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

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Thought that was a rather lovely photo to start with and taken on the Plan M down the Solaise (there was quite a lot of new stuff open today including the Borsat properly and Grand Pre (the new restaurant at the bottom of Grand Pre is looking awesome although not ready yet... big sun deck outside). Anyway its not often you get a photo taken like this on the empty (yes I know) Plan M.

That went well

So after the normal morning chores I headed off to my last day of lesson with my team.... I knew it was going to be cold out there as Ben my little helper had helped me knock icicles off the overhanging balcony at breakfast time and boy was it brisk out there - haha.

Anyway it was all action at the meeting point - the chopper flying materials etc in and out of the area, the snow cannons going off and ski-doos moving pisteurs about! Anyway we got going and headed up Solaise to once again find deserted pistes and perfect snow.... cold was an understatement though. After finding out that not much else was really open up that way and you still can't get Solaise to Fornet direction which is a shame we decided to come back down Solaise where as said the conditions were excellent and it was deserted (the snow was the best I could remember ever actually).

Uploading again to Bellevarde we noticed that we can do a good green triangle lap so really enjoyed that... the team loved the day which was nice so that is another early season clinic once again finished with for another year!

At lunchtime I had to dash home, change and get ready for the 1st avalanche safety talk of the year - yay the season really is getting going now when those start... been 2 whole years since the last ones.

Anyway I did a talk to 60 off VIP staff in their Bellevarde chalets and it was a good one with lots of good questions asked. The interesting thing I noted compared to what you got previously in other years was that the seasonnaires for the most part were NOT as 'seasoned skier' as you used to get. Lots of people who were pretty new to the sport it seemed - very interesting.

Meanwhile Ben was off swimming for his first 'Sardine' lesson and I went to collect him - he had a ball but was somewhat knackered by the time he was picked up - bless!

Sorted the kids for dinner and bed and thats another day over with.

Tomorrow could be an interesting one as Olivia has Club des Sport skiing whilst Ben will have a friend around in the morning. I also suspect that out the window we could be seeing snow and more snow fall as the forecast is for a lot of it over the next 24 hours or so.

I have a free day before the fine PSB SH's kick off and ill be over in Tignes for my first lesson on Sunday morning.

TTFN

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Great updates Steve. Really looking forward to some skiing (and perhaps a small beer) after all this time and the ups and downs of the last week. See you on Sunday unless the Swiss can think of some other way to keep us out!

You'll need to Register first of course.

@Steve Angus, was on a trip with a premiership football manager and his family I took to the Follie on the first day he insisted we went there every lunchtime for rest of the trip.
I always have their rice pudding yumyum
Look forward to trying the new restaurant at the grand pre

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@Steve Angus, Talking of Plan M I was very happy to see that the narrow section when you turn right towards the bottom seems to have been substantially widened.

After all it is free

FYI everyone this was on the road up at circa 1530 local time it was reported. (Translated from French on radio Val Twitter feed). Affects Val and Tignes obvs.

“ Road blocked around Ste Foy. A bus going up without chains blocks the road. We don't know when the road can reopen”

For those driving the road IS treacherous at the moment from the valley bottom.

Did someone say snow!

Well yes the only thing to describe today is snow and the ensuing carnage!

It wasnt a rushed start to the day really so kids had their weekend treat of baguette with nutella on top and me some poached eggs on toast... yum yum.

As soon as that was over we got Olivia ready for her first day of Club des Sports 2021/22... exciting as she slipped into her uniform - go girl! Anyway it had been snowing hard outside and was still snowing really hard and showing no signs of letting up - eek

Anyway off she went which gave me a little time with Ben and for me to start getting ready for this coming week and the PSB - getting my kit bag ready etc! With Olivia off skiing after Clare took her, Bens bestie came around for a play date which was lovely. They just love 'digging' so we took the shovels down to the courtyard and they did a LOT of snow digging - well jolly good exercise for them and fresh air too.

So it was a pretty relaxed start to the day really.... but what I did notice was that the police were checking everyones tyres and or chains as they LEFT town - normally this doesn't happen but with the new law this year if you haven't either got chains or snow tyres then you can be for the high jump! So anyway Clare got back with Olivia and we all settled down for a nice lunch! The kids even got a little bit of tv time to chill.

