 Poster: A snowHead
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Tuesday morning was bliss, with over the ankle fresh snow, and sun shining, everyone was having a good time. Especially on the higher slopes in VT, it was perfect conditions. Midday on lac de la chambre or martre in meribel, we were skidding on rock hard ice.
Waking up on wednesday in meribel mottaret to rain. Small amount of fresh snow is visble but covered in a layer of sleet. Fingers crossed for better conditions above.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Was borderline dangerous this morning. Moderate rain at 1700 with forecast 1900 isobar, got to top of Combes to Tougnette 2 base was 15cm of fresh with top 5cm rain soaked. Had to make stem turns to stay safe on skinny skis. They closed red runs at top which was a good shout. By 11 cleared and the blue runs had tracked out so fine and spring skiing conditions. First time in years I binned a lesson as worried for client safety..  ( supposed to get colder tonight , fingers crossed.
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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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| skimottaret wrote: |
| Was borderline dangerous this morning. Moderate rain at 1700 with forecast 1900 isobar, got to top of Combes to Tougnette 2 base was 15cm of fresh with top 5cm rain soaked. Had to make stem turns to stay safe on skinny skis. They closed red runs at top which was a good shout. By 11 cleared and the blue runs had tracked out so fine and spring skiing conditions. First time in years I binned a lesson as worried for client safety.. ( supposed to get colder tonight , fingers crossed. |
No way! I thought the conditions were looking good at the moment. We are coming out in 2 weeks, im hoping the forecast changes slightly and theres some more snow. How is Val thorens looking ?
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Interested in that as well as I was considering a weekend trip to Val Thorens!
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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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@Redmaximo, @snowfranck, sometimes, even when generally things are good, when for a short spell conditions get tricky.
The forecast looks immense - snow for the next few days with freezing levels then dropping.
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Slightly odd question, but does anyone know what might be the best option for getting from Val Thorens to St Martin with luggage (on a Saturday) - is Altibus the best bet, or are there local taxi companies that would sort me out (without having to persuade somebody to come up from the valley)?
I'm vaguely thinking of using the pedestrian route from Orelle, but not sure how the last bit would work. (I know it's broken at the moment - this would be next year, just figuring out options!). Thanks!
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I need the answer for a very similar question, I need to go from Courchevel 1650 to Meribel (near Morel lift) with luggage.
I assume a taxi is the best idea?
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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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@Layne, thanks - it looks though like they don't run on Saturdays. There do seem to be some altibuses though.
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@Shakira, The local (paid) bus service is line S63.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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On a similar topic …
I’m planning a ski trip from Saturday to Monday and considering staying in Val Thorens or Les Menuires, depending on where I can find accommodation. I’ll be arriving by train late on Friday, but the weather forecast shows heavy snowfall overnight from Friday to Saturday. Since I’d prefer to avoid the risk of being stranded at the train station, I’m thinking it might be a better idea to stay overnight in Moûtiers and then take a taxi or shuttle up to the resort early Saturday morning. Does that plan make sense, or is there a better approach I might be overlooking?
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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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@rjs, great, thanks!
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@snowfranck, how late is late?
Would be a shame to waste time on Saturday morning.
Snow doesn't look like it would be too heavy and I think you would get up alright. However, have you considered staying in St Martin or even Le Praz/La Tania which would be less likely to have problems reaching?
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You know it makes sense.
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| Layne wrote: |
@snowfranck, how late is late?
Would be a shame to waste time on Saturday morning.
Snow doesn't look like it would be too heavy and I think you would get up alright. However, have you considered staying in St Martin or even Le Praz/La Tania which would be less likely to have problems reaching? |
@Layne Thanks! 22:10 on Friday evening. St Martin would be closer but as I like skiing in Val Thorens the most, I would rather stay in Les Ménuires or Val Thorens.
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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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@snowfranck, you alone?
A taxi would be expensive but late in the evening probably the only option.
