snowscreen, Love it! Mr Loatie took a photo of me and the colourful cow at the Maroly last week - no prizes for guessing the caption to go with it from my charming friends!
Awesome pictures, are these LGB? We've never skied that area before the width of the pistes looks right up my street, plenty of room for sweeping turns! We've always stayed up in La Clusaz to ski but seeing these pics ...........
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
snowscreen, Fantastic!
kez, Yep - LGB.
After all it is free
After all it is free
Very cold this morning but once the sun was out it was great.
Blue skies and hardly anyone around, still a little powder to be found off piste
Go home tomorrow night but will get some time on the slopes in the morning.
Did the free airbag today, great fun
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
snowscreen, love your pictures. Only one gripe; LGB = uncrowded undiscovered gem - lets keep it that way, eh? I think this thread is now far too positive .... It's an awful place really and you definitely don't want to come here or tell your friends about it. The pistes aren't really empty - it's all photoshopped, honest loatie, cross country skiing was ....interesting. A whole new variety of ways to fall over. Sliding backwards into your OH; face planting whilst virtually stationary; whilst all the time a very young French instructress keeps up a running commentary on what to do with your "hankles". We may try it again someday...depends how the counselling goes really......
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
gvj, XC skiing is not as easy as it looks, is it?
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Well I'm back from a great 6 days in Le Grand Bornand.
Another day of sunshine yesterday, although at 9am temperatures were reported to be minus 12.
It felt it aswell, especially when going at speed.
Snow cover is soooo good right now, no bare patches at all on any of the slopes.
Offpiste was starting to go a little crusty yesterday so any powder lovers will be asking for a top up.
They've been making snow all week with the cannons incase of any issues, temperatures do seem to be on the up if snowforecast is to be believed.
Came off the slopes at 1 yesterday afternoon and flew back last night, no problems this time round although we'll be trying to claim for a new case for 1 of the guys as the shells been cracked quite badly.
Only 1 video so far, will take me a while to put something together from all the rest of the footage we've got
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.
snowscreen, glad it was such a success. Looking at some of those landings, I wouldn't be trying it without a big airbag anytime soon.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Press the reset button - after lovely snow conditions for the last few days today the rain came. Up at 1500m in LGB yesterday lovely big snowflakes but sadly it soon turned to rain. Haven't been to view the damage.... Hopefully new snow at the weekend but yuk at present.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
We went up this morning, and the high temps were taking a toll. Didn't see any rain, but underfoot was catchy and potatoey.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
La clusaz yesterday was sunny with light high cloud cover in the afternoon. I'd hoped for some spring like soft snow as the day wore on. It was not to be. Some of the lesser car parks were literally sheet ice - car sliding AFTER they'd been parked even. The pistes were very hard indeed. Today it's raining again.....Here's hoping the forecast snow at the weekend makes up for it!
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Snow was in abundance this morning when we left resort to fly home having had a very wet day skiing yesterday. We had hoped that it would have been snowing higher up but sadly it wasnt to be with some lifts closed due to the wind. Still had a fab week skiing and cant wait to go back.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Spent a short while on LGB slopes on Saturday - lovely snow to be found again, especially Joyere section which was sheltered from the cutting northerly blizzard. TS Lachat shut due to high winds. Signing off now until March. Have fun all....
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?
It looks amazing out there at the moment with all that fresh snow, shame I'm most likely done for this season now
Anyway,
Have now finished our holiday video from January 19th-25th
Don’t forget to change the quality to 720p on youtube, click the HD so it’s blue on Vimeo
youtube link (had to keep changing songs as they kept putting copyright claims in against others)
snowscreen, Fantastic footage - loved it. Somehow think there will be a few more people around when we're out again next week but at least a crowded day in LGB can be like an average day in a mega resort!
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
we both enjoyed your movie snowscreen, it was great to see LGB immortalised on "film"
Arrived in petit bornand on Friday night after a very straightforward drive via channel tunnel. Stayed overnight in pb where our host told us there had been 60 cm of snow just in past week alone. Arrived lgb to be skiing by 10.00 yesterday morning. Busyish but no lift queues to spk of. Today may be different of course but the weather is glorious, the snow prolific and very nice yday on nd off piste so hopefully plenty of room for everyone.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Popped over to Manigod today to give Jr a first taste of some little jumps and rails in Merdassier's brilliant little noddy terrain park. Glorious weather, pistes very groomed but in good nick - some dreadful queues, especially just after ski school dropoff time when all the parents in the WORLD tried to get on the only chairlift all at the same time. Completely empty car park though. Must be unpopular with day-trippers, even those with kids at half term.
