Val d'Isere Snow Report: 27th January 2013

The weather unfortunately has absolutely not been consistent in the least bit in the last two weeks, but that’s just it! I have officially decided to believe that the weather is entirely consistent due to its inconsistency. WHOA. Turns it on its head, doesn’t it…

The last couple of days, as can be imagined, were spent almost entirely on piste as our last experiences in hors-piste only led to exhausted legs and far too much snow up our jackets. This sounds amazing, but when the snow is crusty, windblown, and battered into rugby ball chunks, it isn’t the amazing snow conditions we’re used to.

Wednesday was spent under the luscious Savoie clouds but on perfect snow. Thanks to the -23 temperatures we’ve been having lately, the snow everywhere has been staying absolutely awesome: smooth, lush, and fast. We’ll take it instead of sunny skies, especially with how well all the trails have been groomed these days. There's nothing like starting your day with a super fast Arcelle to feed your need for speed! Trying to follow the light leaking through here and there, we stayed on Solaise tearing up every nook and cranny of good snow available. Glacier Expresse, Mattis, L, Laisinant, and Plan were all taken care of by lunchtime. Good timing too as my toes were ready to fall off with the low temperatures! The Brits came prepared for the low temperatures with their crazy costumes. I guess you always have to layer up!

The next day, of course was full of beautiful blue skies and cloudless times but I am sad to report that this was a day that I decided to spend inside. A night spent partying to DJ Pone rarely means an early and motivated start… Thankfully, Friday was just as amazing! We spent the better part of the day riding switch all over Solaise, trying to take it easy on our legs before meeting up with some of the quicker skiers. Riding hard, we took a break at the standard- l’Ouillette in the sun. Nothing better than that! Saturday was another bright day spent on Solaise with a surprisingly large amount of people out about for a Saturday which is normally one of the quieter days in the week due to it being transfer day.

Today, we finally saw proof of the potential snow that everyone’s been talking about. Heavy dark clouds hung low on both Solaise and Bellevarde this morning, but sometimes the sun was able to pierce through giving us some pretty amazing views. After a couple of piste runs on the Solaise, we decided that a week without ripping up Grande Motte, the Tignes Glacier, was far too long. Heading over to Bellevarde with the Olympique tram, we dipped over to Tommeuse and reached Tignes quickly. Meandering through the crowded blue pistes, we finally made it to the bottom of the glacier. Up the first, then the second, and then up the tram, we finally made it to the top of the glacier, just in time for all visibility to disappear under a sheet of white clouds. After making our way down slowly but surely, we headed over to the Tignes Le Lac and the Couloir for some lunch. Needless to say, we were quickly back in Val to discuss our après plans!

Here’s to the new snow that's consistently being reported to be on the way!