Ski Club 2.0 Home
Snow Reports
FAQFAQ

Mail for help.Help!!

Log in to snowHeads to make it MUCH better! Registration's totally free, of course, and makes snowHeads easier to use and to understand, gives better searching, filtering etc. as well as access to 'members only' forums, discounts and deals that U don't even know exist as a 'guest' user. (btw. 50,000+ snowHeads already know all this, making snowHeads the biggest, most active community of snow-heads in the UK, so you'll be in good company)..... When you register, you get our free weekly(-ish) snow report by email. It's rather good and not made up by tourist offices (or people that love the tourist office and want to marry it either)... We don't share your email address with anyone and we never send out any of those cheesy 'message from our partners' emails either. Anyway, snowHeads really is MUCH better when you're logged in - not least because you get to post your own messages complaining about things that annoy you like perhaps this banner which, incidentally, disappears when you log in :-)
Username:-
 Password:
Remember me:
👁 durr, I forgot...
Or: Register
(to be a proper snow-head, all official-like!)

The view from............ Val d'Isere and the Espace Killy

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
carfla7 - as far as I am aware the damaged 'comms' cable which was snapped by the winds a couple of weeks back has nearly now been replaced and they are doing test runs on the lift and it should open anytime soon... I wasnt up there today but if lynnecha says it was turning today then surely it must be close now!
snow report
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
You forget just how quiet the slopes are at the weekend!

After a leisurely start to the day and a family breakfast we got on the bus into town with the plan that we would have a family sledge in the sledging area next to the savonnettes piste and then some lunch before I headed off to work! With the sun shining it felt quite warm in the direct sunlight but after yet more melt freeze the avalanche risk has reduced down to 2/5 however we did have a tiny little extra pow up there to play with - a few cm's but a nice cushion and once again the pistes were in perfect condition!

Anyway sledging was fun especially as we bumped into quite a few of Olivias friends and her teaching assistant from the classroom! Lunch was a casual affair at Tartine in the sun before Clare and the kids headed home and I was off to teach the same guy as I had yesterday... being only his second day he had big plans (rightly so) so get around the zone tranquil up the Bellevarde side.

So off we went in the glorious sunshine. A lap of the 'green triangle' was to follow and surely but surely the skill level was improving... before we finally decided on a trip down Diebold to test him out... I would say all in all he did very well apart from a couple of falls. However he was clearly getting tired so by 3.30 he was ready to head to meet his mates at the Folie and I was clear to head home!

This evening we have been fortunate enough to get a babysitter and get out for dinner together.... the Barillon in La Daille serves big portions of wholesome food - I especially love the goats cheese salad for a starter there!

Anyway that pretty much brings you all up to date... tomorrow I have a lesson in the morning and then should be taking Olivia for a ski in the afternoon.


Sledging time


Ben my client, takes in the views atop the Grand Pre lift!

https://www.pscp.tv/w/1OdKrADreVXxX

TTFN
snow conditions
 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?

La Daille apartment car park.


This was in our car park in La Daille yesterday.

Someone has some digging to do.
snow conditions
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
i"m hoping to ski the le face run, i can do blacks although not totally comfortable on them, the steepness dont bother me but if it gets mogully then i start to worry. so is the joseray run a good escape route or could i head back up via the loyes chairlift.
snow conditions
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Steve I owe you a big favour!
snow report
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
Face was in mint condition at lunchtime today.
ski holidays
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
bar shaker - yes this is the santel car park... LOTS of snow has been dropping down into this car park and has been closed much of the month due to avalanche risk - you can see why! No worries re owing me a favour etc!
compostcorner - by the time you get to the loyes lift you will have done the 'hardest' bit - from there on it continues steep but doesn't (usually) get any harder lower down.... the Joseray 'option' is not really that much easier to be honest no! So if you have a nightmare on the wall before the Loyes then head back up that chair. Good luck!
snow report
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Proud dad

With the sun shining once again you could be fooled for thinking that it would be the same as yesterday BUT crucially it was much colder... well relatively to what we have experience recently anyway, with it being a few degrees under and a slight breeze at altitude meaning that it felt 'brisk' to say the least!

