The view from............ Val d'Isere and the Espace Killy

A snowHead

Hi Steve We are unexpectedly returning the beginning of April and have just booked to stay near that bus route so the update is a very good reminder.
My husband damaged his knee during the opening week in Val d'Isere and the rest of the season was very unsure, but all is good now so looking forward to our April trip, and your resort updates.

A snowHead

muppet - glad to help... sorry to hear about the knee but glad it is on the mend and you can come out to play here again!

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

Hi @Steve Angus, looking forward to coming out again on the 26th, snow looks amazing. Can you tell Clare that Tilly (our daughter) is looking forward to catching up with her again, and promises not to cry this time for the entire lesson with the excuse that she is "missing her Mummy and Daddy" !!

Loving your updates this season as usual - keep up the good work !

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Blimey

Well that was quite a day....

The winds topped 145km/h at 2am this morning and we woke to (amazingly) CALM weather but LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of snowing haven and continue to fall. I think most people assumed that the resort would have a very slow opening so not that many people where out first thing.

I met my lesson at Jean Sports at 9am and we headed off out into the void. There was about 50cm of fresh snow in town that had fallen overnight so it was going to be a powder lesson one way or another which suited her just fine I think as that was on her 'hit list' of things to work on.

We headed up Bellevarde as there was a delay on Solaise opening and got stuck in. WOW the snow as good and there was a lot more open than I thought there would be initially. However lift wise it looked limited to Marmottes. I knew from experience that everyone would keep heading down to La Daille so we decided to stay high.... the snow was a good 50cm deep AND (crucially) very light... the snow ball test was very much negative. After a few laps around Marmottes more was opening up all the time and we got in runs on Fontaine Froid as well as Mont Blanc before things started to shut down cause of the wind which was increasing. The snow was the best of the season that is for sure.

After lunch at Marmottes (good burger in there today) the wind was really really getting up. In fact at 14h there was a top wind speed of 171km/h measured at the top of Solaise! We had no choice with the wind and the snow intensity increasing but to head down to La Daille and we got a lap in on the gondola but the wind was getting worse all the time. We decided to head back upstairs again but after getting off the top of the Funival (and for only the 2nd time for me in 11 years) the pisteurs turned everyone back and we had to head back down the funi after much confusion from the masses etc. So when we got to the bottom it was no real surprise that the only thing now left open was the drag lift down there. So we decided to bus it back into town.... now this took a further 30 mins as the queue was unreal so all in all we decided to quit whilst we were ahead and that was the end of the day and a slightly early finish but you gotta know when to quit!

Lots of this going on today!

So with the wind getting worse there has been a partial shut down of the resort this evening. e.g. no foot passengers between La Daille and town, manchet valley all those sorts of things.

The road to Bourg was shut for a wee while this evening as they needed to do some blasting and clearance higher up that endangers the road but all is open again now I think.

In total there was 50cm last night and another 30cm or so during the day but it is difficult to know quite how much with the wind moving it all around all the time! AND THERE IS ANOTHER 75cm or so forecast tonight and throughout tomorrow for up the mountain!... so all in all we will have had well over 2m of snow in the last few days which has doubled our seasonal totals more or less!

In terms of avalanche risk they are starting the PIDA at 06:50 tomorrow morning (wind dependant) and see what they can get open. IF the wind continues to howl and the snow continues to come down as intensely as planned then there is the outside chance of a black flag day / part day when the avalanche risk is 5/5... however I think it will remain at 4/5! So be safe out there either way!

https://www.periscope.tv/SteveAngusSnow/1RDxlRoZYLdGL?autoplay&t=58

Which piste is this taken on?

I think that is all for now!

TTFN

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Explains why so much more snow fencing is appearing at altitude across the French alps these days Puzzled

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WOOOOOOOW!! So much snow. Cannot wait to get there on Sunday, hoping for a sunny week to enjoy all that snow. So so lucky with the timing.

Is that photo taken from the bottom of Fountain Froide Steve?

After all it is free

Your poor student. Must have felt more like survival than learning, in those conditions.