After all it is free
After all it is free
Not been any fresh snow for ages it seems, but popping to La Clusaz tomorrow to finally haul ourselves to the top of Torchere, and maybe do a tour of the black pistes that we've steadfastly avoided until now. Last year La Noire tried to kill us. Tomorrow, we will wreak our righteous revenge. Maybe. Unless we bottle it.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
We're heading back to La Clusaz in a couple of weeks' - praying for some snow before then
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
kez, I'm not sure god is listening. Next week looks really warm. Could be some lovely March slush to play in in the afternoons though. Snow depths are way over the average, so it shouldn't be gravelly and grassy down low. Just classic Spring conditions.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Well I hereby declare today to be 'MOGUL THURSDAY'.
Ticked off 3 of the Clusaz bad boys today. La Vraille, La Noire and Lapiaz.
All scarily steep, all covered in gigantic moguls. Mercifully not icy. Lapiaz probably the most enjoyable as it's so wide you don't get that "I'm traversing and running out of piste" feeling that you get if you're not an especially good steep mogul skier. We did also see a very minor avalanche off the side of La Vraille, more like a waterfall made of snow really, just a constant torrent of snow funneling down a little gully and onto the piste. Avi risk was 1...
La Noire didn't try to kill me this year, but I didn't exactly show it who's boss either.
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.
Sorry we haven't been giving this thread much love lately, we have been up a handful of times since Feb 28th! Just couldn't be arsed writing about it.
For a low collection of resorts, the Aravis are holding up very nicely. This time last year I was in Tignes and although it was admittedly much sunnier and hence more pleasant, the snow even at those 1000m higher altitudes was nowhere near as well preserved as it is down here at 1500m this year. Remarkable for nearly April in a resort you'd probably avoid booking for a late season holiday... still 3m+ deep at the top.
Today was a mixed bag of conditions. Pretty good snow (for snowboarding) underfoot. Maybe a bit catchy and plasticiney for skiing (and we saw a lot of people struggling with it). Very very gloomy and low vis, but brightening toward the end of the day - forecast is for nice weather tomorrow so fingers crossed. Both Mr and Mrs Pieholeo hurt ourselves. A lot. Her because she's still learning to snowboard, and me because - constrained to dead easy blue runs all day I decided it was a good opportunity to ride switch all day, and try loads of daft 180s and stuff. With hilarious consequences (a whiplashed neck, and a possible-broken-but-hopefully-only-sprained thumb amongst them).
Fig 1. His and hers.
Fig 2. Gloomy.
Fig 3. Dramatic.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
I tell you what. Today was bloody marvellous.
Well, once the sun had been on the concrete pistes long enough to melt all the massive boulders the piste bashers had left behind. After that though, total bliss. The sun beat down all day long, in fact I have turned a particularly crimson shade of crimson. We skied (well, boarded) well into the afternoon (til about 4:15 I think) and amazingly the snow still felt like soft albeit slightly heavy snow. I was expecting puddles, and deep clay-like moguls, but the snow is surviving incredibly well. No pics. Too busy. Just imagine a perfect blue sky over the top of some completely empty pistes. It was a bit like that.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Forecast for today was rain all day, so with the creche already booked we set off with pretty low expectations. La Balme is the consistently highest and coldest part of LC/LGB so we went there. As we parked the car (in a car park with pretty much only staff cars in it) the snow was sleety and wet. By the time we'd done our first descent and were having a well earned coffee break it was coming down in flaky clumps the size of a man's hand. Vis ranged from poor to "OMG where the hell am I" all day. At one point I came to a standstill in near zero vis and decided to have a sit down (snowboarding again today). Except I hadn't come to a standstill. I was still doing about 20mph but with no visual or auditory cues whatsoever I assumed I was stationary. It hurt a bit.
Wet and heavy. Nice to be skiing on fresh snow, but powder it certainly wasn't. We put down some fairly pleasing fresh tracks (not that anyone could see them) until about 11am (keep your speed up or get stuck!) but even with the tiny amount of punters around it was horrifically chopped up and lumpy by noon. Once they've sent a basher up there, it will be great grippy pistes for a few days I reckon. Top lift closed at lunchtime I presume due to avi risk. There really was a metric you-know-what-ton of wet snow, and the temps are quite a few degrees above freezing. Off piste very much advised against. We left at about 2pm, utterly bedraggled and tired from all the bouncing over igloos bricks in the middle of the pistes. Quite a fun day, but not for the weak. A labrador and a white stick would have helped.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Quote:
Nice to be skiing on fresh snow, but powder it certainly wasn't
I'm pedantically pleased to see you make that distinction. I get really fed up when people describe any snow which hasn't been pisted or trampled on as "powder". Pretty gluggy round here too, not that I've been tempted to think about skiing. I don't do very bad visibility if I have any choice. Been making birthday cakes for one of my grand-daughters who will celebrate her first birthday in the Alps on Tuesday. But the wet stuff will piste down nicely, and there's a fair bit more coming over the next day or so.
