 Poster: A snowHead
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It's been a great start to the season but according to snow-forecast.com there is going to be 26cm of rain at 1832m in Les Contamines on Saturday night. On the freezing level is going to rise to 3400m on Sunday. I've had this problem at christmas before in Oz and La Plagne. Frustrating... some might even say tragic 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Layne, 26CM or 26MM?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I wouldn't worry the rain is short lived on Saturday, before a more settled day on Sunday and into Monday (so despite the high freezing level, there's no precipitation to do any damage).
Temperatures falling away rapidly Monday night through to Xmas day which is looking like its gong to be a snowy Xmas for some parts of the alps 
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| Quote: |
Looks like 26 mm (which would be about 26-30 cm of snow
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there's been plenty of daily precipitation levels as high, or higher, than that recently - the forecasts look a bit more believable now, and less alarming (even though there's a brilliant base of snow for so early in the season, 3 or 4 inches of rain wouldn't do it any good!
The weather is going mild all over, but in this area we have done very well for snow, and looks like usefully more, after Christmas.
Not tragic! And at least in Contamines you're unlikely to encounter the sort of situation recently reported from the Espace Killy with everything closed down due to snow and wind!
Enjoy your holiday. 
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I tend not to worry about rises in temperatures and rain early in the season. It tends to pack down the base better and make it harder. This stops the boarders and skiers scraping it off so easily and, IMHO, last longer into the season. In all probability the precipitation will not leave the snow pack but freeze within it. A couple years ago we had high winds in Les Arc that stripped many of the pistes bare in a single day . Upto then they had had a lovely depth of soft snow. some rain would have helped bind the snow and prevent this
However, the 260 mm reported by Layne, could be a real worry. as it would cause serious flooding. The 100mm that pam w says will fall, would, as she says, cause sever damage to the snow pack and serious flooding in the valleys.
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| Quote: |
some might even say tragic
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Jeez man, if this is the limit of tragedy in your life you surely live a blessed existance.
I've been doing christmas and new year in the alpes (mainly french) now for nearly 30 years, and yes an occasional mild snap passes through and sometimes you even get rain at the 2000m mark or even above, it is pretty normal. This is the chance you take at this time of the year. Take a book, chill out and enjoy the "foreign" ambiance. As soon as there's a drop of rain, the doomsayers on this site are wailing and gnashing their teeth saying all the snow will go, as pam w has said before and certainly from my experience, it doesn't usually have that much effect.
Anyway, the bad weather is going to be on christmas eve, how else was I going to get my christmas shopping done? 
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No point looking at the weather forecast. I understand the Mayans say it all ends tomorrow 
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Jeez man, if this is the limit of tragedy in your life you surely live a blessed existance.
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+1
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| Quote: |
Quote:
Jeez man, if this is the limit of tragedy in your life you surely live a blessed existance.
+1
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Couldn't agree more - is it me of do others wish that people put things into perspective. It's only a holiday.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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chrisb, Yip - even Meteo France's formal bulletin joked about 'previsions pour apres le Fin du Monde!'
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Layne, sorry, ski conditions are important for skiers, but if you use the word "tragic" in this context then what word do you use when you are faced with a real tragedy?
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You know it makes sense.
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It's called 'hyperbole', and is a valid rhetorical technique.
Hope that helps.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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It's called 'hyperbole'
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I though that was the shape of my skis..... 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Mr Piehole, +1
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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you lot are "tragic"
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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CH2O, why 
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CH2O, +1
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Layne, I hope he means the pedantic arsewipes +1 above.
I think its a tragedy if my fillet steak is over done, I do not need a plane full of disabled people bound for Lourdes to crash on it to use the expression.
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blahblahblah, +1
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Fillet Steak, +1
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Layne, Oh FFS.