Clare then took Olivia back to Club whilst I played with the boys - they love a good game of 'monster'... haha! When she got back they made some cookies with her whilst i had to run a few errands in town and finished with picking Olivia up from Club. I was super proud of how she got on - we spotted her one time skiing down to La Daille with her group - right behind her coach Harolde and then eagerly keeping up with him as they walked to the bus - she always seemed to be first in line which was awesome to see - I think the new helmet and goggles she was given as an early Xmas present from my mum helped - haha!

So anyway apart from all that it was a pretty nice day out of ski boots and I gave the kids an early bath and bed as they were SOOOOOO tired so here i am catching up on here and getting ready for tomorrow and the start of the PSB - will be so good to be back teaching SH's again! yay!

Meanwhile whilst all that has been going on the weather has been raging (and still is) - the road to and from Bourg is one big car park and goodness knows what tomorrow will bring - lets hope I make it on the road to / from Tignes eh!

So a couple of pics from today (the traffic pic is not mine I hasten to add).... if you have come skiing today then have a good week and especially if you are on the PSB and if you are not skiing yet / not at moment then when you do come there is going to be some amazing snow ready and waiting for you.

TTFN

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

@Steve Angus, how much snow has come down at village level?
I had a look at the interactive piste map just now (lunchtime) and there’s loads of closed lifts and pistes. Is this because of the wind/avalanche danger from this big dump or they’ve not opened them all up yet due to fewer people being about so far? This is the first time I’ve seen the interactive map this season so I don’t know what they had open a couple of days ago.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

snow reports

Day 1 done

So what a day.... the first morning of the bashes is always quite stressful getting everything together but it was an early start thats for sure. The drive over to Tignes was OK but parking at the MDT was a nightmare - I think everyone is trying to squeeze in ski trips (the resort seems really busy for this time of the season thats for sure!) before any more covid restrictions kick in!!!! Anyway I finally found a spot in the MDT on the -2 level - didnt even know it existed that far down.

I made it to the hotel and met the first team of the day and off we went.... amazingly some of the lifts opened more or less on time! Amazing. There was a good 50cm of snow to contend with but it was excellent as she wanted to do variables anyway! I think for everyone on the bash including myself there is a definite case of being somewhat rusty! Anyway we had a constructive session and before you know it it was back to town for the next session with a group this time and we again had some good constructive development - well done everyone.

The weather was coming and going but never really did much apart from be a little windy or snowy all day! It was very cold at times too!

The last session of the day was an off piste session and we mixed up some technique with finding (that being the operative word as the weather came back in again and could not really see too much!) some nice snow and we got some nice strips here and there as best we could!

One thing I did manage to do and I still dont really know it happened was to double eject.... I was going at a decent speed on the Edelweiss piste when suddenly I was a ten pin bowling ball sliding face first along the snow - googles pushed down by my neck etc... somewhat embasrraing indeed but I wasnt hurt but I still dont really know how it happened! Anyway after dusting off my stuff I got up and got my skis back on but it was a very spectacular crash and I think I still have the snow down my neck now - haha!

Anyway by 1630 I was pretty tired and by the time I got in the front door at 1800 I was done.... so it was nice that there was a yummy home made meal on the table waiting. And here we are its more of the same tomorrow! The weather promises it will be much of the same tomorrow but certainly snow coming and going all week now.

About as sunny as it got all day

TTFN

@Steve Angus, thanks, should be great then once the weather settles!

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Heading to Tignes on Friday night (hopefully no more covid restrictions come into force...!) It's my first time back in the area for over 6 years (we usually go to 3valleys) and so looking for some lunch spot and favourite run recommendations in Tignes/VD area?

A snowHead

@lcoutts, what makes a good run / lunch spot for you? What are your favourite runs in 3V and why? Will you be skiing alone or a range of abilities to consider?

Two good places for a reasonable value (it's a ski resort, so it won't be cheap), hearty lunch are the restaurants at the bottom of the Borsat lift, and on the Val d'Isere glacier. The spar in Tignes Le Lac is also good for takeaway fast food.