Saturday, I presume there will be plenty of shuttles and starting early. So yeah probably get off the train, straight into a hotel bed and then early start Saturday.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Layne wrote: |
@snowfranck, you alone?
A taxi would be expensive but late in the evening probably the only option.
Saturday, I presume there will be plenty of shuttles and starting early. So yeah probably get off the train, straight into a hotel bed and then early start Saturday. |
Thanks! It will be my teenage daughter and myself. How could I say no to her suggesting a weekend of skiing  !
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Astontech, how much luggage? It is only about 2 miles from La Tania to Meribel Village by road, so you could possibly use the resort navettes at either end to minimise the taxi bit.
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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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| ecureuil wrote: |
| @Astontech, how much luggage? It is only about 2 miles from La Tania to Meribel Village by road, so you could possibly use the resort navettes at either end to minimise the taxi bit. |
I will be going from Moriond. 1 large bag, and then ski bag with boots etc.
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@Astontech, yeah but you can get a navette to La Tania.
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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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Ok awesome, thanks guys!
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| Redmaximo wrote: |
| skimottaret wrote: |
| Was borderline dangerous this morning. Moderate rain at 1700 with forecast 1900 isobar, got to top of Combes to Tougnette 2 base was 15cm of fresh with top 5cm rain soaked. Had to make stem turns to stay safe on skinny skis. They closed red runs at top which was a good shout. By 11 cleared and the blue runs had tracked out so fine and spring skiing conditions. First time in years I binned a lesson as worried for client safety.. ( supposed to get colder tonight , fingers crossed. |
No way! I thought the conditions were looking good at the moment. We are coming out in 2 weeks, im hoping the forecast changes slightly and theres some more snow. How is Val thorens looking ? |
Completely agree with skimotterat about first thing today. Anything that wasn't pisted was 3inch of damp cement in Courchevel but hour or two later it changed and stuff was good and not ice. Last run to Le Praz was best of the werk
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| stevew wrote: |
| Redmaximo wrote: |
| skimottaret wrote: |
| Was borderline dangerous this morning. Moderate rain at 1700 with forecast 1900 isobar, got to top of Combes to Tougnette 2 base was 15cm of fresh with top 5cm rain soaked. Had to make stem turns to stay safe on skinny skis. They closed red runs at top which was a good shout. By 11 cleared and the blue runs had tracked out so fine and spring skiing conditions. First time in years I binned a lesson as worried for client safety.. ( supposed to get colder tonight , fingers crossed. |
No way! I thought the conditions were looking good at the moment. We are coming out in 2 weeks, im hoping the forecast changes slightly and theres some more snow. How is Val thorens looking ? |
Completely agree with skimotterat about first thing today. Anything that wasn't pisted was 3inch of damp cement in Courchevel but hour or two later it changed and stuff was good and not ice. Last run to Le Praz was best of the werk |
The conditions were that good all the way down to 1300?
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Concur with Stevew. Conditions down to Le Praz were excellent at 4pm. Had thought that the day was a right off with the morning rain and gloom this morning, but a sunny afternoon of Spring skiing was an unexpected surprise.
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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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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Snowing around the 1800 metre mark. Pretty good high up with more fresh than I thought there would be. Lower pistes holding up well even with the warm spell and rain (Courchevel valley)
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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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Im really confused by these reports and messages on the conditions at the moment. If you just look at the forecast, it looks amazing out there at the moment. Next week it looks like its going to get quite warm in Meribel. Then the week after is starting to shift slightly, and some snow might come in.
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High up it’s snowing a lot (I didn’t go up today but that’s how it looks from the village) so from that standpoint the conditions « are » great. But the snow limit is high - so the lower parts get rain. Hence maybe the conflicting reports you are seeing.
In any case : there’s a ton of high altitude terrain here fortunately (I think they say there are > 400km of pistes above 2000 , that’s still probably one of the biggest resorts in the world!). So even if some of the lower pistes are not great, it’s never an issue.
