 Poster: A snowHead
|
|
Hey Steve - I have been watching Snowforecast.com for the predicted new snow over the next few days. Yesterday they were forecasting a big dump next week (150cm+) but today the forecast is way more moderate. I'm out in April with my family and our friends. What's the snow cover like at the moment, should I be worried?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
| London_Falcon wrote: |
| should I be worried? |
Nobody can accurately forecast the snow or weather in April, but don't worry, it's a very snow sure area with over a metre of snow at 1850m and over 2meters over 3000m
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
Thanks Steve, v reassuring!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
PieterG - ah thanks - makes sense now!
London_Falcon - no probs - it'll be fine!
Oh god I thought Winter was over
I managed to fall asleep watching the cricket on tv last night and woke up at 3am with some sort of a repeat showing and was mighty confused! Anyway nice work England... and my boy Billings (went to my school) getting Man of the Match - good work!
Anyway we had a pretty lazy start to the day at home with a family breakfast and then some playing around at home. The weather was not looking very enticing out there so we chilled at home.
By lunchtime I was gearing up for my afternoon lesson whilst Clare was getting Olivia ready for a playdate in the afternoon with some downtime watching a movie and Ben was taking his nap!
I ventured out and gave a refresher sort of brush up lesson for a couple of guys (father and son) and we headed up Bellevarde - this was mainly so we could have the chance of getting in some moguls as they requested! The snow that was falling was very much wet (to put it mildly) and the clouds were getting thicker and thicker! Darn it! Ultimately we got some nice turns in on the Fontaine Froid and then later on on the Face where it was perhaps the most grippy I have ever seen it! Lovely!
With the weather moving in more and more and vis dropping right off we abandoned the plans to do some moguls and instead lapped around to La Daille a couple of times!
After skiing I went to meet our new guests for the apartment and then collected a couple of happy hour pizzas from Val Pizza for family dinner back home... Olivia got back from her playdate and we all tucked in... yummy!
Anyway both Olivia and Ben were knackered so getting them into bed was easy enough and Clare is feeling a little under the weather and I have a dodgy throat again so it will have to be an early night and hopefully a restful night for all!
The weather is looking horrendous out there not just this evening but for a very juicy week upcoming - should be interesting!
In local news there was a 'proper' burglary yesterday somewhere in Les Coves area of town - whoever did the job knew the movements of the occupants of the place (I think it was an apartment but I am not 100% sure). They stole jewellery and money apparently!
Also there was YET MORE people airlifted out of the Gorge du Malpasset who followed tracks down there (again the tracks that go down there peel off at the last minute and are those of people who are staying at the refuge and day touring around but need to descend down from the Col to get there) and got stranded - arghhh!
Anyway TTFN folks - tomorrow Clare is working in the afternoon but I am off skis totally!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Quick question - what is the Off Piste like at the moment. I imagine that it is pretty icy with weeks without any proper snow? I can see snow coming this week, although the amount keeps dropping day by day - do you think it will be enough to freshen up the Off Piste for a few weeks, assuming the weather stays relativity cold? Thinking about a Off Piste trip during week of March 24th but I'm not keen on spending a lot of money if the snow is rubbish. I know it's always a gamble but any info from someone on the ground would be great.
Cheers
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@BMG, we have atleast a week of snow forecast. It should be good for your trip.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
| bar shaker wrote: |
| @BMG, we have atleast a week of snow forecast. It should be good for your trip. |
If the temps ever drop.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
BMG - you dont really get 'icey' off piste - you get chalky snow which is super grippy or you get wind affected or simply thin cover when you go weeks without much snow. Will it be enough to freshen up the off piste - yes I should think so... there is some good off piste out there still - just gotta know where to look for it! Being colder will definitely help OR have long periods of sun and you get lovely spring snow which can be just as nice as powder (well almost) to ski! It is anyones guess what the conditions will be like by the 24th March but either way the season is always still ticking along here until early May so there is something for everyone! But as bar shaker we should have a descent amount this week coming so it will hopefully be a new canvas to play with for the very least! But the temps are supposed to plummet tomorrow and be pretty cold rest of the week - fingers crossed!
