Les Deux Alpes - Winter 2008-2009

Another lovely day today, sunny and really quite warm in the afternoon, but getting distinctly chilly now that the sun's going down. The forecast is for more snow and much colder temps next week, so it's all good stuff for the coming season. 2 weeks yesterday until we open. Here's a pic looking up from the bottom of the Super Viking nursery slope and showing the Y, Diable and Super Diable, so you can see that there's a fair bit of snow still left in the village.

Another very pleasant day but with the low fog again. fortunately not actually at my house. However one forecast says snow most of this week so I took the van off to the garage in LG this afternoon. I dropped down through the fog and it turned out to be a fairly thin layer, but it was much colder lower and I didn't have enough clothes on! Anyway, today's pic comes from La Grave looking up to the left of the Vallons de La Meije (it was a prettier view).

Ronald, That's great news - it'll be to see you again.

lampbus, Go on - stay another week!

Picture today is of the south facing slopes on the end of the Pied Moutet to the right of my house. I took it mainly to show what a difference the aspect makes to the snow retention. As you can see - there's not much snow on those slopes, however that doesn't matter since only a maniac would try to ski them!

It's beginning to cloud over today, which suggests that the forecasts will be right and we'll see some serious snow soon. Heavy frost overnight for the last several nights have continued the freeze into the ground, with all that nice cold melted snow in it ... all good.

Well the weather has changed. I took this photo this morning and it shows the weather coming in. It's now arrived and is pouring with rain down here, but it must be snowing not too much higher up the mountain. I'm supposed to go out in a minute and teach a beginner on a patch down here as he's been helping a friend refurbish his apartment all week and has never skied - what an introduction!

Well I think the winter has well and truly arrived. We have a north wind which is freezing and it snowed about 2-3" last night in the village. It did snow all the way down in Venosc last night, and the temps are set to drop and more snow coming in. I went to LG to collect the van today, and it only took me 1.25 hours to hitch over which is pretty good considering it imvolved 4 lifts and there was very little traffic. The van brakes seem fine again now.

It was snowing and blowing this morning and then it cleared up and we had a beautiful sunny day around midday, but it's now clouded over again and there's clearly more snow on the way. I took a photo looking up towards the Daible from the bottom of the Grand Viking (took a similar one a few days ago), but look at the snow blowing off the top of the Tete Moute, summit!

Doh - pressed the wrong button!