As an example: yesterday when we started from Méribel it did not look great. The snow was very wet. But 2 lifts later we were high up and skiing excellent snow!
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You know it makes sense.
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@Redmaximo, when you’re looking at a snow forecast, you have to take the “freezing altitude” in to account.
Most snow forecast sites/apps will display the freezing altitude, any precipitation below that is likely to fall as rain, and obviously anything above will be snow.
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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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| Redmaximo wrote: |
| Im really confused by these reports and messages on the conditions at the moment. If you just look at the forecast, it looks amazing out there at the moment. Next week it looks like its going to get quite warm in Meribel. Then the week after is starting to shift slightly, and some snow might come in. |
Depends what aspect of the forecast you're looking at. The only thing that really matters is the freezing level. For proper winter conditions throughout the 3V you'd want the freezing level to be below around 1,200m all day. It's currently around 1,900m so any snow that falls below that will be rain and conditions will be very heavy and/or slushy below that level. If the freezing level stays high but there's no precipitation, then it's less of an issue - you just get a bit of early spring skiing.
The positive is that things can change very quickly; the freezing level for Saturday night/Sunday is 5-600m so everything in the garden will be icy again.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Redmaximo, mountain weather, the crystalisation of snow, how snow packs down/develops, is complex.
For us average punters best not to overcomplicate it too 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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All useful comments, thank you. We'll just take it as it is, and enjoy what ever is thrown at us!
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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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@Redmaximo, this winter now seems to be shaping up similar to last winter - below average snow depths below 2000m, above average snow depths above 2300m-ish... all down to freezing level when precip is coming through (as per Je_suis_un_Skieur's post above).
As for snow quality - yesterday was quite particular (as was the weather)!
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Staying in Val Thorens. Yesterday started cold and about 10-15cm of fresh snow from 2300-3000m. Headed over to Les Menuires - strong wind made visibility terrible across the top. Once below that, snowing most of the day. Snow was good quality down to about 2200m. Below that was very wet - rain overnight was clear, and pistes were slush.
Today noticeably colder. Went over to the Orelle sector to get away from high winds. Visibility very limited. About 10-15cm fresh snow, more in places. Snow was dry but powder very wind-packed. Back in the VT bowl, much the same though less protection from the NW wind. Started snowing heavily at VT level around lunchtime and has not let up since.
Off to Les Arcs tomorrow - blast, likely to be best skiing snow-wise for these two weeks. Still, a sunny week with good snow awaits.
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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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Snowed all day down to village level in La Tania today......until around 6.30pm . A nice bonus, as snowline was forecast as being higher today. Rain followed but only briefly. Currently dry and colder. Visibility wasn't much cop, but todays quieter slopes made up for it. Next week should be cracking once the high pressure takes its hold.
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Thanks all … In the train to Les Ménuires, probably heading to Val Tho tomorrow.
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hey all,
will be heading off for my 7 day ski trip starting tomorrow! will be staying in Les Menuires, anyone happen to know how the conditions are? Is it possible to still ski over to VT? Any off piste/good pow spots or any recommendations? First time in 3V, praying for decent snow conditions.
Cheers !!
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It's always possible to ski to VAT.
Off piste - obvious ones are Mont Vallon and under the Cote Brune chair or Peclet cable car.
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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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| Layne wrote: |
It's always possible to ski to VAT.
Off piste - obvious ones are Mont Vallon and under the Cote Brune chair or Peclet cable car. |
great ! thanks for the info. how's the snow? is it gonna be icy/or is there decent snow?
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I was there for a long weekend and left yesterday evening.
It snowed last week, with the snow/rain limit around the altitude of Les Menuires. The higher you go, the better the snow. Skiing in Val Thorens is definitely an excellent option—that’s where we spent most of our time, and we had a great experience. Orelle is also very good. The higher section of La Masse has good conditions, but the lower slopes are icy. We didn’t ski off-piste, the avalanche risk was quite high.
Have a great time!
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FAQ
