 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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March was pretty much The Season in the Dauphine area. I skied on 13 days although for various reasons missed the best days (around here) at the start of March. The season has been a bit better than 2011 (I think) but one to forget and hope for better days to come.
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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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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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@davidof, I was skiing in the 3 Valleys area of France the first week of March and skied the some of the best conditions i've encountered in the alps (or at least comparable with - cold, bottomless and fairly stable powder. It was deeper than much of the snow I skied in Japan in January!). It was totally incomparable with 2011 in that area, although I can't speak for the rest of the month.
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I thought there were some pretty good forecasts, here are a selection from the start of the season 
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23 November 2016> About half the snow fell in the French Northern Alps that was forecast by Meteo France. Still that's pretty much normal. Less snow on the ground than this time last year but that was hardly a reference. Should be ok where there is snow making for the start of the skis season or above 2500 meters. Elsewhere, not so much.
25 November 2016> The missus tells me return to summer next week with the snow pretty much melting below 2000m, a bit like last season.
30 November 2016> There's not really enough snow to resist a major onslaught of mild weather.
8 December 2016> The most likely scenario through to mid December for the French Alps is poor snow below 2000 meters and probably not improving much until the end of the month. A bit like last year only the Southern Alps haven't been spared this time.
9 December 2016> Winter will be warm, there will be days with snow but a lot of the time things will be marginal. If you are working you may not be able to hit the good days when they come, but there won't be that many this winter.
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Extraordinary, @davidof. Is that one of the expensive subscription sites? 
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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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| Quote: |
There was a visible wet snow line at just over 2,100
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The South has done relatively badly this year. It's not like that everywhere. Les Saisies looks dismal today, wet and rather foggy, but there's still snow (and not only on piste) to the village "front de neige" at 1650m.
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@pam w, I meant snow line for where new snow had fallen, not existing snow..........
Still loads of snow on the piste etc and you can still ski all the way down to 1400 here.
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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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La Grave shut (again) today due to supposedly strong winds.
Does not bode well for tomorrow, especially being a quiet Monday, or am I just being cynical?
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I meant snow line for where new snow had fallen, not existing snow..........
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Ah, I see, sorry to have misunderstood.
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You know it makes sense.
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Right had a bit of a pause from here, but back again now.
- There is certainly nothing wrong in pointing out that globaly March was warmer than average. Especially not in a thread on weather. That said the climate discussion tends to get quite fractious so I tend to avoid discussing it in depth on this thread on a regular basis.
- Either way global climate and local weather are completely different. Even a warm month can have cold spells and a warm month globally can also have cold areas in that month.
- As far as I can see Whitegold made no comment on what that warmer global climate might or might not have meant for skiing in the Alps in March on that particular post.
- People do discuss the impact of global warming on skiing in Japan. I know this having lived and skied there a lot.
It is so dull to have someone moaning on here that they think weather forecasts are always wrong. If that's your view then don't open the thread. Save yourself the angst. Do something else. This thread is about weather forecasts. If you don't find that fun and interesting it boggles my mind a bit to think why you read the thread? It has been a real bore this year to have to listen to the repeated moaning.
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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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The thing is that ironically I spend a fair amount of time looking at forecasts (which I'm sure you must realise) trying to determine what might be the best option and what the conditions might actually be as I like to get out on the mountain and do stuff nigh on a daily basis, and I know that must be boring to some on here.
When one is doing that you tend to see the frailties of forecasts, and understand that they are only really a sign post to a direction that the weather might be taking.
As for tomorrow because we can't be too sure of what might happen we're not finalising anything till we get up and look up at the sky, even then we don't know for sure what might be happening over the Col 30km away and at 3200m.
Yes this is a weather "outlook" thread, but in a skiing forum, so apologies if I base what I do / think relative to skiing / living on the mountain.
And Noza you do an admirable job any many appreciate your efforts but like I said it is an internet forum where people are allowed to express / challenge views / opinions etc along with banter so don't take it personally.
Last edited by Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name: on Sun 17-04-16 21:21; edited 1 time in total
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Quote: |
When one is doing that you tend to see the frailties of forecasts
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I think we are all pretty clear about the frailties of forecasts even if you feel, as you note above, that what you have to say "goes over most people's heads" ...
We are clear, in particular, thanks to education from nozawaonsen and his illustrious precedessors (too many of whom have given up because of daft comments) about the pointlessness of paying much attention to snow-forecast, which turns one part of a whole raft of possibilities (often such a wide and leaky raft that it should be disregarded) into nice numbers.
