 Poster: A snowHead
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Viz ok above La Daille, a total whiteout above.
6” of fresh powder everywhere.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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3” on my head in an hour whilst watching the World Cup.
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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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^ haha, wow!!
Wonderful to see such great early season conditions for a change. The masses heading over for Christmas/New Year will have a great time.
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High winds now closing most of the resort and the links. Palafour has closed due to avalanche risk. Taking the transceiver to the pub!
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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, & @bar shaker, . Race commentators reckon about 40 cms fell from early morning to around lunchtime in 'Val. It did look like the wind was starting to pick up as well. Palafour closed due to avalanche risk? Not often that you hear those words!!
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@GeorgeVII, And now the same for Chaudannes and the Rosset beginners chair. Won't be long before the roads are closed at this rate. Its now snowing very heavily on the chocks scale - I can't see the Palafour from you know where!
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yup, watched it on eurosport.
Tump tump tumping it down
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Well its got to be Shakin' Stevens today:
Snow is falling
All around me
Children playing
Having fun
Not sure about the children though, the snowfall is too thick to see them! The snow and the winds were later than forecast so in the last 24 hours we had 8cm in the village and 20cm at height. But the snow has come down with a vengeance since breakfast time, we can't be far from half a meter in the village. The lifts closed progressively due to the winds and then the risk of avalanche has closed others near the village. The road between Tignes Le Lac and Les Boisses will close tonight between 2100 and 2230 for avalanche prevention. We may even see rsik 5 tomorrow if it carries on at this rate. This is a view from the balcony:
The snow and the wind will continue through the night, but it will get warmer from midnight so expect some slush around the Dam and maybe a short spell of rain in Les Brevieres. Tomorrow will see more snow and wind with a snow line around 1900m in the afternoon. The snow will peter out after dark and it will thankfully cool down again. Thankfully the winds will drop on Tuesday and we will have sunny spells and light snow showers through the day, but it wont be as bitterly cold like the end of last week. Wednesday currently looks like a good day, a bit cooler with lots of sun before snow showers arrive in the evening heralding another period of unsettled weather.
So with this amount of snow we are now set up for the Holiday period and once the pisteurs have worked their magic the conditions will be awesome. So, throw a sicky, put the kids on E Bay (or lend them to the GrandPs) and get a late booking in!
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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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Just had a peek at the webcams, absolutely chucking it down!
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I’m arriving at about lunchtime Tuesday, can’t wait to get on the powder!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@maddness, Hopefully we will be able to get high. Just cleared the balcony again, it has warmed significantly, this morning it was powder, this afternoon damp snow in the village.
Avalanche warnings now pouring out of all media, roads closed to Le Fornet from Val from 1900, etc etc.
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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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Blessed are the Cheesemakers:
These guys are normally set up about 9AM, this was taken at 7pm. It is effectively a flat roofed container that goes on the back of a lorry! (And they do have a heater in there so its likely to have settled a bit).
The road to the Dam was shut at 6 until 7 for avalanche blasting, it is now 15 cars at a time in a police convoy until it shuts at 9pm again.
Informed rumour in the pub suggests the resort will not open at all tomorrow.
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Radio Val just reported its taking 3hrs45 to get from Val to Bourg (35 mins on a good day) and the avalanche risk rises to 5/5 at 2200hrs. 
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You know it makes sense.
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Lot of resorts across the Alps tomorrow will be partly or fully closed. Looks bad.
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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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Le drapeau noir has just been hoisted on the Tignes website. Avi Risk 5/5 and its still snowing and blowing.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Lots of blasting going on at the moment and the first information on lift opening will be at 1030. It is now quite warm (4 degs on the balcony) and the fohn wind is blowing, this means there is less snow on the balcony than there was last night and its wet and soggy. The avalanche risk has dropped to four as the snow has consolidated. The official figures for fresh snow in the last 24 hours are 55cm in the village and 70cm on the Grande Motte (35 and 70 In Val D'Isere). Of course judiciously taken photos will show a lot more thanks to drifting, traps between trees etc. A lot of snowpack consolidation has gone on, Radio Val's informal pile of snow had shrunk from 60cm to 44cm in depth overnight. We are now expecting more snow and warm winds later today with a snowline at 2000m dropping to 1600m. Dreams of light fluffy powder may have been premature, there may be some at height if it has not all been scoured but the pistes will be in excellent condition.
