 Poster: A snowHead
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I think that within meteorology, things like retour d'est are even more difficult to estimate, because the weather models are not granular or just not precise enough. It is a whole other matter than predicting rainfall in Paris or London 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Currently in Singapore it is 30 degrees and 99% humidity. What would I give for a quick blast of minus 20 on the Gratalu lift! I hope to be back in the EK once more before the end of the season 
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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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Meteo France now puts the windspeed at 75Km/h on Sunday. Of cours my first skiday... I prefer that retour d'est not to happen, it will just give clouds, a lot of wind and hardly any snow, who wants that... It seems like everytime I come to the Alps the weather closes in, last year I had on 18 skidays only 2 nice days 
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@bart_bdv, if you want a better chance of nice weather then ski in March/April rather than Jan.
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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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Another great January day in Tignes and Val D'Isere, quite cold and a cheeky breeze at altitude meant that any chinks in the armour of layers were soon discovered. It was mainly a piste day today, the wind has really mangled the snow and I decided not to rearrange my internal organs by clattering over the hard sastrugi like yesterday! We set off directly for Le Fornet this morning via Laisinant as the Olympique Gondola had an electrical issue, so the queues in the middle of Val were large. Even into the afternoon the Gondola was only running at half speed and the Loyes Express was stopped, hopefully they will find a larger fuse for tomorrow to reduce the queues that were evident at lunchtime as well. The snow at Le Fornet was excellent, we did manage one or two nice turns by the side of the piste but this was the exception rather than the rule. We skied down into the village of Le Fornet, just the odd hard patch on the usual corners. After a quick lunch we shot up the Funiculaire to the Grande Motte, again fabulous piste skiing, off piste is for the wave riders.
Tomorrow's weather will look very much like today, sunny with a chilly breeze. The weekend is proving a little tricky to predict accurately, the various forecasting models are disagreeing over the precise track of the low over the Northern Med. But Saturday looks like another sunny day and the wind will pick up in strength, how much is a bit of a lottery. There will be a few more clouds in the afternoon, and these will thicken through the evening and Sunday will be overcast with a strong wind - expect the higher lifts to close. At the moment it looks like there will be some snow overnight, Monday will be made up of sunny periods.
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| bart_bdv wrote: |
| .... It seems like everytime I come to the Alps the weather closes in, last year I had on 18 skidays only 2 nice days |
Try Serre Chevalier for their famed sunshine record!! Skiing not too shabby either
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| RetroBod wrote: |
| bart_bdv wrote: |
| .... It seems like everytime I come to the Alps the weather closes in, last year I had on 18 skidays only 2 nice days |
Try Serre Chevalier for their famed sunshine record!! Skiing not too shabby either |
Been there we had sun but also a lot of wind!
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| kitenski wrote: |
| @bart_bdv, if you want a better chance of nice weather then ski in March/April rather than Jan. |
Well that is what I usually do, but there is no guarantee that it will be sunnier, and I prefer to spread my skiing holidays over the winter. This and last season the best weather was in december (but also the worst snow)
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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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The weather has become a little boring of late! More sunshine, with just the odd bit of cloud escaping from Italy on the easterly wind. This morning we launched down Sache to Les Brevieres, quite a few moguls and the odd slick patch. The runs into Les Bisses are still in very good condition. Down there we were out of the wind which was very pleasant. But on our way to La Daille we certainly felt the chill of the breeze as we came over the top of the Toviere! Agaiin the pistes all the way to the bottom are in good condition.
In other news, there was a strange collection of lights snaking down Palafour in Tignes last night, no we were not being invaded by aliens but it was the Grand Opening of the Palafou - the luge track which runs for about 3km from the top of the Palafour lift down into Le Lac. It opens as the piste closes and is €8 which includes the ride up and all the kit. there is also a 40m tunnel under the pisste to negotiate.
