 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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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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The bashers are up there getting things ready.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Well it was nice of them to open it up today, and we've got season passes so it was effectively 'free', but honestly I don't know if it was the right thing to do. Car park full, gendarmerie directing people to abandon their cars in snowdrifts at the side of the road and walk up, not really enough snow cover (and hence the home run was shut)... net result: every squashed into a couple of short runs, and the worst crowds I've ever seen - combined with a generally very poor standard of riding.
My 1st ascent of chairlift to the top, skiing away along the disembarking area, and a snowboarder thought this was the ideal opportunity to attempt his first backside 180 of the season. I suppose as his board hit the back of my legs and his forearms flailed into the back of my head, he might have wondered if it was a completely successful trick. In a parallel universe, that's me out for the season. Total total dickhead, and that's what it was like all over. Chairlift journeys were funny watching absolute carnage, the actual skiing was pretty grim and quite dangerous.
Very unpleasant and we wish we'd stayed in bed. Might go again tomorrow.
2/10.
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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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Mr Piehole, Worse than ValTho last weekend?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Much worse, but in Val T we stuck to the nursery slopes so not a fair comparison maybe.
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Lots of fresh snow falling today all over the place (right down into the valleys, Annecy is quite white). Poor visibility and getting frozen bogeys is the downside, but this is all great news! Skiing down from the top of La Balme was iffy though. Couldn't see from one marker pole to the next, ended up off piste a few times by accident. Oops.
This week's is forecast for a huge snowfall, which will continue to set things up nicely for LGB's ski test wotsit next weekend, and the full area opening on the 22nd.
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Flew in last night and left GVA in heavy rain on slushy ground, which continued all the way up to St. Jean de Sixt and gradually sleet became full on snow before we got to La Clusaz. High banks either side of the road over the Col des Aravis from what I could see through the car headlights. Woke up to a brief glimpse of sunshine over a winter wonderland before the whiteout returned... first magic morning the season 
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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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Big 'partial' opening planned for La Clusaz this weekend.
All of the lifts on La Balme PLUS:
Fernuy gondola; Aiguille, Cret du Merle and (brand new) Cret du Loup charlifts; and the Patinoire gondola to get up from the town centre/front de neige.
Hopefully that will alleviate the overcrowding seen last weekend somewhat. As long as loads more people don't turn up.
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Thanks Mr Piehole, not familar with La Clusaz, but would the pistes, areas open on Sat equate to say 50 % of the pistes ?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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About a quarter of the total pistes in LC will be open I should think, although there's also a lot of 'between the pistes' that is accessible on both Balme and Aiguille...
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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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Nice webcam view of Chinaillon at LGB this morning...
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You know it makes sense.
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Top of Cret de Merle!
Quite a bit of snow resting on the chairlift.
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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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Email from the tourist office - "En raison des fortes chutes de neiges tombées et attendues le Col des Aravis ferme ce jour vendredi 07.12 à 19h00".
They are brilliant at keeping the Col open and this very rarely happens (we've driven over it to La Clusaz in heavy snow loads of times), so they are obviously expecting the snow to keep hammering down for while.
Just seen the school bus doing the home run... no days off due to snow for alpine kids, but least their winter PE lesson is skiing!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Le Grand Bornand opens this weekend. Over a meter of snow in Le Chinaillon (1300m) - and tons still falling tonight.
More snow forecast all throughout next week and into next weekend
The annual ski test is happening Saturday and Sunday (by the Floria and Chatillon lifts) - turn up - and ski on all the major ski brands - for free!
Fantastic start to the season.
......but be careful off piste. Big avalanche triggered by ski tourers near Manigod on a supposedly very "safe" route. It sounds like it will take several days for the conditions to settle down.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Following the Grand Bornand Facebook page, some good updates & pictures being added, just wish my French was better to be able to read the comments
2 weeks to go for me, what a start to the season, be good if it hangs around in the town
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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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Grand Bornand today was STUCKING FUNNING.
Cloudy at first, but the sun broke through at about lunchtime and wow. There was so much snow. Loads of lifts open, hardly anyone about, and the best conditions underfoot that I've seen at LGB ever. Off piste got tracked out very quickly though, and there were a lot of 'whoops my powder technique isn't what I thought it was' hiliarity to be witnessed from the chairs. Lovely stashes of deep stuff just off the side of most runs though - lots of fun to be had even for those as un-gnarly as me.
Also want to point out that the local municipality have done a miraculous job of the roads. I expected a really gruelling drive up there, and with the exception of 1 or 2 iffy corners on the village roads, everything was a doddle. The main roads are completely clear. Incredible given how much snow fell recently.
Fantastic day out. Maybe my favourite ever day in the Aravis, even though as usual I was with Pie Jr. and had to stick to the blue runs!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Mr Piehole, sounds great. Unfortunately we've just moved house so I'm spending the weekend putting up curtains and light fittings. 
