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

A snowHead

It's a black off Solaise which leads back to town. Goes roughly underneath the Solaise Express.

A snowHead

Is it on the piste map as Piste A?

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Yes the Rhone Alpes is a black (shortish) run that peels off half way down the red run (Plan M) down the Solaise on the right hand side and effectively follows the lower half of the Solaise Express chairlift back down through the trees and joins on above the Village chair run in the centre of town. I agree depthjunkie that the Rhone Alpes is generally a better route back down into town than the Plan M red run!

IMO I think the Epaule de Charvet is the hardest black run in Val d'Isere. (depthjunkie it does get pisted but generally only about once every couple of weeks or thereabouts). Although it is not terribly long (if you discount the path at the start) it does develop BIG bumps and is convex so gets steeper and steeper the further down it you go (just as your legs are getting more and more tired). Just when you think it is all over you have the horrible slog of a push back into town along the Santons path!

The Face de Bellevarde (even though it is long and it has the one really steep part and is imposing and long) I don't really think is the hardest black in town... depends on what time of day you take it on and in what condition it is. First thing when the snow is groomed etc it acts more like a red run (by Val d'Isere standards anyway). Later in the day when it is bumpy OR when it is frozen solid (e.g. just after the World Cup has been to town) OR when the masses decide to tackle it (usually just before lunch or late in the day) then it can be pretty horrid. It is a very subjective piste.

The S bumps down from the top of Solaise - again that is a tough black run that never gets pisted (ever) - that is a challenge.

Piccadilly and Pedantica - thanks very much for your kind words. I do have another 2 1/2 weeks of reporting left to do this season so I am not going anywhere just yet a while! I also plan to do 'remote' updates over the Summer (perhaps once a month or so - we shall see) from the UK based on local news I hear about one way or another. Ill be teaching back at the Snow Centre in Hemel again this Summer so my mind will never be too far away from skiing! I will be aiming to carry this same thread on again from November onwards so fear not it will not go anywhere.

NE1 sorry to hear about the injury - glad you re-visted the 'scene of the crime'... perhaps see you out here next season!

ANYWAY ONTO TODAYS REPORT...............................................................

Snow, faffing, and more rock falls.

I woke up this am and looked out the window and finally there was some fresh snow on the ground outside my apartment...

When I actually got up the mountain there was somewhere in the region of 10cms of fresh snow in some sheltered places as there was a stiff wind blowing around.

The best of the weather was seen in this photo as at times you could not see a thing and to be honest it REALLY was like the depths of Winter and it was certainly COLD!

So I took our chalet guests out for a slide and it was FAFF time... they wanted the wife to have 1.5 hours on skis, then the husband 1.5 hours on a snowboard for their freebie lesson. It does not matter to me apart from a little bit of faffing around and kit swapping and all in all it wastes a fair bit of time as I was up and down the Olympic like a yoyo as the other parent had to look after the kids who were on the nursery slopes whilst I took the other parent out for their lesson. Anyway it all worked out just fine.

Have been catching up on a few things at home this afternoon and then heard about yet another rock slide on the road to and from Bourg St Maurice.

Apparently cars could go via the EDF access road via Les Brevieries to negotiate but coaches etc were totally stuck. Not a huge amount of rock fell (a few tonnes) but it was the trees (as you can see) that really blocked the road up that were torn from their roots by the rocks. Anyway the road is now re-open on one side again and the police are controlling the flow to minimise the tailbacks. More maintenance is now needed to secure this new bit of rock face so I assume there will be disruption for a while to come and traffic lights will be put in tonight apparently... at least it was not the same piece of rock that fell away as last time as there would be some big questions to be asked as to how the 200million euros had been spent last time.

Right then back to Easter egg consumption...

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Steve Angus, I didn't get over to La Fornet this season. But there used to be a mean black run called Foret there. Was allowed to develop big moguls and part way down became narrow between rocks. I wonder if it's still a piste?
Going further back in time there was the infamous run, from the ridge above La Fornet, a bit higher than the up and over chair. It was serviced until recent years by a separate drag lift which took you to a low corrugated-iron clad tunnel through the rocks.
The run down at the end of the tunnel was so narrow, between rocks, it was difficult to get a turn in. I think that one may have been consigned to the history books but I'm glad I did it twice Skullie

BTW I've really enjoyed reading your blogs!

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Cold, windy, snowy and icy today.

Tignes has best snow, currently.

May be a foot of puke Wednesday.

