 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@GiveMe5ive, As you will see from the rest of the report today was a bit frustrating for the two resorts. Firstly there was a massive power failure in Val Claret which delayed the opening of the Grande Motte Sector until 11am, and half the Palet sector is still shut for the same reason. Secondly, the amount of snow over the last 3 days means there is a lot of work still to do today (eg digging out protective cushions and moving them up the pylons to make it safe). Hopefully the power will be sorted tomorrow and I expect many more pistes open tomorrow, maybe the 2 glaciers will have to wait until Monday. By then I would expect all the glaciers to be open, all of Le Fornet, The Bellvarde and the Solaise sectors (except the home runs down into Val). In Tignes I expect all the Grande Motte, Toviere and Palet Sectors to be open (they are already pisted). The only exception here will be Col de Ves. The Breviere sector will remain closed (it never opens until mid-December), so no skiing down from the top of the Chadaunne or Aiguille Percée chairs.
Anyway today, the weather was fantastic, just blow freezing, blue skies and the gentlest of breezes. Here's a view from the top of the Tov:
Glorious! The pistes were in very good condition, the last 100m or so into Le Lac was a bit hard but other than that just fine. Piste Creux was a blast - especially as I was in the first few down!
However, the staff at the Tov Restaurant had some work to do to open the terrace:
After a few repeat runs of Creux I had a look up the glacier, as you can see the amount of snow precluded the opening of the runs above 3000m:
That's just by the door of the Funi!
I had a cheeky try just beyond the piste poles - the off piste was OK but heavy, chatting to aguide it was even heavier towards Val where the winds were higher.
And for the weather, as its a high pressure scenario, its easy. Tomorrow will be the same as today, sunny with mild temperatures for November and a gentle breeze. There may be a bit of high thin cloud on Monday and the breeze may pick up a little. The sun will dominate on Tuesday and it will be a couple of degrees colder. Wednesday and Thursday will be like two peas in a pod, sunny, a few clouds on the high peaks and another degree or two cooler, especially as the lifts open.
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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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Happy opening day! What a gorgeous day for it.
Wonderful to see the lifts up and running, and a decent amount of snow. Top of Tovs is looking pretty busy for November.
That was quite a slide on Trolles.
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@chocksaway, woow ... very detailed report ... great effort .... really appreciate ur info and answers 
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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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Great report. I can't wait!
My only question now is what skis I should rent tomorrow.
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@GiveMe5ive, Thanks, my aim in all of this is to be objective and consistent, although clearly I am a fan of the E-K if its not good I will say so; I have nothing to sell. My views may vary from others but if I am consistent then people can make allowances for their own level of skill, requirements, views on crappy conditions etc etc.
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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, No worries
To be honest ... I wanted to go to a new Ski resort .. as I've been to VL on the last week of last season ... and I've been also to Zermatt in Dec 2014 ... plus I heard a lot about Espace Killy ... I was just trying to make sure they will open enough number of pistes for 3 full days of skiing ....First I preferred to stay in Val d'isere but due to lack of snow in village .. I have chosen Tignes ...
Can't wait to hit the slopes in there.
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Lets start with a bit of admin: the live lift status links for Tignes and Val have changed on Page 1 as they stopped working for some reason. They are now fixed but if you have bookmarked them you may need to refresh your favourites.
It was a short day today as I had to come back to shift furniture around so the 'poseurs' can fit my new patio doors tomorrow, hopefully by this time tomorrow Boris and Nigel will be fully operational!
There was a chill in the air this morning (allowing snow cannons to run) but only the very odd bit of thin cloud up with the airliners. Tignes was just about deserted apart from a few instructors on pre season training and the racers on the stades on the glacier. So basically, I could charge round as I liked covering an awful lot of metres in a morning. The only minor snag was as I skied to the bottom of Carline where I think a snow cannon had helpfully sprayed some water which had turned to ice and led to a momentary lack of composure, luckily cat like reactions saved the day 
The weather outlook for the week is pretty much as you see out of the window today. High pressure is going to dominate over France until the weekend meaning sun, sun, sun, and more sun. There may be a few clouds on the peaks early doors tomorrow but they will soon go. Wednesday and Thursday will be wall to wall sunshine and maybe a degree or two warmer, Friday and Saturday will see a few more clouds. Beyond that it may be a bit more cloudy for a couple of days but unless things change (there is chance of snow for the very eastern side of the Alps by Friday) there is virtually no chance of snow in our little part of paradise.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Chocksaway - Many thanks for the detailed report & pics - a pictures worth 1000 words! That's looking fantastic for early season, we're due out there for a week 13th to 17th - please don't wear it out b4 then! 
