 Poster: A snowHead
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| chocksaway wrote: |
| @endoman, They were this morning on the village roads it was like a skating rink. |
Ah, well that would just be a great finish to the day for them, I think they are still driving having left home at midnight....
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Ski lots wrote: |
| @dave_3, all well covered no significant closures due to lack of snow. Some were a little slick today, due to recent wind and a bit of rain at lower altitudes. |
Thanks. Is it the slush fest that people are saying it is?
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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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@dave_3, there was a little slush a few days ago, but generally no.
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| dave_3 wrote: |
| Ski lots wrote: |
| @dave_3, all well covered no significant closures due to lack of snow. Some were a little slick today, due to recent wind and a bit of rain at lower altitudes. |
Thanks. Is it the slush fest that people are saying it is? |
'Slush fest' - where the hell do people get that from... a couple of slopes a little soft for one afternoon in a couple of places maybe but I would not call it a slush fest! Today could not have been more opposite form what I experienced!
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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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If by slush fest you mean resort level roads and pavements are covered by a layer of blue ice that makes walking in ski boots interesting, then yes! 
Pistes are in fact in excellent condition generally although hard surface
Off piste tricky depends on orientation but rock hard surfaces due to freeze after rain and wind too tough for me!
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Having just left after a week I would agree with the above.
Pistes conditions generally very good, though there are some hard patches.
We didn't find much worthwhile off piste and stopped looking.
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Saw a lot of blood wagons rescuing people today. Was murder on a couple of bottle neck pistes with lots of frantic day trippers and first dayers about.
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Just back from a week in VC. You needed the whole arsenal of techniques to negotiate the slopes. A seasons worth of conditions in a single week. Rain made the lower slopes slick to say the least.
Saw a French dude at the bottom of Liesse covered in snow with a rather contorted helmet/goggles arrangement, his mates laughing uncontrollably.
Plenty at Chambery airport in slings, casts and even a broken leg. Whether they were skiing injuries or just negotiating the treacherous pavements was open to question.
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Easily done. Had a friend injure her LCL on the way back from a restaurant on the first night in VC last year. 
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Another sunny morning, with a bit of high cloud in the afternoon. It was a bit warmer last night so the pistes were slightly less hard, generally. There was the usual Sunday faffing at lifts etc but off we set for a cruise round Palafour. I then got in the Tov gondola and just before the doors closed a bloke jumped in sat down, looked at me and said Hi *insert chocks RAF nickname* it's been a while. We last flew together 23 years ago. So I shot off over to Val with him as he had to meet his wife for lunch and had a chat. Santons was only mildly chaotic. I then popped back via the Funi and Leisse, where the snow is still good. Then back home round the Palet Bowl for a spot of chalet duties etc.
Tomorrow will be a mix of sunshine and cloud, at times it might be overcast, the cloud layer will mean its warmer overnight and cooler during the day, so hopefully the pistes won't be rock hard. There will also be quite a lot of cloud on Tueaday, we should see the sun in the morning though, a bit of a grey afternoon. Wednesday looks like unbroken sunshine and Thursday cloudy all day. The end of the week looks sunny and very mild.
Oh for fans of the Croq Burger on the Rosset front - it's gone - so another cheap lunch option popular with kids has gone. There has been furious work going on and it has reopened as a champagne bar combined with an up market estate agent (Sotherby's International based in Monaco). It all looks very trendy and minimalist and out of my price range!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Well @chocksaway, sounds like our ideas about Col des Ves are being put into practice: the radio this morning said that Pramecou piste will be prepared regularly for us to use as a skinning track.
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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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@bobski62, Splendid! Now if only our thought processes could be applied to other matters......
So today was sunny, a very thin layer of cloud appeared at altitude, but everybody still had a shadow so no real problems. It was warm and there was little breeze. So in preparation for when there is some snow I decided to skin up Palafour again, a little perspiration was shed! As I got to the top of the dedicated skinning track a couple of French millenials came down the track - so I explained they were skiing in the wrong place and ignoring signs (Passage Interdite) was not a good thing. I got to the top and was just in the process of transitioning when 2 guides from the Bureau de Guides lead a large group of off pisters down the dedicated track. If the cream of mountain professionals are not going to uphold the laws of the piste - what hope is there for safe skiing?
Tomorrow will be a bit cooler on account of a layer of cloud at high level, there may be sunny spells in the morning but overall a bit overcast. Hopefully, there will still be enough light. On Wednesday, it should be a day of sunny spells, the cloud should dissipate in the afternoon. Thursday we are back to cloud as a very weak front approaches from the North, so nice in the morning and vloudy in the afternoon with quite strong winds developing (keep an eye on the links). Friday, looks like starting cloudy and brightening up and getting warmer - no snow with this front unfortunately. The wekend forecast would be more suited to Benidorm!
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@chocksaway, Tragic news about Croq Burger, it feels like all the solid institutions of a few years ago are being sold off and the gentrification continues..............
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You know it makes sense.
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It doesn't happen to me that often, but both this year and last year, I managed to get one of the best weeks of the season.