I enjoy the reds on the Val d'Isere glacier because they are fairly quiet and have good visibility. There are blue and red runs down from the Tignes glacier if you like a long, uninterrupted run. Runs that I'd only do to get me somewhere are the main runs into the resort centres: Plan/M and Santons into Val d'Isere, and Johan Clarey into Tignes Le Lac. Even Piste H into Tignes Val Clarey can get too busy at times.

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

lcoutts - yes as thelem says its very subjective. The Val glacier is very nice (the Tignes glacier can be very busy) but I do like a trip down to Brevieires through the tree lined runs as its quiet down there usually! But eating wise there are so many to chose from for all budgets but the Ouillette at tope of Solaise is great as its yummy chevallot food from town! Thanks zariel - not heard of that one so thats good.

Cold but stunning

One thing that stood out today on the mountain was the instability of the snow that has just fallen - lots of skier triggered slides on really benign little slopes here and there and places I dont normally ever see slides in... quite scary actually!

Anyway sorry a spontaneous thought wanted to get in there before start properly today.

It was sunny but jolly cold out there at breakfast time and I think the exertions of the last few days really caught up with Olivia as she was pretty grumpy this am! Oh well we got there with the kids out the door and on the school bus. Clare was off doing some more cleaning for Mountain Rooms and then had a lesson later on today whereas I was meeting bottom of the Tommeuse at 0915.... saves so much time than driving over each day thats for sure!

Anyway I was on the first La Daille gondola and off on time. The snow was squeaky dry and perfect but given the bad weather yesterday everyone would be out to make the most of the conditions that was for sure!

After a warm up with my team we mainly worked on carving and were one of the first lot into the Borsat and then Grand Pre area and I have never seen such great snow.... we did lots of really good laps and some lovely changes were made! Its quite amazing how busy it is on the slopes at the moment - I can't decide whether its because the resorts are only about 50% open at the moment or something else like everyone trying to come whilst they are allowed - eeeek who knows!

A quick warm up at lunchtime before my next private and the aim was moguls etc... lots of good laps of the Johann Clarey piste which is in good shape followed. It was a nice session..... and finally for the last session of the day it was a mix and match session of moguls / short turns and whatever we came across. The sun actually had a little heat in it at times of the day which was nice but certainly when the sun disappears behind the mountain it got very cold!

I skied back down to La Daille and Ben had just got off the school bus whilst Olivia was off at gymnastics - this was great as it gave me an hour to sort things out before Olivia got back. Phew. When she did get back it was clear she was not really on form and was cold and felt pretty rotten so it was a quick bath and dinner time before getting her into bed.... fingers crossed she is not ill tomorrow and not able to go to school!!!!

With all the jobs for the evening covered I am settling down to get through the paperwork I need to cover for tonight so its TTFN

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Echoing comments about busy busy, also quite a few kamikaze kidz with little or no peripheral vision making life, erm, interesting on piste. Pistes in great condition. Off-piste it's still a little thin and what there is isn't very stable. We saw a lone skier in Familiale on a high traverse set off a 30m wide slide, which he was aware of only after the fact and stopped to take a picture for his (s)crap book. It's not where I would have gone given the conditions, and he didn't have any kit so he was pretty lucky in the circs.

@Steve Angus, promise I'm not stalking, but saw you at the top of Tov yesterday, we were social skiing with Gav.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

You'll need to Register first of course.

That was rather epic!

It was a busy start to the day getting ready and also helping to get the kids ready. I did manage to leave the house on time and get over to Tignes and park up in the SkiWorld chalet and still make it to the meeting point on time - phew!

The first team was the off pisters and there was a surprisingly large amount of fresh out there... official only 5cm had fallen but I am sure there was way more than that and there was also a strong wind blowing at altitude. Initially it meant that some of the lifts were on standby but even skiing down some of the pistes was producing some lovely turns! Some of the snow about was a little stiff it must be said but after the warm up we headed for a trip off the side of Fontaine Froide to try and sniff some decent snow out.... In the sheltered areas is was jolly nice but areas that were exposed to the wind either stripped or stiff - not nice!

