 Poster: A snowHead
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Webcams show loads of snow at resort level in VdI, but non on the trees. Has it become rather warm?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Frosty the Snowman, Morning Frosty - its -4 in Lac and plenty of snow on the trees up here. But it is blowing a gale so lower down with wind and a bit warmer atmosphere may be the answer. The official scores for Tignes are 57cm in Lac and 60cm aloft in the 24 hours to 0800 hrs though how they have measured that I'm not sure as the World outside my window keeps vanishing whilst I attend to domestic trivia.
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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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@Frosty the Snowman, looking out of the window, lots of snow on lots of trees
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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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And lots of well buried cars in car park !!!
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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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Great news re the snow arriving!
I have a question re parking in Le Lac. We are booked to park in Lac 3 for a week. Having never parked in car park before does anyone know if you are able to go in and out multiple times or is is just a single entry, park and then leave in a week's time?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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They operate on number plate recognition on entry and exit so multiple times is possible
Keep the access code they give you when you booked handy as a backup
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| snowornever wrote: |
They operate on number plate recognition on entry and exit so multiple times is possible
Keep the access code they give you when you booked handy as a backup |
Thanks much appreciated! I had hoped as much but it is hard to find someone to confirm.
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Friends in Tignes report that at least one tour operator has started its Saturday transfers already, with clients being put up in a hotel overnight for their flights 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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@moosepig, That makes a lot of sense of sense - the roads are very congested and slow at teh moment and its only going to get worse. They are doing blasting above the roads just after dark to try and get ahead of the game for the early departures.
There was 57cm in the village in the 24 hours to 8 this morning, a bit more on high and it's not stopped snowing since varying between moderate and heavy falls. It's also been very windy, so I have found all sorts of things to do in the warm.  . The open lifts have mainly been restricted to the first lifts out of the village. The links and the glaciers have been firmly shut.
The snow will continue all night, the wind will abate a bit and the snow will become moderate to light through the night. Tomorrow will see light snow all day, perhaps increasing to moderate, the winds will ease a bit, so again there will be an early morning call as blasting starts and it will be a slow and progressive opening of the lifts. The snow will stop duringSaturday night to be replaced with a milky sky and a hint of the sun for super dangerous Sunday. Inevitably there will be a powder frenzy, the first of the season for lots of local. Monday is still proving tricky, a mix of sun clouds and perhaps the odd snow shower and it will be a lot warmer. Tuesday looks fairly benign with milky skies.
For the travellers tomorrow - Good Luck! I suspect it will be carnage on the roads, hopefully a good few of the 27k vehicles heading away from the Tarentaise will leave tonight, for the 22k coming up its going to be very difficult. There is snow on the sides of the roads all the way to Aime, as it cools it will be increasingly difficult to keep them snow free tonight. So if you are arriving tomorrow then bring an industrial sense of humour, a picnic and drinks.
For the fliers: most airports still have a chance of sleet showers in the forecast which might lead to deicing issues and runway clearance, but unlikely. There's a chance of a pea souper at Manchester which would slow things down. Over here Geneva is showing sleet showers and a 40% chance of snow showers in the morning. Snow showers would definitely slow things up if it led to runway clearance, as Geneva has little spare capacity even a 10 minute break for a runway sweep will lead to big delays. Grenoble is similar to Geneva but not as busy so as long as the equipment is serviceable it shouldn't cause too many issues. Lyon looks OK, but Chambery is forecasting sleet showers which will put the vis and cloudbase close to or beyond limits - might be a trying day there. But keep smiling as you have picked a quiet week withe the potential for great skiing 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@chocksaway,
Are you here all next week? I’ve been following for a while and we’re here for another week, would be lovely to put a face to the name!
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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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We got down the mountain this morning at 5am - lots of snow - small holdup when someone’s chains came off - but all smooth after that
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@Bülow, generally, the earlier the better, but the snow is going to ease off - so maybe it will be OK. It took the schools bus 2 hours to get up this evening 
@phillip33, Good work the road down was slow all day. And then the pisteurs did the avi blasting at 6, so the road was supposed to be shut for 15 mins but they got quite the result, which took a bit of bulldozing.