Anyway I met my am lesson - a jolly couple from Windsor who wanted to work on things they had been working on in a previous lesson with a colleage... so we split between some carving work and some moguls work... it was quite a hoot of a morning with some laughs and falls but most importantly of all the slopes were rather quiet - especially initially anyway!

After the lesson I fitted in my periscope.... for those who were asking about the Valley Perdue the other day - then tune in to todays broadcast!

https://www.pscp.tv/w/1YqGoaoweYBxv

After lunch (lunch on the run) I took Olivia out for a ski... we headed up the Funi and skied the Collet piste and a lap on the Grand Pre followed by a hot choc at the best place on the mountain for it - the Bellevarde Restaurant just below the Olympic lift; was followed by a long ski all the way down (via Crocodile Alley) to La Daille on the vert.... well done - you rocked Olivia!


Apart from the punter gap... a very proud daddy ski time with Olivia!


Yummy €2 (if you are an instructor and €4 if not) kids hot choc at the Bellevarde restaurant!


Glorious weather!

Since then we have had a colleague around with her little girl for a playdate and it has been a very pleasant and relaxed evening... back to work tomorrow.

In local news there are 3 key things to report.... firstly ONCE AGAIN a skier and boarder followed tracks and got lost and needed rescuing again... once again it was above the couloir to nowhere down here in La Daille... the same errors are made over and over again. Why dont people realise the dangers of following tracks into the middle of nowhere and going to places where you have no idea what the outcome will be.

The second thing to report is that there are still some lifts and pistes closed (mainly due to the fact that they either need to be dug out or fixed)... the Cugnai did open today though finally (can't wait to get off piste out there at some point!). Some pistes are closed as avalanche risk pervails - for example the Trifollet piste down into La Daille... creepers are hanging!



The final thing to report is the annual ClassicalVal classical music concert series is happening at the moment... so if you are in town and you would like something different then get to the Conference Centre pronto!

... and finally more snow and a change in the weather is looming on the horizon!

TTFN
snow report
 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.
Is Trifollet ever open? I've only ever been down it when it's been closed. Last time was grass and rock hopping then playing stepping stones over the stream at the bottom.
ski holidays
 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
@compostcorner, best way to approach Face if you haven't done it before is to have a good look at it from the Olympique on the way up (you can see all of the nasty bits from the gondola including the wibbling ledge), and see how people already on it are coping. Then, if you decide to ski it, first pop into the Bellevarde (as recommended by Steve) and have a hot chocolate with a shot of rum (the best knee lubricant known to man). Good luck! snowHead


Last edited by Ski the Net with snowHeads on Mon 29-01-18 2:00; edited 1 time in total
latest report
 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
@Steve Angus, just shown our daughter the picture of Olivia’s hot chocolate and straight away she could name the restaurant rolling eyes
Unfortunately we are on punters prices so Marmottes and Cascades at €2 is our normal stop.
ski holidays
 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.
Can only back the accounts of great conditions yesterday. Stayed around Fornet and Val D'isere Very Happy Very Happy


http://youtube.com/v/wIS4tRHL53Y
snow report
 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
@axci, looks a bit busy Wink
snow report
 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Just back from an awesome week in VDI. Thanks to @Steve Angus for a fabulous adventure off piste and the advice re the Lost Valley. The boys went home on Friday (totally converted to the idea of guided off piste) so Pending Jr and I went in search of it on Saturday, and I have to say it was the highlight of the week! Definitely the best fun we've ever had on skis Laughing
snow report
 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@Steve Angus, how does one - inadvertently or otherwise - get to the "couloir to nowhere"? Sounds like an easy (and expensive) mistake to make if two separate parties have ended up there in a week.
latest report
 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
@moosepig, by following someone else tracks....
snow conditions
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@kitenski, yep, got that, just wondering where it is. So I can avoid it when there aren't any tracks wink snowHead
snow report
 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?
endoman - problem is that it is south(ish) facing and doesn't have snow making or piste bashing 'facilities' available on it therefore it is always 'au naturel' so you get what you get down there... and not it is not open that often!
moosepig - sound advice there!
muppet - another hot chocolate connoisseur!!!!
axci - nice thanks for posting... but as kitenski says - terribly busy - ha ha!
Pending - EXCELLENT all round - glad you had a fun holiday - until next time!
moosepig - OK best explained with a photo (that took finding and then editing)... anyway here goes