Last year was 21st - 28th of Jan, which missed the rain, followed by snowy week and timed it for mostly sun, with a top up of snow mid week.
This year, I was there from 7th - 14th Jan.....so missed the travel chaos the week before and the delays due to French farmers, while having excellent snow quality/coverage, reasonably low temperatures and 3.5 days sun....and great company, thanks to the power of  I'll take that every time.
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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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| GreenDay wrote: |
| @chocksaway, Tragic news about Croq Burger, it feels like all the solid institutions of a few years ago are being sold off and the gentrification continues.............. |
Indeed, I must ask the palace when my peerage is coming through. Baron Chocksaway of Chardonnet has a certain ring to it.
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Poster: A snowHead
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With Croq B shut can anyone suggest "cheap" lunchtime pitstops ? I know the self service at Borsat Lift is v reasonable & does a great Tatiflette
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I also hear Marmott Pub in Le Lac is under New Mgt ? Still as good as ever ?
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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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@Charlie333, Possibly - they've no longer got the two "Camden Ales" on draft, and still don't sell pork scratchings either. The staff wee also different to previous years during the PiPAU. However, the burgers were as good as ever.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| chocksaway wrote: |
| GreenDay wrote: |
| @chocksaway, Tragic news about Croq Burger, it feels like all the solid institutions of a few years ago are being sold off and the gentrification continues.............. |
Indeed, I must ask the palace when my peerage is coming through. Baron Chocksaway of Chardonnet has a certain ring to it. |
If they close the Umbu, you will have to sell up as well.............. 
| Charlie333 wrote: |
| With Croq B shut can anyone suggest "cheap" lunchtime pitstops ? I know the self service at Borsat Lift is v reasonable & does a great Tatiflette |
If you are asking about cheap pitstops in Lac?
"La Croise" to the right of the Sherpa opposite the Lagoon does great coffee, sandwiches etc etc. Not as scenic a view as Croq, but it does what it says on the tin.
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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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@Charlie333, There has been a right swap round which I haven't got a complete grip of. The Marmotte Arms lads have sold, some of the staff from Moose have taken over, and 1 has gone to run the Terrachu as a seasonaire bar. Somewhere along the line there was a major falling out as well! But friends report the burgers are just as good at Marmottes.
La Croise is still very good value, and is bigger than last year, also next door to that is the Sherpa which do a very reasonable Chick and Chips etc.
@GreenDay, The Embu is not what it was - someone has turned that vacuum on the roof into an atmosphere vacuum! For me its now Kodo, QDC, or what was Boulele - now deux boules as the 2 lads have taken over.
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There was a very thin layer of cloud at height today - which took a bit of the sting out of the Sun - which was probably a good thing as it was quite warm. A team of us had a cruise round and went up the Grande Motte - the queue for the cable car was large (presumably why the pistes seemed quieter!). But there was some nice chalky snow off piste on the Lanches-Vanoise direct route. Leisse is still in good condition - a modicum of skill required. We then dropped down Genepy and some of the off piste again was perfect chalk - just avoid the frozen Sastrugi if you want to keep your teeth. Overall the pistes are in OK-good condition as they have been softened a bit by the warmth and the resort staffs have done a good job with the bashers and the snow cannons. We popped down to Rosies for a coffee, the pistes below the Folly are quite hard but the artificial allows those who know what they're doing to ski fine. Another trip on Lanches over lunch found nice empty pistes and then a ride round home and finished on some springlike stuff on the East Face of the Bec Rouge!
Now its not often we say this - but the avalanche risk is now 1. However, there is still a chance of a biggy. We have been watching a whale mouth above the top of the Grand Huit - its getting wider and wider and the snow below it is being compressed into 'ridges' (a bit like solifluction on a grassy slope). I suspect when it goes it will be spectacular - maybe through heating of the rocks above or the ground in the mouth itself, together with a bit of melt water.
Tomorrow will be a bit cooler, the morning like today - a veil of cloud. But bright sun will emerge for the afternoon. A weak, dieing cold front will pass on Thursday, it will bring reasonably strong winds and a lot of cloud and maybe a flocon or two - but nothing to get remotely excited about. The cloud will remain at altitude on Friday morning, just a thin layer, followed by a glorious afternoon - frantic Friday anyone? Saturday will be stupidly warm (O deg Isotherm above the Grand Motte) and sunny all day. other than a flocon on Thursday no more snow for a week or so at least.
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| Charlie333 wrote: |
| With Croq B shut can anyone suggest "cheap" lunchtime pitstops ? I know the self service at Borsat Lift is v reasonable & does a great Tatiflette |
G’s Pot is nice too if you like Asian food. Next to La Croisse.
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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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@gixxerniknik, 
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| Charlie333 wrote: |
| I also hear Marmott Pub in Le Lac is under New Mgt ? Still as good as ever ? |
My spies say "yes" and continue to patronise...
