 Poster: A snowHead
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@HoneyBunny, Great question, I see @muppet still hasn't replied
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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 bit late on parade as we had a gentlemen's day in Ste Foy. The skies were a deep blue, with only the gentlest of breezes. The pistes were hard first thing but progressively softened. But the place was deserted:
So it was a good old charge round and a fine meal at the Marquise, looking right down the Valley. Bizareely for Ste F,we saw nobody off piste, not one!
The next 4 days will be very similar to today but a couple of degrees warmer. There may be a few clouds around the peaks, maybe not. the sky will cloud over on Sunday evening as a front approaches, but it will be so weak there won't be much weather.
As for the long term forecast it looks like a week of light April showers from Monday onwards, some forecasts are showing a bit of snow, some are showing more. Luckily up here most of them will be snow, not so down the valley, especially on Tuesday. But the confidence in the forecast is very low so offering a prediction on snow amounts would be a bit like pin the tail on the donkey!
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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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Another sunny day in paradise and a little it warmer. I met up with some friends who were back for their second week this year (wise people and what a bargain from a TO). So it was mainly a Solaise day where the pistes are excellent, as ever Arcelle had its moments though! There is the odd rock appearing lower down (Piste L) but easily avoidable. Lunch was taken at The Oeilette - is there a better place in the sun - answers on a postcard.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday will all be sunny and bright, there may be a bit more of a breeze tomorrow and a drop of a couple of degrees. Order will be restored on Saturday. The April showers start bang on time on Monday, currently there is much debate over the rest of the week but on Monday they will be light if they happen at all, maybe better to not have them as the snowline will be at 2700m!!
Forgot to mention, a Brit on his birthday left Brev late on Tuesday evening and decided to walk to Lac up the piste, but fell of a cliff and needed a night helo rescue!
In other news the Mayor of Bourg is organising an anti-Brexit demo on Saturday at the railway station - clearly they are desperate that we still come and ski and hope those in power in France do not make it difficult for us...........
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| chocksaway wrote: |
In other news the Mayor of Bourg is organising an anti-Brexit demo on Saturday at the railway station - clearly they are desperate that we still come and ski and hope those in power in France do not make it difficult for us........... |
I believe that's on Saturday 6th April?
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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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It’s the ones in power in London that he needs to protest 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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They will be able to join in with the gillet jeune protestors
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| chocksaway wrote: |
| Lunch was taken at The Oeilette - is there a better place in the sun - answers on a postcard. |
A huge slice of Quiche at Ouillette, on a sunny day, is the best lunch in the whole of EK. Just don't arrive between 1pm and 2.30pm and expect to get a seat.
For anyone out for the closing weekend, the Ouliette waterski event over a hole in the lake will have you crying with laughter. If you are planning on having a go, there are extra marks for a good fancy dress outfit. The event happens on the Saturday.
Also coming up is the Monoski World Cup. Another crazy EK event and well worth going to watch. 80s outfits, tricks on monoskis, followed by a huge BBQ with Norman Jay deejaying. MWC is 10th April. In the past, this has been followed by the Coco closing party. A day your liver will never recover from!
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Fri 29-03-19 14:24; edited 1 time in total
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| chocksaway wrote: |
| In other news the Mayor of Bourg is organising an anti-Brexit demo on Saturday at the railway station - clearly they are desperate that we still come and ski and hope those in power in France do not make it difficult for us........... |
So it ought to be a pro-nice-Brexit demo...
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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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Tignes last week of April
Are there blues and easier reds on the Glacier/top of the funicular?
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| up4it wrote: |
Tignes last week of April
Are there blues and easier reds on the Glacier/top of the funicular? |
Only reds and blacks, but they are very easy for reds.
The blue down is called Genepy and is not an easy blue. It is pretty steep in places. It is definitely not to be tried on a snowboard unless you are advanced ability, as it requires you to carry a lot of speed to run out of some of the flats/uplifts.
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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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Not so frantic Friday today as the pistes are still not busy and likely to be quieter next week...... Met an old friend up on the Solaise today, so not a great deal to report as the conditions were the same as yesterday, there was a cheeky breeze up there. We did pop over to Fornet - where the snow on the Pissaillas is excellent.
