 Poster: A snowHead
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Absolutely we agree with snowheid great updates..thanks..
If you have a friendly taxi driver please come over to Val on Thursday 23/1 and meet the Val chapter..
Venue Alex bar at 19.00 you will be our guest..
Cheers
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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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Hope we can meet for lunch one day ...
cheers
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Good afternoon all.
We are arriving into GVA at 11am on Saturday, and transferring to Tignes via TO coach.
Some of the group are thinking there's a possibility of a wee slide before the lifts close, but having looked at the map and done my sums I think that is unlikely.
Perhaps those of you in the know will be able to confirm my suspicions.
Many thanks,
CW
PS - any sign of some fresh snow on the way?
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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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@cardweg, I think you are right, aircraft arrives 1100, may well have to wait for later planes. Even then it takes 40 mins to an hour to get through Geneva, find rep, find bus, someone needs to go to the loo. So maybe a 1245 departure at best, looking at 3 to 4 hours on a coach. Get to accom, get dressed, sort skis get out find a free lift and it closed 2 minutes ago at 1645 (Rosset and Bollin). My advice would be chill out and have a GandT. For snow see below. 
I took my own advice and had an admin day! It looked cold and there were some big gusts clearing the roofs in the village. It must have been cold at height  The cloud ebbed and flowed through the day, its clear now. Its still the top end of this storm that shut Alicante airport for 24 hours and caused bother on the costas, so we shouldn't moan.
The cloud conundrum will continue tomorrow, so mixed light at times, there is no agreement in the forecasts as to how much and when so LOOTW. The wind will remain but the air will be warmer so not as brutal as today. Wednesday will see a bit less cloud, so more sun, a bit warmer and a bit less wind. Thursday should see a slight improvement on Wednesday in all departments. Friday looks like a mixed bag of light snow showers breezes and sunny spells, the snow showers may stretch into Saturday morning. 2 or 3 nice days after that before unsettled weather and a bit more snow.
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@chocksaway,
Definitely a little cooler today. As I come from oop North I am thinking a jumper may be necessary but still not overcoat weather 
The good thing about the colder temperatures is that the pistes are in great condition and whist the off piste is well skied it is still light in places.
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Nae gansey need yet, man...........
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^^^^Next to no-one on here will get that Maersk 
*Gansey (pronounced ganzy) = jumper in County Durham/Wearside/Tyneside dialect of yesteryear (not sure if the young 'uns of today would know it...??)
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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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| chocksaway wrote: |
@cardweg, I think you are right, aircraft arrives 1100, may well have to wait for later planes. Even then it takes 40 mins to an hour to get through Geneva, find rep, find bus, someone needs to go to the loo. So maybe a 1245 departure at best, looking at 3 to 4 hours on a coach. Get to accom, get dressed, sort skis get out find a free lift and it closed 2 minutes ago at 1645 (Rosset and Bollin). My advice would be chill out and have a GandT. For snow see below.
I took my own advice and had an admin day! It looked cold and there were some big gusts clearing the roofs in the village. It must have been cold at height The cloud ebbed and flowed through the day, its clear now. Its still the top end of this storm that shut Alicante airport for 24 hours and caused bother on the costas, so we shouldn't moan.
The cloud conundrum will continue tomorrow, so mixed light at times, there is no agreement in the forecasts as to how much and when so LOOTW. The wind will remain but the air will be warmer so not as brutal as today. Wednesday will see a bit less cloud, so more sun, a bit warmer and a bit less wind. Thursday should see a slight improvement on Wednesday in all departments. Friday looks like a mixed bag of light snow showers breezes and sunny spells, the snow showers may stretch into Saturday morning. 2 or 3 nice days after that before unsettled weather and a bit more snow. |
Thanks chocksaway Really looking forward to getting back to Tignes for the first time in over 30 years. I'm sure it has changed (but TBH I remember very little of it other than a rather nasty fall coming down into Val Claret & a weird little bubble from Lavachet up to le Lac) Sounds like a reasonable forecast, a couple of days to get the technique up to standard & then a fresh top-up to play in at the end of the week.
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| mountainaddict wrote: |
^^^^Next to no-one on here will get that Maersk
*Gansey (pronounced ganzy) = jumper in County Durham/Wearside/Tyneside dialect of yesteryear (not sure if the young 'uns of today would know it...??) |
They use the same word in Northern Ireland. It’s a corruption of Guernsey (jumper).
