 Poster: A snowHead
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I need to be in Milan on Monday, so I had planned on flying over early on Sunday morning and driving to Cervinia for the day, thinking that this was the best choice for reliable early season skiing, as many other resorts are still closed or only opening this weekend. Unfortunately, there seems to be a largish weather system hitting the Alps this weekend, and I know that Cervinia has a poor reputation for fog. I haven’t skied there myself, so would appreciate some advice from the local experts:
1) How bad are conditions at Cervinia likely to be on Sunday? How bad will the drive be (have reserved a 4x4 SUV with winter package, and I have experience driving in snow)?
2) Is there anywhere else within a similar distance of Milan, perhaps in a different direction, that might be more sheltered from the weather?
Thanks so much.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@bx1000, I didn't know Cervinia had a poor rep for fog. Bad vis being in cloud perhaps? And definitely windy (due to being a wee bit high up).
We're in Champoluc at the w/end which is forecast sunny Sat for bimbling with niece/nephew but snowy Sunday, typical, as we can bimble in any weather. Ho hum.
I'd make your arrangements and pick somewhere tomorrow/Saturday as things might change. Can't think where might be better weather (as I don't know what else is available) if the weather is coming from the south. Courmayeur might be better with more trees?
Does the "winter package" include winter tyres? or just snow chains that are broken and/or don't fit the car?
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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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@bx1000, I have never heard that said about fog. I guess you could say because it is the northernmost end of the Alps south of the Alpine divide and hence is very high it stops a lot of cloud. Generally that is a good thing because it means it is getting the precipitation from that cloud. Others can debate whether cloud and fog are different.
As @under a new name says Cervinia can be windy for the reason they state. Sunday’s storm is coming from the west and then turning north - the sort of conditions that tends to batter Cervinia.
Below is a screenshot of the BBC weather radar projection for Sunday. Cervinia does not look like the place to be heading on Sunday. I am afraid I don’t know Italy well enough to recommend an alternative.
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I wonder where you got the myth about fog in Cervinia.
Never experienced that myself and also never heard about this before.
However, Cervinia upper lifts - and especially the link to Zermatt - has a bad reputation for closing due to high winds.
Which is logical if you take into consideration the extreme elevation.
But even when upper lifts are closed, there's enough skiable area remaining under 2800, and then you still have 750 metres vertical, which is still considerable for any resort.
The best forecast you get from the local wheather site, also in english (toggle in the menu)
http://cf.regione.vda.it/previsioni.php?id=3
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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 not sure it's a myth. Cervinia is very treeless and therefore you have plenty of chance of being in the cloud if weather is such. I've been in the whiteout situation of fumbling from marker to marker there. I'm not sure its any worse than other places of a similar altitude but maybe the terrain holds the cloud more.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Dave of the Marmottes wrote: |
| I'm not sure it's a myth. Cervinia is very treeless and therefore you have plenty of chance of being in the cloud if weather is such. I've been in the whiteout situation of fumbling from marker to marker there. I'm not sure its any worse than other places of a similar altitude but maybe the terrain holds the cloud more. |
Yes obviously because you are above the tree line, you will not have the reflection of the trees.
But the microclimate of Aosta is different from most other Alpine regions. In German (not my native tongue) this is called "Inner-Alpin".
Aosta valley is like a big tree leaf. Extremely high (4000+) mountain ridges to the north, west and south.
So compared to other regions, the weather is one of 2 extremes:
-long periods of clear, dry, sunny weather
-shorter intervals of extremely heavy uninterrupted snowfall
As a kid my first time to Cervinia, I witnessed 150 cms of snow fallling within 36 hours.
No need to say you did not see a thing on the mountain; skiing in braille we called it 
But you won't get days on end of greyish weather like in other regions. And I never saw any fog on multiple visits.
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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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Not seen fog. However, the wind can be impressive and was the cause of the one actual whiteout I've ever skied in - wind screaming so loud you couldn't hear anything and, literally, could not see your skis when it blew hard due to wind borne snow. Unsurprisingly entire lift system closed minutes afterwards.
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@bx1000, check out the Warren Smith Academy Youtube channel, they are running courses there at the moment, conditions look good
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Conditions were superb today in Valtournenche/Cervinia and Zermatt, lots of nice light fresh stuff all over. Only run not perfect was the home run back to Valtournenche where snow had softened and refrozen later in the day, still great fun however.
I think we are getting quite a bit of snow tomo tho so not sure how that will work out with the lack of trees!
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