@Mr_Bennetts_Ski_Trip, Yip, got mates arriving Friday - PM me and we can make it work.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Quote: |
as Geneva has little spare capacity even a 10 minute break for a runway sweep will lead to big delays.
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Yes, it doesn't take much snow to disrupt Geneva. It's beginning to look like quite the transfer day tomorrow
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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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Another day of Admin, which was a good thing given there was a spot of drinking on the forecast last night in QDC. Light snow all day and lots of wind, the snowfall for yesterday was 93cm/96cm - certainly felt that much when I was clearing the balcony last night. Ive chatted to some folks who have been out skiing by Braille and there's lots of good snow if you could see it.
I think snowmaggedon has been declared down the valley - the roads are moving up to here but the traffic struggling to get up to the 3V is backing up onto the main road and everyone is waiting at the lights at Aigueblanche. The Police are turning folks with snow socks round below Les Menuires. The delays at the airports seem to be averaging annual hour for those going home so not too bad.
The snow will stop in the early hours and tomorrow will be a day of sunny spells and very dangerous off piste conditions. There will still be a breeze at altitude but on the whols a grand day. There is some debate on Monday - there may be light snow showers in the morning - or they might not get here. It will be noticeably warmer and this warming will continue through the week, the precipitation later in the week might be rain up to Val Centre. Tuesday will see milky skies and not a lot else to mention. Wednesday will see snow - but it might be in the morning or it might be in the afternoon after sunny periods in the morning.
For the fliers tomorrow - it will be windy and showery in the UK. Crosswinds might be an issue at Edinburgh and Glasgow and Newcastle and Brum mention freezing rain which causes havoc at airports - its only a chance. Leeds Bradford may struggle in snow showers at 'top of t'hill. Over here shoudl see the odd shower of snow or sleet but with it being quieter no real problems.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Just watched 3 folk (22:15) ski down the Lognon off-piste with head torches. Impressive and perhaps foolish given the avalanche danger.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Reports I am getting from people in Val/Tignes that the wind that accompanied the snow has caused a "plaque" layer in parts. That the pack is pretty unstable. Please be careful out there.
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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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Well more people were careful today but there was still a lot of fools around. I got to the snow front just before 10 (as the last vestiges of snow died away) to watch the pisteurs desperately trying to dig somebody out on the lakeside between the Tov Gondola and the fingers. Yes, thats one of the steepest slopes in the resort. He had triggered the avalanche and was buried to his waist when another one was triggered by (probably) part of his group and buried him. Luckily he is now in Bourg hospital recovering from hypothermia - buy a lottery ticket if you are feeling that lucky. Unfortunately, somebody in Courchevel and another in La Plagne were not so lucky.
To give you an idea of how dangerous it was my ski buddy and I were fulled tooled up for the day - as we traversed past the pisteurs hut a pisteuse came across and told us not to go off piste. I explained we lived here and were equipped to help out the piste services if there was a big slide - which prompted a be careful and have a good day. So, yes, we did go beyond the poles and yes there was some good snow but on low angles and below protected areas. The fresh snow is very variable we found everything from knee deep powder to areas where the previous base was still showing. It was all very wind affected - to give you an idea of the wind over the last few days there is a new 'chicken wire' sculpture of a wolf in the Grattalu Park on one of the buildings. On Wednesday, he was in an erect "I'm about to attack" pose, today he was lying down! We stayed around the Palet sector mostly in our secret stashes and had a good day in the sun, although the wind did pick up in the afternoon.
It is Avi Risk 4 again tomorrow.
The weather trend shows a gradual warming and mixed cloud through the week until it becomes unsettled from Thursday (time not defined!) as it will be warmer any transport chaos will be limited to the Dam upwards, I hope. Monday - a milky sky with light winds and a bit warmer than today. Tuesday - warmer again with similar conditions. Wednesday looks more like sunny periods, Thursday it will start to go down hill, there may be snow showers in the morning but teh major deterioration won't be till after dark.