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Definitely not as cold today - whatever your wooly pully of choice is  .
The sky was relatively clear this morning, but the high cloud ebbed and flowed so it was a bit of a lottery as to whether you could see on the way up o the way down. There were high winds overnight which have rearranged the off piste, mostly for the worst, and the warm temperatures today will not help the cause. With a nod to the avi bulletin (Piste Arcosses was closed due to wind slabs above) we put our thinking caps on - Vallon deSache was discounted because its the same orientation. So we decided on Col du Ves where there were stretches of wind scoured but gullies full of fresh snow, some of which was not tracked out, this morning, so a couple of laps. A wiz down below the Altiport was OK and after coffee we popped up to a semi secret stash close to Genepy - needn't have bothered anything above 25-26 seems to have suffered really badly, the wind was still blowing quite hard up there. Familial was the 'curates egg'. The sky clouded over after lunch and has only just cleared to let the stars through.
Tomorrow will be virtually identical to today, changing amounts of high cloud and wind at altitude, warm for the time of year out of the wind. Thursday will be very similar too, perhaps a couple of degs up on the thermometer. Friday is still up for grabs, depending on how far the remnants of Gloria come north. Currently, it could be light snow and cloud all day, a mix of sunshine and showers or just sunny periods. Not too cold and a bit of breeze. Any snow will fall down to 1600m then below. Saturday is equally perplexing a heady mix of sunshine and cloud and maybe the odd shower. We'll have to wait for clarification!
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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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No change in the weather or the conditions today! Spent the morning in Bourg so the larder is now full for the onslaught that arrives on Friday. I did pop up on skins to the top of the Chaudannes, knocking 3 minutes off my record. Clearly, I did not drink enough at a small snowHeads soiree last night! Tess Burrows is launching her new book tonight at the Box, this is followed by a joint 60th birthday party, luckily both in Lavachet so could be a long night!
Tomorrow, same as today, the cloud will ebb and flow again. For Friday: a bit cooler and breezier is about the only thing that can be said with any certainty. There will be more cloud, whether the sky will be obscured is a matter for debate, there may be some light snow showers late afternoon or early evening, then again there may not! For Saturday, not sure, maybe overcast, maybe sunny spells, the odd flocon. As for Sunday, basically no idea, it would be a horoscope. This is all because our weather is all a bit undramatic at the moment (unlike Spain) and the weather system is still ebbing and flowing and the computer mdels are really struggling. More clarity tomorrow hopefully.
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You know it makes sense.
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Another day, another dollar. The cloud was thicker at height this morning, the sun then came out over lunch to be replaced by a thin layer this afternoon. Pistes still fine and the best way to describe the off piste is to say there was nobody doing it from what I could see.
Tomorrow is far from decided on the weather front. It looks like being mainly cloudy, maybe a glimpse of the sun in the morning and perhaps a shower or two of light snow in the afternoon. But it will be a bit cooler and there will be a decent breeze from the south-east so it will seem cooler. Saturday looks like being bookended by thick cloud but whilst the lifts are open there should be plenty of sunny spells, light winds and mildish temperatures. Sunday is likely to be similar, but the sunny spells will be less frequent, it may well be overcast all day. Monday is currently promising overcast, the wind picking up in the afternoon and perhaps some snow showers late evening. Beyond that the forecast is changing with a much more unsettled outlook, windy with precipitation but as its going to be mild for late Jan it might be soggy in the lower resorts but it should be snow for us (maybe not in Brev).
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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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Heavy rain due next week.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Whitegold wrote: |
| Heavy rain due next week. |
At what altitude 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Warm, cloudy and humid! There were brief spells of a milky glow this morning so the light was a bit variable as we skied around the Palet and down to La Daille, the pistes were quite soft, nobody spied off piste. However the gypaete barbu (bearded vulture) was flying around the La Daille Gorge. There is much excitement amongst the ornithologists in Val as Mrs Vulture has laid an egg in the nest on the cliffs there. About 3 we did have a little bit of snow but the skies are now clearing. Mates that arrive tonight missed the Altibus by 30 secs, delays due to fog at GVA and the French ATC strike. They are now in a jam near Ugine, not sure whether its an accident or another protest.
