 Poster: A snowHead
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I’m quite old and have been skiing for more than 40 years but never done a full season and was wondering .
I know we see a lot of rain these days in the stations to a high level , I do remember rain crust at 2700m in Jan about 15 years ago , and accept that the climate has and is changing . But say 30 yeas ago in a normal resort , for example in the Haute Savoire , Megeve or Flaine . Did it hardly ever rain ,or only sometimes late in the season , or quite more than our rose tinted minds wish to remember ?
Something for a few old seasonaires
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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No matter how high you go, it will always rain on your day off. It was ever thus.
Seasonaire truism.
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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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I can tell you in the 97/98 season it never rained in VT. However it did in Les Menuires on a couple of occasions. Definitely feels like more rain events than 10 years ago in Verbier up to 2500m
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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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@Rob Mackley, skiing (Scotland) since 1970, Europe since 1984, first season 1988-89, ... clearly if you look at temp records it's getting warmer, but can't say I've noticed a functional difference ...
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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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As it gets warmer I wonder if it will also get icier? Will warmer temps mean more moist air reaches the western alps and leads to higher humidity? It would manifest itself as ice feathers on pylons and haul ropes which are common in maritime climates such as the UK and New Zealand. I don’t think icing is currently a problem in places like Avoriaz so perhaps climate change won’t make any difference in that regard?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Used to ski for 2 weeks every Easter hols in the Pyrenees, on French exchanges as a kid back in the 70s. It snowed and got slushy, but it never rained. All runs were skiable and open, too, back down to resort at 1600 metres. No piste bashers, either, so ruts and moguls etc froze overnight, making the snow quite challenging each morning!
It rained on us in Les Menuires this Xmas just gone - not a fun experience and you find out pretty quickly if your ski gear is waterproof... or not!
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As it gets warmer I wonder if it will also get icier?
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That's an interesting question. When I first spent winters in the Alps I was often surprised that even on very cold mornings car windows were clear of frost/ice, because the air was so much drier. By the same token a pair of wet denim jeans would dry far quicker than they would at home in the UK.
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Ten years of full seasons and there's always been rain during the season, as well as a lack of snow beginning of the season.
In fact nigh on 25 years ago I remember a trip to La Grave when we took the OH's and the weather was grim, so we ended up going to ADH, accessing via Auris and the sight of people coming into the restaurants in their soggy puffa's was a sight I'll not forget 
Next day in La Grave was excellent up in the glacier, and that's the crux for most, in that altitude is the key.
But we have been asking old locals if things are worse and they say yes, when we first came here it seemed there was always old snow piled up along the road outside the shops etc, but now in the valley it's all gone.
I judge things here as to whether you can still ski back to the valley floor, and since I've been coming here and then living here I've never seen conditions where you can't ski back.
What I would say is that I have some digital IGN French mapping and it's quite old, and apart from showing glaciers that are no longer here it also shows ski-tour routes that I've never done, simply because I've never seen snow that low down come the ski-touring season, and back then when those maps were drawn up ski-touring was March onwards.
My own POV is that I think come March onwards the snow line is more likely to be circa 2,000m if precipitation happens.
In fact it's one of the reasons I bought an eMTB so that I can access the snowline without a long approach hike.
And even with all the rain we've had, the last couple of days I've been skiing routes I have not done for four or so years, so I'd say this season the snow cover above 2,000m is good.
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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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I have been in Lauterbrunnen most seasons for the last 20 years.
Yes, it does seem to rain a little more these last few years. More significant is the absence of the long, very cold sustained spell.
Ten years ago I was up the ladders with ice axe and ice screw extracting an enormous half - moon
formation from the gutters. Could have done a fair few gin & tonics.
No hard freezing like that anymore.
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