 Poster: A snowHead
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Just skied Ax les Thermes, good on-piste, ski destroying off-piste!
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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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The day-by-day forecast is still looking a bit unpredictable for the weekend, but there's definitely going to be some action on at least a couple of days between Thursday and Sunday!
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On piste conditions across the central Pyrenees at the moment are fantastic, very cold temperatures this week have meant all resorts have been making snow to suppliment the 10 - 20cm that fell on the 21st. Slightly milder weather welcomes a change with some snow expected tonight and through to the early part of next week.
Freezing levels will wander up and down, but snow should fall to somewhere between 1000 and 1200m.
Superbagneres: 55cm H, 45cm L
Peyragudes: 65cm H, 25cm L
Baqueira Beret: 80cm H, 40cm L
A lot more snow is needed to provide safe off piste unless you are very high.
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Why are so many of the runs at Peyragudes closed? Tempted to come across but reluctant to for half a resort! Missed out on both the snow fronts here!
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| LasLaous wrote: |
| Why are so many of the runs at Peyragudes closed? Tempted to come across but reluctant to for half a resort! Missed out on both the snow fronts here! |
Don't let the number of closed runs fool you, the majority of the better longer runs are open with over 70% of the domain being ski-able. Most of the runs closed are the shorter exposed runs with no snow-making. The very long red the Vallee Blanche is rarely open anyway.
Still snowing here this morning, probably down to 1000m if not lower as it is 2 degrees at 630m. The downside is that there is no visibility at all - hopefully it will keep the weekenders off the slopes and leave everything in good nick for tomorrow when it will be very quiet indeed.
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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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Monday looking good!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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The eastern Pyrenees got even luckier this weekend, with snow falling from Thursday night, through Friday and into the night... and both Saturday and Sunday were mainly sunny, with a small snowfall in the evenings. Monday was superb. Extensive off-piste was available to the careful (plenty of dangers lurking under the recent layer of snow; I'm gonna need to patch up the board this week!) with the resorts nearer to the centre of the range offering thoroughly enjoyable off-piste thicknesses. All resorts have taken full advantage of the last week of low temperatures to run the snowmaking flat out; the coming week of sunshine and higher temperatures will keep the piste-lovers happy!
Strange old season it's turning out to be, though. The coming high pressure front looks like it'll hang around for the next couple of weeks. The next powder day looks like it might come in two weekends' time.
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Hello, does anyone know how the French school holidays affect the slopes in the Pyrenees? I am going to Luchon/Superbagneres on 12th Feb for my first boarding holiday and as a novice wanted to get an idea of how busy it is likely to be. I've checked the web and only 2 areas are actually on holiday this week (zone C)??
I have spent the winter learning indoors...and literally cant wait?
Advice?
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You know it makes sense.
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| mrgallacher wrote: |
Hello, does anyone know how the French school holidays affect the slopes in the Pyrenees? I am going to Luchon/Superbagneres on 12th Feb for my first boarding holiday and as a novice wanted to get an idea of how busy it is likely to be. I've checked the web and only 2 areas are actually on holiday this week (zone C)??
I have spent the winter learning indoors...and literally cant wait?
Advice? |
Hi Michael,
The French holidays do see a massive uplift in the number of skiers in the resort, and Peyragudes. However the reality is this is still generally quiet compared to alpine resorts that are totally over run not only by the French but hoards of Northern Europeans.
Timing will be key, avoid the bottle necks (I will be briefing you on this when you arrive). Don't try and get the gondola after 9.15 as this is when the families with their kiddies all go up so that they are there in time for ski school.
The quietest time on the slopes is while the same families have their lunch - a French religion. And avoid trying to catch the gondola down at the end of the day as you can queue for a long time.
Mike
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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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Yep, the Pyrenees are great because both the French and Spanish have the whole lunch religion thing going on (which is of course one of the reasons I love them – but come on, surely it's possible to live without it on snow days!). You can ride in almost total solitude on piste during lunch hour, even at the weekend.  Best hour of the day.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Amen to that.....first lift......coffee/beer at 11.30.......call it at 4. Morning stay high, lunchtime most popular areas, early afternoon stay low!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Look you lot, for some reason you think that skiing is the reason people are there, get real, lunch is primary, skiing is just to make it more worthwhile. 
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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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Someone today sent me a photo from La Molina, Spain, from about 2 weeks ago.
The whole mountain between 1300m to 2000m was brown, with a few fake-snow whitestrips down it.