I think Embuscade is also under new management; seems more French seasonaire oriented and livens up after they all come off their shifts. I'm generally gone by then preferring a quiet pint and a chat rather than the lively end of affairs.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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With no new snow on the horizon for at least 10 days, is it cold enough for the pistes to hold up are is there deterioration already evident. what is the prognosis from those on the ground.
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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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@mcg, see the daily updates from @chocksaway, one from yesterday with an update on conditions is 5 posts above yours!!
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The pistes are holding up remarkably well, all you'll need is sharp edges and a PMA. As for outlook on temps and forecast, @chocksaway, is your man...
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You know it makes sense.
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Day off today, so nothing of note to say apart from the fact there seems to have been a load of helos around and the red ambulances have been blue lighting past my building all day. It has mostly been like yesterday - just high clouds but never enough to affect the light.
The cold front approaching from the North-west is fizzling out as we speak, so the chances of any snow tomorrow are some where close to zero. There will be more cloud about but less than we thought yesterday, so glimpses of the sun. It will be cooler though, so an extra layer would not go amiss as there will be a stiff breeze, nothing strong enough to shut any lifts as we speak. Friday will be a couple of degrees warmer, a veil of cloud in the morning at height which will dissipate to leave a sunny afternoon. The temperatures will ramp up on Saturday and it will be glorious sunshine all day - a day for the terrace or even some spring skiing. Sunday will be a repeat of Saturday.
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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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| Quote: |
there seems to have been a load of helos around and the red ambulances have been blue lighting past my building all day
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I don't think I've ever seen so many stretchers out on the slopes as I did this morning. And probably the worst I've ever seen for appalling skiing and snowboarding behaviour. I'll be glad when this week's over.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@chocksaway, there was an accident off piste below one of the gullies above the fresse lift. Saw the heli drop off a couple of doctors then go back later to pick everyone up. Not sure what happened. Dont know if there’s some kind of page like the Mountain rescue teams in the lake district - would be interesting seeing the skill of the work of those involved in these types of rescues.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| bobski62 wrote: |
| Quote: |
there seems to have been a load of helos around and the red ambulances have been blue lighting past my building all day
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I don't think I've ever seen so many stretchers out on the slopes as I did this morning. And probably the worst I've ever seen for appalling skiing and snowboarding behaviour. I'll be glad when this week's over. |
Getting quite fed up of people skiing crowded, bump ridden pistes like their very identity and fibre of being rests upon skiing it as unsafely as possible. Saw a bloke slaloming very closely round some very hesitant beginners on a bumpy green run earlier… i shouted at him for being a such a duck.
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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 heli activity across here in Val has increased this morning and evening.
Not the rescue heli’s but the visitors from other resorts.
One phrase I never expected to hear in the Rosée Blanche is “ What heli are we on darling ?” “The blue one or black one?”
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@Extremophile, there's a great french doc on the Chamonix heli rescue team, Angels of the Sky or something
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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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| mcg wrote: |
| With no new snow on the horizon for at least 10 days, is it cold enough for the pistes to hold up are is there deterioration already evident. what is the prognosis from those on the ground. |
I addressed this very thing on my instagram feed today as best i could (@SteveAngusSnow)... basically things are holding up very well to be honest... there is lovely chalk about off piste, the pistes generally are very good albeit the odd slick area busy parts or lower slopes and some soft areas but certainly the cloud cover is protecting the slopes. It will evolve over the next week or so but at the moment its all OK!
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| Extremophile wrote: |
| @chocksaway, there was an accident off piste below one of the gullies above the fresse lift. Saw the heli drop off a couple of doctors then go back later to pick everyone up. Not sure what happened. Dont know if there’s some kind of page like the Mountain rescue teams in the lake district - would be interesting seeing the skill of the work of those involved in these types of rescues. |
The best place certainly in Val is the Instagram and Facebook page for the Val d'Isere Slope Patrol - plenty of stuff and pics and vids etc posted on there!
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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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Overcast and damp! It was quite cold with the damp air (but it did make for an invasion of aliens on their lenticularis clouds - if you like that sort of thing!). There was also a stiff breeze above 2400m which did close the Cable Car. But, for piste skiing there was enough light, especially down to Brevieres (2 runs and coffee) and then a whizz up to Vanoise and down Genepy and home via Tufs and Trolles (first time for one of the group - go G!). In general the pistes are firm to very firm with a scattering of sugary snow on top, there was only a couple of times when my edges let go. Of piste there is still plenty of chalky stuff where the previous days sun have flattened out all the bumps and lumps. After we got back some hill fog drifted up the valley and obscured the tops.
By the time the lifts open in the morning, the cloud should have all but dissipated leaving a gloriously sunny day. A bit warmer than today and with the light winds and little wind it will feel quite a bit warmer. The temperatures ramp up on Saturday and that will be the first of 3 days of unseasonably warm weather, blue skies and maybe spring snow and a few spring like avalanches after lunch as everything heats up. There is change coming, but not till the end of next week, the first big transfer day could be a challenge!
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yes that one is good and so is their insta feed but this one summarises stuff nicely
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FAQ