Tomorrow will be similar to today, maybe a bit less breeze and Sunday likewise. the showers seem to have disappeared out of Mondays forecast but there will be quite a lot of cloud about, still some sunny spells though. On Tuesday the April showers start, so sunshine and showers - they may be of rain up to village level in the morning but then it is going to cool down rapidly. The remainder of the week seems to be made up of heavy snow showers (lets hope we are lucky and they all dump here!) and really quite cold with daytime highs of just about zero in the main villages - should help stretch the snow out till Easter.
For the travellers tomorrow the roads will be early January quiet with 22000 vehicles heading both ways, so really not many delays. For flying the UK will be a bit misty with a slim chance of fog at Birmingham, Bristol and Stansted, nothing really to worry about on current forecasts. Over here, it wil seem like late spring as you drag your cases to the bus!
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You know it makes sense.
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Another sunny day with a cooling light mountain breeze. We had a ski round the almost perfect and quiet pistes and then it was time for the Aeroclub BBQ. Many thanks to those magnificent men in their flying machines Loic and Felix for hosting the do - what a day for it:
As you can see there were quite a few visitors from other resorts. Tonight is also the local cancer (SOLEA) charity ball at La Queue de Cochon - busy old day in the Alps!
Tomorrows weather will be a carbon copy of today. Monday wil start with sunny periods and fluffy clouds, these will progressively coalesce until the sky is overcast in the afternoon. there may be a light shower of snow after dark. Tuesday will be a bit cooler, with a breeze and the sky will be covered by clouds all day. A light snow shower is possible, especially in the afternoon and evening. Wednesday will be cooler again with a gusty wind. looks like we are in for snow showers all day, some of them heavy. The snowline may be as high as 2200m in the morning, it will soon drop to 1400m in the afternoon. Beyond that very showery!
Cant see any snags in the forecast at the airports for tomorrow, the roads will be quiet - unless, like today when a couple of accidents caused some bother! As for blokes with flags atop St Pancras - who knows!
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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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Guess what - it was sunny again, the last mates of the season departed early (after a late finish and the clocks...) so Chez Chocks looks a little like Widow Twankies Laundry with the odd freezer drawer laid about; the wind down has started. However, I did get chance to do an hours exercise by popping up from Lac to the top of Palafour - seemed quite hard work for some reason. Hopefully, it will have woken my legs up for tomorrow, potentially quite a big day out. The pistes seemed quiet out there.
Now the weather, as its April its going to be showery so the following may well only be a trend but here goes anyway. Tomorrow will start pretty much like today, but the air is likely to be a bit warmer. Fluffy clouds will build up through the day, and then a thin layer of high cloud will appear in the afternoon. Tuesday will be cooler and much cloudier - amounts vary but pretty overcast I think. There maybe some cloud thick enough for some light snow showers in the afternoon. Wednesday currently looks like a grey day with light snow showers by day, heavier in the evening and through the night. A gusty wind will make it feel like winter. Thursday appears to be very snowy, it will be showery in nature so we may see glimpses of the sun - a bit far off to tell. As to how much snow the Apps are going wild and producing wildly varying estimates could be anything between a few inches and a foot and a half - take your pick!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Starting to look at real forecasts now as we're arriving on Saturday. Jet stream looked like it was bringing colder air south over the next few days, fingers crossed for chilly days as I don't much like slush!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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That's the one. Bizarrely my GF is dead keen on doing this 
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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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Big day out - more later as I have to disappear and herd cats - dinner for 30 tonight.
Weather- no major changes may be a few sunny spells in the morning!
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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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Twas a little late last night, after the dinner, one of the instructors from new gen (an Italian) decided that he wanted to beat me at darts.......
So yesterday we decided to do the West Face of the Pramecou, in total about 3 and a half hours skinning, once committed there is no way back than the big skin so you definitely need someone who knows the route. You can see the bottom of the valley from the GM Cable Car and the lateral moraine that looks like a man made feature it is so uniform. So it is a route not well frequented, there were only a few tracks and we had everything from compacted powder, to death cookies and slush via some spring snow, no actual ice though. I imagine it will be a good one to do early in the winter, a few days after a dump when the risk has reduced. The up close views of the Grande Casse were stunning:
The ski down was a pleasant off piste run:
And for all the geography buffs - there is just about every glacial feature in the book:
Anyway after a big day and a reasonable sized night today was designated admin, end of season cleaning continued and then an on line chat in French to try and sort out an unstable internet connection. I must say Oranges self test and on line chat were excellent - he was very patient as I translated stuff which really os part of the dark arts to me. Anyway the Orange Man approacheth Tignes tomorrow afternoon, luck the weather is a bit skosh!