The weather tomorrow should be cooler, but sunny periods all day so a nice day whilst the rest of the World are stuck in traffic. Sunday morning looks similar but with a bit more cloud in the afternoon, the slightest of showers may make it over to us. Monday should see a nice day, a bit cooler again and at some stage in the afternoon the cloud will thicken and sometime between apres and bed time we should get some snow. Winter will make a welcome return on Tuesday, it will be blowing a gale if this forecast is correct and heavy snow is due, the snowline will be way down towards Bourg. Beyond that the apps are getting very excitable regarding the snow, but the confidence in the forecast is low, a ridge of high pressure will only have to develop a bit more from the south and we will see nothing.
For those on planes and trains tomorrow, first the good news: the French Air Traffickers strike finishes at 0500 in the morning. The roads will be quite busy in the afternoon as 27000 vehicles are coming up and 22000 are going down. A long way from peak weeks but enough to trigger the traffic lights at Aigueblanche mid afternoon. For the fliers nothing really of concern in the UK unless fog forms at Bristol. It will be dreary down south. There is a significant chance of freezing fog at Geneva, so like today a number of delays as things move more slowly and aircraft have to be de-iced. Lyon is forecasting fog, but with 2 runways there should not be too many dramas. It will be misty at Chambery and the re is a chance of fog, which will cause problems if it forms (ie it follows Lyon) but Grenoble is forecasting nice weather, which is a little odd. I may well update later if I remember and am released from chalet boy duties!
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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.
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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I’m about about a third of the way up from Bourg now heading towards Val Claret and the roads all seem surprisingly quiet! Quieter than I’ve seen in previous years. Weather in Chambery made for nice easy arrival also, I keep feeling like everything has been a bit too easy and something must go wrong!
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| medion wrote: |
| I’m about about a third of the way up from Bourg now heading towards Val Claret and the roads all seem surprisingly quiet! Quieter than I’ve seen in previous years. Weather in Chambery made for nice easy arrival also, I keep feeling like everything has been a bit too easy and something must go wrong! |
If you end up in the Blue Girl club in about 14 hours, you will know something has gone very wrong
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I think todays weather is best summed up by the picture of the day:
The cloud ebbed and flowed a bit, it did fill in late afternoon though. It was colder with a gentle breeze but the pistes were in a fabulous condition, if you couldn't carve on Grand Pre today you never will be able to! The top of the GM was surprisingly busy, but the outdoor car park filled up early so I suspect we had lots of day visitors. On the travel side the fog was close by the airports but caused few delays today, the queues up the mountain are forming. All in all a good day.
After a cold night, tomorrow's weather is a real forecasters puzzle, there is a weather system to the south which may make it up here giving us drab conditions and light snow, if it doesn't then we will have a mainly cloudy with sunny spells. In the 4 models I look at it is two all! If it is good I would make the most of it....... but I will be wearing an extra layer. Monday will start with a milky sky which will gradually thicken and snow should start mid afternoon/close of happy hour, the wind will pick up after dark, the night will be windy, Tuesday will be wild and snowy, unless it changes it will be a slow start as the pisteurs have to find the key to the explosives cupboard and the high lifts will be shut. Wednesday will probably be similar, but yesterday's caveat still applies, there may be a few bright spells as the showers charge across the sky. All of this precipitation will be snow down to Brev - winter is back.
For those travelling tomorrow, the misty gloom in the UK should disperse before flying leaving a day of blustery showers. Over here, for the 4 flights or so to Chambery there may be some drifting mist over the lake early in the day, so maybe a bit of holding.
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@chocksaway, Enjoy the haggis later at Duncans place.
Part of our group arriving Lavachet tonight, the rest of us tomorrow, catch up later in the week.
p.s. Just gave the lads your tuesday forecast for the comedy value 
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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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@GreenDay,
The day dawned grey but you could see the top of the mountains, so it was a morning for lapping La Daille and coffee at the Rosée Blanche! The resort is much busier this week and the muppet quotient seems to be high (not beginners just the clowns who don't follow the rules of the piste and stop in lift queues and daft places)owever, it was not that busy on Raye:
But a milky sun did make an appearance about 1130 so some good turns around Grand Pre, but it was really only a suckers gap and as the afternoon wore on the light deteriorated, the gloom descended and we have had a couple of cms of snow.
The snow will stop soon and the southerly flow we have had will change to a north westerly for at least a couple of days. After a grey start we may get a couple of hours of sunny periods tomorrow in the morning, if it happens crack on, as you wont see it for a few days. The cloud will re-thicken in the afternoon and snow should start late afternoon, early evening. The wind will pick up so expect the shutters to be rattling through the night. Tuesday will be windy and snowy, the pisteurs will have something to do (10cm of snow overnight and drifting), the high lifts will be closed. Wednesday will also be windy and snowy so same advice as Tuesday, but the pisteurs will have more to do! Don't rush for the 9 o'clock lift. However, this Wednesday forecast is not nailed on, so tune back into tomorrow. Thursday currently looks like a mixed bag of blustery showers and sunny spells but most things could happen. Make the most of Monday!