I have it on good authority that The student was delighted. Best powder skiing ever. And with "an amazing coach" who got right to the key points to focus on. Key ones seem to be engaging the core and the exercises to play around with weight distribution and balance.
Thanks Steve, good to meet you this morning.
Roll on rest of the week......
Stop snowing
Settle the layers
Sun
Calm the winds
Lifts up top

Yeeeeeee haaaaaa

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Very concerned to hear that an avalanche has hit a piste in Tignes. Hope it's not as bad as it sounds.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39192167

Edit: Just saw on the other thread that they don't think anyone is buried. Thank goodness. http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=126850&start=760

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Hi Steve - thanks for a great lesson this afternoon. Who would have thought that technique had changed so much since our last lesson 15 years ago! Some really helpful exercises we can practise over the next 3 days as the sun comes out. It was good to meet you in person, and we'll be back for more next time.
Peter & Cathy

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HoneyBunny - you'll have a wonderful trip! RE Fountaine Froide - nope.. guess again!
bar shaker / ajdetpwm - thanks glad she had fun and made some great improvements. Yes lets hope the snow settles now!
thelem - yes all has worked out for the best in the end... thank goodness

What a day

We woke to ANOTHER 50cm of snow and the winds had done more damage overnight - there must have been close to 2m of snowfall in the last few days - immense! Last night (and with the road closed anyway) a slide did come down blocking the route between Val and Laisenant and Fornet. It would not be until mid morning that the road would re-open anyway. It was always going to be a slow opening.

I met my 'Off Piste Adventure' group at the meeting point and bar one person who could not make it as he was staying in Fornet it was all systems go. This group I have this week is our highest level group and with all this snow it is good to be able to ski it with strong skiers but it also brings with it some pressure to balance safety with a good experience!

Anyway there is always a lot of chinese whispers on a morning like this as to what is opening when and lots of guess work and watching other mountain professionals some of whom sniff it correctly and have been hear more years than I have been on planet earth and can just tell! So anyway the chinese whisper came through that it looked like the Funival and perhaps the Solaise might be the first to open and I thought that if it was Solaise it would be MOBBED as only the Plan M would be open so we bused it to La Daille.

We arrived and there was no queue and no real sign that they were about to open so we put the time to good use and decided to do a practice transceiver search just next to the funi... great I thought a good use of the time. HOWEVER no sooner had I buried it, and much to the amusement of a few colleagues queuing for the funi nearby a piste basher came around the corner to finish his work off... and spent much time pushing and bashing the snow and I could not get his attention that the transceiver was under the slope somewhere.... woops. So anyway I was amazed that after he had done my client was able to 'find' it intact! PHEW

Anyway we finally got going and got on the very first funi up... I new it was going to be good but what would be open!

No sooner had we got to the top of the funi and the doors opened up but a pisteur and her dog (in fact the same dog and pisteur found in this picture) was rushing to get in the funi and was signalling to the driver to take it straight back down again... I was later to find out what the rush was!

So the top few hundred metres, just like yesterday (and it continued all afternoon) was interesting to say the least... but we battled through the wind and snow drifts to descend a few hundred metres down towards the folie and then the real fun started. Taking in a descent down the Raye to the bottom we got first tracks and BOY were they good tracks.... often the snow was over the head - magic!

We worked on technqiue but mainly tried to get some mileage in the wonderful snow. It had been a slow start anyway. The pistuers had only opened a few select runs and there was not that many options and millions of people wanting to get in on the action so we had to be smart (and safe).

Anyway when we got to the bottom we decided to head up the Etroits chair - no queue first thing... so we headed on up... when we got to the top and on the spatule side of things there was a powder frenzy going on - people pushing further and further out into the closed area and over the closed Orange piste.... the problem was that maybe the CATEX above had done its job but that did not disguise the fact that it was still a dangerous area AND the conditions were evolving and as people pushed further and further out it was more and more risky!

Anyway we played it safe and it was a out and down (step down approach) keeping a long way away from the big slopes above and working against the frenzy. Anyway we eventually ended up in the trees near the bottom and it was lovely and quiet down there and boy the snow was deep and light.

We did another lap from the top of the funi after that and finished a little late so try and re-coup some of the lost time from earlier!

The afternoon was spent with a nice couple of fellow SH's and as they had not had a lesson for 15 years there was lots of catch up. We had a good ski around on the Bellevarde side and some really good changes were made but it will take a few days of practice to make the changes stick! At times the wind really got up and at other times we thought the weather was clearing up.

As predicted it got pretty choppy and bumpy by the end of the day but it was a good afternoon non the less.

I rushed home and fitted in my periscope:

https://www.periscope.tv/SteveAngusSnow/1mrGmeAPwkdGy?autoplay&t=51

Luckily the chaos over in Tignes was a false alarm in effect but it just goes to show the major instability up there. Be safe folks and please dont read all the hysteria you see in the press!

Mounds of snow everywhere

Glimpses of sun up there a couple of times but it never really took hold!

The Val pisteurs and their gear that they shipped over their in double quick time this morning!

