 Poster: A snowHead
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| nevis1003 wrote: |
| Off piste route from Cima Carron to refuge Lac de lou good this morning. The La Masse route less so yesterday. |
interested in doing this route. Is the start easy to find?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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The start is very easy to find, From the Col de L'Audzin piste its just after the first right hand bend, you can go in where there is an obvious fence, or about 200 m before that.
I enquired with the piste security before doing it, and the snow is still unstable in places, ESF avalanched yesterday. I was told not to deviate from the route to add in any extra steep bits.
Also at the Lac, keep high to the right of it, there is a track now, which takes you to the bridge at the refuge. Don't go low or try to go to the left of the Lac.
We stuck to the route as advised, there is the occasional rock, but fairly obvious where they are lurking.
Great snow.
I can recommend the apple tart at the Refuge.
The shorter route from La Masse is a bit tracked out now.
Bon voyage...
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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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| cmacm123 wrote: |
| Any recommendations for a restaurant in Val Thorens for 8 people? Notice that some don't have great reviews but would like to hear from someone with experience? Averagely priced preferably but not a deal - breaker. Thanks |
Hotel Tango is very good. Lovely ambiance and reasonable prices (€14 pizza and €19 burgers) 
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The Hotel Tango used to be where the Scandi seasonaires went. It was wild! Does the Blanchot wine bar still exist in town? Used to do fab lunches. And does 2 Lacs still do great pizzas?
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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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Out & about in Courchevel today - lots of good piste skiing to be done BUT it went very warm from mid-morning on and everything below 2400m-ish was definitely feeling 'melty' by mid-afternoon.
Loze runs, Combe de Saulire, Combe des Pylones, Chapelets, Roc Mugnier, Bouc Blanc were all in good condition (providing you avoid the odd bare patch high up on Combe des Pylones). Jean Pachod was pretty scratchy (not surprising really), and Brigues down to Le Praz is getting a little firm in places. Rain forecast to quite high in the next day or two, so not the ideal set-up for Xmas week!!
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Pistes in VT are still excellent. More snow forecast here over the next couple of days. Pistes down from Peclet gondola were fantastic.
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Wet, heavy snow (and rain) in VT today at resort level. Lower resorts must have been pretty grim as it hasn’t stopped for about 16 hours. You didn’t have to ascend much at all to find great snow (although very flat light). Top if Peclet has at least 50cm lovely powder. Avalanche level 4 and lots of dynamite this morning.
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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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Very grim in Meribel. Still raining and snow receding fast. Hoping that the snow/rain limit will fall tonight but not sounding promising.
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The rain has stopped and the sun has come out. It is still very warm, +10C at 1800m. Ventured out late morning and the snow conditions weren't as bad as I had expected. There were fewer people on the slopes but this was probably due to being a Saturday morning.
The run down from Plattieres was slushy but quite skiable. The snow at the top of Sauliere was heavy and the pistes were pretty chewed up (even though the upper lifts had not been open for long) which made it less pleasant to ski. The snow cover on the Biche run down to Sauliere Express mid station was also pretty thin in places. A lot of snow has disappeared down the valley below Meribel. It is forecast to get colder and brighter from Tuesday.
Merry Christmas!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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What an awful start to the season, we did 10th to 17th in VT and it was so miserable we came home early. Cold and wet with not much snow - webcams seem to show the degradation has continued. Let’s hope it picks up soon.
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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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| userscott wrote: |
| What an awful start to the season, we did 10th to 17th in VT and it was so miserable we came home early. |
Bad timing... last week was actually pretty good conditions for pre-Xmas... until it started raining on Friday...
Family ski day yesterday over towards Les Menuires for a Xmas day lunch. Good snow up high (above c2600m) - top half of the runs around Cote Brune were nice cold snow. Lower down it is a different story, so aim high and stay high is currently the best (only) plan! Having said that, Brigues down to Le Praz was still actually in very reasonable condition at the end of the day - a few hard patches on the main pitch, but the boulevard to get back to Alpinium was surprisingly snowy & smooth.
Resort still felt very quiet yesterday, will be interesting to see how busy (or not) it gets in the build up to New Year.
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You know it makes sense.
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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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Out in La Tania and above today. Not much worth skiing below Bouc Blanc. There was a little snow up there last night but was quickly cut up with either ice or stones underneath. Not good for the bases! Up at Loze snow was pretty good considering Couldn’t convince the youngest to attempt Folyeres back to resort so took the gondola down. Cold in resort and forecast for -5 tonight so wonder if the cannons will be on? Otherwise not sure how it will all hold up to the forecast rain this weekend?
Still, it’s better than working!
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Poster: A snowHead
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| offpisteskiing wrote: |
The New Year crowds seem to have finally arrived - it definitely felt busier moving through the ski area today!