The weather today was a little better this morning, enough ligh but after lunch it became cloudy and grey, a few flocons and spots of drizzle have drifted past the window.
Tomorrow will be cloudy and windy all day, the precipitation will be light until lunchtime, it then becomes persistent and potentially heavy. The snowline is forecast to be around 1700m until late afternoon when the temperature plummets, we will have to see if much damage is done by heavy rain further down the valley. Of course above the villages this snow will make a big difference to the pre Easter week. Thursday morning will also be snowy and windy; there should be a few breaks in the cloud in the afternoon to allow us to enjoy the fresh, but the avalanche risk is likely to jump with the wind, new snow, rain lower down etc. Friday looks like a mostly sunny day with a few clouds moving around, a bit cool for the time of year. Perhaps the Marmottes will need to don a scarf! Saturday, is probably going to be a day of sunny spells. How much snow - difficult to be precise; there is an intense part of the weather system which is just going to miss us, so currently about 20-30cm, but it could be significantly more - or less!
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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 wrote: |
Twas a little late last night, after the dinner, one of the instructors from new gen (an Italian) decided that he wanted to beat me at darts.......
So yesterday we decided to do the West Face of the Pramecou, in total about 3 and a half hours skinning, once committed there is no way back than the big skin so you definitely need someone who knows the route. You can see the bottom of the valley from the GM Cable Car and the lateral moraine that looks like a man made feature as it is so uniform. So it is a route not well frequented, there were only a few tracks and we had everything from compacted powder, to death cookies and slush via some spring snow, no actual ice though. I imagine it will be a good one to do early in the winter, a few days after a dump when the risk has reduced. The up close views of the Grande Casse were stunning:
The ski down was a pleasant off piste run:
And for all the geography buffs - there is just about every glacial feature in the book:
You can just see the middle pylon on the Cable Car.
Anyway after a big day and a reasonable sized night today was designated admin, end of season cleaning continued and then an on line chat in French to try and sort out an unstable internet connection. I must say Oranges self test and on line chat were excellent - he was very patient as I translated stuff which really is part of the dark arts to me. Anyway the Orange Man approacheth Tignes tomorrow afternoon, lucky the weather is a bit skosh!
The weather today was a little better this morning, enough light but after lunch it became cloudy and grey, a few flocons and spots of drizzle have drifted past the window.
Tomorrow will be cloudy and windy all day, the precipitation will be light until lunchtime, it then becomes persistent and potentially heavy. The snowline is forecast to be around 1700m until late afternoon when the temperature plummets, we will have to see if much damage is done by heavy rain further down the valley. Of course above the villages this snow will make a big difference to the pre Easter week. Thursday morning will also be snowy and windy; there should be a few breaks in the cloud in the afternoon to allow us to enjoy the fresh, but the avalanche risk is likely to jump with the wind, new snow, rain lower down etc. Friday looks like a mostly sunny day with a few clouds moving around, a bit cool for the time of year. Perhaps the Marmottes will need to don a scarf! Saturday, is probably going to be a day of sunny spells. How much snow - difficult to be precise; there is an intense part of the weather system which is just going to miss us, so currently about 20-30cm, but it could be significantly more - or less! |
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Not sure what happened up there!
Anyway just a couple of hours on piste this morning so I was back in time for my appointment with Monsieur Internet Orange at 1pm. Got back at 1150 to find him down a manhole at the other side of the road, anyway he didn't need me. But he worked through lunch (!!!) and things are much better but not perfect, they will be fixed by early next week according to my Client Space (at least the status is orange not red).
The weather has arrived about 6 hours late, which meant some piste skiing this morning but variable conditions on piste - quite a few death cookies down into La Daille, crossing ski tips required a fair degree of acrobatics to stay upright!
