 Poster: A snowHead
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How is the snow looking in ED currently? We are out over Christmas week the webcams show some coverage up the top but how is it down to 1500 and what's the forecast for next ten days please?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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jirac18, there's snow everywhere (down to 1100 at Hauteluce, though sketchy down there) and they've been making snow when temperatures permit. But - as with much of the rest of the Alps - there is no prospect of snow in current forecasts so much will depend on temperatures. The snow will slowly disappear - sublimate - it always does, even if it stays cold, but provided they can continue to blow snow I would expect good coverage on piste. Off piste would be a complete write-off, of course, and areas with no cannons will struggle - they'll farm snow and shove it around.
If (as some forecasts suggest) temperatures for the next few weeks are above average, the prospects don't look great.
There are cannons all the way down to the chairlift at Bisanne 1500.
Have you seen the webcams on the Les Saisies website? They give a good idea of conditions.
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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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thanks pam w, just looking at the webcams now on the les saisies site. as long as there is piste skiing we will be happy enough and as we are with the kids off piste is not on the agenda. fingers crossed the forecast will improve! our first day skiing is 22 dec so I guess its gonna one of two ways between now and then
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jirac18, I think piste skiing, especially the kind of thing you'll be doing with kids, will be fine. There are a lot of cannons now and they are very good at husbanding the snow.
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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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Night time temps seem to be consistently around and just below freezing at 1650m so presumably that means the cannons will take care of the pistes? There is some consistent forecast of inversion too over the next 6 days which hopefully will protect what there is down low? however rather worringly I have seen that some rain is forecast on 15th Dec and after!! Starting to get the jitters a bit for Xmas week. Dear Snow God please smile upon us!!
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It doesn't look as though there will be "plenty" of snow but enough to freshen everything up.
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Hmm. So far so pathetic, very light snowfall for several hours. Trees above about 1700m are turning greyish instead of green and snow is settling on some bits of road. But it needs to pull its finger out. A range of lifts is open today but very few people daft enough to be out there in what are, frankly, miserable conditions. But they are bulldozing now on the bottom of the Planay run down to Bisanne 1500 and the free baby rope tow which were looking sad yesterday but are very well covered now. Reasonable prospects of more precipitation over Christmas but temperatures remain a concern.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Well, up to now by FAR the most accurate of the forecasts for today was snow-forecast which said we would get 1cm of snow. Was about right. 
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That's all a bit of a let down! We are on an early tunnel crossing Saturday so in Les Saisies mid/late afternoon. Fingers majorly crossed for more overnight. Mind you the way my luck is running it'll dump the day we leave 
pam w, Do the pistes from 1500 upward seem ok for the week ahead if only for family cruising gently around? As long as we can do that it will make it all worth while but at the moment I rather feel like someone stole the jam out of my doughnut!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Do the pistes from 1500 upward seem ok for the week ahead if only for family cruising gently around?
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yes, and from the sound of it we are much better off here than in some places, e.g. Les Gets, where there might be little or nothing open. I suspect you are as well off here as just about anywhere around. Saturday looks fine and bright - you will hit traffic coming up from Sallanches, though, so don't be too optimistic about travel times.
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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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pam w, as long as we get there safely in one piece in time to collect our skis and ski pass by closing we'll be happy enough. Feel a little more content for knowing the pisted runs will be ok from eyes on the ground.
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jirac18, I'll be skiing tomorrow, so will be able to give you a "skis on the snow" report. I have people arriving tonight who will want to be out early on tomorrow, though I suspect the visibility will still be fairly rubbish.
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You know it makes sense.
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pam w, cheers pam that'll be great to get your update. enjoy your first day on the 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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Some snow overnight, just a little, but has improved the view a lot and it's still snowing. 
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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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Fingers crossed for more snow in my favourite place in the world!
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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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Good day today - our lift not running yet, so took my niece and her OH and son round to Les Saisies in the car. Not a lot open, but it was pretty well deserted, and very nice snow after the overnight fall. They must have run the lifts at a huge loss today. I saw some "Evolution 2" instructors with a group - never seen them here before. I asked where they were from, and the answer was Megeve - more pistes open here, apparently. Tomorrow lots more will be open, promises to be an excellent day's skiing. Not a lot of snow has fallen, but all the trees are white, and the place looks much wintrier and prettier. Enough fell that they ploughed the roads. The visibility came and went today, but was never bad - could always see a fair few piste markers, even when it was at its thickest, and sometimes much further. We had entire runs to ourselves.
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pam w, Thanks for the updates. Glad you had a good day.
