Tignes and the Espace Killy 2017/18 (Closed - No more posts please!)

A snowHead

I suppose they will give the money back . And perhaps people might choose to come back the next season as they have a lift pass discount. Could be marketing genius 😄

A snowHead

@Timg60,

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

It was a gentle stroll around the pistes today. There was the odd glimpse of the sun this morning but soon, in the words of Procul Harum, it turned

A whiter shade of pale!

Luckily Tigski's jacket provides a useful contrast! It was significantly less cold than yesterday. Just around lunchtime the light went completely flat and there was the odd flocon floating past the low light lenses. The pistes are still in excellent condition, although I did see a stone on Trolles for the first time in a long time. We skied down to Les Brevieres via La Sache which was a little hard in places but the moguls are still manageable, thankfully.

As for the weather forecast it is quite tricky to pin down what is actually going to happen. For the next 4 or 5 days we are under a languid low pressure system which is wallowing around like a bunch of hippos in a mud pool. So sometimes the clouds may break, at other times there may be light snow showers. The various forecasting systems are disagreeing over the detail. But it is going to mainly cloudy with cold nights and chilly days. Tomorrow will be cloudy with a an easterly breeze making it feel cool on the higher lifts. There may be the odd shower of light snow, the light is likely to be poor. Tuesday will also be cloudy, but the sun may glow through a milky layer in the morning, the breeze will be less. Wednesday currently looks better with sunny periods, and maybe a sunny afternoon. Thursday is still a matter for debate.

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Glad you had a good day today chocksaway, and thank you for a super day yesterday.
Similar weather here in La Plagne - not quite what most forecasters suggested.
Regards to Tigski and hoping his knee is bit better.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Ah, monsieur, Brexit...(shrugs shoulders)

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as i am out to valdisere and tignes in a couple of weeks time i keep an eye on the snow forecast and webcams, and i am well aware that this has been an exceptional season, so chocksaway has mentioned the pistes are still in good condition but the odd stone is starting to show through, but with 232 cms of snow on the lower slopes how deep does it have to be to cover up all the stones, i"ve seen pictures of cars being buried under the amount of snow, so with that amount of snow i would expect the pistes to be in good condition for the rest of the season, of course thats just an armchair view from damp and drizzly bristol.

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@compostcorner, It really is the odd one so don't worry. The ones I have seen may well have rolled down off the ridge above the pistes. Occasionally the piste bashers get a bit 'close to the wood' and scrape up some of the stones into the snow. Also down in Brev, after the big avalanche there are bits of tree, stones, piste poles etc in the snow which often work up to the surface.

After all it is free

Well the view out of the window did not look that exciting this morning. Really it is best described by Visage:

Aaah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Aaah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)

Here's Val Claret in a swirling wind:

There was a harsh wind even in the village and it felt cold and damp. So after a quick round robin on the phone it was declared a day of rest - or more likely a day to catch up on the niff naff, nausea and trivia. It did improve around lunchtime and a milky sun did appear, so not a complete right off.

So onto the weather, our languid low pressure area has been joined by a lackadaisical set of weather fronts which are serving only to complicate the picture. If you look at apps 'driven' by different forecasting systems they all vary so the detail is going to change, even tomorrow. I think tomorrow morning will probably be like to day, cloudy in the morning with a stiff breeze. It will feel cold; the breeze will abate in the afternoon and the sun may make an appearance, or it may hide behind a milky sky. Wednesday will be equally as awkward but without the breeze, if you see the sun go for it as it may well have disappeared in an hour, which hour I don't know but the better bits are likely to be in the morning. Thursday looks better with much more sun and less cloud, there may still be the odd gloomy period. Friday looks like a day of sunny periods with clouds floating around which may build enough to give a light snow shower. I feel like a politician not answering the question today!

Well it was a mixed bag today. There was a cold wind at altitude and variable amounts of cloud coming from Italy on the south-easterly breeze. Essentially Gary Soto summed it up:

Love is like the weather;
Sometimes stormy,
Sometimes sunny,
Sometimes partly cloudy.