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intermediate the Foret black run is still there in all its glory! It is still a piste for sure and I don't think ever gets pisted (not that I can recall anyway). I don't consider it the hardest black run out there in Val mainly because it is not all that steep but the big bumps on it and the narrow sections make it tough going. The other run you are talking about (the tunnel run) is still there (well sort of). The poma lift never opened this Winter as the government lease expired on the use of the land for the lift and they never extended it so not sure what they are planning for next year. You can still crawl under the corrugated iron doors to get to the powder on the other side (you have to walk up to the tunnel at the moment of course). I was led to believe and I am sure someone will correct / confirm here that the reason the 'run' was closed and the corrugated iron doors put in place was that someone fell over inside the tunnel making their way to the slope on the other side many years ago and the pisteurs had a nightmare getting the injured person out! Glad you have enjoyed reading.

So onto todays posting...

It felt like Winter again today and certainly acted like it.

Thanks to HAT for this photo of the pisteurs blasting (just like the middle of Winter) the side of the Grand Motte (that is the Leisse chair) this morning after the fresh snow (and wind) we have had the last couple of days. There are still positive purges going on so there can be danger this late in the season from slabs!

You look one way out there it looks VERY much like Spring...

...and then you look the other way, Winter persists...

Talking of Winter they are still forecasting a fairly big dump coming in over the next 24-36 hours or so. In fact you can see the clouds building in the photo above and the Grand Caisse and Grand Motte starting to get socked in. Right now at 18.40 local time it is very overcast out there.

So I had a great 9 year old this morning whom I last taught 4 years ago when he was just starting out.... unfortunately he has not skied since therefore it took a while to get him going again. The ski hire shop had also made a boo boo as they had set his skis on a DIN of only 1.... so every time he turned (or virtually every time he turned) he pre-released so that was a pain in the back bottom until I got hold a screw-driver to tighten it up.

Anyway I was back on the Snowboard after lunch with a couple of great guys from Bangkok... they really progressed loads and had loads of fun... especially the 360 spins which they loved after doubting they would be able to do them! My mind was a little scrambled by the end of the session as one was regular and the other goofy so I was forever doing demo's both ways and explaining it both ways but we got there in the end.

Not much else to report for today... plus dinner is on the table!

After all it is free

Very hot today.

Lots of brown trails.

Snow needed.

May fall as rain low down.

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YES there is shoogly and its dumping down and has been for an hour or so... just about to start settling on the ground down here at village level by my reckoning. Todays report coming up.

Steve Angus, when does the winter season end? Nice for you to get some decent freshies Very Happy

You know it makes sense.

Got gloomier and I got more and more tired as the day progressed.

Felix rides the Madeleine Express this morning. We had a great time even though he kept losing control and spinning right around in circles and having a yard sale... he found it hilarious. It was certainly a nice start to the day with general sunshine but as you can see in the photo the weather was starting to build right from the off (it was actually better than it looked as that cloud took a while to reach us).

Felix had no problem with his skis today although his boots still hurt (I think they are not being done up tight enough in the morning as he walks to his lesson so his feet bash around inside his boots - so I asked mum and dad to make sure they do them up a little before he walks to his lesson tomorrow). Anyway we had a good ski and his older siblings had good fun with Kieran.

After lunch I went for a ski with Clare and we looped around on the Tommeuse moguls bashing every mogul in sight all the way down and back up the lift again... I am pretty knackered now as I must have 'hit' about 1000 moguls today.

The weather has been closing in as previously mentioned all day and now it is snowing very hard outside and the forecast is for it to be very intense for the next 24 hours or so and then on and off snow until the weekend. Potentially we could have about 40cm of new snow at the top of the mountain by the end of this week (Spring or Winter - take your pick).

The view out the front room a moment ago!

P.S. shoogly the season this year officially ends on Tuesday 1st May I do believe.... but TBH it 'finishes' for me when I collapse due to exhaustion. Very Happy

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Steve, have you ever thought how your knees will feel in 20 years but it will be OH so worth it. Been great reading every day. wink

A snowHead

A snowHead

I can't believe the snow forecast for Val this week! I want to jump on a plane.

Lots of pics please Steve snowHead

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

Kiters and Chris ski H - ha ha. Yes I do wonder whether I will fall to pieces one day but I will have fun doing so.

Piccadilly... you asked for it...

In that second photo you can see our next door neighbour (wife of the owner of Europe Transfer) taking the kids back to school - first day of school term for them.

Like Piccadilly I can't believe the forecast for the next week or so - some 50cm forecast at the top of the mountain before the weekend - incredible.

It will be a powder day out there - wonder how the kids (and adults) will take to it!