A nice day off
With the weather looking horrendous out there this morning I was glad we could have a really lazy morning indoors. Ben was up slightly early whereas Olivia had a really good lie in. Much of the morning was spent having a leisurely breakfast, watching ski racing on tv and playing with the kids. It was a very nice morning indeed!
At lunchtime Clare went off to meet her corporate group she is teaching the next few days... they are staying in the Balme de L'Ours and the group form the Netherlands were in disarray (as it often the way with corporate groups). Whoever is booking these things really has no idea; the group didnt even get into Val until 1300 when the lesson was supposed to start, by the time they had had lunch, got changed, walked all the way into town to get their equipment rental (even when there is a perfectly good rental shop IN the hotel) and of course booked into the hotel. They finally got going at nearly 1530 for their 1300 lesson start time!!!
Meanwhile with the kids sleeping at home I watched some more ski racing and put my feet up - I'm still not feeling 100% at the moment and rather jaded generally so its nice to have some downtime before the Easter holidays arrive AND then I have to do my year end accounts - arghhhh I hate that!
With everyone up and raring to go we went to the Fall Line for cuppa with Andy and Kellie and then round their house for some time for Olivia to do some artwork... then it was home time and the usual evening cycle of bath and bed time etc!
So my photo today is not that inspiring I am afraid - taken at the base of the mountain! But hey ho!
Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be even more horrendous and it sounds like the winds might be so high that we really can't get out on the hill much at all in the pm - we shall see!
TTFN
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
| Steve Angus wrote: |
Also there was YET MORE people airlifted out of the Gorge du Malpasset who followed tracks down there (again the tracks that go down there peel off at the last minute and are those of people who are staying at the refuge and day touring around but need to descend down from the Col to get there) and got stranded - arghhh!!
|
Noooooo!
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
WOWSERS
Now that was an interesting one... once or twice a season (sometimes more often but sometimes not at all during the season) you get a day like that when the whole earth seems to be blowing up all around you.
The wind had been howling all night long and there was a little (just a few cm's of fresh about). Getting the kids off to creche and school it was time for action! It was obvious that there was not going to be much open and indeed all the main gondola lifts up had their cabins neatly stored away and safely from the wind! Anyway at action time my client turned up dead on time and it was refreshing to have someone with the attitude that 'what will be will be' and 'of course you can always learn something no matter how little terrain is available'... it was that attitude to getting better rather than the necessity to cover miles and miles that was good to see!
Anyway we started with a warm up on the Rogoney (before it got predictably busy) and then it was onto some laps on the Bellevarde chair as that was really the only sensible option to actually teach for what we needed to achieve. After a few laps on there (it was good seeing the racers using half the piste and racing slalom at full speed next to mere mortals going at half the speed - ha ha!) we decided to take the top chair too as the Loyes was now open.
At the top it was unbelievably windy and (as it usually the case when it is windy) it was head on so getting down to the sort of bottom of Marmottes level was effectively a case of pointing the skis downhill and letting momentum to try and get you to the destination... but effectively the wind was holding you back!
Now knowing the resort like the back of my hand and calculating a few things I new that the stade bonnevie would not only have great snow (it did - shin deep powder on it) but would also be sheltered from the wind.... so queue quite a few bonus powder turns and shelter from the wind - it was actually very jolly for about 6 laps or so!
However sooner rather than later we needed to head down and by now the only option was to ski to La Daille as nothing was open up high... the ski down was interesting as the cross winds had totally (and I mean TOTALLY) stripped all the snow off the pistes so queue some ice skating down the pistes!
I spent the afternoon at home doing a few jobs before venturing out to get the kids.
The winds and intensity of snow was something else - please check out my video I posted on my instagram feed @SteveAngusSnow and you will get a sense of what it was like.
So in the space of a few hours we got a lot of snow that is for sure. It will be interesting to see how things shape up tomorrow when the sun comes out (as it is schedule to do - it will be a bluebird day) - there will be a lot of wind loading out there that is for sure!
The pisteurs had their work cut out today - in fact Clare is on a corporate group this week and they had lunch pre-booked at the Bellevarde Restaurant and it was mission getting everyone there in the first place by the sounds of things... anyway having gotten everyone there and during the time they ate upstairs in the restaurant the wind strength increased massively and it got to the point with all the lifts closed that the pisteurs had to clear the mountain down and Clares group were escorted down from the restaurant to the bottom.... now THAT is rare!