Much colder today - about -10 at the top of Cote Brune at 10a.m., and a nice little top up (at least up high) overnight. 5-10cms at 2500m, and 10-15 (where it had drifted in) at 3000m.
Pistes are still in a pretty sorry state down low, but up high is looking a bit better already, particularly if you go walking a bit:
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Nice pics @offpisteskiing Where was this?
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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've a question please for Val Thorens devotees.
We're planning to visit in the first week of April 2023. A friend who loves VT has advised that we avoid all of April due to lift queues and packed pistes.
But looking online, no French school zone breaks for Easter until the second weekend of April at the earliest.
Will there still be lift queues and very busy pistes during the first week?
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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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@iainm, up above Mottaret...
@Snow&skifan, won't be any worse the first week of April than plenty of other parts of the winter in my experience, and certainly the local school zone holidays only start on 8th.
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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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| Quote: |
| great snow conditions |
| Quote: |
| very good piste conditions |
Photos or it didn't happen @Bergmeister!! 
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@Bergmeister, yep my nephew and his gf were in Val T 17-24th and had a great week (until it started raining on the Friday!).
Much better weather than forecast up in Val T & Orelle today; though it started off with poor visibility the sun put in an appearance by mid-morning over in Orelle, then it the sky cleared out completely until early/mid-afternoon - a bonus when the forecast was calling for cloud and a few flakes all day (though the flakes would have been nice!).
Good snow on the pistes this morning (and quieter than expected), and some nice cold snow off the sides of the pistes around Caron & Grand Fond - given the general state of affairs the skiing was pretty good above 2400m.
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Waiting in the a ski train departure lounge, heading to Mottaret. Looking forward to not freezing to death on any lifts this week, though the next three days do look rather warm! Hopefully sunny though, we'll stay high and make the most of it.
Good signs for a small top-up on Tuesday, when temps are heading a lot closer to normal, but still a little on the warm side.
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Went to Saulire today and conditions were really good with some snow falling which was still falling on the way down to 1850 but when we arrived to get Verdons back up it was raining. Made way over to top of La Tania to head home and decided to chance Folyeres as part of me won’t get the lift down. It was very patchy and pouring rain. Not sure it will last the weekend’s forecast warm temps. Lots of bare patches all over the valley to be honest!
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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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Very mixed conditions in Meribel and Val Thorens today. Above 2200ish there was a couple of cms fresh before lunch, and above that it was generally ok, if wind swept in a few places. But the freezing level rose as the day went on, VT was slushy in the village by afternoon. My son reported the track to Les Menuires was very wet indeed at the same time.
But the forecast full sunshine didn't materialize, it was mostly bright with sunny spells, so it probably didn't get a warm as forecast either. Higher pistes and lifts were very busy as the holiday crowd tried to avoid the really bad stuff lower down. There are closed pistes here and there, plenty of stones coming through, some very thin sections, and even some grey slush moguls at one point!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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had a few hours today and very mixed indeed. Decent piste snow on the upper sections of Mottaret, Plan du Main, Cote Brune and then over to LM side in the sun and David Douillet quite good but a few slopes closed in LM and pretty busy. Back over on Meribel side and Alouette was in decent nick but the normally reliable Mouflon was poor with rocks and sheet ice in places. Julie was in fine form and the upper third or so of Mount Vallon really nice but steadily got scrapy and sugar snow lower down. Bagged it at lunch time as Marte into Mottaret is now broken up cannon sugar snow and not great with a lot of bodies.
warm and sunny forecast , pick your times, check which runs have been pisted and be in spring skiing mode with shorter days...
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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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Yesterday we skied above Courcheval and found some good pistes but more horrible icy ones.
Today we spent above Les Menuires and most of the high pistes on the Meribel side were pretty good. Hard, but with decent amounts of loose snow, and at higher elevations it didn't go slushy all day.
I also note that Les Menuires has a better quality of slush than Meribel, probably due to more snowmaking when it was cold earlier in December.
Low pistes in Mottaret are brown slush today where they were white slush yesterday.
Please send snow! Though the forecast for Sunday to next Thursday looks like constant snowfall at 2cm/hour, which wouldn't make for a great ski holiday either!
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Evening all,
Not weather related but we are staying in Reberty 2000 at the end of Jan. Can anyone recommend a decent ski hire shop or are they much a muchness?
Thanks in advance
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You know it makes sense.
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| Snow&skifan wrote: |
I've a question please for Val Thorens devotees.
We're planning to visit in the first week of April 2023. A friend who loves VT has advised that we avoid all of April due to lift queues and packed pistes.
But looking online, no French school zone breaks for Easter until the second weekend of April at the earliest.