I can't believe that yesterday I saw my first Marmotte of the season and today it is a powder day - strange seasonality.

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Looks great! Just had a pic sent to me from a friend who is part of the ski school in Claviere and they've had a lot of overnight snow so this has given the whole of the western/northwestern alps a boost....

Is this the end of the 2011/12 season, or the beginning of the 2012/13 season Puzzled

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How happy am I..... off out again on Saturday for 8 days Smile

Steve Angus, sorry you are going to get dumped on all week, but it will be sunny again next week for the reunion party (I hope!)

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Steve Angus, wow, it's unbelieveable! What an end to the season. Thanks for the pics, keep 'em coming! Wonderful to see a bit of fresh on the webcams.

Scampi Dellahanti, in the nicest possible way, I hate you!!

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After all it is free

Lets not start WW3 here folks.... play like nice children. Laughing

But as shoogly says is this end of one Winter or the start (VERY EARLY) of the next?

Either way it was a POWDER day here.

"ummm Steve do you know where you are going" asks Felix as I put the camera away... I turned around and I just had to say to him............

"Yes"

There must have been about 30cm (in places) that had drifted in and it really felt like mid Winter although not biting cold like say January time. However most of the piste had perhaps 15cm on it... a lovely freshen up. Although I would imagine there will have been a lot of people who headed off piste (especially on south facing aspects) and took some core shots out of their skis / boards etc.

Given the vile conditons I thought Felix, his brothers and sisters and mum and dad did really well. We all skied the Verte from top to bottom (at varying paces) and there was a lot of carnage around. As I passed the bottom of Marmottes lift there was already an injury with pisteurs on site - what a bad way to start a powder day at 9.30am! I picked up a couple of kids that had fallen and lost a ski on the ridge before the Folie Douce and likewise on one occasion another instructor picked Felix up and put his ski back on when he fell over.

The change in temperatures and humidity meant that the snow was sticking badly to everyones skis for the first few hundred metres this morning - it was quite funny seeing people not being able to move.... little by little things improved and we got sliding.

A hot chocolate stop in La Daille as Kieran arrived with the older kids and the mum and dad with Scott made for a nice mid-morning rest and shelter from the wind and snow which was still falling hard at 11am!

Whilst we were in the Rosee Blanche I noticed the lunch price list (well snacks really but enough for a 'light' lunch for most holiday-makers perhaps?) and thought to myself once again what great value it is. Especially when Val d'Isere and other resorts get bad press for expensive eateries it is nice to know there are good bargains out there. Of course there are some expensive places and this would not suit everyone but still jolly good VFM IMO...

BTW Pukka pies were €6 each!

After the break we headed back into town on the bus and rode the Rogoney lift a few times... the weather was improving a little...

This afternoon I was not teaching so had some powder fun but the weather really cleared up and the snow became very heavy so we decided to can it.

I forgot to mention that there was a sad death on the road to and from Bourg St Maurice yesterday. I am not 100% sure what happened but apparently two people in the late teens / early 20's were travelling up towards Val (they both worked at the Folie Douce). It would seem as if one (the driver) was diabetic and had a 'moment' or something and ended up crashing head first into a lorry coming the other way. Either way the driver died and the other escaped with minor injuries. I am not 100% sure but either way it was another sad death.

They are still forecasting some more snow tomorrow and on and off over the next few days so hopefully we shall end up with a GREAT end of season set of conditions for the last couple of weeks.

As SA says, conditions improved considerably today.

A foot of fresh snow up top.

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Onpiste very good.

Offpiste sludgy.

High temps and sun very strong.

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The pistes back in great shape...

The weather was not sure what to do with itself today... one moment it was relatively (for this time of the year) hot, with the sun popping its head out, the next moment it was cloudy and the next it was snowing (again (story of the season really)). But either way it was great day.

The aim (all week) had really been to get all the three kids skiing together but up until now either the weather / conditions meant it was too tough or there was a difference in standards between the kids. Anyway today all three kids (and my colleague Kieran and I) were able to ski together. The whole point was the mum and dad wanted us both to be able to keep all kids entertained and if one wanted to do another piste / jump or whatever then having two instructors we would have the flexibility... anyway today was just that.

Olly, Sophie and (out of camera shot) Felix follow Kieran down the blue run under the Mont Blanc chairlift.

One of the few times we saw the sun this morning... it was actually snowing quite hard when I took this photo.