The pisteurs on the Solaise side posted a cool vid from today - just check out the Doggles!!!!
TTFN
https://www.facebook.com/pisteurval/videos/812230402453613/
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
DOGGLES!! That's awesome. How cute, and much needed I'm sure. Such cool dogs.
What do the staff in mountain restaurants do when the weather suddenly closes everything like that? Do they just shut everything down quickly and go back to resort via skidoo? Or just batten down the hatches and sleep there?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
| HoneyBunny wrote: |
DOGGLES!! That's awesome. How cute, and much needed I'm sure. Such cool dogs.
What do the staff in mountain restaurants do when the weather suddenly closes everything like that? Do they just shut everything down quickly and go back to resort via skidoo? Or just batten down the hatches and sleep there? |
Yea its cute...
In terms of the of the restaurants - well places that are reachable by lift when the wind speed gets to a threshold they shut shop and that threshold is lower than the speed needed to actually close the lift (but the staff always have ski stuff stored at the restaurants ready to ski down if necessary)... places that are further out - e.g. the Cascades or Marmots for example will not open properly in the day for food at all. There is quite a lot of orchestrated action planning that goes on behind the scenes day in day out actually!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
@Steve Angus, Oh god, my life is complete. Doggles...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
HAHA great screengrab <3
| Steve Angus wrote: |
In terms of the of the restaurants - well places that are reachable by lift when the wind speed gets to a threshold they shut shop and that threshold is lower than the speed needed to actually close the lift (but the staff always have ski stuff stored at the restaurants ready to ski down if necessary)... places that are further out - e.g. the Cascades or Marmots for example will not open properly in the day for food at all. There is quite a lot of orchestrated action planning that goes on behind the scenes day in day out actually! |
Interesting, I've often wondered that, thanks Steve.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
| Steve Angus wrote: |
Anyway at action time my client turned up dead on time and it was refreshing to have someone with the attitude that 'what will be will be' and 'of course you can always learn something no matter how little terrain is available'... it was that attitude to getting better rather than the necessity to cover miles and miles that was good to see!
|
Admittedly I am not reliant on cramming a year's skiing into 6 days but I would not have wanted to ski in those conditions and I'd be certain I wouldn't learn a thing from a lesson in it. Do you ever decide that the weather means the customer is not going to learn anything and there is no point running the lesson?
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
| bar shaker wrote: |
| I would not have wanted to ski in those conditions |
Definitely agree with you on that!
| Quote: |
| I'd be certain I wouldn't learn a thing from a lesson in it. Do you ever decide that the weather means the customer is not going to learn anything and there is no point running the lesson? |
Maybe I just don't have enough experience under my belt yet but I always learn new things in my lessons, and in bad conditions I've been given some very useful tips for dealing with them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
bar shaker - no as the only thing that would ever stop a lesson is a complete shut down of everything - there is always something that can be learnt in reality... looking for the nicest conditions is usually the way forward - even yesterday on the stade bonnevie getting some nice turns in on slope there sheltered from the wind was the way forward - shin deep pow was good. But anyway something instructors are trained for is the stance that you can challenge someone by drill not by terrain so even if it were for example just the nursery slopes open then there are drills etc that can be done to improve someones technique - ie. you dont need massively long runs. Another example is that someone can train and pass their BASI 1 exam at an indoor slope - reasonably high levels of performance can be developed on just one 200m long slope. And the final thing to note is that in reality a lot of the time it is down to mind set in that 'where theres a will theres a way' - I have taught plenty of people that ONLY really want lessons on poor weather days and vice-a-versa... so for that reason 'if its open (the slopes) then the lesson goes ahead' - not really any other choice from our point of view of what the client expects. It is an 'open' environment sport after all!
motyl - always good to hear!
Better - much better
Well folks not much to report from today really.... Clare was out early today - as the sun was shining and her all day booking was chomping at the bit to make it a really long good day - as yesterday and tomorrow were / could be somewhat less than the max options... so that left me to take Ben to creche and then onto my lesson however getting to the meet point was a challenge today as the buses were mucked up and it took AGES for one to arrive - luckily when it arrived it was a bendy bus and was followed immediately afterwards by a second - thank goodness as the queues were HUGE!