PS If you think you are having a bad day imagine you work at the Panoramic restaurant an the bottom of the cable car up onto the Grand Motte glacier and when you arrive at work you realise you have ALL this to clear!

https://www.facebook.com/LePanoramicTignes/videos/1359509784072182/
The Panoramic!

TTFN

Hamlet - excellent - happy to help... best of luck and thanks.... see you next time.

You know it makes sense.

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

Wasn't at the time rob@rar.

A snowHead

Wasn't at the time rob@rar.

A snowHead

For those in town watch out lots of heli PIDA starting from 6.50 tomorrow am and LOTS of clearing to be done!

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

Imagine if the interior of your hire car looked like the panoramic loo

Say a few hours before leaving for Geneva

Not that we laughed at said persons pics Very Happy

They now always check all windows are up

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The Panoramic isn't having a good time. Snow in the loos and now this Shocked

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Ooops should have clicked Steve's link rather than assuming it was the loo's

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I wonder if I'll be able to ski Triffolet next week, for the first time ever. I've never, ever seen it open!

After all it is free

We skied the bottom of it in Jan after exiting piste Perdue. Had to wade over the stream at the bottom. Grass and rocks everywhere!

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Did it this morning for the first time this season from the off piste, the warmth had mangled the snow below the trees. So soft moguls, there are still one or two bushes showing through. We did ski out but the traverse out down the right bank of the stream was only about 3 skis wide with one or two roots showing.

I did see a pending divorce half way down, shouting at your better half to get up and get on with it is probably not conducive to long term marital bliss........

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@chocksaway, Toofy Grin

snow reports

piste perdue whats that looking like ??

piste perdue whats that looking like ??

You know it makes sense.

piste perdue whats that looking like ??

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

A snowHead

vipul - full of snow and passable!

A snowHead

WOW

Well folks what a day it has been. I will mainly make this update a serious of pictures and videos. I have been out for dinner this evening with friends and I really need to get to bed as I am knackered after todays exploits.

However it was quite a day... amazing snow, LOTS of mileage and some really impressive PIDA work that went on. The weather did close in a little later on but nothing too serious.

In some places the PIDA work had returned negative results but still would you trust it?

It went huge when the chopper PIDA work blasted here above the Datcha lift

From the Datcha lift you can see there was some frantic pisting that needed to go on across the piste as the slide came down across the closed run in the am and down the L piste!

Rather nice really!

At the meeting point at 9am we saw them blast the 'bust shelter' and when we got up there we could see the remnants of the work!
https://www.facebook.com/steve.angus/videos/10158331932060416/
In the afternoon it was rather heavy the snow but in the morning...
https://www.facebook.com/steve.angus/videos/10158331932110416/
https://www.facebook.com/steve.angus/videos/10158333541540416/
In tignes this was the view as they blasted the Grand Balme!
https://www.facebook.com/1130303713650017/videos/1926542367359477/
This was the video Radio Val have released showing some of the work the chopper did this morning - some pretty large slides here - the main clips on the video are East Face of the Charvet coming down into the Manchet Valley and near the Manchet Express chair!

Tomorrow the road between La Daille and Bourg will be closed for PIDA blasting between 11 and 1.30 and then after that the road to Tignes will be closed above the dam to do some work too!

Sorry to be brief but the vids and pics speak volumes of an awesome day in the mountains skiing some GREAT powder but being in awe of the power of the mountains!

TTFN

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

Love those pics.

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Great pics but I can't load the videos, are they set to friends only?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Also can't get the FB vids and I'm a friend.

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3 of us are looking at a cheeky lads ski break Saturday 18/03 - Thursday 23/03 we are looking @ s/catered apartment & need transfer from Geneva [subject to booking our flights] arrival around 1600hrs travel to Tignes depart Thursday 23/03 late afternoon, flight around 2100hrs

The transfers we have found so far are more than the holiday, any ideas?

Haven’t booked apartment yet so if you’ve got one or know of one available let me know, cheers

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Hire a car .... will be much cheaper

After all it is free

Agree it's looking that way, just a PITA really, would much prefer a transfer but will wait & see if anyone pops up with an alternative.

Could be an opportunity for an entrepreneur Toofy Grin

http://www.altibus.com/ can get you from Tignes to Bourg St Maurice which gives you more options. See if there's a suitable train to Geneva? I don't think you'll find a cheap point to point transfer on a Thursday, unless you can find lots of people to share with.

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@michaelbury17, There is a Facebook group/page re transfers and sharing, worth looking it out.

Help!!

The view from............ Val d'Isere and the Espace Killy

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