After lunch I took a nice guy staying in one of the Mark Warner chalets out for lesson. He was a strong skier and we worked on dynamic cross-thru's to get his hips moving forward into the turn (short turns) and then onto some moguls after that. I have to say it was a fairly physical lesson for the both of us as we were both overdressed as the sun came out, and we both sweated as we did some tough drills.

Anyway he seemed to take a lot from the session.

Just made dinner for the two of us and now chilling in front of the TV... more snow forecast for tomorrow.

snow reports

More wintery weather...

There was no sign of snow on the ground in the village when I woke this morning but as I looked higher it was obvious that there were some serious clouds around (the top of the Bellevarde and Solaise were nowhere to be seen).

I decided to take the two chairs option up the Face and that proved to be a bad decision as they were having some problems with the Loyes Express (the second chair up the mountain) so we were down to only a maximum of two people that could be put on the lift at any one time.... this caused a 10 minute (shock-horror for the Espace Killy) lift queue. Anyway we got there in the end and were rewarded with some fabulous views back down the valley towards Val d'Isere...

The kids skied really well and had such a fun time... the only disappointment was that because of the new snow (more on that in a moment) the park was not open as they wanted to do some jumps.... ohh well not to worry. They skied their first blue run and we ended up back down in La Daille to get the bus back into town.

So yes the snow was awesome today I thought. There had been a generous 5cm or so top up on the pistes overnight and until late in the morning or lower down it REALLY felt like the middle of Winter. Off the sides of the pistes and coupled with the snow from the other day there were some fresh tracks to be had.

I treated myself to lunch at Le Chalet today and as a ski school I was hoping we could get some of our ski tips filmed this afternoon. Each year we try and get out a few times and make up a load of ski tips, edit them and put them on Youtube... its good advertising. However the weather closed in (never a great advert), some most people ended up with other commitments and everyone else lost the enthusiasm.... so it will have to be another time.

Anyway this is one of my 'tips' from last year... think we have about a dozen tips on youtube at the moment.

http://youtube.com/v/N2iTLz6g04s&feature=plcp&context=C40b9d33VDvjVQa1PpcFPYPLiTbt7N2pbkfJqm622Nh0LDPxpsXQc%3D

Transfer day tomorrow so no skiing for me... LAST ONE OF THE SEASON - yippee. Its an early'ish one (7am) but that means ill have the whole day to myself when I get back up from Bourg.

Also lots more snow forecast.

Alas it will probably be rain down in town but snow up top... the beauty of being in a high resort - may even get a powder day or two next week - wow for mid April.

Looking good in Espace Killy on the snow front (which I'm particularly happy about as I'm in Tignes from this Sunday!).

I've been on a few April ski trips to the Alps, and with the exception of last year, we've always had nice conditions and fresh snow. In fact it's become my favourite time of year to ski. So good to see that April 2012 will be doing us proud!

You know it makes sense.

Hi Steve

Just a quick thank-you for your reports-they've been great. We've just (at 10 am this morning!) booked our first family trip to VdI leaving tomorrow. The wife and I were meant to go to La Plagne tomorrow, with grandparents looking after our two girls-but mum seriously hurt her knee yesterday afternoon Shocked

so we've had to bin that trip. Insurance will cover that one and we couldn't turn down a £1050 deal for four in a 5* chalet!! Toofy Grin

Suffice to say the girls (4 and 5) are very excited; they had a couple of hours at Milton Keynes a couple of weeks ago and loved it!

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After almost 2 weeks in Val, finally saw a French person today. And they spoke French...

Many trails browning up but still 85%+ open.

Both VDI and Tignes have plenty of snow to see them through to May.

The area has had a good season.

A snowHead

snowhound that sounds like a bit of a rollercoaster ride one way or another.... hope your grandmother gets better soon but more importantly hope you and the family made it here and are looking forward to a fantastic week... as you will have noticed it has been snowing all day..

As expected there was a dusting of fresh snow when I left before 7am this morning to start the journey to Bourg and back...

It looked really quite moody really out there and almost like January time even though it was not too cold and the amount of fresh snow was fairly limited.... however a top up is a top up is it not?

The trip to Bourg and back (including a short shop in SuperU) went without hitch and as I arrived back in town and dropped the car in the car park under the face I noticed the 'first lift' of the day going up the Bellevarde... the Olympic lift - what would we do without it ehh! They are trying and experimenting with reconfiguring the cabins inside as too many people do not move to the back when the doors open so the lift rarely goes up at capacity. One of the options they are playing with is taking the middle seats out which seems to be a good move and in another cabin the middle seats have simply been replaced with something to lean against (standing room only in the middle with seats around the outside). Anyway hopefully they will decided one way or another which the best configuration is so that more people can be moved more efficiently.