Tomorrows weather will be almost identical to today, there ma be a hint more wind. The low I spoke about over the Med has now decided to pop across to the north coast of Africa, which means the wind will be less than forecast previously. But it now means that we may only get the lightest shower of snow on Sunday evening. (However, the east coast of Spain will get battered again, which will do nothing for the price of courgettes in the UK which seems to be occupying the attentions of the British press!!). There will be a high veil of cloud over Tignes and Val D'Isere on Sunday, so it will feel a bit cooler. Monday should be a day of sunny periods and very light winds, all in all quite pleasant. The sun and the easterly breeze will re-establish themselves for Tuesday and Wednesday, but it will be about 5 deg C warmer by then - the first signs of spring??
And the news from the travel office is: the resorts are going to be busier as 17000 vehicles will be heading out of the resorts in the Tarentaise and 26000 will be coming up on Saturday. There might be the odd jam on the way down, there will be holdups on the way up from early afternoon. With the very cold temperatures overnight this week, the garages may be busy in the open air carparks dealing with diesel vehicles. If you are flying from the UK tomorrow, it will be mostly dank and misty but the only place where fog will develop and may cause delays is Leeds Bradford. Again it may be a bit grey over here, but no real problems. It will be bright and sunny at Chambery but a northerly wind will mean the slightly more interesting approach as you circle over the city, spectacular views all round!
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| Quote: |
the first signs of spring
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Please no!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@chocksaway, only 1week to go and enjoying reading your posts to see what the current conditions are like, having not skied ek before am I right in thinking it's tricky skiing down to Les brev at the mo.... We are a bunch of confident intermediates, varying abilities and not a lover of icy moguls
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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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@Gnipgnop, For Sache, you need to be a good (ish) skier but there is a red run (Chardons into Pavot) for good intermediates into Brev and a blue (Myrtillles) that is fine for anyone who has been on skis for 2 weeks. It is a road in the summer so if a 2CV can get up it I'm sure 2 week skier can get down it. Its also quiet and good for watching nature.
The lift gremlins moved over to Tignes this afternoon, the Jam Bar was full of stories from those who had an hour an a half in the Grande Motte Cable Car. All are now safely down thanks to emergency procedures that did not involve ropes or a helicopter!
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@chocksaway, thanks so much for your feedback......
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You know it makes sense.
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eventful journey today with M25 closure, then lots of hold ups around / after Lyon meaning we again diverted off the Autoroute to miss the worst of it. Made it to Val D by about 11 and car now nicely parked underground and all sorted in the apartment. Very nice it is to. First lift tomorrow hopefully and looks like a great day to get the ski legs back.
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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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I don't like next weekend's FL (warm front with precipitation by the looks of it), time for it to dissipate though.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Another day another dollar! Sunshine with a sharp breeze at altitude. As most of the off piste has now been trashed by the wind it was time for a Saturday charge round the pistes. Grattalu was absolute perfection this morning, perfect corduroy and not a bump or a crease. If Tignes needs a candidate for the National Piste Basher Championships (yes folks there is one!) then the guy on the Grattalu deserves the slot. The Grande Motte cable car was up and running again this morning, the snow was very good, however picking your way down to the Leisse chair is getting tricky.
Tomorrow will be mainly cloudy but they will be above the tops of the peaks, the easterly wind will remain at altitude. The clouds will clear through Monday, a few will remain around the peaks, hopefully the wind will almost vanish. The sun returns on Tuesday, a great day in the Alps. From Wednesday to the weekend it will be wall to wall sunshine and the temperatures will rise a little.
For those flying tomorrow, it will be a bit misty across the UK with a chance of a shower of drizzle almost anywhere. Likewise the visibility over here will not be great until you get into the mountains where it will be stunning. So I can't see any weather related issues to affect flying.
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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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Cracking first day today. Zero queues. Pistes v good and empty. Even managed a pleasant trip down santons. Grand motte was stunning with little wind and no people. Roll on tomorrow
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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So I'm staying in Les brevieres in a weeks time and I will need to hire decent skis, can anyone tell me if there are good reasonably priced shops in brevieres or do I need to go elsewhere?
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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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Intersport is right in town-always do my family/friends a good deal and have all sort of skis.
Are you staying in a chalet there? Often get discount voucher from them if you are.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@Gnipgnop, The 'Guide Practique' lists a Skiset and an Intersport in Brevieres, they are both franchises but I don't have any personal experience of either, but they will be competitively priced, especially if you book on line. To go elsewhere would involve a large amount of faffing!