I suspect there was more cloud over to the east of the resorts in Le Fornet, certainly the valley to the south of Mont Blanc was full of cloud, the picture was taken from the top of the Etroits Chair:

We went high initially where the fohn winds had redistributed the snow but had left it very packed and difficult to ski below Piste Cairn. Lower down there were some gullies with freshtracks but not many. But off piste the snow is holding up well as it has been so cold, so you are not making pretty pictures but there's still lots of fun to be had. On piste today was also very good, some areas (notably Triffolet) are quite hard thanks to wind scouring.

To give you an idea of the monumental task that the pisteurs and council staff have had to make the resorts accessible and safe Val D'Isere have published a few figures to demonstrate the scale of the work. The pisteurs in Val have already used 600kg more explosives than the whole of last season. In December of 2107 they had to use 10 times the number of charges than in December 16, for January it was 7 times more. In terms of overtime to clear the roads and footpaths they paid for an extra 200 hours in Dec16, 2000 in Dec 17 and for January 17 and 18 it was 800 and 3000 hours respectively. To date the commune has used 42000 litres of fuel on the task, to the same date last year it was 1800o litres. Quite a task!

And to the weather, there will still be variances but the forecasting systems are more in harmony today. Tomorrow will be as cold as today, but the breeze will be less. I think we will wake to cloudy skies but sunny periods will develop through the day, as we all head off to the bars the clouds will again dominate. Thursday again looks cold but the sun will shine, but there will be variable amounts of fluffy clouds hanging round the peaks. Friday looks like it is going to be sunny, with a few clouds bubbling up in the afternoon. It should be a couple of degrees warmer too. Confidence in the forecast for Saturday is not good but I think it's safe to say the roads will be hell!

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yes the roads will be hell, even more if the weather is inclement.

we driving down on Friday to chambery, and intend being up and out early to avoid the traffic..................and get an extra days skiing in!!!!

imagine if we are on the road by 8am latest we should be fine

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We'll be letting the train take the strain on Saturday. Always nice to chug along the valley to Bourg, past the queues of static traffic. Wink

snow reports

We woke to blue skies today, a chilly morning with little wind. There were variable amounts of cloud today, especially in the Le Fornet sector and after about 4 o'clock a thin layer of cloud obscured the setting sun. Now because we have had huge amounts of snow today was, in the words of Madness:

One Step Beyond!

Or to mix song and film I boldy went to where I had never been before. For many years the Gorges du Malpasset above Le Fornet have been officially impassable as there was not really enough snow to form snow bridges over the nascent Isere River. Not this year, as there is tons of it there is no need of tales of daring do and hanging onto ledges. However, I was shown the route by an experienced hand its not one to follow if you don't know the conditions. We traversed from the Pissailas Glacier to Col Pers and then descended, there were tracts of fresh light snow.

In this photo you can see the Refuge de Prariond (the black dot above and left of the woolly hat)

And then down in the gorge, we reckon there is well over 30m of snow covering the babbling brook that is the Isere:

In fact the whole thing was so much fun we did it twice. Normally when you leave the Col Pers area via Vallon you get to see Pont de St Charles - completely buried this year.

The weather tomorrow will be sunny after a cloudy start over breakfast, cold but with little breeze. A few clouds may bubble up late afternoon. Friday will be similar but there should be hardly any cloud, a great day to end the week. Saturday will start with sunny periods but the cloud will build, maybe enough to give a light snow shower in the afternoon. Sunday looks like a similar pattern, sunny periods followed by snow showers in the afternoon and evening. After that I am not so sure what will happen.

@chocksaway, looks fantastic and a rare treat to find it skiable safely let alone enjoyably snowHead

I was looking at the lift/piste status today and I noticed a closed blue piste in the Aiguille Percee sector called Joubarbe. Where on earth is it? I've never heard of it before and knowing that several pistes have been renamed in recent years I went looking but I can't find it on any piste maps, old or new.

You know it makes sense.

@moosepig, Ahhhh the missing 'House Leek' - that's the translation out of the way.

