 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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@franga, Was actually quite nice at lunchtime today. Probably chopped up later on.
Lovely day today. Snow finally stopped, and much of the morning was blue sky. Bit cloudy over Meribel in the afternoon but nothing like the past few days.
At 5.30 the cloud level dropped down to Meribel town level in a matter of minutes. Hopefully it won't be there tomorrow - apparently the instructors are saying it will be gorgeous.
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Not a cloud in the sky in Meribel!! Bus leaves for the airport in 10 minutes 
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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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All looking great now. We are out to Le Praz in 2 weeks. Can anyone tell me if the ski lockers at the gondola in 1300 are easy to get on a Saturday afternoon or do they sell out quickly??
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@snowmam, I was out for a brief trip 2 weeks ago and no problem getting a locker in Le Praz but things might be different at the end of the month. Might be worth emailing your tour operator or whoever you at renting from just to make sure. I've arrived today for 2 weeks but in 1550 so can't easily check but can ask friends who have a place in Le Praz and arrive on Friday for advice.
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muppet Thanks for that I have emailed chalet owner too so hopefully will get advice but if your friends can advise I'd appreciate it.
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@oz,
Excellent report - great thanks!!! 
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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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Good day today.
Started of slightly overcast but cleared around lunchtime. We stayed in the Courchevel valley as the wind did pick up mid morning and had a rugby match to watch later on ( less said about that the better, husband now in a grump  )
Slopes are in good condition apart from some worn/rocky bits round 1650 which seems usual but nothing to worry about if you are on rental skis, otherwise pick your route.
Considering it was the start of half term for part of the UK and a Paris week no problems with queues but tomorrow is another day and we will no doubt hit the bottlenecks in Meribel.
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I'm heading to Meribel next week for first time and got a couple of questions for regulars. I'm going with family but still need to get my steep fix. Is there areas anyone can recommend lift accessible and with a bit of hiking where I can just get the heart pounding a little bit? 
Also any decent ski shops in Meribel? Thanks
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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It's been warm the past 2 days and layers have been lost and plenty sunscreen needed.
Yesterday at 2pm the temperature at Biollay in 1850 was 17 and today at the same time was 14.
We were slightly later moving this morning as our teenage son is suffering from a stomach upset but as caring parents we left him to suffer and had a good run to La Tania around 10ish. Pistes were hard but not ice.
In contrast Meribel Centre was a slush fest by 12. It was like afternoon skiing in April.
The pistes are in good condition considering the weather and the fact its high season. A few bits we'll try and avoid if we can due to being very worn are the bottom of Park City and Marmotts (Courchevel) and
Verdet (St Martin)
Son met us at lunchtime and we stayed high in Courchevel valley in case he had to head home. We did a few laps around Saulire,Suisses,Chanrossa and Creux Noirs and all pistes were great, as was the run home to 1550 just after 4.
@Guernseyfreerider, I'm no expert and usually spend more time in Tignes and Val d'Isere, but we were commenting today when discussing the tragedy that we've not seen a single guided off piste trip over the past few days here. We've also noticed a few slips due to the heat so take expert advice.
If you do need to raise your heart rate some of the moguls down roches grises are getting to a decent size.
Out till the 25th so will try and update
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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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@Guernseyfreerider, avi risk currently = 3 / Considerable. But 3V leave many blacks ungroomed - at least for a few days. And you can check out online / in resort which have/have not been groomed.
The steepest blacks are perhaps the two either side of Saulire: Couloir Tournier and Grand Couloir. In Meribel valley Bosses is often ungroomed for days and builds up sizable moguls. In Couchevel valley, M, Combe de Pylones and Rocher Grises are often ungroomed.
Not sure about places you can hike to, but there are plenty of lifts / places where you can see people going off-piste: e.g. from the Cote Brune chair at the top of the Meribel valley; from the Roc Mugnier chair in Courchevel; from the Dou du Lanches chair above La Tania; and to (skiers) right of Chapelet at the far end of Courchevel Moriond.
On the Courchevel side of Saulire there are two other steep couloirs (closer to the cable car than Grand Couloir) that were marked pistes until about 10-15 years ago.
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@Guernseyfreerider, what kind of skis are you after? I recommend The Boot Lab who have shops in Courchevel 1650 and Meribel. Primarily a boot fitters but they also have amazing skis and accessories . Plenty of demo skis Too. Plenty of places to hike to all over the 3Vs. See if offpisteskiing is available. He's an awesome guide.
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You know it makes sense.
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Lovely conditions this morning and weirdly calm for half term. I didn't have to queue for any lifts and skied at least two completely empty pistes, thought I'd missed the piste fermée markers but no just quiet! From about 13h it was like skiing in late March. Possible precipitation and dip in temperatures being talked about towards the end of next week.
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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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Fantastic week in 3 Vallees - but they will need snow soon, spring like weather has taken its toll on south facing pistes with patches of grass appearing. That said they've done a great job with the pistes and the weather has been a bonus for this time of the season.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Very quiet this afternoon! Bizarre... Best run of the day was the old last pitch of Jean Blanc (now bottom of Brigues) down to the car park - perfect smooth spring snow at 4pm!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@steph, Had great service this morning from The Boot Lab in 1650. My zipfits are probably nearing the end of their life but a tweak and they should last the rest of the season. Also impressed with the demo range they carry.