In my neck of the French Alps looking at a number of forecasts, particularly chamonix meteo and meteo France, and the GFS ensembles (but not snow-forecast), and reading this thread, has given me a pretty accurate idea of what to expect. The GFS ensembles, viewed as a whole and day by day, do give a helpful picture of how much it makes sense to rely on any specific forecast; what they won't tell you is how much snow to expect in your garden on Thursday afternoon. And for much of this winter, with a lot of low pressure, shifty, weather the picture they've given - accurately enough - is of unpredictability. It might frustrate you not to know what kind of gnarliness you're going to be able to get up to tomorrow, but that's weather for you.
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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 @pam w, today was a classic case of ignore the forecast and go with gut feeling.
If we were to believe the grim conditions that were forecast we would not have made the trip, but KenX and I decided to go for it, helped by patches of blue sky on the La Grave webcams, and was a superb day.
For sure the weather closed in but that was not before we had nigh on five hours of great skiing.
But you'll be pleased to read that I will not be posting the photos here.
But just goes to show, even on the day conditions are not always as forecast.
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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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Tomorrow morning looks like a great powder day across much of the alps, and today looked pretty good on some of the webcams before it started snowing again (Verbier, Engelberg, Stubai)
I'd like another powder fix before the winter ends, I'm optimistic for a couple of good days early next week.
Looks colder, and with a fair bit of precipitation.
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a week or so out but looks like weather turning pretty cool and damp in the eastern alps at least. The bbc outlook on country file suggested a similar chill in the UK setting in from the north.
GFS for Schladming (though lifts closed now but obertauren nit far away is open til 2 May, so a late trip may be on the cards)
http://www.wetterzentrale.de/pics/MS_1447_ens.png
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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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Spring skiing, nice,
although that looks more like summer.
As me ma would say "she'll catch her death..."
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@waynos, yes looks like another spell of cooler weather coming up towards the end of the month.
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The coming weekend will be cold.
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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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Yes Peter S and Whitegold, the weather is a funny thing.
When i left La Plagne 2 weeks ago it was starting to look rather miserable.
But not now (unless you are in Montalbert).
Some recent snow has things looking rather good above 2000m
And now wePowder has the freezing level dipping below 1000m this weekend with 29cm of snow forecast. Excellent. Except the resort is closing this weekend. 
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Not taking my winter tyres off for another week or two yet. 
The cold weather may help keep the daffodils out a bit longer and probably delay the bluebells around here until well into May.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Morris @ Wepowder is very optimistic regarding the snowfall and conditions over the weekend and early next week:
http://wepowder.com/forum/topic/227478
Shame some of the good off piste resorts are closing on Sunday and others are reducing the number of lifts running.
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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 falling all the way down the valley to Modane @ 1000m too, as I left the Haute Maurienne this morning
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You know it makes sense.
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And an Arctic blast To hit UK today.
I remember back in December sitting outside Bergerie in Le Plagne in just shirt in bright sunshine.
Seems this reason all back to front.
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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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If anyone needs more skiing this year then Glencoe and Cairngorm will be open till May day, wind depending. http://www.winterhighland.info/general/
The north east highlands look particularly snowy over the next 5 days !
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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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| Quote: |
I was mowing the lawn this morning at home in East Lothian. I had to stop as it started snowing heavily! Beginning to wish I had kept the winter wheels/tyres on for another couple of weeks.
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Living down south I've never needed winter tyres on my lawnmower.
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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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| geoffers wrote: |
| Snow falling all the way down the valley to Modane @ 1000m too, as I left the Haute Maurienne this morning |
Reports of non-snow tired cars getting stuck around the 1100 meter mark too. In case anyone asks "do I need chains / snowtires in April" question again.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@davidof, I think that the answer is always going to be "unlikely, but...."
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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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I'm leaving Serre early Wed am, I was going to take the rescue road after La Grave, but now not too sure with overnight snow and low temps as I'll be on a tight schedule, so don't want to find that road is closed due to black ice / snow etc as FL's are circa 1,000m and have to turn round.
Been feckin cold again today with a stiff N/NW'y in the valley and howling a gale up top with snow blowing wildly off the summits.
Would not like to have been on the first day of a high altitude ski touring week today !
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Cold 'blower' powder conditions down to about 1500m in Engelberg this morning. There was around 30cm of fresh snow last night on top of an already soft powdery base.
Due to warm up a bit tomorrow and Friday.
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Jack is back
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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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The Tour de Romandie has had a stage shortened today because of snow too. Does it look like the cold northerly flow will stick around for a while?
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Incredible last 4 days of the ski season on the cards this weekend for Scotland. Well over 4m of snow still lying in the main basin and a further dump tonight forecast.
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