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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 afternoon started with trying to help cars out of the LD supermarket car park. They all had to be dug out out but couldn’t drive out as just wheel span against the deep snow. We stopped helping as the cars should not have gone on the road.
We left just after 3pm instead of 5pm. It took us 3hrs to get to Bourg. Idiot French drivers with no chains and summer tyres. At St Foy the road was 2” of boiler plate ice. We watched a French X5 bounce between coaches on one side and Armco on the other as he descended, brakes fully locked up. He had no chains with him and refused to pull over.
Coaches stopped to put chains on, cars doing the same.
Utter chaos.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Palafour has just opened as the cloud comes down unfortunately, given the size of the queue, I am sat here waiting for the chaos to start!
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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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Wow! Amazing to read these tales of chaos, having been skiing casually around the area in full sun just a few days ago!
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Whilst I am sat here watching the whole of the resort on one run I have been looking into what STGM has in store for us over the next 5 years so here goes:
Next summer will see the cabins on the cable car changed to ones which can take 200 persons, almost double the current uplift. But, and a first in France, during the summer months 30 people will be able to travel in the open air on a panoramic viewing platform on the roof of the cabin (safety rails will be provided!).
Summer 18 will also see the gondola and chair out of Les Brevieres replaced with a 8 seat state of the art gondola, this will link directly to the village of Les Boisses. The gondola out of Les Boisses will also be treated to some additional bubbles increasing its capacity to 3000 people per hour.
There will be a pause in new infrastructure in 2019 but there will be a lot of behind the scenes work going on at the summit of the Grande Motte. But in 2020 the venerable but very slow Marais chair will be replaced by the latest design of chairlift to whisk you to the ‘eye of the needle’. Finally, the Aiguille Rouge chair will also be changed to a high speed detachable, completing the renovation of the whole of the lift system in the Breviere sector in 2021.
Meanwhile over in Val they have been demonstrating the new style Poma Gondolas that will grace the system out of La Daille. They will have wifi, heated seats and led lighting. It would appear that the 2 resorts (under the combined leadership of Compagnie des Alpes) are moving away from Doppelmayer lifts to Poma ones.
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@chocksaway, There’s a viewing platform on the Dachstein glacier cable car that is open in the ski season too, but great that they’re providing that in Tignes.
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@geepee, If the swing of the cabins remains like today when you go over the middle pylon its going to be quite a ride!
Well the weather Gods threw just about everything at us, first it was cold with high winds and lots of snow and then it warmed dramatically overnight with the strong fohn wind, leaving the roads slushy and the snow consolidating quickly, leaving us a very complex snowpack. This has meant the pisteurs have been blasting all day and little has been open, meaning the run down from Palafour in Tignes was very busy (as yu can see in the picture) as it was the only significant lift open. However, with the weather calming down a little I am sure there will be many more pistes open tomorrow with lots of snow. Off piste will still be very dangerous, so be very careful.
As the evening wears on the light snow will continue and the temperatures will drop to below freezing. Tomorrow will be much colder, but the wind will drop. We may even see the sun for a short time in the morning before the sky clouds over and light snow starts again. The sky should clear tomorrow night and Wednesday looks like the best day of the week with a milky sun in the morning followed by snow showers later in the afternoon. Thursday will be snowy all day, the wind will return and it will feel like winter. The forecast for Friday and Saturday is a little uncertain but fast moving snow showers and sunny spells covers it I think.
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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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@chocksaway, Very similar here in Val as you would expect. After a run or 3 over in La Daille we headed up Solaise. Viz was quite poor, with flat light and stouring snow, but it was loads better than being at work. 
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The danger of the snowpack was seen by all on Rosset. The heavy snow just off the Rosset was clearly prone to sliding. Big cracks showing. On a Snoworks off-piste course but surprised if we venture more than a few yards from the piste. Eager to get higher to see if the snow is less heavy higher up.
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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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Agree with a lot of the comments on Twitter - surely he should have had a nod to the avi risk. As for 1.5 m he has measurement issues!
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Ed could well have found stashes 1.5m deep on the Vallée Perdu.
It was balls deep on Saturday, in places.
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You know it makes sense.