Will there still be lift queues and very busy pistes during the first week? |
I've been to VT for the first week of April probably 6 or 7 times, and it really isn't that busy. The trick is to get out well before all the ski schools leave at 9am - if you time it wrong then you'll get stuck in a 5 minute lift queue, but that's about as bad as it gets and easily avoidable. The ski area is big enough so that if you plan your day you'll have plenty of quiet pistes (skiing Orelle on day 1 is always a winner).
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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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Just arrived back from a week staying in Orelle. Yesterday was mixed - high up was pretty good all day (Combe de Caron x 3 in the morning - lots of fun), and higher slopes in Les Menuires in pretty good shape. But by afternoon, pretty much everything mid to low was slush and melting fast (11C at Sunny according to the lift display).
Lower Mottaret was poor all week - ice followed by slush followed by brown slush as the week went on. Didn't go lower..
Went up the new (to us) gondola to Pointe De La Masse - nice lift and the top is very smart (gents - you Must go visit the gents!). The run down was pretty average though - Masse at the top was pretty good, but then ice sheets half way down and slush and grass skiing towards the bottom.
Courcheval seemed to be holding up well on NY eve - slushy, but pretty good slush cover down to the centre
TBH didn't much regret that we were not staying longer - had a great week with lots of sunshine and OK snow, but without more snow and with temperatures high it's looking like it might be a little sketchy.
Last edited by Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name: on Tue 3-01-23 7:48; edited 1 time in total
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Poster: A snowHead
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Ah yes, I used those Gents today. I had meant to go around and see if the film on the window was indeed one-way mirrored! But forgot by the time I got outside.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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A dusting in Mottaret around 8 this morning, but it didn't last long. Bushes up the hill look like they got a bit more and the radar showed more falling along the ridge so will head up there and see what we find.
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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're out to Reberty2000 this Saturday, looking at the snow conditions right now it looks like a visit to the gents loo at the top of Masse may turn out to be a trip highlight.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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There's a great view up there....
....err....
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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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| Mr_frosty wrote: |
| We're out to Reberty2000 this Saturday, looking at the snow conditions right now it looks like a visit to the gents loo at the top of Masse may turn out to be a trip highlight. |
I think George Michael once said the same thing .
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Has anyone stayed in Brides-Les-Bains for a Trois Vallee ski break? Student daughter looking to save a few ££
How long is the gondola ride and does it get shut down due to high winds much/at all? Google seems to suggest the gondola up is 25 mins one way, but that's just up to 1450m in Meribel, so that'd be the start of the ski day from there I assume.
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| kitenski wrote: |
Has anyone stayed in Brides-Les-Bains for a Trois Vallee ski break? Student daughter looking to save a few ££
How long is the gondola ride and does it get shut down due to high winds much/at all? Google seems to suggest the gondola up is 25 mins one way, but that's just up to 1450m in Meribel, so that'd be the start of the ski day from there I assume. |
The gondola is unlikely to get affected by the wind as it is sheltered. Takes you to Chaudanne (comes out behind the ice rink). Then it's a lift out of Chaudanne to start the day's skiing, so another 15-20 minutes in reality. Highly unlikely to be able to ski back to Brides (it's possible for 4-5 days a year!) so it's the bubble back down again at the end of the day.
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@kitenski, Brides is a good option for a budget base to ski the 3V. Approx 20 mins up on the bubble - but opens at 8:30 so you can be at the Chaudanne lifts in Meribel before/as they open. Have not known the bubble to shut for wind (or if it did you wouldn't want to be anywhere near the slopes anyway!).
The biggest drawback is that the bubble shuts relatively early (5pm last lift down until early Feb then 5:30) which puts a bit of a timescale on the end of the day and/or any apres...
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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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George might not have liked the one way privacy glass 
Anyway back on topic, looks like there may be snow in Les Menuires on Sunday according to snow-forecast. too far ahead to judge?
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| kitenski wrote: |
Has anyone stayed in Brides-Les-Bains for a Trois Vallee ski break? Student daughter looking to save a few ££
How long is the gondola ride and does it get shut down due to high winds much/at all? Google seems to suggest the gondola up is 25 mins one way, but that's just up to 1450m in Meribel, so that'd be the start of the ski day from there I assume. |
Not done it but I doubt it will ever be closed due to wind if it does everything above it would be closed anyway, the gondola goes up the middle of the valley through the trees and stays relatively close to the valley floor. The other consideration is that it shuts relatively early to get back down, the resort busses finish at Les Allues if I recall so not sure how to get back to Brides if you miss the lift. The gondola drops you at the Chaudanne (Meribel Town base) so it's the start of the day from there i.e. no skiing off the gondola it's straight onto another lift after a push or a walk. It does start earlier though, so you can almost make first lift out of Meribel if you're on the first gondola.
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FAQ
