 Poster: A snowHead
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@chocksaway,
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@GeorgeVII, That's because you can't see the invisible windsock, its only available to local tax payers
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Not sure of the correct terminology but I had spotted the "spindrifts?" curling off the ridges so I'd figured it was a tad breezy  .
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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, thanks for directing me here, group of us coming over to Les brevieres on the 29th, which is fast approaching!! Surely there will be something substantial before then, won't there?  if there wasn't then would it be that bad, would conditions stay as they are now?
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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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@Gnipgnop, I am expecting quite a bit of snow before then. You will see I rarely contribute in with the Weather Thread as I wouldn't know one end of those wigglie things from another. But I spent 30 years flying, interpreting professional forecasters forecasts, which is what I do for this thread, so I have a healthy scepticism of long range forecasts. I also try and relate it to recent days, ie it is going to be cooler, hotter - not its going to be - 7 degs with 10km of wind as that is meaningless. Also forecasting amounts of snow is notoriously difficult so you will find me saying a bit, some or a lot.
That said we are expecting quite a few days of a bit and one or two of some, so that is the good news. They are also making snow at a furious pace to keep the slopes down there in reasonable nick. It must be costing a fortune, but at least we have plenty of water up here, unlike some resorts where rationing can't be far off.
At the moment any intermediates in your team would have to download in the bubble to be on the safe side, but after great days skiing above 2000m I don't see anything wrong in that.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@chocksaway, and half of them in the Weather Thread don't even ski or know what it's like to be in a mountain environment
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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, nicely put... well I will be looking out for your updates over the next few weeks and hoping for the best, thanks very much
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thanks @chocksaway, we arrived from Grenoble this morning without incident but lots of freezing rain as you said. We may take advantage of the facilities at the swimming pool if Friday turns out to be as it is looking. Maybe catch you for a drink if we shuffle out of Val Claret one evening! Have a good week.
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@Weathercam, Burn him he's a witch (to slightly misquote M. Python) 
@lynnecha, Just let me know, Friday evening would be good for an RV you know where.......
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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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Sitting in Geneva now with a three day industry meeting about to start. Coming up to Boisses on Thursday evening for a 4 day Mountainsun weekend. Having followed the course of the drought on here for weeks it looks like we are going to get the "challenging" conditions when it breaks. What's that line about the worst day on the mountain being better than the best day in the office? 
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@Bogusman, You will definitely need goggles and looking at the wind we may all be coming down to join you in Boisses!
Another day of blue skies and sunshine, if a little chilly with the sharp breeze at altitude. I had a charge round the pistes of Tignes today, they were mostly quite hard requiring decent edges. However, the snow on Leisse was beautiful, the moguls at the bottom less so. We also seem to have had an invasion of students from Durham over the weekend.
The weather forecasts for the week continue to fluctuate wildly, each run of the models throws up a different set of conditions and forecast snow amounts, but it looks a bit more positive on the snow side today. Anyway, with yesterday's warning about changes ringing in my ears here goes:
The cloud will thicken overnight and through the morning and we should see some snow starting at around lunchtime, the winds will pick up through the afternoon and it will be bitterly cold, just watch out for the links closing and expect whiteout conditions from mid afternoon onwards, expect somewhere in the range of 5-15cm of snow. Wednesday looks like a day of sunny periods and a strong breeze, and there will be a bit more snow overnight. Thursday will start OK with sunny periods but the cloud will thicken through the day and the winds will pick up ahead of the storm on Friday. On Friday there will be a lot of fast moving showers of snow, we will see the sun occasionally, but on Friday and Saturday we are currently expecting significant snowfall, it would appear winter is arriving at last!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@chocksaway, with that positive end to your last post, you've put a smile on face at the end of a windy rainy afternoon (working outside) in East Sussex... keep it comin!
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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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So we arrive on Saturday.
I am seeing various forecasts for up to 40cm on Thursday and Friday and the ever-optimistic Snow Forecast is also predicting a 56cm downfall on Sunday. My advanced off-piste lesson on Monday should be a bit of fun. 
On a serious note, I am beginning to worry that I'll be skiing in a snow cloud for most of the week...