We've found Courchevel very quiet after 1230, everybody is either in Meribel (as I think they were yesterday) or don't ski after lunch and enjoy an extra glass/bottle of wine. If you are coming out next week skip lunch until much later or eat at 1145 and enjoy empty runs.
@offpisteskiing, I agree that some of the best runs this week have been the final runs of the day, down to Le Praz and 1550 was empty and excellent today.
@Guernseyfreerider, Coulior Tournier was looking sun damaged yesterday and was closed this afternoon.
My husband headed up from Geneva late afternoon and noted a large amount of vehicles heading out of resorts early so fingers crossed for a quiet day on the slopes on Saturday. He did pick up extra sunscreen as the forecast is for more sunny weather next week.
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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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Hot hot hot! Like skiing in April at the moment. Meribel feels the busiest of the season today. In the town too.
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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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Just back from a week based in Les Menuires.
Agree fully with the sentiments above, on piste conditions are amazing considering the lack of regular snowfall. Last week did feel like skiing in April, the kids were skiing in a base layer and jacket and no complaints.
We spent most of our time in Les Menuires, Val T and Orelle with some excursions to Mottaret and Courchevel, didn't ski Meribel at all this year. At the beginning of the week La Masse was brilliant but the lower slopes above Masse 1 are thin in places, friends made in down to St Martin which was melting fast. Combe du Caron was awesome at the beginning of the week, but even that was hard and getting rather scraped off 2 days ago, the entrance seemed less extreme this week, so much so my 7 year old popped over it as if it wasn't there. Really good snow over in Orelle, decent sized bumps on Combe de Rosael with some fun, if a bit crusty stuff, off the sides.
Snow on venturon down into Mottaret was really good all week, and Area 43 continues to be the best all round fun park in the 3V (in my humble opinion!!)
Combe du Saulire was surprisingly hard and scraped off with some stones coming through, Jockeys was very thin on the bottom pitch.
Crowds were weird this half term, the longest we queued was 10 mins but this really varied day to day. Caron cable car was busy mid morning consistently but then quiet on the afternoons when we used it.
All in all an awesome holiday for on piste skiing, weirdly like Spring considering it was February. More snow would be good, there may be something happening around the 24th but nothing major. Things may start to suffer in March and April unless there are regular top ups.
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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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Agree with @jonathancarty, was in Val Thorens last week and had a great week in (I assume) unusually warm weather. Snow was fantastic all week although there were a few hard packed areas showing up in the Boismint area by the end of the week. The rest of the runs were in awesome condition though, the off-piste didn't look worth bothering with, at least not the piste side stuff. Crowds weren't a problem except in the obvious centre station areas.
Anybody going in the next week or so is going to have a great time whether there is any fresh or not.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Anxiously watching this thread as heading to 1650 for the first week of April.
There are a couple of potential top ups in the near future forecast, so fingers crossed!
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Arrived in Meribel on Sunday and having a great time. Also my first chalet holiday saying I'd never go on one at it has been awesome. Still trying to get my head around the vastness of the place, there is big and there is mahoosive! Monday was really warm but still found some nice snow around Courchevel. Yesterday was overcast warm and humid with the snow really sticky lower down. However higher up around Courchevel we found some lovely snow off the side of the Chanrossa lift, perfect for my 11 year old to get into something a little steeper. Bizarrely some of the best snow we found was very late in the afternoon skiers left off the side of Sanglier run towards Mottaret, soft bump free wintry snow.
Son and daughter had superb lessons with the same instructor at Parallel Lines, great fun and great progression, going again today.
Only small blot has been behaviour of a couple of lifties. One a complete bellend. My friend accidentally dropped her skis when we were in the gondola mid station so they temporarily blocked the entrance to the gondola, there was one person waiting to get on and loads free behind us. So instead of directing them to the next one he glared at us and then walked after the gondola and was banging on the glass like a maniac. Really nice for my kids who were in there as well - what a whopper!
Off to check out VT tomorrow.
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The stars may have aligned... We're heading out on Friday and it looks like its gonna snow the next two days Hoorah!
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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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According to another site (Ski Club GB) they are expecting up to a meter in the next ten days! I fly out on the 4th, so hoping for great conditions
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After yesterdays aborted trip to Val Thorens due to the low cloud, drizzle we had a great day today.
No major lift queues apart from Platieres around 1030 which was due to a lot of people heading up for the air display. ( We did think the practise yesterday was better)
Conditions in VT were great with just a light wind up Cime Caron. A few icy runs around Plan de l'eau.
We have noticed a big difference in the conditions over the past few days especially around Meribel since we arrived on the 9th and snow and cold weather would be good.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Guernseyfreerider, which gondola are you referring to where the liftie was a knob?