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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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Sounds like the snowboarder was very lucky...
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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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| mullins wrote: |
| Sounds like the snowboarder was very lucky... |
Lucky he didn't end up in the lake.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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This is a photo of the slide down toward the lake - it looks like it was triggered right from the top but there are also two tracks cutting back to the gondola from the exit of the nearest finger to the gondola - that would have been a LONG ride down from the top to the lake - plenty of time for contemplation…
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^ Good pic.
Bro got the ride of his life.
At least 7 dead in slides across the European Alps this weekend.
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Someone else had a lucky escape in one of the Palafour couloirs late on this afternoon and was dug out.
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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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@chocksaway, that's crazy... never would have thought you could have an avi off Palafour...I guess that's what 103cm of snow in a couple of days does...
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Well there was a bit more cloud than expected and if I'm very pedantic there was a bit of snizzle in the air at 9AM. But the foggy cloud disappeared but the higher cloud varied through the day, sometimes sun, sometimes milky, sometimes quite dark which made picking a line moe difficult. Even though thre has been a lot of snow the depths oof piste are incredibly variable and you are never that far from a baby shark (or a bigger one). It was also much warmer today -1 on the balcony this morning (cf -17 last week). So the new snow was consolidating quite quickly - especially on sunny slopes.
After a couple of opste runs we did a variety of less challenging off piste - slides are still happening. Glattier to begin with, followed by Familial (and a trip into Rosies), then an Envers Campanule, Col De Ves, Col de Palet and an Airport run before coming home with tired legs. I would add we had a very experienced group and we were picking our routes carefully so none of the last sentence marks a recommendation for tomorrow - it's still Risk 4. Some of our runs wer glorious, some were quite hard work.
The weather - tomorrow will be a bit warmer again and the cloud will be like today -milky - so light conditions will be variable. Wednesday looks more like fluffy clouds and sunny spells - the clouds may build enough to give the odd light shower of snow. Thursday - another benign day with a mix of clouds and sun. Now for Friday - confidence is not high in any forecast - the weather system that is coming from the west seems to be doing a lot of petering out before it reaches us. So it might be OK or it might be snow (rain below the Dam). If I were a betting man Saturday will only see light precipitation
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Kenzie wrote: |
| mullins wrote: |
| Sounds like the snowboarder was very lucky... |
Lucky he didn't end up in the lake. |
According to pistehors.com he did end up in the lake - very lucky the pistures got him out before he drowned.
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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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Seriously lucky! Hope he had piste insurance as that rescue would be expensive
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A glorious morning, but a thin veil of cloud appeared this afternoon. So, I decide to skin up Palafour, which rapidly turned into the Dance of the 7 veils as it was a lot warmer than I thought. Anyway, same time as last year, so the training regime in NZ clearly has done some good! I then decided I had earned lunch out so off I popped to the Jam Bar only to find the door locked as I realised it was Tuesday! The good news is that I can now do a review on Kaijo (the new resto in the Palafour Gallery ex Rendezvous) and part of the Kodo Empire. They have different menus from lunch to evening. I had a fried chicken roti and for €15 it was very good value, there are also noodle bowls and soups. It's slightly hidden but easily accessible via skiing down to Duch Sports off Palafour and crossing the road (just up from Jam Bar and Marmottes) - the Chocs recommended route or you can come off the snow front and come up the steps by the side of Strike the old bowling alley. They welcome folks in full kit and there's plenty of racks/balcony rails to stack your skis against. Definitely worth a trip - especially when sitting outside not an option.
Right - the weather its a tricky old forecast. Towards the end of the week the pressure patterns are unusual and there is a hint of a weak Retour D'Est developing (you heard it here first!) So after Thursday anything could happen really, your Apps are going to fluctuate and disagree wildly. But here goes - tomorrow will be pretty much like today, but in the middle of Wednesday night we may get a glancing blow by a light snow shower. Thursday will start (and may finish) sunny as well. But cloud will start to develop sometime from mid afternoon or through the evening. Friday - mostly cloudy with a cheeky chilling wind. And from Friday night - take your pick from cloudy, or snowy and windy, or sunny periods. If it is snow the snowline will be around the Dam and there wont be large amounts.
