Grand Massif 2018/2019 snow report, Les Carroz, Flaine, Samoens, Morillon & Sixt

A snowHead

@Ian_86, That is a cracking photo.

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

Just had a quick look at the webcams - looks beautiful out there today. Still got two months to go so save some snow for me please!

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In Flaine this week. Snow is pretty good other than some of the tree lined lower runs heading down to Les Carroz, Morillon. We skied at low levels today but lots of marbles and very hard pistes. The runs in the Flaine bowl fantastic in the sun. Pistes reasonably quiet other than main 'motorway' runs like the tourmaline. Most runs are open. It's our first time here and we are enjoying the resort. Prices in the mountain restaurants are eye watering with the pound now almost at parity with the euro. It's painful to pay 10 euros for a bowl of soup no matter how tasty!

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@bedrock barney, Haven't been for a few years, but try Bissac at the bottom of the Grand Van 8 man in Flaine, a shared Tartifilette was enough for two ( and a slice of cake maybe! ). It's self service and also have daily specials.

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@bedrock barney, if you're prepared to go out into the wider Grand Massif the 'outdoor snack' area at L'Beu on the left almost at the bottom of Sairon run in Morillon is very good value.

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@bedrock barney, thanks for the info. How is tourmaline holding up? Hoping to get my 3 nervous skiers over to Flaine this weekend, but if it is too icy they wont thank me and I'll be searching for pistes with a bit more grip.

Link was closed today, but yesterday it was skiing ok. A bit firm at the bottom but not what I would call icy. Worst patch of hard slideyness was the bottom pitch of Marmottes leading to the tunnel, but even that I wouldn't say was super nasty.

Currently gently snowing in Samoens (just started). Would appreciate any more food recommendations (both slope side and in town) since people flying out this weekend and my usual meal plan is pitch up somewhere scenic and have a picnic, but I suspect peoples will want to eat out.

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@MoonfireSpam, if your able to picnic, my favourite spot is off the top section of Mephisto, drop down 200m or so and there are a few rock outcrops about 10m off piste to the left, you'll be facing the sun and Mont Blanc, it's just about as perfect as you can get IMO

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Whilst the weather radar clearly shows that it's stopped snowing, it definitely hasn't in Les Carroz! Not snowing that heavily, but steady.

Vernant chair broke down yesterday and is still showing as closed today.

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App showing all links open as of 1130. Was spinning but not loading ~1000. Bit of a dusting overnight, still the odd splutter of snow.

@Cheesie168 Pistes bit softer today, suspect should be better over the weekend. With the extra dusting ongoing currently.

Thanks for the picnic spot, pitched up around Fred earlier in the week, was lovely in the sun!

@MoonfireSpam, Check out the Salles H'ors Sac, picnic rooms dotted around the Grand Massive, they can take a bit of finding but they are warm and dry and often have a fantastic atmosphere full of school trips, ski clubs etc. Flaine has one also Samoens Lez Carroz and Morillion. They are great to stop for a rest when the weather gets bad.

You know it makes sense.

@seahoob, @MoonfireSpam - we have used the picnic room at the top of the lift in Les Carroz and found it great (was a few years ago) - leave the picnic bag there 1st thing and meet up there at lunchtime. This year we are going to Samoens at mid term - did not thing there was a picnic room on the Samoen side - is there? , would be good to use. We are a group of 4 adults and 6 kids so eating lunch in a mountain restairant will not only be really busy but also I suspect a tad expensive! Closer to the time I will be looking for tips on who to avoid the Mid Term Qs (maybe no Sad

t possible). we olny have 2 doing lessons and not until the afternoon slot so might be able to get up the Grand Massif lift before the ski school hordes in the morning. In the meantime I just hope it keeps snowing over there !!

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

There's a picnic room on the Marmottes piste in Samoens, on the RHS just after the bend. Also one at the Morillon 1100 main lift area.

A snowHead

The quietest picnic room is to the right of the vernant car park lift base area, the chair that takes you up to vernant, there is a green run down to it which is just after the corbalanche chair, you can take portet to the right or a green to the left, go down the green and go around the base of the chair at the bottom near the car park. It is always very quiet.

A snowHead

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

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@stuartknight1, @porkpiefox, You are both correct, best location I found in the GM.

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In terms of food, we ate in the cafe at the top of the Grand Platieres telecabin today. Not bad at all. Croque Vegeterien with salad and chips for about 13 euros. Decent portion size and very freshly prepared. Coffee and pastries also very good.