The day seems to have evaporated with me doing odd-jobs around the house, shaving my hair, watching sport on tv, making the garlic bread for this evenings dinner party we are hosting (Clare loves entertaining) and generally catching up with emails.

About to head out for a drink with a colleague in a moment and then am looking forward to a lie in tomorrow morning.

BTW Whitegold the lone Frenchie has left town... saw a French car driving out of town this morning... being chased by a pack of British cars.... ha ha. Seriously it should be a lot quieter this week and then next week should be dead and then that will pretty much be that for another 6 months!

However the headline once again is:
Snow and more on-going snow, with more snow forecast

A snowHead

More SNOW ALERT!!!

We are getting very used to waking up here in Val d'Isere and over in Tignes at the moment to a fresh canvas of snow.... and this morning was no exception.

I think our next door neighbours were a little optimistic the other week when they got both the bike and the deck chair out (well keeping them out was the mistake really).

There has been another 5+cm down here in town overnight and up to a foot at the very top of the mountain (the glacier). The rain / snow limit was about 1500m so it is possible there was snow down in Les Brevieries too but I suspect it was rain (but that is just a hunch on my part). It is still snowing and shows no sign of easing up.

Most of the UK tour operators have started or have packed up shop for this season but there are still plenty of great deals to be had out there as some SH's have found. People like VIP, Mark Warner all are still running chalets or hotels and there are loads of apartments available to rent. To be honest it could be one of the best weeks of the season as there is no-one around, the snow is great and most things are still open... I can see the option to loop around on something like the Pays Desert or Col Pers getting fresh tracks over and over again this week.

Full day report later on.

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

As SA says, it is very quiet today and still nice and white most everywhere.

A coupla small onpiste avvies near Fornet yesterday. Heavy, wet snow.

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This is so unfair. You don't expect the webcams to look this snowy in the middle of April! Wish I could have come out for a birthday weekend trip.

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The weather continues to be interesting however I met one of my childhood heroes today so who cares!

Another grey morning in Val d'Isere with some fresh snow overnight...

I knew he was in town but I was standing at our meeting point waiting for my clients when Dan Egan walked past. If you don't know who he is he was basically the equivalent of Shane Mcconkey or Tanner Hall of 20 years ago. He featured in some 12 Warren Miller ski films and bearing in mind he was on 'long, old 215cm straight skis' was a true legend. I have loads of his VHS videos (somewhere in the loft) and to be honest I remember watching him (and others like the DesLauriers brothers) and thinking 'wow.' He really inspired me so I had to take a moment to stop and chat to him as he largely lives incognito amongst us mortals. He is over here doing something with Henry from HAT and is LOVING the powder.

Talking of which there was some 60cm of pow (apparently) up on the Val glacier today - heavy but still powder.

A friend of mine took this photo up on the Tignes glacier today (high up above the clouds you can see lingering lower down).

So I started the first of 5 full days of bookings today. I am with a nice lady called Pam and her, to-be daughter-in-law Fee. They have only done a few sessions at the indoor centres at Hemel (with one of my Summer colleagues (well done Tony)) and MK respectively. Anyway we are pacing ourselves as I am with them for a full 5 days and by the end of the day we made it to the top of the Savonnettes.... Village lift tomorrow and then onwards and upwards from there. We actually went up to the Tete de Solaise (not that we could see much up there) for lunch and I think they found the chairlift ride pretty scary.... but well done on a good day girls.

The big news here in Val at the moment (apart from the weather and snow of course) is that the STVI have formally announced that they are replacing the Fontaine Froide with a 6 seater express lift this Summer. In general I think that that is a positive move but it will probably make the red run right next to it much busier which will be a shame. However I do think there are other lifts that should be replaced as more of priority such as the Fornet Cable car and Vallon bubble. Anyway a new lift is a new lift at the end of the day... ill try and get a photo of the big sign they have erected at the top of Olympic at some point in the next few days if I can.

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Fontaine Froide is a strange one to replace. I know it's slow but it was never busy. We always used to go on that as a warm up run, it's not even very long.

The photo from the glacier really looks like the icing on a cake!

Congrats on meeting your childhood hero too. I guess I'm unlikely to meet Harrison Ford...

After all it is free

Fontaine Froide always lived up to its name. Horribly exposed to the wind and cold during grim days!

Is Val D'Isère allowed to expand the pisted ski area?

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Oh, what about Marais? If you had a camping stove I reckon you could have a brew by the time you got to the top!?

Help!!

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

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