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@chocksaway, Correct, skiset is opposite Intersport, part of the MMV hotel building.
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Thanks 👍🏻
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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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Clouds! Yes some did appear today, although until mid afternoon there was still plenty of sunshine across Tignes and Val D'Isere. It appeared from our eyrie that the 3 Vallees was not so lucky. However, the tale of the day was the wind, a bit stronger than we had been expecting at altitude, it closed both glaciers. the resorts are noticeably busier than last week so the combination of the wind and the number of skiers and boarders meant that there are some really hard pistes around, sharp edges are a necessity. The lower parts of the resort (La Daille and Les Boisses) were in favour today to escape the winds. However, we did venture up the Funiculaire where our progress would best be described in nautical terms; we had to 'tack' down Rabotch!
Tomorrow's weather will be much like today but the wind will drop so it will feel a bit warmer thankfully. Tuesday will be a day of sunny periods but the sharp wind will return in the afternoon. Wednesday to Friday will see the sun dominate, the breeze looks like being a bit stronger towards the end of the week. As for snow, there is little on the horizon, but the very early signs (notably the Jetstream forecast) suggest unsettled weather will return towards the end of next week.
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| Dr John wrote: |
| @endoman, certainly wasn't last week, but possibly now after the big dump. Main issue is the large cornices that had formed, could easily get buried if the go while you're in there. |
I can now answer this having been down Piste Perdu today. It's skiable, just. But you can't get down the large drop toward the end, there are poles to stop you, and you have to climb around and over the rocks. My opinion would be it needs quite a bit more snow to make it an enjoyable experience. We came out on Triffolet which was grassy and rocky, and needed a walk over the stream to get out. We shan't be going down again this week but my lad got to ski it which is what he wanted.
Had a great Curry Panini from the kiosk in Val Claret, was warm enough to sit outside and eat. Good value as well, 11 euro, big panini, frites and a drink.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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There was just the thinnest veil of cloud at very high altitude, which just took the glare from the sun. As the wind had virtually disappeared it felt much warmer and as it had been less cold overnight the pistes were a bit softer than yesterdays boilerplate making life a little easier. Still it could have been much worse you could have been at Heathrow watching your flight get cancelled due to fog! A group of snowHeads shot across to Le Fornet today, we did try and find some decent off piste but to no avail. After lunch we tried the Solaise (again very mixed conditions off piste as I can attest to - at least my bindings work!). Probably the best snow was to the southern side of Arcelle, quite grippy chalky stuff, parts of the piste were very slick, by the look on one ladies face as she slipped down on her rear quarters it could be responsible for a divorce!
The weather until Saturday is dead easy - "The sun has got his hat on". The air temperature will be similar to today but the winds will very. They will pick up towards the close of play tomorrow, just keep an eye on the links. They look like being strong at altitude on Wednesday and Thursday also, making it feel cold. Friday and Saturday will be much more benign. Meanwhile in the south of the UK it will be foggy and cold, so relax and enjoy it!!
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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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| chocksaway wrote: |
As the wind had virtually disappeared it felt much warmer and as it had been less cold overnight the pistes were a bit softer than yesterdays boilerplate making life a little easier. Still it could have been much worse you could have been at Heathrow watching your flight get cancelled due to fog! A group of snowHeads shot across to Le Fornet today, we did try and find some decent off piste but to no avail. After lunch we tried the Solaise (again very mixed conditions off piste as I can attest to - at least my bindings work!). Probably the best snow was to the southern side of Arcelle, quite grippy chalky stuff, parts of the piste were very slick, by the look on one ladies face as she slipped down on her rear quarters it could be responsible for a divorce!
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I have been enjoying your assessments/comments...and very nearly flagged you last Friday to see if we might meet up, as I found myself potentially skiing alone on my last day (as my daughter had a nasty fall the previous day and remained indoors).. As it happened, I managed to mooch a place with a great group of lads staying at The Diva.