Thanks again for the chains, picked them up earlier this week
Jon
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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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Thanks again for the chains, picked them up earlier this week
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good - they were doing nobody any good, in my garage.
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pam w, thanks very much for the update - I think we will be heading your way tomorrow. 
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Good conditions this morning in bright sun, and with few people around - apparently more this afternoon, but I had to go down to Sallanches to pick up some visitors. Quite a lot of pistes open, and in good nick; a creditable effort given how little snow has fallen since the big dump in November. The cars were pouring in as I drove down this afternoon - it is going to be very busy in Les Saisies tomorrow, especially given the poor snow conditions in lower parts of the area.
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Today was very busy. There's a fair amount of decent skiing in Les Saisies but much of the rest of the domaine is pretty poor so everyone and his chien is up here, including ski classes from Crest Voland etc etc. But a lovely sunny day - with more to follow tomorrow morning before the front starts coming in bringing rain followed by an amount of snow yet to be determined.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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40 out of 55 pistes open in Les Saisies. 22 out of 30 lifts. But the scores will be much lower in other parts of the Espace Diamant and if this warm wind keeps up, and with the small amount of snow now apparently expected, more pistes will shut. 
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Nice and snowy everywhere this morning, - and much colder - minus 3 at 1500m. Not a huge amount has fallen - didn't measure it, but maybe 15 - 20 cms. Still snowing quite hard. Took my son's girlfriend down to the bottom of the chairlift to meet her instructor for a private lesson at 0900 - lift pass office hadn't opened so she's taken my pass. A distraught woman had been waiting for the navette, which hadn't turned up, to get her round for her private lesson starting in the main village, so the instructor took both of them up - rather him than me getting two near beginners down from the top in poor vis. A good morning to be with an instructor. Sofia is learning very fast and I think she'll enjoy it. I will go down and pick her up again at 1030.
We need a fair bit more snow to open a lot more runs, especially the south facing black run just above our place, but it's a good start.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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just got home, great week interesting weather....full trip report to follow in resort reviews trip reports over next few days. In short though, loved ED had best holiday ever!!!!!
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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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jirac18, looking forward to your trip report. You might not be too pleased to hear that we had 20cms at village level and 30 cms at the top last night.
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Heavy snow this morning - heavy in both senses of the word. Anyone describing it as "pow" would be sadly deluding themselves. Has eased off this afternoon, as forecast and it's very damp and claggy out there (at 1550m). Skiers in the cross-country area this morning were all complaining about the state of the snow - which was apparently not at all good for people with fancy waxed bases. For me on my basic beginner's skis which have never been sullied with any wax (I've always ignored advice to put glide wax on the fronts and back) it didn't seem too bad at all - I kept catching up with the woman in front of me, on descents and having to do wobbly snowploughs to avoid smacking into her. Her skis were collecting great gobs of snow underneath and mine weren't! 
forecasts for the next few days all over the place, but not great. The forecast of rain tomorrow below 1800m or so is all too believable.
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You know it makes sense.
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Typical spring conditions today. Practically everything in Les Saisies open - 52 out of 55 pistes, with just 3 blacks closed. But I suspect one or two of the south-facing reds may close soon, until there is more snow. the top of Notre Dame de Bellecombe was good, but we didn't venture down to the lower levels, having been warned there are grass and mud patches galore down there!
Pistes very empty, really a nice day's skiing. Surprised to find a lift queue at one point - at least five people ahead of us. 
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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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about 5 inches of new snow at 1500m. Hardly what you'd call "champagne powder" but everything looks nice and white. Stopped, just now but hammered down for a couple of hours.
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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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Decent fall of snow yesterday and overnight - 26cms in the village, 30cms up top.
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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 15 cms overnight and some nice sunny periods today.
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NOtre Dame doesn't sound too healthy but Saisies looking well covered. wonder if the season will be back ended with tons of snow or all gone by mid March!
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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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skinutter, the bottom, down in the Valley, has pistes open but I've not bothered going down there, the top end is far better. Nothing wrong with the top of Notre Dame - I enjoyed those runs the week before last, and there's been a fair bit of new snow since then.
I'd be very surprised if it was all gone by mid March - if it was then it would be a far more disastrous season for the whole area than any I've known. Even in 2011 Les Saisies was open, and almost all pistes open, till mid April.
Personally I think the end of season is going to be terrific.
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Let's hope so doubt we will get some skiing until first week of April...
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Better not be all gone that's when I am coming 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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marmotte16, that's great - look forward to it. You only scratched the surface last time.
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pam w, scratched it further, end of December
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