One good thing about the wind was that they could not get the Borsat open which limited the number of people heading toward Grand Pre which was advantage us. So we dived in there as soon as we got the chance and it was apparent the snow was really deep in there - so deep that you needed a lot of momentum to get through it! So a few tactical runs working the options and managing tracks people had put in and out helped conserve energy levels and get some amazing turns in.... the last lap down the guts of the bowl under moniteurs was jolly special (some idiots on boards without gear followed us in there and over took us - dont think some people have a clue about either etiquette or what danger they are putting themselves or others in!) and soooooooo deep - awesome!

My lunchtime was really positive with some laps on Palafour producing some decent improvements but most importantly clear focus on the way forward! Bravo.

The afternoon was with my 'normal' group and we worked on moguls and there were some tired legs about that was for sure! It didnt help later when the weather started to move in again either and the light went totally flat - doh! Coming down the Johann Clare piste was somewhat interesting to say the least! But again some nice changes were had by all.

I rushed to the SkiWorld chalet to get out my ski stuff and mainly to prepare for the avalanche presentation for their staff. I think they really enjoyed the session as there was lots of good questions asked! By 1800 I was back on the road home and parking the car up and then dropping my gear away I was really ready for dinner and then move through my evening list of to-do jobs! It was nice just to see the kids before they went to bed too! Bless.

So here we are. There is loads more snow forecast tonight and tomorrow so that is good news although the guiding day could be interesting. Haha.

TTFN

Ready to roll in Tignes at 0900

Piles of snow ready to smash

Weather starting to close in!

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

I am now back in blighty , done my pcr and released as we traveled down Saturday afternoon in the snow and chaos to Lyon and flew out Sunday.

Great week last week and hoping the season holds together as we have a March return booked

Keep up the great work @Steve Angus

After all it is free

Thanks @SteveAngus @thelem @zariel - have noted everything down and now just keeping my fingers crossed that our flight will go ahead on Friday night.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Leaving next Thursday. Fingers cross. See you soon Steve.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Leaving Friday afternoon from Manchester to Val Disere in the van with a few friends. We are all very excited after having mostly seemed to have kept on top of the changing restrictions. These pictures and updates give us great hope, so thanks as always Steve for taking the time to update us.

snow reports

harvsurrey - great. Love that phrase 'season holds together' me 100000000 on that sentiment! Thanks.
lcoutts - 'nice long red or well groomed black' - yes reds on the glaciers fit some of those bills - especially the tignes glacier! You'll also like the Arcelle red then too! Well groomed black - do the Face in the morning then and you'll like that - Yohann Clarey piste into Tignes Le Lac you'll like too. 'nice view' restaurants - Le Signal in Fornet (upstairs) or the Edelweiss up there also try the Peau de Vache half way down the Face too... sure others would have thoughts too.
alvinsu - got a lot crossed yes!!! bring it on.
userscott - my pleasure. Well done jumping (and continuing to) through the hurdles! Enjoy your trip.

OHHHHHHH BOY

Well I dont know where to start really. It had snowed overnight but it had snowed WAY more than anyone was expecting and has been going hard all day. We have had so much snow in just a few weeks its pretty incredible! This time 3 weeks ago there were cars still driving across the snow front - now piste bashers need their throttles open full whack to plough through it all.... in fact the road to Bourg was once again severely affected and closed both ways for a few hours today at one point.

Anyway I suited and booted big time this morning BUT crucially it seemed to be a little warmer than yesterday so went down a layer. It was interesting making my way across to the funi - more like crawling my way across - haha! Anyway the lifts opened on time (even though lots did not open!) and off I went to meet my team at the bottom of the tommeuse lift.

With everyone present (it took people a while to get down the Crux piste as not much could be seen and the snow was very deep) we lapped down to La Daille three times... the snow was amazing - especially on some of the pistes where it had been pisted early last night allowing 40cms etc to fall on top of the semi solid base. Anyway I found a few routes that would please and the best bit was that the place was deserted. It really was jolly good. The bottom of the OK Orange was especially amazing. The snow was still coming down thick and hard but lower down there wasnt any wind and certainly you could see more.