What an incredible contrast to yesterday!
I once made the opposite mistake to you, boarding in a white out. I thought "yes, good balance here, nice position, feels stable, well done" then caught sight of the ground for long enough to realise I was stationary. Fortunately nobody could have been close enough to see. It didn't hurt, either.
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
pam w, haha.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
La Clusaz/Le Grand Bornand Russian report:
Today: a smattering of Brits with thankfully no signs of any Russians or other vomit-inducing foreigners (except the French, who have been deemed permissible).
Tomorrow's outlook: several Russians surrounded by hoards of appalling jealous Brit chucklefucks who think France should 'stay British'.
Long term forecast: Vodka, furry hats, funny alphabets, and death by polonium poisoning.
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?
So, I finally made it over to LGB in my fourth winter here! I'll be honest, it didn't start so well... we drove to Chinaillon, got there all excited, and then encountered the least helpful liftpass seller I've ever encountered (I hope Lizard doesn't read this thread )... anyway, first liftie was very friendly and made up for it... no queues for lifts... but bizarrely still really busy - every piste had loads of people on it, bombing along at pretty fast speeds in slightly erratic patterns. I guess in normal seasons this wouldn't have been a problem, it's just because I am very conscious of making it through this season without injury to my knee and I'm probably being overly nervous of other people on the pistes! And also I wasn't expecting it... but it was a Sunday, so should have realised it would be busier. Anyway, completely my issue, not LGB's, and I must get over this psychological hurdle!
And then we found a sector that was a bit quieter (in a strange way - we went up on the lift and could see two runs either side of the lift that were pretty much the same and even met up at the bottom, but EVERYONE was turning left at the top of the lift so we, of course, turned right and it was so nice to have a shady, unskied piste to ourselves we did it again... and then again). Snow was good and lots of it - what a great year it's been in this part of the world. Visibility on piste was excellent but a shame no views at the top - I'm sure it would have been very lovely on a clear day, so I'm looking forward to seeing it properly next season!
every piste had loads of people on it, bombing along at pretty fast speeds in slightly erratic patterns
I'm surprised to hear that; Les Saisies has been deserted for the last week, and they have closed some lifts earlier than usual, despite superb snow cover, just because there's nobody around.
pam w, to be fair, I'm used to skiing *really* quiet areas and I'm being very aware of others on the piste at the moment, so was probably overplaying it in my mind - there were no lift queues at all, but just not the emptyish pistes I was expecting (we had dinner in La Clusaz last night and it was really busy and we decided the pistes would be so today, so I'm still glad we opted for LGB).
Not to derail the thread by talking about the Espace Diamant too much, but we actually skied in Notre Dame de Bellecombe yesterday and it was very quiet and lovely. Got Les Saisies pencilled in for Wednesday...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Quote:
we had dinner in La Clusaz last night and it was really busy
reports from all over have said things are very quiet this week - I wonder why La Clusaz is still so busy?
Quote:
Got Les Saisies pencilled in for Wednesday...
you have a PM.
After all it is free
After all it is free
Just replied to your PM!
La Clusaz always seems very busy - during the main season it's very difficult to get a table without a reservation and then at weekends outside of the main season (from the start of December onwards) it's impossible to do so. Earliest table we could get on Saturday night was 9.15pm (fine for us) and the main car park was totally full when we got there - I think it's a really popular spot for weekenders from Geneva, Annecy and the like - I'm sure it would have been busier than LGB.
Totally deserted in Megeve today. We were in the Cote 2000 sector and it was fantastic - very long runs all to yourself and I finally started to really let loose on the speed... a great confidence builder as I knew I wasn't going to ski into anyone or have anyone ski into me!
Last edited by After all it is free on Mon 8-04-13 15:30; edited 1 time in total
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.
La Clusaz has a good few really nasty 'pinch points'. e.g. the main Merle area. Not only does it carry 100% of the through traffic, it's also a tad undergraded as blue (and often icy and man made horrid snow), so lots of people struggling on it too. Much easier to avoid the crowds at Grand Bornand, despite its smaller size.
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
Mr Pieholeo, yes, just added into my post (so not seeing yours) that I was sure La Clusaz would have been busier than LGB on a Sunday - also, there were a lot of lifts for an area of its size, so no queues at all.
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Poster: A snowHead