If you pop and get your magnifying glass out and look at a 17/18 paper piste map you can just (only just) see it from the top of the Almes Chair in Le Lac to the Savouna. I am not sure why it is not open - they were supposed to do the earthworks this summer (maybe they found another protected species of something or other). It is supposed to provide a route back to the Bec Rouge after the Millonex Pomas were taken out for relative beginners. For anyone else its quicker to get the Palafour and ski down - the Almes chair is sooooooo slow.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@chocksaway, It looks like you had a great day Cool

You and Tigski must be clocking up some mileage. Are either of you tracking or logging your skiing?

A snowHead

@chocksaway, thanks, that explains why I can't find it, especially online. Doesn't sound like a route I'll ever need to take.

When I googled "espace killy piste map" to try to get this year's, the top result was a map from 2006 which still showed Palafour as two chairs snowHead

A snowHead

@moosepig, http://en.tignes.net/what-to-see-do/skiing/ski-map

Joubarbe isn't featured though. Presumably because it isn't there yet!

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Just had a quick look at the webcams. Looks like a cloudless sunny morning and not too busy.

The calm before the half term storm?

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I do miss the Millonex pomas. They always stayed open a little later and were perfect to get back to the bec after a cheeky apres in the sun at the loop.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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Well today was a day out, not quite Cliff Richard's Summer Holiday but a trip to Sainte Foy just down the road, a hastily arranged trip to meet a couple of ski buds. We passed through a thin layer of cloud on the way down but it soon burned off to leave a fab day. Here's a view down the valley where the fog sank to:

As it is a while since the last snow even Ste Foy was tracked out, we did find the odd patch in the trees:

So after a coffee we decided to go back country from the Aiguille Lift down towards Lac Clou - the view over the top where we found some spring like snow:

The view back up the hill:

There then followed the long traverse back to the resort through the 'summer village' of Le Monal:

After a late lunch we enjoyed the empty and beautifully pisted runs back to the car and home.

Dawn will break tomorrow with a few clouds on the peaks. These will burn off to leave a cold sunny day. The cloud will build through the evening and there may be a light snow shower in the small hours. Saturday will be cloudy and cold, maybe the lightest of snow showers in the middle of the day. The roads will be chaotic anyway with 38000 (a record) vehicles planned to come up the valley, so hopefully it won't snow at all. Sunday looks like a day of light snow showers, it will be mostly cloudy, the sun may peep through. After quite a windy night, on Monday we are expecting sunny periods and snow showers.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Yes it was another blue sky day today. It felt warmer in the villages but there was a cheeky windy at altitude to cool things down. I did a couple of hours on piste with some mates ahead of a plumbers visit! The pistes are in good condition how they will bear up under the strain of the next 4 weeks we will have to wait and see. With not much snow on the immediate horizon I expect they will polish up abit as the hordes arrive.
Darude sang:

The sky is so clear tonight;
Its so calm before the storm....

And I am not talking about the weather. I don't suppose the top of Genepy will look this quiet for a while:

And now for the weather, it will cloud over through the night and it may snow between midnight and breakfast if the front reaches us. It will be snowing down towards Lyon and Grenoble, but only lightly so it may be wise to add a little journey time if you are going down there tomorrow. From mid morning we can expect sunny periods and clouds slowly moving around. Sunday will be cloudy with light snow showers all day, again not much snow but the light will be poor. There will also be a bit of a breeze at altitude. Monday looks like another day of sunny periods but there may be a light shower or two of snow, pretty much the same for Tuesday as well.

The roads are going to be mental tomorrow with 26000 vehicles heading home and 38000 arriving That is going to mean big queues unless you arrive early or very late. For the air travellers it looks a bit wet and dismal in the UK but nothing to delay flying. Over here Geneva Lyon and Grenoble are forecasting light snow until mid morning. This may cause delays if the runway has to be swept and you may find yourself in a queue for the deicing team. The snow should have stopped at Chambery but it may be replaced with fog or mist which could cause delays if it turns to fog.

After all it is free

Had a few flakes this morning, but sun breaking through.