Anyway I met my guy a young man from Kent and with only 3 weeks experience behind him I was most impressed by his attitude to learning and developing but also his skills. We mainly lapped around on the Arcelle and like most of the pistes it was a mix of heavily wind scrapped ice mixed with lumps wind blown pow that was forming into moguls - certainly variable!
We finished with a couple of laps on the Rhone Alpes black which was in excellent conditions considering and totally deserted!
It was a good session.
The afternoon I spent at home and then went to collect the kids.
Sorry not much else to report this evening - not much happening really! The Classical Val event is now in full swing and if conditions allow there will be a grand piano up the Solaise tomorrow being played promoting the music event - hmmm could be interesting!
TTFN
P.S. Brilliant video of the PIDA THIS MORNING on the Face - so this was a daybreak and after successful CATEX work above the pisteurs moved down to lear the chutes above the Peau du Vache... those are the blasts at breakfast time you often hear in the mornings and you can see the results! Amazing stuff - good and brave work boys!
https://www.facebook.com/paul.gate.75/videos/10216544851367502/
Notice how the reporting goes back in that it was a positive movement and where the slide went too - as everything has to be logged and by reporting what happens with the blasting they can build up a picture of what is stable and moving or not.... so this is why things like the Face are closed on an afternoon like yesterday afternoon as the avalanche danger was creeping up and up!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
I probably needed that
It was a slightly differing start to the day as Olivia was off to the Village as she had a ski lesson and then afternoon in the Village (she loves both) - so I was taking her there and Clare was taking Ben to creche. The difference was that I was not teaching so after dropping Olivia at the Village I wandered home via the shops and pretty much spent the day relaxing at home and doing a few odd jobs but it was lovely I have to admit having the house to myself for a few hours! Clare was due back at lunchtime so the afternoon was spent all together!
Anyway outside the weather was reasonably OK with some fresh snow about (about 10cm or so) but with a little wind and certainly some clouds BUT over the course of the day the weather has built more and more and now this evening it is pretty windy and snowing hard... this is supposed to continue overnight and for the next 48 hours or so on and off!
I keep VERY quiet about the B word (UK political shambles) but again today I have been following every inch of the developments as I have been doing for the last few years... I generally follow politics and current affairs very carefully (gosh I wish I had studied it at A Level and possibly University - that and Economics - fascinating). Anyway I spent most of the day with the various news feeds etc flashing up and twitter on the go - all fascinating and directly relevant to me and my life out here that is for sure!
In local news the classical val music event has started (since I am having problems uploading my pics this evening I will use a Radio Val pic of the music event in the church last night - certainly a different side to Val than we are used to seeing eh!)
However the grand piano that was supposed to be up Solaise today to entertain the public and draw attention to the event unfortunately could not happen cause of the weather - oh dear perhaps they will try again another day!
When I went to collect Ben and Olivia from town this afternoon I had a shock... the buses were all mucked up for some reason and then I also discovered for no apparent reason that the tunnel under the pistes to the rond pont COMING from the town side was closed off... there was no signage and no info as to why it was closed and the usual poor communication between Val and the public continued - it does drive me mad as we are supposed to be a premier resort but sometimes the relaying of info to people is so poor in this place! Anyway I ended up having to walk across the piste to get to the Village and it all took much longer so by the time I got home with Ben as well I was pretty shattered! Arghhh!
Talking of something else that drives me mad is the lack of effort they put into the pavements in town - they refuse to properly salt them to clear them and ultimately they end up as an ice rink! So this morning the pavement claimed another one... a pisteur slipped even before getting on the slopes and cracked her head wide open - not even on the slopes! Several other pisteurs were around her helping her out as an ambulance came to cart her away - oh dear!
OH and more 'action' in the gorge yesterday - you get my drift!
TTFN
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
...
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Thu 8-10-20 7:11; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@Mogmogmog, very sad re the pisteur ,surley some road salt cannot cause any harm it’s 100 % natural . After several narrow escapes I purchased some boot ice crampon type things felt safe with those on .
