 Poster: A snowHead
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Hmm a lot of runs closed in the Eastern Pyrenees today. Hope this is mainly down to wind closing lifts rather than runs bare and requiring a lot of new snow to reopen
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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It is quite windy in Baqueira and from what I saw on the telly the winds are stronger in the east. Off-piste has been swept here. Snow, if little thin, is there but crusty. Very different to what was yesterday. Also some steeper pistes look bare in parts and some are closed. I was getting excited about new Saumet lift here, but shut today:( But all the rest is open.
Some substantial snow is predicted for Thu and Fri, so there will be top-up. Not sure if the wind stays with us.
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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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| wyspa wrote: |
It is quite windy in Baqueira and from what I saw on the telly the winds are stronger in the east. Off-piste has been swept here. Snow, if little thin, is there but crusty. Very different to what was yesterday. Also some steeper pistes look bare in parts and some are closed. I was getting excited about new Saumet lift here, but shut today:( But all the rest is open.
Some substantial snow is predicted for Thu and Fri, so there will be top-up. Not sure if the wind stays with us. |
Thanks for that info, much appreciated. Winds still looking a bit spicy for the end of the week- hope the lovely new snow is not blown off as soon as it arrives!
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The forecast for grandvalira is starting to look pretty epic snowfall wise for Thursday onwards. Just hope it doesn't start cause travel issues. Heading out on Sunday!
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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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Indeed the Snowforecast prediction is looking quite ridiculously high for the Pyrenees- over 1m and rising from Thursday onwards. Am supposed to be driving over the French Andorran border on Mon am. That may not be possible...may have to cancel the Pas de la Casa hotel night booked and spend the rest of the time in the Pyrenees Orientales resorts that have the most trees and least Avalanche risk (and closest to our French base in the foothills!)
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Out of interest there seems to an enormous difference between Snowforecast (loads of snow, high winds) and Accuweather (mild to moderate snow, low winds) for the same days and location. I wonder which will be correct...
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Not looking at the forecasts, but in terms of how much has fallen; I go to the HD Soldeu webcams and look at the hut roofs.
An inch or so last night it seems 
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Well, the hideous winds in various parts of the Pyrenees over the last few days caused chaos in Cerler, which is probably the most wind-affected resort there. (If you will stick a ski resort directly to the south of the highest peaks of the range...) Things were a lot better in Baqueira on Saturday, although it sounds it too has suffered this week.
The dump of the season appears to be coming from Thursday night onwards (for an entire week?! and possibly a sunny powder day on Monday thrown in for good luck). And, although I'm not finding the forecasts to be entirely reliable at the moment (I'm no weatherman, so simply rely on a spread of ready-made forecasts), it's difficult to see how this huge chunk of bad weather can miss us; the high pressure zone has been pushed further out to the atlantic, and we'll be getting the edge of the neighbouring low whose centre will slowly move down the North Sea and to Germany, casting rain and snow over the whole of Europe by the looks of it!
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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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Baqueira report. Less windy today. Blue skies until about 1pm and then suddenly whiteout ensued everywhere above 2000m. All available forecasts stick to the prediction of some serious snowfall on Thursday night and Friday (I've seen figures anywhere between 20 and 80cm). Less certain about weekend.
Fantastic stuff the new Saumet lift. Pistes are much fun and if you're bored there's a lot of intermediate and advanced off-piste accessed from there.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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My only wish is that the French/Andorran border says open on Monday morning as I attempt to drive over it....I guess the most likely reason to close it is avi risk on access, and that it calms down by Sat or else the itinery could look like this
Friday night- drive up from Barcelona to French Pyrenees foothills- have to put chains on in the middle of the night before I get there (house at 568m)
Saturday- virtually snowed in, v slow crawl to Font Romeu with chains all the way, 2 hours skiing max
Sunday- slightly less snowed in day but still v windy for another Pyrenees Orientales day trip
Monday- attempt to drive order the border with a slight relief in weather but find closed due to avi risk in am- don't get any skiing done until they open it. Spend night in a very cold Pas de la Casa hotel.
Tuesday- after finally having some skiing time, long trek back across the border to the house in France, still snowing have to put on chains twice, last time in the dark again!
Wed- long trek back to the airport!
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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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By the does anybody know if snow socks are readily available to buy not too expensively in motorway service stations on the way North from Barcelona airport towards the French border (AP-7)? Might get some socks in addition to the hired chains for first line use (with the chains available if they get ripped or I get challenged by police!) Cheaper than an extra hotel room or missing the flight!
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Dr. Will, I don't know, sorry. But I bought some snow socks cheaply a few years ago in Alcampo, of which there's one right next to the airport. It's open until 10pm every day except Sunday. Map. There are a couple of complicated junctions to navigate though, so if you don't have a good GPS then it'll be essential to bring a large-scale print-out with you!
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You know it makes sense.
