 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| rungsp wrote: |
I have never seen the attacks face of Mont Gele look more loaded with snow!
There are substantial rock features that have totally disappeared.
It will be a while before it is opened...but I'm sure some idiots will hike it.
The danger, and I do mean DANGER, is that if it slides it will 100pct run onto a busy piste. |
If you look closely you can see lots of bomb holes on the face that they have dropped from the ridge and the lift! Agree though it looks seriously loaded 
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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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@BobinCH, talking to a piste control guy yesterday about Mt Gele was interesting.
Not only do they remain concerned about the huge "hump" of snow on the front side but more importantly the back, Tortin/Gentiennes side has no snow now!
It was triggered for Avalanche control a few days ago and slid big...all the way to the ground!
The itinerary run is rocks all the way.
He said it can be seen from the Gentiennes cable car if you look carefully.
He didn't know when/if it can be reopened.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
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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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@BobinCH, fab. (But I do have to remember to turn the sound off with your wonderful videos, the music and whooping do my head in!)
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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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I’m arriving Friday with a group of friends..I’m leaving my wider skis at home as it looks like the OP is marginal given the snow base and rise in temps.
I know you locals only use the pistes to get to and from the itineraries 
How are the pistes holding up in the warmer temps? Is it a mogulled slush fest on the home runs and holding up on the upper slopes?
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@hedley, Well yesterday the pistes were absolutely lovely top to bottom.
Very quiet...no queues at all except at key pinch points at end of day when everyone is going the same way at the same time.
I just drove home to the UK today...and flying back tomorrow (don't ask!).
I am 100% confident that the piste skiing will be lovely.
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You know it makes sense.
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@rungsp, thankyou.
I can always rely on you for an on the ground update. We did share a few runs together many years ago when the CHF to GBP was much more favourable .Looking forward to the weekend. There does seem to be quite an array of new venues to choose from since my last visit about 2019.
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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For those in the know, is it reasonable to travel from Aosta to Bruson for the day?
I guess there is a tunnel and vignette charge to consider?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@dave.m, in terms of travel time...easy enough.
I've driven Le Chable - Aosta and then up to Pila for a day trip a few times.
I would not hesitate to do Le Chable to Crevacole for a day trip (45 minute drive)
I wonder why you would come all this way just to ski Bruson though?
It's great in many ways...but it is a small and quite disconnected area of Verbier.
Unless you have a specific appointment I'd say Yes, drive over, but ski "proper" Verbier.
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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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Bruson just looked like the nearest ski station to get us in the Verbier ski area.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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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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@dave.m When you drive to the 4 Vallées, you arrive first at the valley village of Le Chable, where there’s a massive car park and train station and gondolas up to Bruson on one side, and Verbier on the other. The two lifts are barely 10 meters apart. Here’s a home-made plan map of the area which may help in the following summary (caveat: it’s simplified for clarity and not meant to be used on-piste):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rZTFDNa9nw8DtL0AczxXQ5xP1ClQBQOl/view?usp=drive_link
If it’s a very busy day like a school holiday Weekend, visitors might opt to take the lift up to Bruson, which is likely to be much quieter. Or if it’s a fresh powder day, enthusiasts may go for Bruson for similar reasons. Or if you’re resident in Verbier or Le Chable, you might just fancy a change of scenery
But generally, if you’ve taken the trouble to drive/train to Le Chable, you’ll opt to get the lift up to the centre of Verbier at Médran, and then up again to the main slopes at Ruinettes, La Chaux and Attelas. There are further links up to the Col des Gentianes and Mt.Fort (the summit of the Verbier ski area) and beyond, via Tortin]. There’s also the advantage that even if the Médran station is very busy and people resident in Verbier are queuing, you’ll by-pass these queues and get straight on to the next section up the mountain.
The gondola between Le Chable and Médran is designated as public transport and runs extended hours, from 05:10 to 23:55 in high season. Generally, in terms of time and cost, it doesn’t make sense to drive up from Le Chable and park in Verbier: parking is limited and expensive and some way away from the main lifts at Médran and Mayentzet.