So generally speaking and looking at the area where the arrows are (Bellevarde mountain): the red line is the face run, blue line is the Cairn off piste route, purple line is the spatula (baby and super versions inc), light blue line is the general route the Funival takes which means the black line is the 'couloir to nowhere' that ends in cliffs... hope that helps!
ski holidays
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
Nice to have 'solid foundation' skiers

Today was one of those days where both afternoon and morning sessions were refreshing... lots of really solid foundations with which to build on... rather than reconstructing what you are presented with in the first instance... it is not that often that both sessions in a day you can say that!

Anyway the sun was shining once again and I had a couple of nice guys in their late 50's / early 60's.... with a gap between lessons we planned to have a set of drills and focuses that they could take away with them to practice for the next couple of days before our next session. So anyway we hit up Solaise and after a few runs on the Glacier Express it was off to the Arcelle and it was in awesome condition and not too many people on it (initially anyway!)

It was a good morning...

The afternoon was spent with a nice lady whom I last taught a few years back.... she is actually French but has lived in London for many years... lacking in a little confidence it was a case of building her back up again and ultimately we headed down the Arcelle a couple of times working on things... with the snow becoming more cut up she handled things very well! By the end she was a little tired though so we ended up downloading and doing a final lap on the Rogoney!

Today I have a few pics for you... guess where this first up (its not hard reading what I have put above!)






Secondly what is wrong with this picture... all I can say is that there are a fair few cases of deaths due to this... if you dont know what I am talking about then ill explain tomorrow but ill give you all time to study this picture carefully:



I also have the weekly TDC Snow Report video for you to enjoy:

https://www.facebook.com/tdcski/videos/vl.183250618927790/10156049654093607/?type=1

..and of course my periscope from today:

https://www.pscp.tv/w/1mrGmZPYOzWJy

FINALLY for today big congrats to not 1 but 2 Val d'Isere Club des Sports Alumni who have made it to the Winter Olympics .... Victor Muffat Jeandet and Clement Noel... the very best of luck to them both!

I think that is all for today - TTFN
snow report
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Where L branches off, parent with child on back stopped in the middle of piste.Accident waiting to happen...
snow report
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
First two pics - Arcelle snowHead Second pic - wow, the snow is really sloughing off the other side of the valley Shocked
snow report
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@retsil, good spot, I thought that was two people to start with Shocked
latest report
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Steve Angus wrote:
moosepig - OK best explained with a photo (that took finding and then editing)...

Brilliant, thanks for taking the time to do a graphic Very Happy I think I can say with some confidence that I am never likely to end up there Skullie
snow report
 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.
@kitenski, @Steve Angus,

Definitely not busy Cool no concerns any longer.
Another great day on the mountain. Fantastic weather and a lot of fun. Highlight was Col Des Ves (Tignes) which was nice and soft for most part.
snow conditions
 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
@Steve Angus, is the Wales Mouths, ready to swallow people?

Our last day today. Having lunch at the Rosée. No wind, beautiful sunshine, aching legs. Perfect.

snow conditions
 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
retsil wrote:
Where L branches off, parent with child on back stopped in the middle of piste.Accident waiting to happen...

Think someone else is stopped below the crest as well?
ski holidays
 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.
Or is it the skier looping up, under the crest?
snow conditions
 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
What is wrong with that picture? Easy, I'm not in it...it looks lovely there, much better than this blooming office!
snow conditions
 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Steve , young child / baby on back - cases of them freezing to death Crying or Very sad
snow report
 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
retsil, moosepig, Bennisboy, bar shaker and RobCrock - yea pretty much all what you have said... the man is carrying a very small child in the backpack harness thing... firstly the g forces on the child can't be good for its pelvis when sitting in one of those things but it is the cases of kids freezing to death that worries me... and of course the worry re falls or crashes from others etc... an accident waiting to happen yes! Ha Ha gixxerniknik

moosepig - no worries.... ha ha about never ending up there... and yes the snow has been shifting around and falling off the mountain side somewhat!

axci - sounds like you are having a brilliant holiday!

bar shaker - boooo your last day!!!!!
snow report
 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Nice to get back up to the Fornet

With the sun shining once again and having not gotten up there all season what with the weather and lesson need it was so nice to have the chance... With Robin running late it was a leisurely start... anyway we got going (he can be forgiven as he is 75) and had a leisurely slide down the pistes up Solaise warming up the technique before heading up towards the Pays Desert. Some really nice snow out there although not as good overall as perhaps I had hoped but we got some fresh lines without too much walking.