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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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The good news is that the patio doors are in and working, after being fashionably late 'Les Trois Poseurs' cracked on and after a little fettling they were done. Its amazing how quickly your apartment cools down when there is a 3m by 2m hole in it! Yes I know its a daft time of the year but I only discovered the crack when I came out in the summer and they are bespoke, and the cold draft through the crack was chilly. Anyway its the first time that I have taken lunch inside the pad with a fleece and woolly hat on
Meanwhile the only other news I have picked up on is that the developer that wanted to stick a 5 star hotel on the side of Lac de Tignes and amongst other things deny the public a right of access in front of it has lost his appeal, so that's it as far as I can see for that plan which did look at tad intrusive.
The weather out of the window (or the big gap) was just the same as yesterday - blue skies and sunshine and the slopes looked deserted again. The high pressure system has continued to develop over France so forecasting is dead easy: Wednesday - blue skies and sunshine, Thursday - blue skies and sunshine but a bit warmer, Friday blue skies and sunshine - watch out for fog down the valley in the evening. Saturday will be cooler with more cloud and early morning fog may plague the valleys. Sunday looks fine with a few clouds and a gentle breeze to disperse the fog.
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You know it makes sense.
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I don't see any coverage of the Val D'Isere racing this weekend, on Eurosport's schedule....Am I being stupid, or is this not on their schedule for some reason?
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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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@Old Fartbag, Looking at the Eurosport website I presume they don't do broadcasts of anything anymore. I think some of the races will be on France 4.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Here's the schedule of practice and racing from Radio Val if it helps narrow your search:
Le programme est confirmé. Demain à 12h, c'est le premier entraînement de la descente, jeudi le deuxième entraînement à 10h45, Vendredi c'est le Super G à 12h, samedi la descente à 10h45 et le Géant se disputera à 10h et 13h dimanche.
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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: |
Here's the schedule of practice and racing from Radio Val if it helps narrow your search:
Le programme est confirmé. Demain à 12h, c'est le premier entraînement de la descente, jeudi le deuxième entraînement à 10h45, Vendredi c'est le Super G à 12h, samedi la descente à 10h45 et le Géant se disputera à 10h et 13h dimanche. |
Thank you.
I have been able to look up the timings on the FIS website....it just may be difficult to see, if Eurosport doesn't cover it. I've never known them to miss a major race, so fingers crossed.
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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, is that 5 star proposal on the site of the Terrachu? We stayed there last year and heard (from Duncan of the pigtail) that the owner was going to pull it down and redevelop it.
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Bottom of Solaise looked very patchy to non-existent cover a couple of days ago....Is there enough snow for the ski races to finish at valley level 
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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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@mountainaddict, snow being trucked in. It will be fine. Loads of snowmaking as well
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| nelly0168 wrote: |
| @chocksaway, is that 5 star proposal on the site of the Terrachu? We stayed there last year and heard (from Duncan of the pigtail) that the owner was going to pull it down and redevelop it. |
The proposed development was further round the lake from the Terrachu towards VC where the ruined building is.
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| Old Fartbag wrote: |
| I have been able to look up the timings on the FIS website....it just may be difficult to see, if Eurosport doesn't cover it. I've never known them to miss a major race, so fingers crossed. |
I expect that Eurosport will cover it, I just couldn't find any schedule of their TV programmes on their new improved website.
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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,
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But the €2 coffee machine lives on!
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"you can take the lad out of Yorkshire......".
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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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Well, one thing anyway........................
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Groundhog day - but only from a weather point of view! A little bit warmer today but yes we had to drag ourselves out of bed for another day of unbroken sunshine and just a very light breeze at the top of Le Fornet. As you still cannot ski down into Val D'Isere, unless you are a lycra clad immortal with a numbered bib, getting to Le Fornet and Back did involve downloading in bubbles a couple of times. The new Solaise Gondy is very slick, the heated seats are nice (not sure what the environmentalists would say) and as it now goes to the top of the Solaise there isn't that awkward pole to get down to the Glacier Express. The weather was too good to investigate the new lodge at the top.
So it was off to Le Fornet where the snow was fabulous and I suspect the T Bar had only opened yesterday as there was still untracked soft snow to be had without a walk. As the Pays Desert Poma is not yet open there is also a lot of untracked over that side of the valley, but only for those with skins! After a number of laps we had lunch at the cascades and then lapped some more before coming home via Tommeuses and the Palet secot. there are still humps of artificial snow around the resorts to be aware of - they can be very slippery..
Now, at the risk of sounding like a cracked record, the weather tomorrow will be identical to today and that pattern repeats till Wednesday at least. There may be the odd cloud wandering about at some stage but nothing to spoil the view, and just occasionally there may be a gentle breeze, but I am now spinning it out to fill column inches!
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You know it makes sense.
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@chocksaway, so in these conditions, is the quickest route from Le Lac to the glacier above Le Fornet to take lifts all the way across, rather than downloading to La Daille & getting the bus? I do recall one very slow lift up, maybe the Vallon bubble?