Unless the snow is very degraded, you can ski right back down to Médran at the end of the day: most people will keep to the higher slopes during the day. Alternatively, if you’re around the upper slopes and want to call it a day because of fatigue or bad weather, you can just reverse the outbound ride and come down all the way via Ruinettes. If you have pedestrians in your group, they can access the higher areas and the summit at Mt.Fort (3,330m) where there’s a viewing platform from which you can see from Mt.Blanc to the Matterhorn.
At the north edge of Verbier there’s also a fast chairlift at Mayentzet which goes up to Ruinettes, which you’d tend to use as an alternative to Médran if you’ve skied down and want to return back to the upper slopes. At the western edge of the town, there’s an ancient gondola up to Savoleyres*, the summit of the La Tzoumaz satellite sector mentioned in the Guardian article and podcast above. It’s generally not worth a day tripper going over to Savoleyres, given there’s so much piste to ski around Verbier. The exception might be if Savoleyres is clear and Verbier is foggy, or if the Verbier slopes are getting too overcrowded. But in the latter case, if you’re parked in Le Chable, it probably makes more sense to go down and over to Bruson, unless perhaps you want to take a look at La Tzoumaz as a base for future trips.
Have the Verbier webcams preloaded on your mobile and you’ll be able to check the cloud conditions, which can vary widely across the area. It’s not unusual for Verbier to be in cloud but Savoleyres to be clear. There’s also the usual temperature inversion that means it can be thick fog in Verbier or La Tzoumaz, but clear blue skies higher up. For weather, I find the ‘MeteoSwiss’ app to be pretty accurate, with a useful animation forecast for snow and cloud.
*(From December 2026, this will be replaced by a new Combimix lift just below Carrefour)
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Fri 6-03-26 16:34; edited 32 times in total
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@dave.m, as just described.
The car park, and train station, at Le Chable are at the lift station.
The cables go in a V shape from the same place.
One way is the small, but good, zone of Bruson.
The other is "proper" Verbier.
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| dave.m wrote: |
For those in the know, is it reasonable to travel from Aosta to Bruson for the day?
I guess there is a tunnel and vignette charge to consider? |
Tunnel yes (circa 50chf return - check online) but no Vignette as you’re not on motorways.
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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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Thanks for the tips and advice. Likely to be this weekend if we do it, but certainly seems possible.
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| dave.m wrote: |
| Thanks for the tips and advice. Likely to be this weekend if we do it, but certainly seems possible. |
Should be great conditions. Overnight freeze and then lovely sunny day in the mountains with Spring in the air 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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For those currently in L4V, how are the current piste conditions there?
I got an AlpsPass this season and in the weekends of March/April/May I'm planning to visit L4V (max 3 days), Laax (max 3 days), Fiesch, Jungfrau and Engelberg. Never been to L4V and Laax so I'm particularly keen on those.
But I'm wondering whether it's best to already go this weekend while not that much snow has melted/degraded yet, or whether it's worth waiting for some possible snowfall a couple weeks from now (nothing on the forecast so far...). Any insights?
I enjoy off piste (easy stuff, next to the slope) but it's not a deal breaker, especially with my knee issues; I'm mainly concerned about the slope conditions.
Thanks!
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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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@Gustavo the Gaper, I came home a couple of days ago.
The pistes are perfect.
Perfect!
The coverage is deep.
If it didn't snow another drop and was sunny every day there would still be great pistes in a month from now.
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| rungsp wrote: |
| If it didn't snow another drop and was sunny every day there would still be great pistes in a month from now. |
That's good as i'll be there in 2.5 weeks time!
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You know it makes sense.
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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Bec des Rosses day
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Spot the skiers
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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We skied on Saturday, parking was a bit of a challenge. But not as challenging as some of those yellow runs.