It was one of those days when I kept bumping into either clients I knew, people I knew or the like... I felt semi popular / famous all day long!

This afternoon I had a fellow SH session and it was combi ski and snowboarder combined lesson and we did a few laps of the Arcelle followed by a descent down Plan M... some great changes for them both... especially satisfying when I could only verbally explain to the boarder what to do and he interpreted it correctly!

I finished at 3 and had to head to our place we rent out seasonally to do some maintenance and then home to collect Olivia off the school bus and that pretty much brings you all up to date.

The weather should be good once again tomorrow before we get a decent dump into Thursday!!!! Of course all the time we are moving closer and closer to half term so must make the most of the quieter slopes and amazing snow!


You can just about see the couloir to nowhere right in the centre of the photo!


Someones got a sense of humour over in Tignes!


On the up and over chair it is getting rather close for comfort (snow levels) at the top eh!


The mountains are stunning aren't they

https://www.pscp.tv/w/1nAKEWgEXOnJL

PS DUE TO A LAST MINUTE CANCELLATION OUR LITTLE SELF CATERING APARTMENT IN CENTRAL VAL HAS AVAILABILITY - please DM for more info!

TTFN
ski holidays
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I have been following your posts and thought it’s long overdue for me to thank you informative and entertaining !!
From next door in Tignes!!
snow report
 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?
Hi Steve - I've been meaning to mention - I was in Chamonix the weekend before last for a boys trip. As per usual we went over to Courmayeur for a day and was very surprised to see a TDC instructor/coach there with a group!?! Youngish Scottish guy - not one of the Val D'Isere TDC crew. I didn't get a chance to have a chat as he was busy with his clients. We were speculating that maybe a private client booked him for his group for the week or something? Any thoughts? No worries if not - I was just curious!
ski holidays
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
The clouds were building

With more blue skies but with clouds building in the distance and slowly but surely moving in it was nice to enjoy a largely sunny day with warm temperatures once again!

I have the boys from Monday once again and todays topic was carving... so we did some work up on the Grand Pre and around the Bellevarde and had a really good session. Lots of positive changes and enthusiasm meant it was a really good session. We finished with me dropping the boys en-route to me skiing back to Val.... fitting in my periscope.



https://www.pscp.tv/w/1OyKAdjznvoxb



You can see in the photo above the high clouds showing upper atmosphere turbulence as the air masses start 'clashing'... weather is on its way.... if that is not a sure fire sign then the building cloud over Mont Blanc in the middle of the photo is more of a sign of things to come!

The weather that is supposed to move in is likely to bring snow in the early hours of the morning and throughout the day tomorrow - weather it is 10 or 50cm is still up for debate so we shall see.

The afternoon today was the start of my new and second seasonnaires group of the season. I nice group of friends all working for the same chalet company (Ski-Val)... so we spent the session working on the Arcelle looking at their short turns and I was most impressed especially with a couple of them.... another of them was an ex international hockey player therefore pretty used to being drilled etc. With the trick of the day being backwards skiing I think they enjoyed it.

With a friend of Clare dad popping around for cuppa it was a nice end of day!

There was an added attraction as part of the Classicaval event today atop the Bellevarde - somehow they managed to get a grand piano up the mountain and with some sort of amplification system there was an 'interesting' but nice vide as you clipped in up there...



There was another interesting story bouncing around town today... more about people following tracks / getting lost etc... this time it almost sounds too crazy to be true....

A few people were rescued having hiked up above the Val glacier and dropped off the back... were they heading towards the Col du Montet, Bonneval perhaps..... not they were apartently heading for.... wait for it... Tignes!!!!!!!! That is another expensive heli rescue!