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Thanks for that, will be handy to have and opening hours are great as my flight arrives at 20:15 on Friday. Would be a shame to trek all the way up across the border, and inland from Perpignan, until at almost midnight, 2 hr 30 mins+ to be stranded by a snowfall just a few miles from the nice warm house based at 568 m because of having trouble fitting the unfamiliar hire care snow chains in the dark in the middle of a windy snowy dark road!
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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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Raining now in Vielha, so must be snowing in Baqueira. Although when I was leaving car park this afternoon it was 5 degrees there and snow was not wet only at the very top. One lift (Dossau) was closed before noon, but it didn't seem more windy than in last few days, at least in the rest of the resort.
A couple of questions for people who know this part of the world a bit better.
1. What exactly are these itineraries in BB? I presume they are avi controlled, so if it's open is it safe(ish) to go without any gear? Also, are they marked so that you don't get lost without a guide?
2. Going back home on Sunday via Toulouse and thinking about paying a visit to Superbagneres again. If there are strong winds, is it safer to stay in BB?
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Poster: A snowHead
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@wyspa, Generally the entry to the itineraries are marked but not much after that. However most are reasonably straight forward with regard to nav. I have skied a lot of them alone but ideally you would want a friend & avi gear. I understand they are controlled but can't confirm for sure, but you never know what might trip you up 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Pyrenees Orientales already looking quite snowy on the webcams, and not too wind blown- possibly because westerly rather than northerly wind- now please just dump the snow quickly in time for my first day skiing on Saturday....(unlikely I know!)
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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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| wyspa wrote: |
Raining now in Vielha, so must be snowing in Baqueira. Although when I was leaving car park this afternoon it was 5 degrees there and snow was not wet only at the very top. One lift (Dossau) was closed before noon, but it didn't seem more windy than in last few days, at least in the rest of the resort.
A couple of questions for people who know this part of the world a bit better.
1. What exactly are these itineraries in BB? I presume they are avi controlled, so if it's open is it safe(ish) to go without any gear? Also, are they marked so that you don't get lost without a guide?
2. Going back home on Sunday via Toulouse and thinking about paying a visit to Superbagneres again. If there are strong winds, is it safer to stay in BB? |
Have to agree with javascript:emoticon('@AndAnotherThing.., '), to be honest they are not that bad but one days conditions can completely change everything.
For info if it is raining in Vielha it is also raining up to about 2000m tonight until just after midnight. After that the temps will fall so the rain will turn to heavy snow down to about 1000m during tomorrow.
The main problem will be the wind - with up to 100kph forecast. Though either way there is going to be some great (if not dodgy) off piste to play in over the weekend.
I live here in Luchon and would say that of all resorts ours fairs best during high winds - however with the freezing levels dropping the journey back to Toulouse on Sunday may be snow affected.
Still mild and raining at just past midnight - and the webcams are showing rain at 2000m. It will change soon though
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Snowing properly in Vielha now, but it's not staying on the ground. My car's windscreen is not covered with frost either. I hope it's a bit more fluffy stuff in BB.
@Ski Guide, how likely is it that the col between Vielha and Luchon will be manageable in these conditions (on Sunday morning, so bit more snow by then) in a car with winters but without chains? Should I go via the main road to France to get around the tricky section?
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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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Looking at the webcams the snow seems to have settled all right in the Eastern Pyrenees and Grandvalira, bumped up by 30-50 cm minimum, half the webcams in les Angles have been blocked by accummulating snow, lower slopes in Grandvalira potentially now into triple figures
Now wish me luck trying to get there- flying out tonight
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@Dr. Will, you will struggle with those summer rubbers. Snow was accumulating on the road when I was leaving Vielha this morning. And this is at about 900m above sea level. But once you manage to get through you will be rewarded. Here in Baqueira snow is on the heavy side, and only 10% of runs open in the morning, but still exhilarating. Have a safe journey and bags of fun!
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Posted from someone in Soldeu this morning:
45 cm fresh snow overnight down at road level and still coming down thick. Took an hour to dig out the car and move to covered parking ready for early exit tomorrow morning. High Avalanche risk and most of resort closed.
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| wyspa wrote: |
Snowing properly in Vielha now, but it's not staying on the ground. My car's windscreen is not covered with frost either. I hope it's a bit more fluffy stuff in BB.
@Ski Guide, how likely is it that the col between Vielha and Luchon will be manageable in these conditions (on Sunday morning, so bit more snow by then) in a car with winters but without chains? Should I go via the main road to France to get around the tricky section? |
Normally the Col du Portillon is kept open, however because of the severe conditions I would not attempt it as we have snow on the ground at 600m and still falling heavily.
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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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@wyspa, thanks for the heads up. Thankfully the first night I'm staying just under 600m so I might just get away with it but I fully expect to be chaining up the following morning!