Any fule knos that snow-forecast is rubbish anyway, there's outrageous amounts of snow and a wee bit of rain won't make the blind bit of difference.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Layne
Chamonix meteo, or meteo Chamonix (there is an official on and an unofficial one) both have real, live, weather forecasters interpreting the model outputs that snow-forecast simply publishes. The weather thread here is also worth paying attention to.
This means that when a model outputs an outlier, a real human being discounts it, but takes account of it.
Les Contamines is close enough to Cham that it'll broadly have the same weather.
2C weather for a few days won't impact the ~1.5m snowpack that is generally prevalent. Neither will the rain. The top surface of snow below the snow/rain level will be wetter but that's about it.
It occurs to me that if you are only used to seeing how snow behaves in the small quantities that typically falls in the UK, you won't anticipate how it behaves in large quantity.
So, relax, it will be fine. Although I cannot recomend skiing in rain!
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Mr Piehole wrote: |
It's called 'hyperbole', and is a valid rhetorical technique.
Hope that helps. |
Quite so, nothing to be concerned about, just an example of hyperbollocks.... (i think that's how you spell it)
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You know it makes sense.
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I cannot recomend skiing in rain!
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Skiing in the rain sucks. Get into a bar, soonest.
snow-forecast is essentially a computer-generated interpretation of one particular model - GFS - which really needs "expert" human interpretation, though having said that, meteo france, who presumably have lots of human experts, seem to be poor. Over a long time I have found snow-forecast at least as reliable as meteo France. The two Chamonix sites recommended by under a new name are heaps better than either. Have you been to Les Contamines before? Very nice resort, especially at the top.
Snow depths currently are extraordinary for pre-Christmas.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I now just look at the the Noz forecast, though being honest I do have an unlimited membership to snow-forecast so it get's checked at least 3 times a day from the start of October to the end of April.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| blahblahblah wrote: |
Layne, I hope he means the pedantic arsewipes +1 above.
I think its a tragedy if my fillet steak is over done, I do not need a plane full of disabled people bound for Lourdes to crash on it to use the expression. |
lol +1
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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under a new name, OK... so here is the current forecast from your first official link:
SATURDAY DECEMBER 22
Getting considerably milder - active disturbance crossing over - heavy rain at night - strong wind high up
SUNDAY DECEMBER 23
Fairly sunny and very mild - slightly decreasing wind high up
So heavy rain and very mild combination. I can live with whatever. As my oldest skiing buddy would always say "would you rather be here and in the office!" but a) I'm not seeing any major difference with what snow forecast was telling me and b) whilst freeze thaw is great for binding the snow pack - the conditions described above will impact skiing conditions detrimentally in the short term no question.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Alastair Pink,
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| Quite so, nothing to be concerned about, just an example of hyperbollocks.... |
Eeeeeewwwwww
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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ansta1, wtf is a "Noz forecast"
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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pam w,
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| Have you been to Les Contamines before? Very nice resort, especially at the top |
No, I am going there because you told me it was nice 
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Callum001, ta 
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Layne,
It's not 26cm of rain, that's for sure.
And I assure you it won't make that much difference to what you'll be skiing on...
Well, other than that you won't be skiing the knee deep powder we had on Wednesday.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Layne, that same link also says for Saturday
PRECIPITATION : starting up during the afternoon - becoming moderate to heavy - rain-snow limit towards 1200 m, probably rising up towards 2000 m.
WIND - aloft : NNW -> NW strong.
TEMPERATURE : low -5 °C - high +3°C - temperature inversion toward 1500 m.
EXTENDED OUTLOOK UNTIL WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 26 2012
Monday : cloudy with sunny spells - very mild - fœhn wind likely. Tuesday and Wednesday : very unsettled and colder - frequent snow showers. Outlook is uncertain.
So perhaps some rain below 2000m for a spell on Saturday, then you'll be skiing in pleasant temps, with sun until Tuesday.
Given it was -23 at the base last week and very poor visibility I'd much prefer your forecast to what I encountered!!
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Always look on the bright side - "rain up to 2000m" is the same as saying "snow above 2000m". Glass half full!
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