 Poster: A snowHead
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| Roll on next winter...! |
I couldn't agree more 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| David Murdoch wrote: |
Martin Nicholas, so, "one swallow doesn't make a summer", non? Anyway, isn't a swallow a rossignol? in which case, un rossignol ne fait pas une paire?
In similar vein, please translate, "un petit peu de comment ca va ton pere?" |
Sounds like you've been drinking a bit too much Hirondelle tonight. The expression in French is "une Hirondelle ne fait pas le printemps". I did an article on swallows and climate back in 2004
Winter Swallows that make the Summer
By any measure the winter has been very poor all over France. In the Northern Alps third worst season for snow cover since 1960. Exceptionally mild winter with temperatures 2-3C above average in January and February with something like winter in March then a flip straight into summer from early April. Here are the temperature figures for Grenoble for the last few years.
Year average temp precipitation
2007 16.59C, 10mm (to date - 25 April)
2006 13.16C, 63mm
2005 12.33C, 146mm
2004 12.68C, 154mm
Similar picture at Lyon Bron airfield which has recorded the mildest and driest April since 1922.
Only 1989/90 and 1992/93 have been poorer in the French Alps. Corsica worst winter for a quarter of a century. Pyrenees, very dry, the Ariege was reduced to a stream. 30-50% less precipitation. Canal du Midi closed due to lack of run-off from the mountains. Jura, warmest winter since records were first taken. Massif-Central, similar to 2000/01 but very poor.
None of that means that there was not skiing to be had at altitude and where resorts had good coverage from snow canons (and low enough temperatures to run them) just by any objective measure it has been a poor winter compared with those within the history of modern skiing.
Interestingly both the Peasants and the Geeks seemed to have called the winter about right.
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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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| David Murdoch wrote: |
davidof, "tipping point" - you mean we're about to head catastrophically towards a mini-ice age? I.e. we have reached the peak?  |
It's possible with the amount of fresh water going into the Atlantic... but that would make things even hotter elsewhere.
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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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| Dave Goldsmith wrote: |
| Hirondelle is actually a very nice little wine that was available in the 1970s |
Ah, happy memories. Blokes always brought a bottle to parties to try and get us girls drunk!
| David Murdoch wrote: |
| Preferred Special Brew around that period |
What! Rather than girls? 
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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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| David Murdoch wrote: |
| Who ever denigrated Swiss wine? |
Ssshhhh - don't tell everyone! 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| David Murdoch wrote: |
"un avalement fait pas l'ete"
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BTW
I always thought that "avalement" was a ski technique taught by French ski instructors to their young and usually female proteges?
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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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As I recall Hirondelle was Austrian wine that lost its place in the market after it was found to be fortified with ethylene glycol, more frequently used as anti-freeze!
I think Rossignol is nightingale.
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I've skied at least every second weekend of the winter for the past 3 years here and this year is by far the poorest year of the three.
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Normally yes, but this year is the exception. The April average temperature is +3C above average with only a few mm of precipitation (rather than the 100mm or so we are used to). Conditions are similar to June.
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I agree that this hasn't been a classic April for snow fall but it has been a great April for skiing, because of the good weather.
My point is that skiing conditions in April are far better than December or January, at least in the high resorts with runs above 2000m. By April the snow has arrived, consolidated but is starting to is melt, whereas in December and January it frequently hasn't arrived in suffcient quantity to open all the runs and the weather is often poor.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Well we've had a good season, all things considered.
Kitz at Christmas was nothing like the nightmare we had been led to believe. Skied to resort level most places, except for Skiwelt. H's broken back then put a stop to the rest of the holiday but still had 4 days of fab skiing.
Zell Am See in Feb was also OK if you're prepared to make the effort. We tend to try and avoid the realy crowded areas anyway and are happy to take a car/train/bus to quiet but snowy places (like Maria Alm in this case).
Schladming in March was weird weird weird. New snow the day we arrived so powder the first day or two, then bizarre for the next few days with temps at the valley station of around 18 degrees. Sat outside bars in T-shirts drinking cold beers instead of hot Gluehwein! But still skied all 6 days of the holiday, again went to different resorts and made the most of the amade liftpass so skied Zauchensee, Dachstein and Flachau as well.
I would tend to concur with the feeling that it hasn't been a classic snow-wise, but certainly no disaster, and winter was for us definitely not cancelled!
D
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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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Martin Nicholas, we've had 2 trips Whistler and Lech (Austria)
Whistler - not as great as lsat year, largely due to crowds and real life hassles at the time (headed out there due to season in Europe looking a bit poor in Jan)
Lech - despite Europe having poor season, we hit the slopes and realy had great conditions all week (march 17-23)
Best time was Lech on the 20th to 22nd
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FAQ
I think you're probably right though 