Then just had a message from friends who are here for a month saying that whilst they were at the lifts they opened Yret, so they had an absolute blast, I'm so happy for them Toofy Grin

Off to Gap very early tomorrow and if it all goes to plan ski at Orcierre but the mutt does have a worrying sore, just hope the vet doesn't think it's infected Crying or Very sad

And as for the weather looking very dry and uber cold.

Good luck with the pooch

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Ended up over in Puy St Vincent today, the very top chairlift was closed until about 11am and then everyone on the mountain went there to ski the 15cm or so fresh snow. I really liked the pistes over there, prefer them to the ones in SC by far. Nice little resort! Ski tour tomorrow, feeling cautiously optimistic with these temps

Help!!

Serre Chevalier 2022/2023

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