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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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@head_like_a_rock, A bit 6 and 2 x 3 really. La Daille is a bit hectic with the racing, so we opted for the Marmottes Up,Olympique down, Solaise up and then to the up and over. Unfortunately we still had to use the Vallon Bubble as the Poma below the Up and Over is not open yet.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Another day another dollar, another day in a snowy paradise. Yip the weather played a blinder again, warm, no breeze and sun with the odd contrail. The slopes are generally deserted, a large group of us went for a gentle warm up ski with some mates who have just arrived. Grand Pré was deserted:
A coffee was called for - I mentioned the Marmottes was work in progress:
But it is fully functional and the food and service are just as good.
Oh and for all those snowHeads arriving tomorrow, the Christmas Tree will be up on the snow front below Le Taos:
The weather as far as I can see is quite simple - sun and more sun until Wednesday, although some apps seem to be offering different ideas. Saturday, Sunday and Monday will be pretty much like today, if one of two degrees cooler. There may be a light breeze and the odd cloud on the peaks. There is a bit of a change n Tuesday afternoon as a weak feature heads south across France bring a slight breeze and more cloud. Wednesday looks primarily cloudy and there ma be the odd snow flurry to get excited about but barely enough to dust a mince pie with. There will be an accompanying breexe. Order is restored on Thursday when the sun reappears.
As tomorrow is the first (if low key) transfer day of the season, this heralds the return of the travel forecast for the roads and the airports. The roads will be quiet (the Savoie are not issuing a forecast!) but do watch put for lots of Spanish plates as the Inmaculada Hols seems to be split over 2 weekends this year (because of the dates of the holidays). The conditions at the airports in the UK are pretty similar all over, dank and misty but not severe enough to affect flying with the possible exception of Sir Geoffrey Boycott International (LBA) where the fog could be pretty bad, not enough to delay departures but maybe the first arrivals which may have a knock on. Over here, Geneva (the popular will be fine). There is a chance of patchy fog at Lyon and Grenoble, but this shouldn't have too much effect. Chambery is OK (but I don't think the season has started. If you are driving down just watch for the fog patches early morning in the low lying dips, especially over the bigger rivers. Have a safe trip. the weather in the UK will make it seem all the better up here!!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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One of the more attractive scenes in the espace killy today Aksel
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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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No idea why it is rotated
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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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@holidayloverxx, You were bowled over with excitement.
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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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@chocksaway, sorry we didnt get to see you. It has been a week of plans A B and C and managing to lose each other
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@holidayloverxx, Next time hopefully, enjoy the rest of the winter.
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@chocksaway, you too
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Morning all, Welcome to all the PSBashers
Another glorious day, breaking news is the opening of the Chaudannes Chair allowing Les Lavachetiennes to escape without using the bus, and the rest of us can now get to the Alpage/Lo Soli or down to the Brasero for lunch.
See you on the slopes.
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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 am now officially running short of phrases to describe this unchanging weather, so another day of blue skies with just the odd wispy high cloud drifting across from Italy. There were a few more folks in the resorts today but still essentially deserted. The pisteurs have been hard at work opening up pistes allowing access to new areas. So today was a full off piste extravaganza, and just to prove there are lift served freshtracks in Tignes -Val D'Isere 8 days after the last snowfall here are some hero shots of my ski buddy taken at lunchtime today:
and further down the same slope:
The location is of course secret However, the key to unlocking this particular puzzle could possibly be produced in the Taos tonight using the secret password "Chocks - would you like a beer?" 
And now the weather and travel - Sunday, Monday and Tuesday will be the same as today, there might be the odd bit of cloud about. Wednesday now looks like sunny periods with more cloud about, but not enough for and snow. It will also warm up a bit, this warming will continue through a sunny Thursday and Friday, but there will be more of a breeze, so it will feel pretty much the same. However, it will also be warm overnight which may preclude the use of snow cannons in the lower parts of the Tarentaise.
For anybody flying tomorrow, there will be no weather problems in the UK, it will be a bit grey in Scotland though. Over here mist and fog are the order of the day. Not too bad at Geneva and Grenoble, but there is a chance it will be severe at Lyon, enough to cause a few delays. Luckily I can see no flights into Chambery tomorrow as it would be shut until mid morning. Again, watch out for patchy fog on the roads.
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A day off the slopes today for a bit of DIY and cleaning, but it was good to meet a bunch of in the Taos last night. I hope you all had a good day.
The breaking news on the pistes is: you can now ski back to Le Fornet down Mangard, obviously a bus trip is needed to get you back to Val centre or La Daille. The weather out of the window today was, yet again, blue skies and sunshine with barely a breath of wind.
There is no breaking news on the forecast! The high over Central Europe is just waddling around like a hippopotamus in a mud bath. Nothing really changes until next weekend at least. It will be sunny throughout (the clouds forecast for Wednesday seem to have mostly disappeared). Each day will get a degree warmer but there will be a light breeze to offset that at the end of the week. It certainly makes it easy to know how many layers you need to put on. There may be a bit more cloud about next Saturday followed by showers over the next couple of days - but a week is an awful long time in meteorology.
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