Anyway think that is all for now.

TTFN
snow report
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
snowornever - wonderful thanks ever so much... kind of you to say!
nemesys - that will be Rab.... so Rab lives down the valley near Bourg and also has his Italian Maestri and speaks fluent Italian and spends much of the Winter teaching over there as knows the valley well... he even runs some heli skiing over there too. He works in Tignes a large part of the season. So has some clients he either takes over there from Tignes but also has a few clients that are 'native' to the Italian side and teaches over there too... So thats whom it will have been! Nice guy!
snow report
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
Thanks Steve - that clears it up!
ski holidays
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@Steve Angus, Just in case...how much does one get hit for a private heli back to town these days? Laughing
ski holidays
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
nemesys - Very Happy
beeryletcher - depends on many factors.... but say a pick up from the 'couloir to nowhere' into town probably only a few hundred euros... whereas if you were off the back of the Val glacier in a spot that required some 'search' time then it could probably run into several thousand euros.... then on top of that there is any medical costs.... could be expensive! Don't get caught out in the first place!

Well that wasnt quite as planned

As expected the 'snowstorm' (certainly compared to recent events) was hardly a 'storm' and we woke to about 10 cms of snow on the ground... not much wind but colder temps! Robin was running late therefore at the meeting point his wifes instructor Kim and I had a good catch up which was nice!

Anyway we got going and headed up top... there was a stiff enough breeze and poorer visibility to make us decide that staying lower would be the best way forward. So a few laps working on powder skiing was the go but after it got pretty tracked out pretty quickly it was time to concentrate on general bits and bobs! Things would have been a faster turnaround (Robin didnt want to head up high so opted to stay in the La Daille sector) if the Etroits chair hadn't gone technical and we had to use the gondola instead!

Anyway lunch was taken in the warmth of our office before the fun and games started. For a moment it looked like the weather was looking up and with some very good off piste skiers it was going to be an interesting afternoon. A warm up off the Madelaine proved that the snow was deeper than expected and lovely and cold, light pow... so I made the decision to do a (first for me of the season) Cugnai and we headed up top... as we got there the weather moved in a little but it didnt look as if it was going to stay too long... how wrong could I be. We found some awesome snow pitch after pitch after pitch though... but the weather was getting heavier and heavier and the vis was dreadful... luckily I know my way down there like the back of my hand... so we picked our way along slowly but surely and despite having to do a lot of pushing and poling we got there in the end! Phew - not what I had planned!

A trip from the bus stop back to the Mattis was a highlight after that (although I did double eject dropping off a ledge in zero vis) and then a trip through the Fornet forest to finish! I was SPENT by 4.30 when we finally finished up and not really in the mood to do my periscope today - sorry folks... just wanted to get home!

However when I got home Clare pretty much straight away sent me out as the guests in our chalet apartment needed some help...

So finally about an hour ago I settled down to some chow and then get on the case with some admin and this! Arghhhh what a day!

We ended up getting about 15cm in town today and more up top but not quiet enough to give a complete fresh canvas but enough to play with. Tomorrow could be sunshine which would be nice... my lesson plan for tomorrow is moguls in the morning and then more off piste in the afternoon - whether that actually happens or not like that we shall see!



It was not too bad early on (vis)... BUT....

.... oh dear not great now!!!!

The traffic forecast for this weekend is reasonable so no real problems I dont think...

TTFN
snow conditions
 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.
Driving up to Val tonight- how’s the road? Small car
snow report
 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Steve Angus wrote:
snowornever - wonderful thanks ever so much... kind of you to say!
nemesys - that will be Rab.... so Rab lives down the valley near Bourg and also has his Italian Maestri and speaks fluent Italian and spends much of the Winter teaching over there as knows the valley well... he even runs some heli skiing over there too. He works in Tignes a large part of the season. So has some clients he either takes over there from Tignes but also has a few clients that are 'native' to the Italian side and teaches over there too... So thats whom it will have been! Nice guy!


Is that Ellie Green of Les Melezes' Rab? Lovely guy if it is.
snow report



Terms and conditions  Privacy Policy