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All change! There was very light snow fluttering past the window as the curtains were drawn back this morning and a light dusting across the pistes. It continued to snow on and off through the day, and there was the occasional brief glimpse of the sun until about 3pm. So the light was not that bad and the new snow made the pistes a little more user friendly. I would say we have had 3 or 4 cm so far. We covered most of Tignes and Val D'Isere today, on pistes that were not so crowded for some reason..... The best snow was probably at Le Fornet on the glacier, we still downloaded on the Solaise Gondola though, from where you could hear the dreaded scraping noises from below as people skated in random directions.
The light snow will continue until sometime this evening when the skies will start to clear. Tomorrow will be the best day remaining this week, effectively sunny periods sums it up, the wind should also drop. There should still be another dusting of snow after dark. Thrusday will start with sunny periods, but the cloud will start to thicken and we are expecting snow in the afternoon, the wind will also start picking up from sometime around 'Happy Hour'. Friday still looks quite wild, fast moving snow showers with a glimpse of the sun, there will also be a marked drop in temperature, so it will feel glacial even down amongst the trees. The following 3 days appear to offer snow showers on and off. I know everyone is desperate to know how much snow, the algorithms driving the various apps seem to be producing wildly varying random numbers, so I will stick my finger in the air and say between 30 and 60cm between now and Monday depending on where the capricious weather elves drive the most active parts of the weather fronts.
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You know it makes sense.
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@Astraeus, Hopefully, I answered most of your questions, from Tuesday next week we should be seeing the sun on quite a regular basis, but I would advise bringing your finest Swaledale long johns (not sure which riding you are from).
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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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@chocksaway, brilliant summary.
Cannot wait. Base Layer, base layer, mid-layer, fleece, jacket...ski. These conditions are right up my street.
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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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@GeorgeVII, Mr W's pork pie delivery would seem to be less than 100% guaranteed then...........
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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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@chocksaway, [quote]
Mr W's pork pie delivery would seem to be less than 100% guaranteed then...........
Critical cargo on board and deadlines to make. No pressure then
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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[quote="GeorgeVII"]@chocksaway,
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Mr W's pork pie delivery would seem to be less than 100% guaranteed then...........
Critical cargo on board and deadlines to make. No pressure then |
I have arranged for a snowplough to meet you at Albertville and guide you safely and promptly up the mountain. If the snow fall is excessive at Albertville you can stop off at SAF helicopters and they will deliver whilst you spend a day or two in a school gym somewhere
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Looks like I could be having an interesting drive up from GVA on Saturday morning then 
Looking at the forecast, I've planned to piut shelves up in the cave on Saturday afternoon. I have already told Mrs Shaker that this is my plan and the minute the weather breaks, she will not see me for a day. It's looking likely that that day will be Monday... which is her birthday.
I can see this ending in tears, most likely mine.
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WOW!. What a day, we had clear blue skies and above 2400m about 15cm of new powder. Regular readers will know that I do not use that term lightly, but because of the relatively light winds yesterday and the low temperatures (-10 deg C) it was really powder snow (not tourist office/tour op/ski school definition of powder for marketing). This is quite rare up here in Tignes, maybe 2 or 3 times a season. You could bang your ski pole into it and it would just fill in the temporary hole you had made. There were times when you hit the crust underneath, jarring bits of the body, but just fabulous.
So it was not a bad choice of day for an off piste adventure with Evo 2! After a quick warm up and safety briefing from Jean we started with the side entrance to the Chardonnet Bowl to allow Jean to assess the group. After that we negotiated Couloir du Lac du Chardonnet to practice on the steep. It was then the Chardonnet Bowl from the top, the entrance was a little tricky, 15cm was not enough to cover the old moguls, but once we were in - heaven. So much so we did it again - the hike in takes your breath away and uses up a number of calories. So after that we were all ready for lunch in Le Lac. Following lunch it was la deuxieme of Les Trois Murs, again a little thin at the top, but once in fresh tracks for all. Because 15cm is not enough to cover the areas previously uncovered we had to take a high exit before a skate down on piste into Brevieres. From the eye of the needle we skied down the front, a little thin here, and finally La Combe de Militaires again boot deep powder.
On a more cautionary note the avalanche risk is rising to 3 tomorrow, we did see one on the Lavachet Wall, so please be careful or use an instructor/guide and ensure you are armed with the kit (and I don't mean a camera on a stick)!