Avalanche Risk 4 again tomorrow.
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You know it makes sense.
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About to pull the trigger on a week off guided off-piste from the 31st. I got very lucky in 3V last season, hopefully conditions settle and some more snow arrives for that week.
Is it the combination of warm temperatures that are seemingly amplifying the avalanche risk, or is it mostly just the new snow on the previous thin base? I've done a couple of avi courses but by no means an expert.
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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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@borntoski, As I understand it (I will know more tomorrow night after some training i'm doing). Its the persistent weak layer of 'sugar' snow that was created during the warm temps and then the very cold temps that the recent dump landed on - there is no bonding. It will be more complicated than that - but it is very pernicious; it's quite unusual to still be at Risk 4, 4 days after the snowfall finished. Also there are avalanches round the compass rose, the fact that the winds were westerly or n - westerly for the period would normally suggest the lee slopes would be worse - this is not the case.
PS - I am not an expert!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Appreciate the insight, be interested to hear what you learn tomorrow too if you're in the mood to share.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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On the Mont Blanc lift today heading to drop down to Borsat lift and saw the tail end of a large slide to our right. Got to the top of Mont Blanc and seen in the debris and airbag had been deployed and person was digging.. lots of onlookers not knowing what to do ,including me! But pisteures appeared in what felt like 2-3 minutes.. 1 of the pisteures traveled across the debris and apparent that he was digging for skis and was on his own.. I have seen a lot of slides over the years but this was huge…a very lucky chap but slope in full sunshine very steep should he have been there? I hope he enjoys his beer tonight and reflects on what could have been….
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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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@borntoski, avalanche reports seem to be clear this is a persistent weak layer problem. The problem is I think until there is (a lot) more snow, this is going to remain a big problem as the amount of recent snow (<1m, but heterogenous, and likely to thin with upcoming Foehn) is not enough to prevent skiers triggering deep layers at sweet spots leading to massive avalanches.
Who are you booking off piste course with? I imagine they will keep you on safe terrain but the PWL is a real worry. I think best case scenario is another big dump next week but seems this is now looking less likely
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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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Snoworks, I've used them before and will be the same guide I had last year. He seemed pretty competent and knows the Tarantaise valleys well as lives in Bozel.
Yes that's concerning, wondering if I might be better off waiting it out and doing a trip in March instead. Pays your moneys takes your choice!
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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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I've skied with snoworks before and they're a great outfit. You'll have a fantastic and safe week with them
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Well that was quite the day. I was booked with tignesoffpiste (link on page 1 and thats the Insta user name). So today was snowpack analysis, avalanche mechanics and navigation. It was one of those days where you think I know some of this but now it makes a lot of sense. Huge amounts of practical tips and theory and some heavy grade shovelling. We also had a guy who has recently passed the pisteur training course who was a veritable mine of information. As we moved around the mountain, there were lots of stops to point out features to look out for - thinks like slope angles (convex/concave), terrain traps, shape of the snow, sastrugi, cornices and how to route find to make it less dangerous - one of the maxims was a slope is never safe. We did some mini cornice dropping to demonstrate what happens on a larger scale. We did a lot of ski pole testing of the snow pack - what can you feel, what can you hear etc. There was some technique as well such as skiing light footed, no major inputs, NOT following the same traverse line across a bowl and so on, the 'footprint of a skier vs snowboarder etc etc etc.
Interspersed with all this came the theory on snow metamorphism (i think the last time I heard sublimation was at school!), the formation of layers, depth hoar and surface hoar, humidification and so on all really educational. We then went on to digging a snow pit to look at layers and what to do when you're digging it and how to test for layers etc.
So to the here and now there are numerous layers of depth hoar (basically the texture of caster sugar) through the snowpack but over a metre down there is a very thick layer that sometimes extends to ground level. That was really unstable - it took some triggering but when it went - IT WENT! That will be there for the remainder of the season and even after some days of settling and the risk lowering it could still catch you out if you stop using all those disciplined techniques on back country skiing and group management.
