Poster: A snowHead
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It's best to get going early, when the pistes are in great condition. All the itineraries are closed, as is Savolyeres (I think they're saving it for Christmas, the North side must be eminently skiable). They've done great stuff with the snowmaking and the new snowmaking for the Col des Gentianes down to La Chaux helps a lot. It was pretty busy over the weekend, but mostly because everyone was in the same place.
The new Bruson lift was running this weekend, but for foot passengers only. The snowmaking over there isn't working as a pipe burst a few weeks ago.
Bring on Wednesday and the fresh snow.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Steve Sparks, Too right...start early and finish early. Isn't there some snow coming tonight?
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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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oh...I've encountered many a rock... skiing on rock ski's now. They've done a good job making snow on the pistes where they can. My kids still find their little stunts to do along the side of the piste, but I swear they have an eagle eye for them, because the opportunities are anything but plentiful.
We are over in La Tzoumaz, which is officially closed, but we've been skiing down to the house from the Gondola, and to be fair, apart from the bare spots here and there, the snow is quite nice, just have to be careful around the brown spots. With the dump that's expected it should be good fun over here on the La Tzoumaz side, thinking we'll take some tours around and then spend the afternoon skiing close to home, once they officially open everything up here....
I'm such an optimistic, I'm getting up early to stock up on provisions, hoping we get snowed in And if we don't get snowed in, I suppose we'll still be eating...
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HeidiAmsterdam, So good to hear someone positive....the snow will come this week, probs Christmas day, but thers's some tomorrow.
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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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They opened the Le Nord lift today. Nice soft snow, with the expected bushes popping out here, there and everywhere, but nothing 30 cm of snow won't fix!
But still, we had a great time, took lunch with the sun shinning on our face, and for the first time, felt glorious again, first time on this ski holiday! I wanted to take a pic, but silly me left iphone in the chalet.
Didn't even bother going over to Verbier today. I'm pretty much done with the gondola ride up + gondola ride down + bus + Medran up before I can even touch snow...so just stayed over here and had a lovely day, with good enough snow to enjoy myself, and blue skies and sun shinning on my face.
Will go back to Verbier, once the connection is skiable...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Getting fairly busy and the high winds that closed the Mt Fort sector didn't help today. Please let it snow tonight.
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Steve Sparks, snow is due tomorrow PM, through the night and into Thursday am. A foot or so, which should make a difference
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It's trying to snow in the village but at this rate even at altitude it looks more likely to be 3 cm than 30.
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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'd agree, first impression of this snow, is *not* impressive, but I'm happy to sleep on it and see what the morning brings. Visibility at the end of the day at the top of Savoleyres visibility was nearly 0,0. In fact, last run of the day, around 4.15-4.30, I missed the piste marker and ended up in 2-3 feet of powder in between pistes, and after having a good look around, followed some trustworthy tracks to make my way back to the piste, it weren't conditions for off piste skiing.
Me and my daughter, were decidedly the last ones of this side of the mountain today. Is there a ribbon or something for that? Or at least a free glass of wine?
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Woke up to the sweet sound of avalanche blasting...here at 1500 meters, about 10 cm of the fresh white powdery stuff, and still falling lightly... visibility is null, so will be waiting to go out, don't do so well when I can't see.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Snowing heavily at 850m in Le Châble. Not much open lift wise at the mo but hoping that more will open during the morning. It is SO good to see the snow again.
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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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HeidiAmsterdam, Steve Sparks, Good to hear there's been a decent top up.
Another 10cm or so hoped for on Saturday and then again early in the new year (fingers crossed)
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Been snowing steadily all day in Les Collons and Les Masses. Lots of blasting - think that there will be a lot of slides. Was out yesterday and there was a lot of wind loading before the snow - cracks all over the place.... But decent accumulation starting
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You know it makes sense.
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heavy snow overnight les collons/thyon. Out with guide and had first run down etherolla as a powder blast. Avalanches all over the place lots of little and a few bigger slides - be very careful out there.
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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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40 cm at the col des gentianes. Brunson opens tomorrow for skiing. Not too crowded today, but I've got a feeling tomorrow could be really busy. Early night and first lift.
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Poster: A snowHead
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That's what I'm thinking, first lift up, and stay high all day, head back after lunch, and spend the afternoon close to home in Savoleyres, I'll probably be toasted, but the kids will want to go on...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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snowing heavily in val danniviers since 1800 today (28.12). no wind currently which should make a good today tomorrow.
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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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6 cm this evening, but not snowing anymore at the mo, hopefully more through the night, and forecasted to snow through the day tomorrow...and again, with all the mist/fog/clouds I will go missing in the mountains, and perhaps never to be found...
will see what awaits me in the morning..
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Mont Fort in stunning condition yesterday. Bizarrely very few people around. Looks like it snowed down to 1,000 metres last night.
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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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Superb on piste conditions from top to bottom today.
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I've got my nieces here, it takes us at least an hour to ski top to bottom with the small one... which unfortunately doesn't leave me much room to go up to Mt. Fort. But, I'm here at least another week, and more snow is scheduled for wednesday, so cross your fingers that I've already will have been polite long enough by Wednesday that I can escape to the serious terrain. Having said that, it's really fun skiing over here.... lots of fun little ditties.