Just had a message the Grande Motte Cable Car is forecast to open today.

On the Eurostar, bound for Tignes, should be there by 16:30. There's a fair bit of snow on the ground N of Paris. Safe journeys, everyone.

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The sky was obscured as I emerged from beneath the duvet to check the traffic reports for friends heading to the UK. So todays lyrics really must be from Gary Numan:

In cars, in cars, in cars
In my car, in my car, in my car, in my car

But the sky cleared rapidly as the jams built down the valley. There was still a bit of diamond dust in the air (like skiing through glitter!) as we charged around empty pistes, including Santons. The pistes are still very good, just the odd hard area, I saw no one off piste, I suspect we will have to wait for fresh snow. Here's a pic of Pointe de la Sana mid morning, the snow bunting in the centre of the shot would not let me get any closer!

Afetr a very cold night there may be a glimpse of the sun around breakfast time but it will then cloud over and we will have light snow showers all day. Watch out for the wind picking up mid afternoon. Under the cloud and out of the wind it will feel a bit warmer. The cold will retun on Monday when we are expecting snow showers and sunny periods, nothing too heavy though. Tuesday will be the best day, sunny in the morning, perhaps a milky sky in the afternoon. Wednesday is probably going to be another day of snow showers and sunny spells,, the winds will build ahead of a very wintry and snowy day on Thursday. It looks like the next dump is on its way!

For the air travellers tomorrow it is another tricky day to forecast in the UK as the temperatures are hovering around zero, so some airports will get rain, some sleet and some snow. It will be showery in nature so the delays shouldn't be too bad, indeed some airports may well miss them all together. But it will be windy around the showers so expect a bumpy ride. Over here there is a strong chance of snow showers at Geneva which would cause problems, it is more likely to be light rain at the 3 French airports.

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@chocksaway, whilst not coming to Tignes this year always appreciate your reports, especially the flying notes, tomorrow we're off to Madonna from Manchester via Bergamo so your analysis of flight conditions has just reduced my pre-travel tensions Very Happy

Have a great season

snow reports

It was slightly chilly on any exposed skin this afternoon despite no wind.
Lifts around Solaise reporting -5/-9
but felt colder when skiing.
Slopes in great condition just 2 icy patches towards the bottom of piste L
(Keep right to avoid) but just grateful to ski it as it been closed our other trips this season.

@stevew, Thanks - looks like Manchester did catch the weather today a bit.

The weather this morning was OK, a mix of average light with some sunshine. It started snowing lightly around 10. The visibility degraded after lunch and it is now snowing moderately. So in the words of Christine:

I'm climbing uphill, Jamie
Climbing uphill

It was out with the skins for some exercise, up Petit Col to the top of the Chaudannes, I was quite pleased with the 48 minutes that it took. Here's a shot of the conditions at the top:

It wasn't quite that bad, but you can see Lac du Chevril is frozen over and covered in snow. They have virtually emptied the lake, presumably to take advantage of all the meltwater when spring arrives. Even though January was one of the warmest (and snowiest) on record it has still frozen as it is not very deep.

The light moderate snow will continue on and off through the night and into tomorrow. What will change is the temperature, today was mild, tomorrow will be a good 8 or 9 degrees cooler - wrap up warm folks. We may see the sun peep out from the clouds in the late afternoon. The skies will clear through the evening to leave a very cold night (into diesel waxing territory if you are in an outside car park) and Tuesday morning looks like being sunny bright and cold. A few clouds will build up in the afternoon. Wednesday looks OK, sunny in the morning with a milky sky in the afternoon ahead of a lot of cloud overnight into Thursday which looks like being windy and snowy with the odd glimpse of the sun. the actual passage of the weather fronts keeps varying so expect the snow amounts to fluctuate on the apps. One of the forecasting systems is showing a lot of snow for next weekend, confidence is not high so no need to worry yet but do follow the forecast and have a Friday escape in the back of your mind!

You know it makes sense.