I'm 53 and have skied for a number of years, but have never had the feeling of my a$$ falling out, dry mouth and jelly legs as a did before tackling one of those runs. I now know how my wife feels on occasion. I had a good day, but not sure I'd be in a mega hurry to return, but always hard to judge a place this big with one days skiing.
| dave.m wrote: |
| Thanks for the tips and advice. Likely to be this weekend if we do it, but certainly seems possible. |
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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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@BobinCH, that looks... adventurous to say the least hahaha. Looks epic though!! Snow seems fairly good as well! (considering how the last few weeks have been)
P*ssy question: any chance you guys slid on some piste at any point? How were the conditions there?
I know the conditions are likely to change (probably for the best) next week, but still.
I'm planning to head there within the next couple weeks but planning to stay mostly on or next to the pistes, as I'm going alone so I have no companion (and no shovel/probe/transceiver (and no knees (and not enough skills (and quite honestly at this level probably not enough balls either)))).
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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@dave.m, it's a great ski area, but for me, if you're more restricted to piste skiing, there's better places. The area comes in to it's own with the Itineraries and easily accessible off piste.
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@Gustavo the Gaper, pistes are in great condition and looks like several top ups coming this week which should also freshen up the off piste
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@BobinCH, great to hear it, thanks a lot!
@swskier, makes sense, thanks, Verbier is indeed famous for the off-piste... but due to the AlpsPass I got this year I can ski there "for free" for 3 days, so I wanna make use of that. Still hope I can find some accessible/safe off-piste close to the slopes, but given the circumstances I'm assuming most of my time will probably be on the frontside
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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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@Gustavo the Gaper, the piste skiing is good too, but that's not it's forte for sure!
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| dave.m wrote: |
We skied on Saturday, parking was a bit of a challenge. But not as challenging as some of those yellow runs.
I'm 53 and have skied for a number of years, but have never had the feeling of my a$$ falling out, dry mouth and jelly legs as a did before tackling one of those runs. I now know how my wife feels on occasion. I had a good day, but not sure I'd be in a mega hurry to return, but always hard to judge a place this big with one days skiing.
| dave.m wrote: |
| Thanks for the tips and advice. Likely to be this weekend if we do it, but certainly seems possible. |
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Verbier is a hard place to navigate without local knowledge. But once you know where to go it can be great also for piste skiers. Here is a loop I do with my beginner / intermediate friends which avoids any of the itineraries or black runs:
Start by heading up the Barnes Line and Funispace to Attelas.
From the top, ski down into Lac des Vaux on the wide, confidence building blue pistes. These are ideal for warming up and getting your legs moving.
Take the Lac 2 chairlift for a few enjoyable laps.
When ready to explore further:
• Take the Chassoure bubble down
• Ski across towards the Tortin chair and take the first section to clear the flat
From Tortin, ski the easy Tortin blue down to the lift.
Then:
• Take the Plan du Fou chair
• Ski the red run back down
Important:
Do not take the black run towards Nendaz.
This red piste is one of the best long cruisers in the 4 Vallées. If you enjoyed it, repeat it.
Tip: When exiting above the Teepee restaurant, take the right hand path to avoid the steeper pitch.
Head back up:
• Tortin chair
• Then the Gentianes cable car
Ski the Jumbo piste, but take the skier’s right path to avoid the steeper section.
Stop at Cabane Mont Fort for spectacular views and self-service or Dahu for coffee / lunch. It is a relaxed mountain restaurant with great views and a good atmosphere. Also has a self-service option downstairs.
Take Chaux 2 and ski the easy blue. At the bottom you can try the speed check for a bit of fun.
Repeat Chaux 2:
• At the top, go left
• Ski down towards the easy blue / skier cross / small park area
Then:
• Take Chaux Express
• Start the Fontanet run
• Quickly move to the easy blue on skier’s left back to La Chaux
To return towards Attelas:
• Take Chaux 2
• Go left at the top
• Follow the path right under the tunnel towards Attelas
Take the Attelas chair again and enjoy another lap of Lac des Vaux if you wish.
Then:
• Take Lac 1
• Ski back down towards Verbier
• Keep to the right hand path to avoid steeper sections
Continue past the Attelas chair and ski all the way down into the village.
Finish the day with a drink at 1936. Perfect for relaxed après with mountain views.
Day 2 - Savoleyres and La Tzoumaz…
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