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On the twitter thread there is a report of a burial in the piste perdu, but got out ok. Wouldn’t be my choice of itinerary with all that overhanging fresh snow.
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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 wouldn't have gone down the Vallée on Monday. But then I doubt you needed to go more than 3m past the poles for some huge fun.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Really looking forward to getting out to Tignes for New Year! Fab pictures.
All the online Piste maps for Espace Killy seem to be a couple of years out of date -they show the old Solaise Express and the other lift to Solaise out of Val d' instead of the new replacement gondola. Presumably there's new piste maps printed for this year? Are they online anywhere?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| MSG101 wrote: |
Really looking forward to getting out to Tignes for New Year! Fab pictures.
All the online Piste maps for Espace Killy seem to be a couple of years out of date -they show the old Solaise Express and the other lift to Solaise out of Val d' instead of the new replacement gondola. Presumably there's new piste maps printed for this year? Are they online anywhere? |
This is the one on the Val website. Seems to have the latest lifts on it, although people on here have said Santons is now red, not blue (at last):
http://www.valdisere.com/plandespistes/fr/?fullscreen=true
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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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@bar shaker, I've no doubt he found the odd gully with that much snow but I do object to the overplaying of fun versus the understatement of risk and exaggeration to make him look good. Don't know about you but my assets are a lot less than 1.5m of the floor 
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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 todays song has to go to Perry Como:
Magic moments, when three hearts are ski-in'
Magic moments, mem'ries we've been sharing
The sun was shining this morning and after yesterdays warm spell it was cold overnight and another 15-25cm had fallen from the sky. So with far more than a nod to the avalanche risk 4 we stayed on relatively gentle slopes in the Palet area. The higher you got the lighter the snow was, not champagne powder but very, very enjoyable. As the resort is not that busy this week there were freshtracks all morning. The breeze picked up and it was quite chilly by lunchtime when suddenly the cloud that had been threatening closed in and we have had light to moderate snow showers for a couple of hours. Here's a view of our tracks early doors:
The light snow will peter out this evening and it will be a chilly one. Tomorrow will be a game of two halves, I'm just not sure how long the first half will last. The day will start chilly with the sun shining, perhaps through a milky layert off cloud. This cloud will build through the morning and at some stage it will become overcast, the breeze will pick up and it will start snowing gently. Overnight, the winds will pick up and the snow will become heavier. Thursday will be a white out with high winds, snow, much avalanche prevention and high lifts closed. The wind should drop overnight into Friday, I am expecting snow in the morning and sunny periods in the afternoon with light snow showers. Saturday seems like a day of high speed snow showers with sunny spells. If all goes to plan we should have another 20-40cm by the weekend.
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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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Mike Douglas had a pic of a slide to the right of the old mogul area... said its very sketchy out and they did training today instead of skiing...
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| chocksaway wrote: |
| @bar shaker, I've no doubt he found the odd gully with that much snow but I do object to the overplaying of fun versus the understatement of risk and exaggeration to make him look good. Don't know about you but my assets are a lot less than 1.5m of the floor |
Can't disagree with that!
Here's some of what Ed did today, above the Tichot. It's a bit slow to get going but the snow looks amazing.
https://www.facebook.com/Mpora/videos/10154962261907854/
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| chocksaway wrote: |
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That is art!!
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Well Ed certainly found the best guy to go with in Will. Not so sure about the lightest powder ever in the Alps, it was good but not that light. Perhaps he doesn't spend much time here.
Off to the pub now, need a drink after spending a fortune in the tourer's toyshop (they call it Mountain Attitude in Rue de la Poste) 
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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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That video of Ed looks like the Balme / Tour de Pramecou finish bit??
I know they said the pisteurs had bombed it, but how they heck did they get there on boards today with all that fresh snow?? I remember a big walk over the flat glacier when I went that way many years ago, and I presume Col des Ves wasn't open, or is it possible to get over there from the top of Palet with a bit / lot of walking?? Wasn't that the slope that slid onto the piste last year?
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@endoman, Just off out, I'll have another look but I think they were in the Lognan area, on that peak a third of the way down the stade. I saw a group up there and there were some bombed bits. Can't remember what time they went live but Lanches didn't open until 1130. I have see no one up Col du Ves yet.
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