Last day of the season at Val Thorens tomorrow. Snow is still good, both on and off piste. Lifts close at 2pm
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Snow, Snow and More Snow
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Another 30cm of snow fell at 700m today, bringing road closures, electricity cuts and general chaos. Over two metres is now reported on the summits, and while Méribel and Courchevel will open tomorrow, the Three Valley links will remain closed. Meteo France is predicting an avalanche risk of 4-5 tonight and tomorrow, possibly dropping to 3 on Sunday. Snow is expected to continue through tonight until tomorrow morning. Access roads to the resorts will be difficult tomorrow, but we will try to battle through to bring you news and views from the slopes.
Weather update
There’s a big storm brewing in the French Alps… we have had a bit of a lull today, but the snow will start again tomorrow morning, with winds building to 80-120 km/h at altitude. An aditional 30-50 cm of snow is forecast with the snow line between 300m and 1000m. The avalanche risk is likely to increase to 5, with snow continuing through Saturday morning, giving up to 15cm more snow, before winds drop and skies clear in the afternoon.
Méribel piste and lift changes for 2012-13
There are several changes to the pistes and lifts around Méribel for this season. The Saulire Express gondola is now complete, and also boasts a completely redesigned bottom lift station and new entrance ramp to the front.
The Saulire Express will now reach the top of the Saulire in just 12 minutes, compared with a previous journey time of over 20 minutes. It has eight-seat cabins, carrying 2,400 people per hour.
The narrow blue run coming into the Chaudanne from the Saulire side, the Traversée bourbon, has been made easier. It is now broader and gentler at the bottom, having been re-shaped following the removal of the old Saulire pylons.
The Season Begins…
We’ve been a bit quiet lately, enjoying the snow snowfall, and shoveling a fair bit of it off the driveway. Well over half a meter has fallen at 700m in the last few days, and there is over 150cm on the summits. Val Thorens opened two weeks ago, with Méribel and Courchevel due to open on Saturday.
Emile Allais
We are sad to learn of the death of Emile Allais yesterday, aged 100. Olympic medallist and World Champion in the 1930s, Allais was insturmental in establishing many resorts in France, including Méribel, with Major Peter Lindsay.
Snowfall !
Earlier in the week we had the first significant snow of the season. Snow fell to around 1600m, covering all peaks in a lovely white blanket. Here is a shot of Mt Vallon taken yesterday evening from the Chaudanne in Méribel.
Fabulous conditions in the Three Valleys
We skied in Courchevel this morning, taking the new Saulire express, to be on the Saulire by about 9.20. How is this for a quiet piste (Creux)
and here is a view of Courchevel 1850. Can you spot anyone at all on the slopes?
In summary, sunshine, fantastic snow, and nobody around!
Christmas skiing conditions
A rare break in the weather gave us a wonderfully sunny day and fabulous skiing yesterday. With barely a cloud in the sky all day, and conditions on piste excellent, we spent the day in Courchevel. Today, the snow returned, along with high winds and limited visibility for much of the day. In fact, winds were so high that we spent half an hour stuck in the Saulire gondola!
Snow falling heavily at the moment
Snow has continued to fall for most of the night, building on the great conditions we already have. Lifts will open late again this morning as avalanche prevention measures continue. While the avalanche risk had fallen to 3 yesterday for much of the region, it is likely to be at 5 again this morning following a heavy overnight accumulation of fresh snow. Cold temperatures are keeping the snow wonderfully light, and skiing in Les Menuires yesterday, snow depth averaged around mid-shin, although the base is thin in places, and we had a few rock-scraping moments.
In the Tarentaise, more snow has fallen in December than in last January, February, March and April combined, and more is forecast over the coming days.