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God....it was so busy today in Veysonnaz today, I'm surprised there weren't more crashes.
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indeed. Tons of little kids going at lightening speed (not my nieces though). I saw one crash and was taken down in the toboggan, another crash they helicoptered the victim out. Funny thing with the kids though, I'd spoke to one of the parents of that group of kids and told them they needed to speak with their children, as they were going to fast and not watching were they were going, and were being unsafe. They pretended not to understand English, so repeated it in French, then they pretended not to understand my French... then an hour later, one of the rascals in the group got taken down in a toboggan... I guess the really didn't understand my English or my French.
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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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HeidiAmsterdam, They were mad.
You have to be to choose to ski at NY week
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Bounded by school holidays, comes with the territory of having kids, which in and of itself, makes one mad, if one wasn't already.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Any intel on Verbier conditions? Itineraries open?
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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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BobinCH, the only itinerary officially open is Chassoure-Tortin. Which is in good condition, apart from the path out, turn left early through the gully. Did Gentianes yesterday which had some super snow, but lots of just sub surface sharks. Big queues in the Verbier sector yesterday and today.
Skied Bruson today, lovely snow everywhere and not much queuing.
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Where did everybody go?
Yesterday it was seething with people, really crowded.
Today was another lovely day....but the number of skiers was far less,
Queues were much shorter, at times there were no queues at all.
Very odd...
BTW pistes still in very good condition, a few wisps of grass visible in very well used corners, but nothing to worry about at all, certainly no rocks or anything like that on piste.
Off piste looks a bit sharky....but they did open Mont Gele for the first time so it must be fairly decent to do that.
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You know it makes sense.
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Oh, wish I'd known that! We stayed over in Savoleyres. DH decided he wanted to ski, so that was a 2,5 hour expedition per lap on the gondola...was painful for me, but he thinks of himself as a skiing hero... there were queues here, the same as yesterday.
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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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Not too busy today, especially first thing. Mont Gele now open. Pistes still in good condition and some lovely off piste to be found in Fontenay and Col des Mines.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Heaving it down with snow as I write!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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rungsp, yes the webcams looking very white and wild - good to see Verbier has caught some good snow today
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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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Fantastic powder afternoon yesterday in Bruson....the snow stopped, the clouds parted, the sun shone.....and the other skiers stayed at home!
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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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rungsp, more is forecast over the next 48 hours fingers crossed
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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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Keep it coming fellas!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Glad it's snowing again, only a few cm so far here in La Tzoumaz.
I need to be frank, I'm disappointed in the quality of the pistes. In the last two weeks there has been about 40 cm of snow, and apart from the 1st dump, I can't say that the pistes conditions have improved. Still tonnes of little rocks, and some bigger rocks. I got some pretty good scrapes yesterday up on Mont Fort on the down side of a mogul, nearly fell as the bare patch was so big that one ski stopped, while the other kept skiing. I notice, I'm continually shopping my turns, as I never know where the next surprise is. I say these mountains need a really good serious one meter dump, and then work on the main pistes and trails.
3 more ski days left before we go home.
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HeidiAmsterdam, looks a wild day out there today...
Snowline looks to be about 1600m so hopefully the pistes should get a decent top up
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Pretty yuck day really.
Snowing hard enough to be unpleasant but not hard enough to really accumulate.
Snow is rather wet and unless it gets a lot colder and snowier overnight it won't be a powder day tomorrow...it will be a heavy weight snow day.
Got to agree to some extent with Heidi....generally good in Verbier itself but in the other sectors not so great at all.
Speaking to a very, very strong skier today who said Gentiennes was in the most difficult condition he had ever experienced it yesterday: Big moguls and the valleys between them filled with a wind crust snow with a soft sludge like filling under the crust. Two to three turns and then take a breather, this is a guy who top-bottoms at full speed in one go usually.
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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 think we've accumulated about 25 cm here in La Tzoumaz, at roughly nearly 1600 meters, we are above the Gondola. Temp outside hoovered between 0 and 1,5 C. I didn't even go out. I seem to really have balance problems in these white out conditions, nearly had a few stumbles yesterday in the middle of the day, and that wasn't even as bad as it was today. As much as I love to ski, I thought it better to play it a bit conservative. At my age, and my condition, an injury could ruin the rest of my season, and that isn't worth it as I expect the epic days still to come. Haven't had one yet this year
Do plan to ski tomorrow if visibility allows, and Monday, as the cheeky extra, which I hope to be epic. don't need powder, I'm happy to not scrape my new ski's over rocks, which I've done plenty these last two weeks.
My beautiful new and shiny Hells Belles will be my rock ski's after this season. On the upside I have the rest of this season to shop for a new set of ski's to add to my quiver, and that can't be all bad, can it?
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rungsp, HeidiAmsterdam,
Thanks for your reports and well done to you both for getting out there today, not sure I would have managed it...
25cm sounds good and hopefully some more overnight, and a bit fluffier too
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