Despite the above, Flaine gets the thumbs down for food provision. Worst resort ever for us, and we have skied France, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy (but not yet Austria!).

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Anyone out at the mo? At the top of the Chariande Express, there's a black immediately left off the lift which has a warning about the difficulty. I'd love a pic of the sign! For family bragging rights. The bar is low!

CG

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@Charliegolf, I'll try to take one next time we are up there. Which certainly won't be today, it's snowing with very poor vis in Les Carroz! Due to turn to rain for a while then back to snow later, but the forecast has been changing constantly.

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Just given in for the day and returned to Samoens, no chance of any pics from greater than about 3m at the top of Chariande Express.

Lots of fresh powder down - you just couldn't see the drifts - so fingers crossed for yesterday's weather tomorrow.

Anyone able to tell me how tough Grand Cret is? Does chopping the top off by using Aouia avoid the steepest section? Want to ride that bubble lift but am wary of reds.

Tia

@numbfoot, haven't been down it for a long time and think there has been some reshaping. Can be slushy/icy at the bottom, so best done immediately after a good snowfall.

If you decide you don't want to do it then you can always just take the bubble down as well as up!

You know it makes sense.

@numbfoot, Arguably it is better to use Grand Cret to chop offf the first pitch of Aouia. Certainly it is my preference because that first pitch is almost always a sheet of ice. Not a difficult red but quite long and very nice. Except yesterday that is when it was snow canon golf balls all the away down making it a bit of a bone shaker. Make sure you time it to reward yourself with a beer of choc chaud at the Reposette before getting into the piece of junk back to the top!

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

Anyone there at moment what are daytime temperatures like. Just wondering how many layers to pack.

A snowHead

@snowmam, it was VERY cold a few days ago (-12) but now back to much warmer (-4 up to +ve). But I think it's forecast to get colder again in a few days.

Beautiful fresh snow this morning, but as it was soft it got chopped up quite quickly, now snowing again In Les Carroz.

A snowHead

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

The big issue at the moment is that the forecasts have been soooo inaccurate. Today was supposed to be cloudy, but the sun came out, yesterday it was supposed to rain all morning, but it snowed. Those two variances have been positive, but the localised effect seems to have been even more pronounced than usual.

If we believe the forecast, and you arrive at the weekend, then you should have great conditions.

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A fantastic day on the hill today. Some lovely snow in Carroz, laps of the Gron chair in morning. Visibility not bad in Carroz but a bit flat further up for a while.

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Thanks guys we arrive Friday hopefully ahead of the predicted travel chaos if snow arrives here.

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Back at my desk now after a lovely long weekend. Friday was outstanding, if cold, a great day for my nervous skiers to get their ski legs back. Snow was very good indeed, nice and squeaky on Friday. Saturday getting more 'Shiny' but lovely on Sunday, if a bit windy!

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Today started with a lot of fresh overnight snow.

Fantastic conditions across the hill in the morning except for the fact that visibility was challenging in places. Spent the morning using the Gron chair and kedeuze gondola. Veroce, Truffe, Zorta, Felire and Coccinelle and everything in between were all absolutely superb and loaded with fresh, dry, powdery snow.

The sun made an appearance later in the day and topped off a fantastic day and while its always nice to get some sunshine to see where you are going the snowy morning today was something special and will live long in the memory.

More snow forecast which should set things up nicely for the next few weeks.

After all it is free

It's been snowing heavily in Les Carroz all day, I'd guess at 50-60cm since this 8am this morning in town. We didn't ski, but friends who did said vis was very poor and that they simply skied between hostelries for coffee/wine! During the afternoon all the links closed, and by about 4pm pretty much all lifts and pistes throughout the GM were also closed.

We've just gone for a walk around LC and for the first time ever have seen the road up to the telecabine effectively closed by the ASVP. There are three ski buses and another coach just waiting in the Place d'Ambiance. And the ASVP man couldn't run fast enough to catch the skiers who had skied down into town. Happy

The ploughs seem to have given up in town this afternoon, I suspect they have their hands more than full keeping the main road clear. It should be fun tomorrow, as everyone who is departing and doesn't have a covered parking space appears to be digging their cars out and carefully reading the instructions on how to put on the snow chains they have just purchased......

@sj1608,
Wow! That’s gonna make for an interesting change over day!
Awesome to move to Snowcon 1!
snowHead

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@sj1608, 'scuse my ignorance, but what is the ASVP? Is that the piste patrol?

Help!!

Grand Massif 2018/2019 snow report, Les Carroz, Flaine, Samoens, Morillon & Sixt

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