It will soon get snowier and windy, the heaviest sow will be in the middle of the night. Nothing has settled on the roads yet and I think we are now looking at nearer 20cm in total. Tomorrow will be cold windy and snowy until late afternoon when a few breaks may appear as the lift closes. Expect high lifts to be closed and perhaps some avalanche blasting. Friday looks sunny and pleasantly warm with little wind, there will be some bubbly cloud in the afternoon. Saturday is going to be a mixed day, quite breezy in the morning and more cloud in the afternoon with a chance of a light snow shower. Sunday will probably be a day of showers and sunny spells, a shower in the morning could be rain up to about 2000m. next week will be a real mixed bag.
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Where's the best online website for viewing the weather at Tignes?
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webcams tab at tignes.net
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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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Does not look like they’ve had much
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Well it was a snowy and quite breezy morning, but I was out with New Gen for a day off piste. The official scores were 8cm in the village, 20 up top, Val D'Isere had 7 and 5cm officially. It snowed most of the day, sometimes heavily with just occasional bursts of some brighter bits. The avalanche risk was 2 but there were a lot of surface slips of new snow on top of the hard crust below (just like my balcony so no surprises really), so a little disconcerting at times.
We started on familial and then looped round onto Spatule where there were some nice pitches, but once in the trees you had to pick a different route to those in front as it was all just pushing off leaving the horrors beneath. The light faded so we did some drill on Face to help with narrow couloirs and then to the Solaise and down Mattis to drop through the trees to be between Laisinant and Fornet. We then had a forgettable lunch at the Sun Bar, the fries were pretty much like the snow down there, soft and unappealing. North face of the Borsat followed that, nice snow in the gullies, but not too close to the mini ridges as sharks lay beneath. After catching a rock I managed two powder turns on one ski - good job we had been practising earlier . The final run of the day will remain secret as that's wghere I'll be in the morning, thigh - or slightly higher light snow, but skied in cloud so a tad tricky.
After I finished last night we had a full turn out of the local Fire Service, the wood fired pizza oven at The Pignatta in VC had got out of control - 3 light smoke inhalation cases - hope everyone is OK.
The weather tomorrow, after winter today spring will return. the sky will clear at some stage tonight so it will be a cold and sunny morning. But warming up by lunch when a few clouds may bubble up. From Saturday onwards the frontal charts are all a bit indistinct, so what follows is mainly a trend. Saturday will start sunny with a few clouds - these will then thicken and it will become overcast, probably! there may well be some snow showers overnight and the same through Sunday which will be mainly overcast, though one forecast has it as sunny. Monday - mainly sunny with a few clouds here and there, this forecast will change!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@chocksaway, who on earth suggested lunch at the Sun bar?
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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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@Dr John, A visitor who didn't want to walk a bit in Val!
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Coming out to Val Claret tomorrow. The forecast seems to be changing by the hour but at least there's been some fresh stuff this week. Very excited but have an afternoon at work to get through first!
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You know it makes sense.
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"The final run of the day will remain secret as that's where I'll be in the morning, thigh - or slightly higher light snow, but skied in cloud so a tad tricky.".........
Well the sun came out, there was the thinnest layer of high cloud at first but then it was a bluebird day. And the secret was out - we were at the Col de Ves 20 seconds before it opened, luckily the ESG group ahead of us decided to have a faff at the top - so we had the choice of any number of pitches of relatively light fresh snow Yaaaahooooooooo. It had settled a bit overnight but it was still over the knees first thing. Next off was a trip down Grande balme - but by now there was a lot of powder fever and even more off piste tomfoolery - we came round the traverse to find 15 people stood in a tight group at the top of the slope. So we took a different line to avoid them - lucky as they skied down as a pack - clueless. Next time round we did the first pitch again as nobody had followed our tracks, bizarrely. The Palet drag followed, by now the sun was having an effect on any slope it had cast its glow over, so harder work on the legs, so after a couple of runs it was time for a Coco pizza and coffee. The early bird gets the worm at this time of year! It was now time to go higher, cooler and north facing so 2 laps of the chairs up to the Panoramique, including a trip down Leisse. By 2.15 it was time for a siesta. The pistes are in great condition now, even Bluets which is first to turn brownish around Lac is a pristine white. With the lowish temperatures next week visitors are in for a treat.