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It's snowing steadily in Cerler, and although it only started late for us (ie this morning) in comparison with other places such as the eastern Pyrenees, I think we'll be catching up fast! And the wind is less that predicted, too.
| wyspa wrote: |
| What exactly are these itineraries in BB? I presume they are avi controlled, so if it's open is it safe(ish) to go without any gear? Also, are they marked so that you don't get lost without a guide? |
There's only three left now, since two have been turned into pistes (as have several other well-worn off-piste routes that had nothing official about them). So, Gerber in Bonaigua, and Barlongueta in Beret - which are the two pistes at extreme opposite ends of the resort - are now marked and controlled just like any other piste. These, along with the routes that are now black pistes, such as Passarells, Cigalera and the Saumet pistes, will apparently be left unpisted after snowfall to satisfy our powder needs, and will be closed and roped off if it hasn't been possible to control them satisfactorily.
The three itineraries which are left (of which two are pretty much the same thing, starting at the top of Cap de Baquiera and down the coulour into the Malo valley towards Orri) all funnel you down a valley and back towards the pistes; it's not possible to get lost since you just follow the valley. As others have said, they are not marked beyond the entrance. They also get closed (roped off) if the resort deems them unsafe, so I assume that the converse is that if they're open its because they've been judged safe and so you don't need a guide or avi gear. Still, if you have the gear, you should take it... Escornacrabes is a long run away from the ski resort proper, and all of them run underneath steep faces, and you can't be too careful really. But personally I wouldn't see it as foolhardy to do them without gear when they're open.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Thank you all for filling me in on the itineraries. A few days ago I was tempted to throw myself into that scary/exciting couloir opening Escornacrabes, but eventually backed out. I like this place and will be back for sure, so will perhaps get proper gear and some buddies next time.
Now, today, 20-30cm of fresh this morning. Only 16km of pistes open. Bonaigua completely out of service. Lots of fun on ungroomed Baqueira home run. When it got tracked I went on to exploring nearby trees. Around 11 a couple of more lifts were open (40km or so) and I moved to Beret, where I realised that my 80mm skis are totally inadequate on those gentle slopes (sinking too much that is).
Avi risk was 4 and I could here blasts all day. Hopefully more will be open tomorrow.
Going back to the car park in Baqueira I found another 30cm of snow on my fiesta. Needless to say, took me 3 times longer to get to Vielha due to some punters on summers doing 10kph. Saw two cars crashed along the way.
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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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Snow continuing to dump at 600m, ploughs keeping the paths clear but on back roads there is about 10cm.
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@Ski Guide, how did skiing in Superbagneres looked today? Closed lifts, closed pistes? That could be a good indicator for Sunday as the weatherman says there will be another significant snowfall Saturday night.
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You know it makes sense.
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On our way to the Pyrenees via the AP7 (I'm navigating), almost at Girona now. Dry and not too cold yet. Annoyingly the hire company supplied us with the wrong sized chains. Thankfully my parents have a set of chains that we can use once at their house at 568m. Just hope it stays dry so they don't have to rescue 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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All arrived safely last night, no need for chains, still a little way below gendarme enforced roadblock where you have to put chains on! Les Angles Facebook is ridiculous- 80 cm min of fresh powder, but I think will go to Font Romeu this morning as likely more open runs, and hopefully by tomorrow provided wind not terrible they will have opened more of Les Angles area- may stay overnight around Mont Louis Sunday to break up onward journey to Grandvalira! I'm sure it will be an adventure whatever the outcome!
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Poster: A snowHead
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15cm of fresh on my car in Vielha this morning. Constantly snowing in Baqueira. Still only 50km open. No black runs, even those that are usually meant to be groomed. I believe it's mostly to poor visibility at the top and high avi risk, because it doesn't seem too windy. Bonaigua shut.
Really struggling with my all-mountain skis in this waist deep snow. Thinking of renting some fat ones for tomorrow. Never skied those but it can't be more difficult in these conditions, can it?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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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Luckily got snow chains on without any problem and got rewarded with fantastic conditions in Les Angles today, not everything open due to Avalanche risk but with over a metre of snow globally plenty to play with. Low winds, light snowfall occasionally sun trying to poke in through clouds and great quality 80cm+ fresh powder. Good vis due to plentiful trees. Would highly recommend the Pyrenees Orientales to anyone at present.
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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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Another 25cm of snow on my car in Vielha. This time it looks drier and my windscreen is covered with frost. Going back home around lunchtime, but whoever comes to Pyrenees for next week will have superb conditions. Also probably more area will be gradually open.
Edit: avi risk bumped up to 5. Only 10km of runs open. Beret and Orri unaccessible. 120cm of snow since Thursday night. The stuff is getting to my mouth when bombing down through fields. I suppose this must be business as usual in Japan?
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Another one, from yesterday, La Pierre Saint-Martin
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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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FAQ