As you mentioned in previous posts, the past week was wonderful, with sun and decent snow all week; though bitingly cold...but there were hidden areas of sheet ice to catch the unwary, usually on the back of rounded mounds, on runs like Face, Sache and the runs down from Solaise to Val and Le Laisinant, which left me with some nicely bruised hip bones. I of course blame the dullish edges on my hire skis, rather than my immaculate technique. 
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@Old Fartbag, Thanks, if you return, give me a shout, some times I'm busy, sometimes not and generally not after 9pm - for a glass of brown and frothy.
Not a cloud in the sky again. It was a little cooler on the balcony this morning so the pistes were a little harder this morning, so it was a morning of dodge the clown, of which there does seem to be a decent supply this week. I just wish folks would follow the rules of the piste....... Luckily it was quiet down into Les Boisses so we could enjoy the views and the tweeting of the birds. The Bellevarde area was just a little busier.
Now the weather, there are lots of changes afoot as the Atlantic systems finally (and slightly unexpectedly) seem to be making some inroads into the high pressure. So, don't expect this forecast to be accurate for more than a couple of days as there is quite a battle going on and we are on/under the playing field!! Likewise into next week it looks very unsettled, but the snowfalls generated by your app are going to vary wildly - they will be up and down like the proverbial fiddlers elbow, there will be moments of anticipatory delight and some of despair.
That said tomorrow will be like this afternoon, mostly sunny and a breeze at altitude, the temperatures will remain similar. There is a chance of a few fluffy clouds at each end of the day. Thursday will be pretty similar, but it looks like the wind will pick up through the day and it could be very gusty by the afternoon. For Friday expect it to cloud over, be windy (enough to close exposed chairlifts) and potentially some light snow. Saturday just looks grey drab and draughty. Beyond that - unsettled, I won't annoy any more electrons by typing more.
In other news, we may have had the final chapter of 'chipgate' in Val D'Isere. The residents of the expensive apartments on the snowfront have been battling to close down the Cabane, the cheap (for Val) snack bar in front of their building. The courts judgements have see-sawed but it now seems the Cabane is doomed (probably due to the unlimited resources of the residents to fight the case if I have interpreted the owners comments correctly). I know it is a favourite haunt of the instructors over there including our own Steve A. Perhaps they will have to form a collective and have one instructor starting a barbie every day, just into the public area!
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You know it makes sense.
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Negligent Discharge on the submit button!
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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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Some great skiing in val and tignes the past days... snow nice all over if sometimes a bit hard and quite icy on la face to return to val. But who complains when the sky is so blue
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Poster: A snowHead
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@chocksaway, drawing ever nearer...4 days to go!! , fingers crossed for snow as always! Would you say the pistes are still holding out pretty well overall?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Pretty well would be a good way to describe it. Here's hoping next week brings some more though....
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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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We are back out this weekend.
This season, I have done 17 days so far. In that we have had one overcast afternoon and all rest has been blue skies. The snow has all fallen just before we have arrived... so expect to see some flurries on Friday 
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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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Well so far the forecast is going well. We arose to another blue sky, with just a hint of a red cloud at breakfast time. The wind picked up a little through the day and a few clouds are knocking around, especially out to the west. I was on another day with Evo2 off piste and it turned out to be a bit of an epic. We started with a high traverse from Cretes into Familial, followed by a traverse from the top of the Toviere to the Marmottes Restaurant (one nice pitch of windblown snow in a gully). After a couple of chairs we launched into the Tour de Charvet (le rive gauche or left bank), the snow at the top had transformed into something really smooth and wonderful. After that it was the quick way into the Cugnai from the top of the Manchet, known as La Moitié de Cugnai. Again some nice snow. After lunch at La Ouillette, we bounced across to Pays Desert in Le Fornet, where, quite by surprise to me and our instructor, there had been about 10cm of fresh (not wind transported) snow, those damn micro climates! I don't think many people had realised this and we had fresh tracks all the way down, we still had to avoid exposed bare ridges. It was so good we did it again, which meant a bus back into Val from Le Fornet to get home in time. The less said about Trolles on the way back into Tignes, the better 
And now the weather, again don't hold me to this!! Tomorrow will be sunny with a sharp south easterly wind which will probably close the high lifts, the speeds will increase through the day so watch out for warnings about links closing. Friday now looks to be a day of fast moving sunny periods,, again high lifts may be closed and there may be the odd flurry of snow. Saturday will be overcast and windy, a good day to be on a transfer bus! There may be a bit of snow overnight into Sunday, which will be a day of sunny periods and lighter winds. Overcast skies will return on Monday. The unsettled weather then starts with a vengeance.