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Thanks for the extra layer advice @chocksaway, I took it and while I was too warm in the morning I was glad of it as the day went on.
Day 1 & new boots to dial in, so didn’t venture far. Stayed between 2100 & Val Claret. Stopped for a lovely, but huge, lunch at le Dahu then a few more runs in the mediocre vis & back down for a past is & a visit to the spa.
Now totally chilled & ready for dinner. I did notice it was quite busy but put it down to it being the weekend. Hopefully we weren’t any of the numpties you spoke of.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@chocksaway, crazy busy first thing. Where did they all come from? We got the sunny window on Grand Pre as well - sorry we didn't see you! Called it an early bath as the light was deteriorating and my irritation factor was rising quickly - the large (12 or so) ESF group lesson strung across the piste in a straight line, stood still like a wall, was the last straw. I'm getting old and grouchy. Actually, been grouchy for a while. Now it's just plain old.....
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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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You know it makes sense.
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This morning was quite nice and bright but as we rode Toviere we could see Mont Blanc had donned his chapeau, a sentinel of things to come......As it looks less than pleasant for a couple of days we headed for Le Fornet, where the pistes were great but the queue for Cascades chair built up quickly, so an early lunch. By now the sky was turning milky. Muppet of the day award goes to the couple in front of us at the top of the Montets T Bar, who let go of the bar and then stopped to have a glove faff in the track! We managed to ski either side of them and our bar just missed their heads. When I shouted at him from behind he gave me one of those looks that made me think I had two heads!! As for ski schools, unfortunately the British ones are not immune from teaching bad habits, slaloming on and off piste round the poles; the instructor may be looking, but the clients aren't; please stop ingraining bad habits guys!
As the light inexorably faded we headed to La Daille, as we passed the Foolish Douche we were treated to some Ancient Savoyarde folk dancing and community singing in the form of Zorba the Greek, the dancers were in tight gold lame attire, last time I saw something similar was a Pet Shop Boy's Concert in Valencia! With the odd flocon drifting about the final whistle was blown at about 3.
The snow will start in a couple of hours and the wind will pick up quickly, so later tonight will be wild. This will continue all day tomorrow. The pisteurs will have some work to do in the morning, so a bit slow, the wind will be the main problem for the lifts, check ski plan (links on P1) before heading out of the warmth of the chalet. The snow will ease off through Wednesday, but the wind will still blow. later on there may be a bit of sunshine. It will be a very slow start on Wednesday as the pisteurs may well have to rearrange 50cm of snow (estimates vary wildly), the wind will swing through from the SW to the N, compounding the problems. The official forecast is risk 3, expect higher on Wed. The forecast for Thursday is far from certain, best guess mostly cloudy with snow in the late afternoon, no promises. Friday appears to be one of showers in the morning and sun in the afternoon, we will wait and see.
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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@chocksaway, "snow is falling sideways all around us".
Fixed it 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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| GeorgeVII wrote: |
@chocksaway, "snow is falling sideways all around us".
Fixed it for you ì |
Visibility improving as the wind blows the snow away.........double edged sword this morning
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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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| GreenDay wrote: |
| GeorgeVII wrote: |
@chocksaway, "snow is falling sideways all around us".
Fixed it for you ì |
Visibility improving as the wind blows the snow away.........double edged sword this morning . A few runs to Brev only today |
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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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@GreenDay, Beware the suckers gap.....
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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: |
| @GreenDay, Beware the suckers gap..... |
Yep, still in jeans, will be waiting to see if Ag Rouge stays open for a bit.......or it's a big lunch in Brev and bus!!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@GreenDay, To quote national Lampoon's Animal House: "My advice to you would be start drinking heavily"
Based on the fact its now too windy for the Boisses gondy. Bus to Boisses and bubble to Brev (when it opens).
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@chocksaway, yep, we were thinking that very thing.. ....bus to dam, that is not beers! Yet
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@GreenDay, Were you jammed into the corner of the bar in the QDC last night?
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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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Nope, Embu last night.......must have been some other drunk Scotsmen
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FAQ