Hopefully he will place some of the photos on the socials - I will post a link when they appear. As to the question of recent avalanches on the windward slopes - it basically comes down to topography and the wind swirling round creating local slabs. As Tignes forms a big bowl the wind aloft may be north-westerly but on certain slopes it may be blowing 180 out from that.
I'll be back with the weather
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Right - tomorrow will be pretty much like today and Friday morning will also be similar but teh cloud will thicken in the afternoon. And this is where it gets tricky. Because of the odd nature of the synoptic patterns there is still major disagreement on what weather we are going to have over Friday night and Saturday - the system is coming from the south east - so it may give some results similar to a retour d'est - but for a classic retour you need northerly winds oner eastern France - so there may be more snow in Fornet than Brev. But of the sources I look at there is a 50-50 split on whether Saturday remains dry and dull or it snows lightly - so take your pick (or shovel). But it will be more windy over the weekend. The outlook for Sunday is snowy and windy and there is more consensus on this - but it may be raining/sleeting below 1900m or so. Enjoy tomorrow and Friday morning and then it's wait and see. Early next week looks unsettled.
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Great stuff. Sounds like less youtube theory, more real world ski to me!
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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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Down to Bourg - shopping ahead of invasion to Chock's Towers tomorrow and procuring a shower bar - now duly fitted and working. But Weldom have moved into the 21st Century - they are now open over lunch. Sacré Bleu!
Tomorrow looks quite nice again with sunny spells in the morning, the cloud will thicken slowly in the afternoon and the wind will pick up - just keep an eye on the links. Light snow/sleet in the lower villages should start just after dark. The varying views on Saturday are now converging - so baest guess is cloudy and windy with light snow showers on and off through the day. We are probably talking 2-5cm in total so shouldn't cause too many dramas on the travel front. Sunday looks dry with a few sunny spells and variable cloud, together with a stiff breeze. Monday doesn't look great, windy and light precipitation which may be rain up to 18-1900m.
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The invasion has arrived courtesy of the Drones. But I went out for a social ski this morning (aka long coffee break at Rosies!). The weather is a changin - Mont Blanc had a hat and scarf this morning, by lunchtime it was a full duvet. The stiff breeze upgraded to moderate winds above 2500m and it was damp - so it didn't feel like temperatures were above freezing. As I rode Palafour I was very amused by a member of staff putting out the gates for the mini cross course on Millonex. He was looking up the hill and he:
Did a step to the left
A jump to the right
Put his hands (and drill) on his hips
His knees were in tight
So you can imagine how disappointed I was when he didn't do a pelvic thrust and thats why I have had an ear worm all day!
The pistes are generally fine, some hard packed/firm patches and a few stones and it's a bit slick getting off some chairs until the snow softened.
The cloud is now thickening rapidly and light snow will start sometime this evening and continue through tomorrow until around tea time. It might be a bit soggy below the Dam toniight, by morning it looks like v light snow all the way to Brev. But overall in Tignes maybe 5cm plus or minus a bit. There may be a bit more over towards Le Fornet as there is an easterly element to the wind. Sunday - mostly cloudy with a wind at altitude and maybe the odd sunny spell after lunch. Again it might be very light snow over towards Fornet - but nothing to get too excited about. The low is too far south to create a 'real' Retour D'Est for us. Monday - a ridge of high pressure builds over us so a day of mixed cloud, winds and hazy sun. Tuesday more sunny but still with a gusty wind.
For the travellers tomorrow - most of the UK will be damp/wet and gloomy. The only issues might be at Leeds and Newcastle with a chance of fog - but as they are not that busy - I don't forsee any problems (crew quals and aircraft equipment aside!). Over here OK at the French '3' but Geneva will have thick mist/fog and low cloud so things may slow up as low vis procedures will be in operation. As for passport queues - about 30 mins today but it wasn't busy.
On the roads: 25k vehicles on the way up and 20k on the way down so no real problems volume wise. With the snowline around lower resort levels the last mile might be tricky - especially around the resort roads.
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FAQ