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
@HoneyBunny, I too am a lurker , usually make it to Val coulple of times a year , not been yet this year same as you . Hoping to get out for Easter , British tour op availability is thin, and with ski Val going el kaput will get even thinner
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@vipul, try Simply Val d'Isere....all insured, or Project Ski chalets
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
Salt doesn’t really work on compacted snow and ice. Sharp stones are used in places like Zermatt to provide grip or as you say yeti type crampons.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
Salt does work on compacted snow and ice, probably just need more of it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@Zermattandchips, having been slipping and sliding around Tignes for the last three months I'm told that salt isn't very effective at very low temperatures.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
Salt does not work at all below -21 degrees, and is not really effective below about -10 degrees as you require just so much of it.
At -21 degrees it has to be 23% salt by weight (and 77% water) for it still to be liquid. This is the eutectic composition. At -2 degrees C it is 2% salt by weight. Broadly 1% extra by weight reduces you 1 degree. Thus salt works well in the UK where it seldom gets much below freezing.
10 metres of snow (a season's precipitation in Tignes) is about 1 metre deep of water, which is 1 tonne of water per square metre. To melt all that at -10 degrees would require over 100kg per square metre. It just isn't possible. And even if it were, at that sort of temperature it just makes it worse as it melts snow that would otherwise have stayed as (hard-packed) snow, which just refreezes dangerously when the temperature drops below -10.
| vipul wrote: |
| @Mogmogmog, very sad re the pisteur ,surley some road salt cannot cause any harm it’s 100 % natural . |
Sulphur is 100% natural, as is carbon monoxide, likewise cobra venom. Don't take any of them with your tea.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
I didn't realize that temperature played a significant part. I was basing my statement on me clearing the hard pack from the path and steps of our accommodation in Meribel last year to keep the kids safe. Got bored with hacking at it so on with the dishwasher salt.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
|
|
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?
|
| Mogmogmog wrote: |
Hi Steve - I am in resort right now and the piano player was there (at least in the morning). He was under some sort of cover so not sure if he stayed all day when the weather closed in during the PM.
WRT the conditions on Monday - I agree with you that you can always go back to drills and we usually do (we are being taught by one of your amazing colleagues and I had the pleasure of meeting you last week). Whilst in theory drills were possible, the queues on the Village slope started building up into the 100s of people as almost everything was shut. We decided to go up in the bubble at La Daille - when we got there we thought it was ok so started to go down, only to find that Verte was a sheet of ice (as you said), it was blowing a gale, and I had a panic attack on the side of the slope. So I guess I learnt to snow plough and side slip on ice for the day!
This is terrible news about the pisteur - we have been told they don’t put salt on the pavements because the Isere is a major contributory to the wine growing regions below and it would contaminate the water supply. I have that directly from one of the bar owners here.
Anyway - I’m an avid reader of your blog and I couldn’t help logging in today to say hello (I’ll probably go back to lurking now as I’m an intermediate and you guys all sound v advanced)! |
Well thanks - yup!!!! I know you'r having a good time on the slopes - all good! Thats good to know re the piano player - didnt know it was there in fact... well there you go! Yes re the salt and pavements and wine - in theory that is one of the reasons yes! Yes poor pisteur - not half! BUT DONT lurk - SH's is for everyone - really it is !
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
Re the chat on snow and ice and salt... I think that generally temps are typically 'warm' enough for it to work especially if salt is used from habit and systematically rather than wait until there is 6 inches of ice on the ground already... i.e. keep treating the pavements it would stop it building up! Hey ho who knows!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
|
|
|
|
@Steve Angus, cute! 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@Steve Angus, very cute need! I saw it on Instagram and thought how grown up he looked since we saw him last.
We are in Banff just now and it is going fom cold (minus 30 cold!) to +15c on Wednesday. They are predicting +4c at altitude...after the coldest winter for years. All the weather seems to be hitting extremes, or at least swinging across the ‘normal’ range in short order - thinking about Val’s recent mini heat wave...
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
| Steve Angus wrote: |
Sad news coming out of Ski Val today - lets hope that they will be the last to fail! And after 43 years of trading too! I bumped into a member of their 'former' staff today and he asked desperately if I new of any jobs going as he lost his accommodation, lift pass and job all on the same day by his account!
|
That's terrible news. I hope the slack is taken up by other operators and those that have holidays booked can recover their money.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