The sky is now obscured by cloud and we may get a dusting this evening. Tomorrow morning will be a tease, the sun may be visible as it rises over the peaks, but it will cloud over through the morning. The wind will also pick up, like it did today, but hopefully not until late in the afternoon below the level of the glaciers. Light snow should commence after lunch and it will get heavier as the evening goes on and the wind will start to howl after dinner.
Friday will be a whiteout with moderate to heavy snow all day and winds in Val Centre and Tignes gusting to 80 kph, it will be a day for the hardy, I expect the links to be closed and only the lower slopes to be open. With the wind chill it will be barkingly cold. Saturday will be more of fast moving sunny spells and light snowfalls in between, for those arriving by car the amounts of snow will be well within the capabilities of the snow ploughs, but as it is so cold the roads will remain white and chains will be a must for those without winter tyres. Sunday will be similar but the winds will be lighter. After that its all a bit unpredictable, but next week is looking frigid, so much so that if you have a diesel vehicle I would not park it in an outdoor carpark, the mercury could easily plunge to -20 deg C overnight .
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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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As @chocksaway, states, yesterday was a magical day. A new layer of snow everywhere with more than sufficient to give some excellent off piste.
The new snow made the previously skied off piste easy but you still had to watch out for the occasional rock waiting to catch you out.
Hopefully this morning will be clear and bright before the anticipated storm tonight
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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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Just checked the forecasts. Looks like being an epic powder weekend with the worst of the weather over by Friday night.
We may even get down the Vallee Perdu this weekend.
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@bar shaker, seeing the same and hoping for the best. Bluebirds over powder.
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You know it makes sense.
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@bar shaker, seeing the same and hoping for the best. Bluebirds over powder.
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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Well there is going to be a lot of fresh snow, but it is going to arrive sideways so its not likely to be powder other than in the gullies, but then the avalanche risks will have to be studied closely.
Today was not bad, in the morning there was enough light through the breaks in the cloudto grab a bit of the untracked around Familial. There were some really interesting cloud formations as the weather approached from the west - dark and foreboding springs to mind! The winds aloft were also strong meaning there was little action on either of the glaciers. After lunch the light started to go quickly and the winds started to affect the slopes around the resort level. So by 3pm it was time for a cuppa. In the last hour or so the wind has picked up dramatically and it is now snowing moderately - it has begun!
The intensity of the snowfall will pick up over the next couple of hours, the most significant falls are going to be overnight so expect to be woken early in the morning by the pisteurs as they start throwing explosives around to make it safe. It will continue to snow lightly or moderately throughout tomorrow but the wind will be the overriding problem. I expect few lifts to be open in the morning because of the wind and we will have to wait until the slopes have been declared safe. Be patient the snow won't go away!! The winds and snow will continue into Saturday but we will see sunny periods and light snow showers in the afternoon, so expect transfer out times to come forward. Coming up the hill in the afternoon should not be too bad, snow tyres or chains will probably be required. Sunday looks more benign with sunny periods and lightish winds but the temperatures will be glacial. These low temperatures continue through the early part of next week. Monday and Tuesday look to both be days of sunny spells and snow showers. The nights will be bone chillingly cold!
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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 the pub! About 6 inches so far, blowing a gale and currently quite mild - jeans quite damp (and no I'm not that old )
One thing's for sure its going to be tricky in the morning.
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Currently -17C & 115KPH winds at the top of Toviere.
Opening of lifts has been delayed
@nelly0168, no need to worry about the pistes or access to Breviere all in great nick.
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Tichot has just opened - best of luck if you are out there!
Still very gusty winds, official resort snowfall is 25 cm, but lots more in many places - including my balcony
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Sideways snowfall. Dreadful visibility. Howling gale. Managed to get around the loop of the Sache bubble a couple of times before cowardice got the better of us. Now holed up in the Loop Bar. The sky seems to be clearing a bit so we'll get back out after a fortifying Loop Burger.
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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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@CosmoJo, it depends on exactly how "beginner" you are. The fact that you plan to be on blue runs suggests you are not a total novice in which case you will need a pass from the get go. There are some free lifts in both Lac and Val Claret but these are really suited to absolute beginners. Where will your classes be starting?
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FAQ
Seen 3 seasons in one morning in Les Arcs and none were forecast. Mountains are beautiful but weird things.