The forecast for the morning may be a little fuzzy, as its Burns Night at La Queue de Cochon tonight
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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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Fab pictures. I am having serious withdrawal......
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Well I did mention yesterday that I wouldn't be held to the forecast - a good job as there was a lot more cloud than any of the forecasts suggested! It started creeping over from the east fairly early on and although there was a few breaks where there was good light it was mainly flat. The wind did shut the Grand Motte cable car from the outset. It has now started blowing hard in the village as I type. The air felt damp so it wasn't the most pleasant of days. The pistes were hard to begin with but softened as the day went on. But there has been just a small amount of snow.
After a windy night tomorrow will be predominantly cloudy and there will be a stiff breeze, this should reduce in strength through the day. Saturday will also be cloudy and a strong wind will return. It doesn't look appealing at all! Sunday and Monday will be days of sunny periods, a bit changeable and a bit breezy at altitude. Beyond that it is all a bit changeable, but currently we are expecting some snow showers, but by day the snow level will be around 2000m, probably not the news the lower resorts want. Luckily up here in Tignes and Val it will not make a difference.
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@chocksaway, Went for a quick trip to Val D this morning. It was windy & snowing so we came back to sunny Tignes
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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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Well having caused a bit of a furore in the Weather Outlook Thread I'll come back to where I am welcome, quite how someone can contradict me from a remote Scottish Island when I (and Steve Angus) had skied the snow I described 90 minutes previously does still astound me. However, I did enjoy the bit about 'knee deep in debt not powder' - oh the irony!
Today was a funny old day, the sky was overcast with a thin layer of high cloud, this allowed enough light through. But there was also varying amounts of medium level cloud which made for some interesting sky-scapes, as the wind was from the south east there was quite a lot of cloud over towards Val D'Isere and over the top of the Panoramique Restaurant as it sneaked up the Col de la Leisse. The wind was the main problem, closing exposed lifts. It was gusty at times and the direction was swinging around which made it tricky to avoid. The air was damp as well which made it a tad unpleasant in exposed places. The pistes are holding up, there are still some scored areas and one or two well marked bare patches. Some of the steeper busier slopes are a little polished but hopefully.....
Tomorrow will be overcast and there will still be a sharp south-easterly wind at altitude, it looks like it will be snowing lightly for most of the day, it won't amount to much but it will help. I would also say that Le Fornet will probably get more than Val and so on across to Les Arcs. Sunday and Monday look very similar with sunny periods and light winds, it will feel much warmer without the wind and the temperatures in the villages will be just above zero by lunchtime, so hard pistes first thing, softening later. Tuesday and Wednesday look overcast, but with similar temperatures. Beyond that it looks much more unsettled, I don't want to curse the forecast but it could be quite snowy.......
Now regarding trains, planes and automobiles: tomorrow is going to be busier on the roads compared with last week, especially for those on the way home. With 25000 vehicles heading out of the Tarentaise there will be queues in all the usual places, especially if the snow is heavier than forecast. I would aim to be on the road by 7am or wait till mid afternoon. For the 28000 vehicles heading up the valley there will be slow traffic/jams from around lunchtime onwards. For those flying: the airports in the UK can be summed up as damp miserable and misty. This shouldn't be bad enough to cause problems like earlier in the week. The only issues I can see are fog at Leeds before breakfast, but for take off it will be fine and there may be a bit of sleet at Edinburgh that would then require a few moments for the de-icing truck to do its stuff. Over at the snowy side Lyon looks fine, it will be drab at Grenoble and Geneva for short periods, that won't cause a proble. However there is also a slim chance of short periods of mist at Chambery that may delay any approach, so maybe a hold on the ground in the UK or a few laps of the skies in France whilst it clears.
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FAQ