As promised the forecast is changing! We are stuck in a flabby airmass that lacks any real clarity other than showers. No doubt App fiends will have seen that snowforecast are promising 86cm over the next 6 days, more detailed models such as the Swiss and Norwegian are offering around 20, we shall see........ Saturday will be mainly cloudy, it will be high to start with so the morning shouldn't be too bad but the cloud will thicken and there may be a snow shower around teatime plus or minus a bit. There will be a cheeky wind at altitude and as the next few days are cooler than average then it will feel more like late Feb. Sunday appears to be a day of clouds and snow showers, very light in te morning, it will be snowy down to the Dam, maybe a bit dam in Brev. Monday looks like being better, sunny spells with more cloud bubbling up after lunch which could trigger a shower or two in the afternoon. Tuesday is a long way away in weather terms, but probably showery, but not bad.
For those travelling tomorrow, the roads will be busier than last week on the way up with 26000 vehicles heading here, so a few queues mid afternoon at the usual places. Going down should not be an issue with 18000 vehicles.
For the fliers no snags at all as far as I can see, might be a bit drizzly round London and in Scotland and fine over here.
For the last departure of the Eurostar from Bourg tomorrow morning you will be treated to a demo by the local resorts in support of the Brits and expressing their worries about Brexit. Its organised by Monsieur Le Maire so should be absolutely peaceful - they have promised to dish out Croissants and Coffee. They have released data to say that 500 000 Brits visit the Tarentaise each year so one can see the economic argument for the show of affection!!
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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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| chocksaway wrote: |
We are stuck in a flabby airmass that lacks any real clarity other than showers.
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You've neatly summed up just about everything there, never mind the weather! 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Is the video above the 'even more off piste tomfoolery' you referred to Chocks? 
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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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No @timlongs, our little group took the usual precautions and we were always respectful of other groups but the fever was all around us and sometimes dangerously above us. We were twice dropped in on by groups that wanted us to “Allez” when we were steadily going in one-by-one - pushing us to go - the first professional continued protesting but waited until we’d all skied, then his group skied it (one-by-one) when we’d cleared. second group just dived above us and skied through us in their race skis.
Fever or frenzy is the correct description and avoiding contact was the order of the day. The clip was filmed on the mellow run-out after a one-by-one traverse when the group of three agreed we were safe to ski and film together. Predictable sluff in steeper gullies but otherwise these aspects were stable and we skied them safely posing no risk to others.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@timlongs, @Grinning, Glad were all still friends and singing the same song. I did think the number of tracks down Petite Balme was high yesterday - now I know why!!
This morning was quite bright, but there were menacing clouds all around and the breeze at height meant it did not feel like April. Probably why I have not seen any marmottes around Lac yet. The cloud thickened after lunch and there are just one or two flocons going past the window. We popped out for a couple of hours, the pistes were rock hard in places, la Daille was the place to be, so we did a few laps, had a coffee at Rosée Blanche and came home for lunch. Lots of kids seem to have arrived so next week looks a bit busier.
Sorry @moosepig, I can't provide any more clarity on the weather (or anything else for that matter)!!! There will be intermittent snow showers through the night and these will continue through the morning, they may get a bit heavier around lunchtime, the sun may peek round from behind one of the showers in the afternoon. Monday will be a chilly start under sunny skies, it will look a bit like early spring and a few fluffy clouds will build on the peaks in the afternoon. Tuesday looks OK, a few more clouds around but plenty of breaks to let the light in. On the other hand Wednesday looks more showery, light ones in the morning, maybe a bit thundery in the afternoon. There should be sunny spells in between.
Apart from a shower or two on both sides of the Channel there doesn't appear to be much weather to interfere with flying except there is a reasonable chance of fog at Leeds and Newcastle, which could slow things a little but not much.
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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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Just seen we have had a 100,000 views this season so far!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| chocksaway wrote: |
| Just seen we have had a 100,000 views this season so far! |
Not at all surprising - this thread and Steve Angus' musings from The Other Place combined form the most thorough, informative and entertaining ski blog on the web and have done so for a long time. No other ski area is as comprehensively covered on a daily basis and all EK fans on here should be grateful to both of you for taking the time and making the effort to post. Tea and medals are most definitely in order 
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@moosepig, +1
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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 said Moosepig, 100% agree. Been a long time follower of Steve's EK thread and often drop in and out of this one as the weather and travel information is useful information.
Thanks @chocksaway, for your time and effort in posting.
Can't believe we are into the last few weeks of the season. Where has the winter gone? Mind you, most of it has been spring-like.
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wheres the free parking in tignes 1800? ive got no clue where to find it
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FAQ