@chocksaway, surprisingly easy journey over the M62 early this morning quite window and a few squalish downpours but dry when arrived at airport. Took off on time at 7am no bouncing around on takeoff, maybe Manchester got it after we left.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Wow, those light conditions today were not a good reintroduction for an already shaky old intermediate skier with confidence issues! I hope the sun comes out tomorrow. Puzzled

A snowHead

So, around 20cm of snow overnight, I think, and it was snowing fairly steadily as we dropped junior off at ski school this morning. Shortly after 9am it looked like it was starting to clear, the snow had pretty much stopped, the low cloud was lifting, and the sun was struggling to make an appearance, but sad to say that it has all closed in again now, with steady light snow and poor viz. If I was a more committed skier, I'd be out there with the young 'uns, but instead I'm enjoying a nice cuppa and the view from the apartment window! Smile

A snowHead

@Otherworld, no shame in that - safer to be down the mountain wishing you were up it, than the other way round!

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Well the heavens officially delivered 10cm in the villages and 20cm at altitude overnight. It was cold this morning and there was quite a wind so some of the lifts were a little late opening whilst the pisteurs put the new snow into safe order. The visibility was not good this morning in the snow but I was stuck inside with the words of "Weird Al Yankovic":

Who fixes plumbing problems in a flash?
Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week?

Anyway they did turn up to complete the repairs from Friday and then as I was preparing lunch the sun came out. So a mad dash round to get the kit on followed. Unfortunately it was a gap in the weather not a break which has now arrived as I type. So I did three laps of the Grand Huit pimples. The snow was up to the top buckle and quite light, however, it was tricky to see. There are some perfect turns in the picture (honest):

I should have waited another 2 hours! After a very cold night we will wake to clear skies, the wind will have dropped but it will still be very 'parky'. Some clouds will bubble up in the afternoon and the sky will be obscured by the time the lifts shut. There may be a dusting of snow in the wee small hours but the sky will be clear by lift opening on Wednesday and bar a few fluffy clouds it should stay that way. Its all change for Thursday, the temperatures will rise significantly, the wind will pick up and we will have snow showers in the morning. But the rain/snow line will be around 2000m so a bit slushy in the lower villages. There may be the odd sunny period in the afternoon but the snow will return in the evening, this time it will be snowing down as far as Seez. There may be the odd sunny period on Friday morning, it will be much milder. But the clouds will roll in to leave a dull afternoon ahead of Saturday which looks like being a bit snowy......... stay tuned!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@chocksaway, it was pretty tricky when we set off for Calais this morning- lots stopping to put chains on coming up the hill from Bourg. Didn't get above freezing until well beyond Albertville. Clear roads have brought us to Calais without incident. Hope the weather gods play nice for half term visitors.

Looking forward to see in what state they leave every thing on our return in a fortnight! Toofy Grin

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Think we timed it right today. After an extra cup of coffee we headed out, after hitting wind and rubbish vis at the top of Diabold we just about chucked it for lunch back at the apartment but the sun appeared just below the Folie and the conditions were great. The bubble had been off but just started again as we got to the bottom so another lap was is order. We had planned on heading over to Tignes but with the weather being changeable it wasn’t worth the risk or a trip on the cold exposed Tommeuses chair.
We got the bus along to Rond Point then up Solaise for a ski around then down Arcelle then Piste L more round Solaise before a very late lunch in town at Casserole.
Snow showers on and off all day but slopes in great condition and lift queues not a problem.
It’s got much, much colder this evening though.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Just come in from the pub, its -12outside already (2000hrs). On the way to said pub one of my lifty mates warned me of a 'Grand Froid' tonight.

After all it is free

@chocksaway, Agree just turned the heating up a degree and the corks have started to pop on the bottles of rose on the balcony.

you know it's cold when you have to bring the booze inside, Vodka etc excepted.

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Quick question, any recommendations for ski hire in Le Lavachet? Although saying that. I've never been to Tignes before, and we appear to be pretty close to the centre, at the bottom of the Paquis chair, so potentially could head towards the lake.

Any tips would be appreciated.

Help!!

Tignes and the Espace Killy 2017/18 (Closed - No more posts please!)

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