With the avalanche risk 4/5 we had to be careful where we went and what we did and with this amount of snow you NEED some gradient in order to actually more so it is a fine balancing act. Anyway mid morning and we shipped up to the Fornet and had a couple of amazing laps on the not yet open Foret piste - normally as we all know it is a mogul field - today it could not have been more different - blower powder over the head on every turn and if anything the snow was even deeper up at the Fornet.

By lunchtime we all had earnt a nice meal at the Crozets - it was amazing even though it is table service only in there at the moment but boy we all recharged our batteries and with the snow still falling hard outside and the vis not improving it was back up the cable car after lunch! We took a trip lookers right of the cable car.... unfortunately it all took longer than planned to get down. The problem is that you only have to take a small fall in that snow and especially if a ski comes off it can a) take AGES to get up again and b) use up a lot of energy..... so the descent reverted to somewhat defensive skiing utilising the fresher legs of some of the group to bring up the rear and pick up the pieces..... anyway we got there in the end.... taking a different route in the back garden of a Fornet house to get back!

It was a rushed finalle as the guys had to make sure they got the Olympic lift and skied down to Tommeuse AND get on it all in 22 mins - I hope they made it in time!

Anyway what a day... I bumped into a few local free-ride legends and some of the comments coming out were along the lines of 'this is one of my top 5 pow days here ever' etc etc etc..... truly amazing snow.

It looks like it might continue tomorrow a little more so the av risk could creep closer to 5 from the 4/5 it is now - we shall see. If the wind gets up then that is a more certainty. Tomorrow I am taking the 'easy guiding' day so will go easier on my guys!

A few photos to finish with.

TTFN

Made it to the La Daille gondola - just about

Not a lot to see up there

It REALLY doesn't look like much snow - especially when you see shrubs etc still sticking through but trust me there was a LOT there.

You know it makes sense.

@Steve Angus, The change in snow depth looks immense.
We cleared our terrace on Thursday before we came back to the UK.
Goodness knows what faces us on our return this weekend Shocked

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Loving the snow pictures

A snowHead

Expect disruptions on the roads in the Savoie region if you are travelling on Friday or Saturday.

Announcement from the Prefecture of the Savoie:
"Due to exceptional snowfall tomorrow on the day of Friday, December 10, Pascal Bolot, Préfet de la Savoie, calls on motorists entering the department's ski stations to be particularly vigilant.
From dawn, snowfalls will take place on all the massive Savoryards. They will be intense in the morning, especially in the valleys (about 20 cm in Albertville). The snowy episode will continue throughout the afternoon and some into the night. Over 1,200 meters of altitude, at least 50 cm of snow is expected.
Traffic conditions will be particularly difficult on the access routes serving ski stations.
Chaining vehicles will be mandatory to be able to drive from 1000 meters altitude.
Pascal Bolot, prefect of la Savoie, invites to the highest precaution and calls on drivers to equip themselves with essential equipment to access the stations.
It encourages drivers who are not equipped with special equipment to postpone, 24 hours, their arrival at stations, from Friday to Saturday. It is recommended that drivers keep a hotel for the night of Friday, December 10th to Saturday, December 11th before arriving at the confluence of the Tarantaise and Maurienne valleys
and to get into the station at the end of the episode."

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Not sure what to do - we are due to drive from Geneva airport from 9pm tomorrow night rolling eyes

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

You'll need to Register first of course.

@lcoutts, Get on booking.com and find a reasonable priced hotel between Geneva Airport and the outskirts of Annecy.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

The La Daille webcam has been replaced Very Happy

After all it is free

best western alexander park Chambery on booking.com...good hotel, handy for the d1201, and gets you almost to the foothills for an early start to resort beating the traffic!

How quickly do they clear the roads, I'm looking at the forecast and can see the snow will drop off by lunchtime Sat. Due to arrive late afternoon Saturday but just wondering if the carnage will have subsided by then or not. We can take a more leisurely drive down, not so worried about driving in it rather sitting in traffic?

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

We arrive Saturday, what sort of snow are we talking in next 24 hours ?

Help!!

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

snowHeads Forum Index >>> Snow Reports - weather - snow conditions