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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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Warm and sunny this morning. We headed to 1650 this morning and the pistes have taken a battering. A few have now been closed below the Signal lift with others very brown, but Indians was still fine. The deckchairs near the bubble were sitting in puddles at 1115 
The pistes around Courchevel varied between very hard packed and very soft all morning. No major lift issues but lots of large ski school groups. Headed to Meribel early afternoon and hit a stiff breeze at the top of Dou Lanches slowing our progress. Still had a great day with the home run to 1550 holding up well apart from the last turn towards the Grangettes bubble.
Light snowfall predicted for tomorrow (still a clear sky with stars tonight ) but don't know if it will stick due the the warm temperatures today and back up to 8-12 degrees on Saturday and Sunday, but fingers crossed.
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Nice today. A little fresh snow and very quiet. Everyone was on the N90
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You know it makes sense.
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@steph, Saulire mid station
Great last day in Meribel, fantastic pistes in Courchevel this morning. Finished off by having a lesson with my kids with Nico from Parallel lines, bit of technique and then did laps of the park hitting boxes and kickers just what my 47 year old knees needed!
France is not my first choice for skiing but been very impressed with the ski area. Val Thorens was absolutely mobbed when we were across there Thursday don't know if that is the norm but even then the longest we waited for a lift (cable car) was 15 minutes. Also having said I'd never go on a chalet holiday we've booked next year
Good to see the snow cannons operating for the first time this week, enjoy the snow next week if you are coming out but please take off piste.
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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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@Guernseyfreerider, unacceptable behaviour by the liftie.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Guernseyfreerider, really pleased you enjoyed France and the 3Vs. VT is often mobbed, it's an incredibly popular resort. And it's cheaper than the other valleys for lunch which can attract skiers based in the other valleys. And of course it's altitude means awesome snow. Just not the valley to go to when the wind is blowing and visibility is poor! The Dutch, Swedes, Danes and Belgians LOVE VT, they are present in big numbers at the moment.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Just back from Les Menuires. Had a good week on busy pistes. The major routes getting very worn and anything below 2000m hard am and soft pm. The new snow due this week is much needed. The warm temps are really damaging and south facing slopes are just brown earth. Saying that the skiing was pretty good up high and in sunshine it was a great trip.
A couple of negatives. Dickheads skiing/boarding too fast in busy and icy areas, very dangerous especially around kids at half term. The other is I had my own skis stolen at the main centre in Les Menuires, 70 Euro to hire average skies for the rest of the week and 2 hours in the Gendarmerie reporting it. My insurance company is telling me that I need to prove that they were my skis which I am not sure how to do. I do not have any receipts etc apparently a pic will do!
Anyway, loved the resort. Stayed at the l'ours blanc which was excellent, might go back away from school holidays.
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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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Just back from a very good week in VT. Conditions not that great TBH, it's too warm and echo the previous poster that anything below 2000m could be really slushy (or icy before the sun hit). As such, the old adage of staying high turned out to be particularly true this year. Some really nice skiing in the Orelle valley, particularly enjoyed the reds off the top of Bouchet which didn't have many people on, while the (new?) blue Lory was nice also. Other runs I liked were Col, Christine, Combe du Vallon, and a few others whose names I can't remember. We did head into Meribel Centre once, but too crowded and melted, so stuck with Mottaret thereafter if we headed across. Skiied down to Les Menuires on a few occasions, including an unplanned one on the first evening after missing the last lift Cote Brune back into VT  (had to get a bus back, not the only ones!). Didn't go to St Martin as given experience in Meribel felt it wasn't worth it. Did go across to explore Courchevel on Thursday: conditions mostly ok, albeit on pretty hard and icy snow (particularly Suisses), found some nice stuff on Pyramides and the red just below it (not the one heading down to Signal, the one heading to the other chairlift).
All in all, a very good week despite fairly testing conditions at times. It feels like they could do with snow and colder temps, but they've certainly done a great job at keeping so much open in the circumstances.
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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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Cheers for the updates. I'm off to Meribel next week and hoping that the snow forecast over the next few days does what is needed! I'm staying in Mottaret so should be somewhat better placed... Also have some friends who by complete coincidence booked a holiday in VT at the same time so can always just hop over there if its a bit warmer next week.
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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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@Matthew Way
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I do not have any receipts etc apparently a pic will do!
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Unfortunate - but interesting re photo, thanks for info - presume the thing to do is take a photo in eg your back garden at home...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Hi all. In Courchevel since Sat have to disagree with previous posters if you are a piste skier intermediate then you will have a blast even if it doesn't snow. The slopes are great. Plenty of cover. Have met a few pebbles on links and icy patches but loads of choice. Loze run fantastic. Biollay also fab. Blacks are shaved and icy but reds and blues are skiing well. If it snows it'll be a bonus but if not still a week on the piste heading to the valley on slippy white stuff. Two days of pure joy so far. 😀
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Also... at top of Chenus gondola the restaurant has a little hut serving panini and hotdogs for 7.50 big improvement on the omelette I paid 20 euro for yesterday in Verdon restaurant. 97 euro for our drinks alone @ 10.80 a pint. Yikes.
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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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Snowing heavily in Courchevel this morning.
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FAQ