Hopefully next week though!!
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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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Grand Bornand is keeping 1 lift and 2 runs open all week apparently, and then I expect there'll be another 'most of the Chinaillon/Maroly side' opening next weekend. Not confirmed yet though.
Definitely going back tomorrow. I warm to LGB more and more the more I go there, when I first started going I thought it was a bit crap. Probably slightly prefer it to Clusaz really...
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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LGB is a hidden gem. Shhhh..... Can't wait to get back there next week.
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Was up in La Clusaz on Sat, according to people from the area, best snow they have seen in years for early Dec, moderately busy on slopes
Heavy cloud in Am, then in afternoon Sun and cloud, picture postcard conditions everywhere
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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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dublin2, yay. I was wondering what you'd got up to I must say. Nice roads for you on Friday, not.
Where'd you head? Balme or Aiguille (or both?)
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Hi Friday was a whiteout, and windy in Val Thorens, very difficult to see piste undulations
Just out side VT, there had been a "mini avalanche", road was blocked, delay of 45 mins, while it was cleared
Roads were in good nick , considering the altitude
Thank God we had snow tyres, lots of people wheel spinning in VT
Car parking in centre of VT free
La Clusaz ;
Didnt head up to La Balme as the vis bad up to 1600 m,
Great atmosphere in village afterwards
PS Mr Piehole, I've never been to Le GB, some very nice shots you have of it, great views, must pay a visit, next time I'm in the area
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Well, what a weekend at LGB.
The trauma of the nightmare journey from Geneva to Chinaillon on Friday night (why oh why did we decide to go via Annecy thinking it might be clearer than our usual route through Bonneville and Petit Bornand?!) was so quickly forgotten on Saturday morning.
The Ski Test Weekend provided a very happy atmosphere and enabled us to try a variety of different skis and we tried to pick our moments to exchange them so we didn't miss time on the slopes. What a fabulous couple of days with sunshine and conditions at their best. Saturday a lot quieter than Sunday but so lovely to start the season on such a high note. Looking forward to being back in a couple of weeks time.
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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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Mr Piehole,  That's grim. I hope he was dead, or at least deeply unconscious, as soon as he hit the tree. If that article says that he was lying under 1.5m of snow, with no avalanche, would that have been a tree well? I suppose that with the epic snow people were bound to be doing daft stuff this weekend. Sad Christmas for another family.
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You know it makes sense.
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And the winner of the 'best snow depth currently in the French Alps' is...
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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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Holy smoke 300cm!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Just looked at La Clusaz, looks really good. Maybe doing a short 5 day trip in mid January. Hope the snow holds out and there are several large dumps between now and then!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Are there any Snowheads who are from here and would fancy meeting up with me to show me around the place? Beers are on me if course!
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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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Ricklovesthepowder, feel free to PM me nearer the time, but my 'showing people around' services tend to be limited to my 3 year old!
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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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Mr Piehole, thanks, will do. Have you ever heard if a chalet called panoramique? It's right next to the piste apparently? Nothing booked yet, just something that came up when looking.
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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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Mr Piehole, the three year old is more than welcome to come along as well! Except his will be a fresh orange not a beer lol!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Dunno anything much about accommodation up in the resorts, sorry.
Very very few chalets in La Clusaz are what you'd call ski in/out though. It's a big sprawling proper lived-in town rather similar to Morzine in a way.
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Ricklovesthepowder, La Ferme is ski in/ski out I think (never stayed there obviously, but eat at the lovely restaurant a fair bit). However, if you're with your non-skiing wife, it might be nice to stay somewhere in the main town bit with a pool and spa etc.
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Looks like we're heading for another absolute pounding of snow, once the freezing level lifts a bit during Saturday.
Half a metre plus at mid mountain? Yes please Barbara!
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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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Grand Bornand weekend report:
Friday was a bit overcast, but lovely lovely powder everywhere. Fantastic day out considering only 1 short chairlift was operating. We spent pretty much the whole day in the deep stuff off the side of the piste - quite an achievement given that 2 of the group were a 3 year old, and an oldish 'blue runs only please' cautious bloke!
Yesterday - rain rain rain up to mid mountain, occasionally turning to sleet, blizzard conditions at the top. High wind, low vis. Very grim.
Today I bottled out on arrival at the car park. Snow was coming down in buckets in Chinaillon village and we decided to turn around before things got too bad. Only just managed to get out of the car park even on snow tyres. Drove down into the town (raining) and went up the gondola as pedestrians instead, for a coffee and to push Junior Pie around on his snowboard. Absolutely sheeting down with snow, underfoot felt fantastic. Anyone who can be out there this week, if you find a gap in the weather, it's going to be incredible. Shame it won't be me, as I'll be at work. Bums.
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