It looked like they hadn't seen any freshies for weeks or months.
Can anyone confirm this was the case? Has La Molina improved since mid-January?
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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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Whitegold, They had now new snow sience 27 january, but nearby Masella, http://www.masella.com/ linked together with La Molina by a gondola, are best in europe to make their own snow, they have the longest season in europe for resorts with no glacier, all the vertical drop is open 935m and 70% off the slopes are open, the black runs are closed
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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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Whitegold, La Molina is one of Spain's worst "important" ski stations when it comes to snow cover; although it's predominantly north-facing, it sits on the top of a rather flat hill with moor-like terrain rather than mountain terrain, and it has little tree cover. (As freeheelskier says, its neighbour Masella always has far better conditions, thanks both to the more mountainous terrain which keeps the sun hidden and to the extensive tree cover. [I think nearby Font Romeu famously gets the prize for best snowmaking though!])
The description you gave more or less sums up La Molina for me.
I was at both stations on Sunday; temperature was about +12 and the unbroken sunshine was almost burning! Masella's keeping well though, with the majority of the mountain open and in good conditions (hard with a decent artificial powder layer) but turning spring-like at lunchtime. The closed areas are at the two side extremes of the mountain where there is no snowmaking. La Molina was in a much worse state, with snowmaking being the only reason that they're able to open anything. I went down one of the supposedly "open" pistes which links the two resorts (Comabella) where there is no snowmaking, and I had to take off my board at one point and walk over a two-meter gap where there was no snow at all. Frankly, La Molina's a bit of a disgrace in the way it opens runs that are in terrible shape.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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BTW, scorching conditions are predicted to continue until the end of the weekend, but we might see some more promising weather action taking place next week when Spain's second anticyclone of the year looks like it will break.
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^ Thanks, dudes.
I had thought brown hills and halfcovered trails were a thing of the past but it sounds like La Molina is really suffering in the heat.
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| Whitegold wrote: |
^ Thanks, dudes.
I had thought brown hills and halfcovered trails were a thing of the past but it sounds like La Molina is really suffering in the heat. |
It is not just La Molina, the lucky thing for us in the Central Pyrenees is that though the sun exposed slopes are brown lower down, the pistes are in superb condition thanks to the decent fall of snow last weekend, especially until about 1 or 2pm. The lower runs do get soft in this heat but there isn't any ice or bare patches and no debris on the slopes which with almost empty slopes it is good to ski on the runs that are open.
Cooler weather and snow possibly from Sunday/Monday 
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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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Snow predicted for today and Saturday, which should make tomorrow and Sunday good days to be out there (and just in the nick of time for all resorts in the eastern Pyrenees).
But the damned high pressure is back again from the middle of next week. It's been a fairly mediocre season so far; here's hoping that the Pyrenees pulls off its frequent March trick of some late season dumpings.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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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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Constant heavy snow all day since 7am this morning here in Bareges (Hautes Pyrenees). It started with fine snow and soon turned to a big flaked white out! Still going strong as I write. Clear skies forecast for tomorrow, should be spectacular!
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You know it makes sense.
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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Ski Guide, Do you hang arround with a tripod all day! Cool pics
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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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We too had a great Friday in the eastern/central Pyrenees, although as in garbure we trust says, the snow that fell was merely covering the bare hillside in many places off piste. (I spent most of Friday evening pessimistically melting p-tex into core shots :-|) There was good snow to be had if you worked very hard to pick out your routes though!
A little bit more snow fell on Saturday evening, and unbroken sunshine today which was nice, but a strong southerly wind which was less nice. It seemed to be school holiday week in Spain though, since there were kids everywhere (relatively speaking; I think Saturday at half term in the Pyrenees is like a quiet January Tuesday in the Alps judging from what I read elsewhere on  !
Forecasts are currently indicating that the dreaded high pressure that was predicted for mid next week is going to get forced out into the Atlantic nearer the end of the month, with some real low pressure fronts coming in at lasts... it's all far too far out to be reliable yet, but optimism is good for your health, right?
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Still snowing here in Bareges, been at it for for 30 hours now - expecting some serious powder higher up, all a bit slushy down here (very near the mix line at around 1200m). I expect something in the region of 40cm of new snow... some more carrying on tomorrow but warming and clearing.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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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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Forget the old estimates: It was epic! 1m of new snow at the Col du Tourmalet (2100m), 80cm at 1800 and 50cm at 1500m! Nice - Pictures of the days events to follow!
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FAQ
