 Poster: A snowHead
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Day 1
Arrived Monday 15 Jan am. Conditions visably improve as you ascend the VT valley.
View from road near St Martin
St Martin or below, looks very poor. At St Martin, pistes seem complete but dark in places. Plenty of grass on display. Did not stop to test.
Les Menuires Village
Les Menuires, marked improvement but still visably in need of snow.
Val Thorens (2300m). As you approach many slopes that would normally be covered look a little bare. Pistes complete. This is the third visit, Jan 2005 from Orelle and Jan 2006 from CV1850. In comparrison with those visits, conditions look poor. However, incomparrison with lower resorts, these are excellent. (Glass half full?)
View from Hotel Bel Horizon
1/2 day pass, started at 12:30. Slopes, mostly hard packed, some in good condition though. Higher exposed slopes are v hard and need of fresh covering. Not too crowded. Lower slopes to VT are in good nick! Gloriously sunny, warm enough to ski without jacket. Sun creme and shades! That's not what we want though! Snow softened by mid afternoon. Gets very cold as sun drops or goes behind the occassional high whispy cloud.
Lunch stop
Tues\Wed - Light covering of snow forecast. Only measured in mm though.
Overall
Basically too warm to keep good snow below 1300m, in this region. Better as you go higher. Need more snow, lots of it, SOON! Overnight, piste bashers operational. Sky appears to have clouds, maybe the forecast is right!
VT, excellent choice for a guaranteed snow, last minute booking.
Edited: Forecast snow now mm not cm. 
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Thu 18-01-07 5:21; edited 3 times in total
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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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Superb info. Thanks. Keep it coming. There is nothing better than on the spot reports from people who know what is what!
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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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Chris Bish, Quite agree --- very interesting for some of us that are going next week !!
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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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SP1R1T, best of luck. Have a Christine for me!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Update with photos, some more in the snowMedia Zone.
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BMF_Skier, thanks for the report. We have a visitor this coming week, arriving tomorrow, and we were wondering about a visit to Val Thorens, given that conditions here are not going to improve for some days. We don't know it at all. Which are the best areas to take a rather nervous middle aged snowblader who gets a bit of vertigo and doesn't like "edges"? Is there one of the higher areas which has nice open cruisy blues?
From the look of the weather forecast it is going to be a bit ferocious up there Thursday/Friday, but at least snow, whereas we are forecast rain at our lower altitude.
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pam w,
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| Is there one of the higher areas which has nice open cruisy blues? |
Sounds like VT all round, no hesitation in recommending Val Thorens. Dont be put off by Red category, some blues can have attitude! If the weather improves, then you've also got the rest of the 3V's as well!
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| From the look of the weather forecast it is going to be a bit ferocious up there Thursday/Friday |
I must have missed that? From what I have been told locally, slight dusting, more of the same weather we've been experiencing for the next week. Maybe getting better after Monday \ Tuesday next week. But then, who'd be a weather forecaster!
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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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Day 3 Wednesday 17th
Web forecast snow did not materialise. Cloudy start to the day, sunny, very sunny from late morning.
VT slopes standing up well, in fact excellent! Most red runs hard and fast, blues smooth and well prepared. Machines operating overnight, perfect surface achieved!
Road down the hill, snow clears quickly from the surrounding fields. Below 1800 very poor. By the time you reach St Martin, bare. South facing slopes clear. Only pisted runs appear white.
Slopes by Les Menuires, actually worse than photo shows.
Plus 8 deg temps forecast for Saturday 20th. Weather, getting colder after that, even the local forcast confirms that. I have been very fortunate to get the conditions I had. Being at 2300m helped a lot!
On to La Tania now.
Toodle pip!
Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads  on Wed 2-01-08 6:29; edited 1 time in total
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
Quote:
From the look of the weather forecast it is going to be a bit ferocious up there Thursday/Friday
I must have missed that? From what I have been told locally, slight dusting, more of the same weather we've been experiencing for the next week
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When I talked about "ferocious" I was thinking about the wind today, and maybe tomorrow, which sounds like being very strong at altitude. Thanks very much for the input on Val Thorens pistes, think we'll head that way Saturday and try them out.
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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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pam w, in my experience pistes are relatively quiet in VT on a saturday - will have to negociate the transfer traffic in the village though...
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FAQ
Part of a group attempting to enter the lift past the barrier. Lift attendants on the ball, alarm bells, lift stopped. Apparently just a bit bruised, a very lucky lady indeed!
Your pictures are very reminiscent of VT at the end of the season - you go climbing up the valley, which is brown all over, as you get to Les Menuires the snow patches start to get bigger then as you hit the last stretch to Val Thorens there's snow everywhere 