Val d'Isere Snow Report: 27th March 2012

Over the last two days I’ve skied from the top of Le Fornet to the top of the Grande Motte, and everything in between. It’s been beautiful weather, and as long as you time it right, there has been some beautiful skiing too.

Yesterday I did a lot of riding in Le Fornet, where the slopes are quieter, and seem to stay smoother longer. The top of the Glacier here might be a little colder than other places as it tends to catch the wind, but the skiing is sensational. The views are pretty amazing too. From the Fornet Glacier you can ski right down to Fornet Village or you can take the Leissieres Express chair lift over to the Solaise area of Val d’Isere. Le Fornet is often overlooked as it is a little out of town, and slightly harder to get to, but it is well worth visiting, especially if you want to avoid the crowds on the central slopes.

Skiing back through Solaise you encounter more relaxing blue and green slopes, until you get to the top of the Solaise Express itself. Here you have a choice of downloading on the chair lift or gondola, or skiing down a red or back slope back into resort. If you’re tired at the end of the day, sometimes downloading is a much more relaxing option, as these slopes get scraped bare in places, making stopping rather difficult.

If you’ve chosen to ski down (or download) under (or on) the Solaise Express, you end up back in central Val d’Isere, at the bottom of the Olympic Gondola. This is the easiest point to depart from if you want to head over to Tignes, for example, to go up to the top of the Grande Motte.

The skiing on the top of the Grande Motte is pretty special. Due to it being a little colder up there, the snow stays firmer longer. This does mean that it can be bullet proof early in the morning, but also that you can still find some fast skiing later in the day. Today, the Grande Motte was a welcome break from deep slush. We headed up towards the top at around midday and were delighted to find fast pistes and very welcome cooler temperatures; we were starting to melt while skiing lower down.

I enjoyed my usual luch stop at Tignes Cuisine with a few friends today. It will probably always be my favourite lunch stop, and really does serve some of the tastiest food in Espace Killy. It’s no four star restaurant, but it’s not too expensive, and the food tastes great. It is always busy at lunch time too, which says a lot.

We finished today skiing down past La Folie Douce, back into La Daille. Although La Folie Douce is not my cup of tea, I can see why so many people love it, the atmosphere is pumping, and they even have cabaret dancers as well now. There really is nothing else like it. That said, if you are under eighteen then you will not be allowed into the main bar area after three o’clock.

The weather forecast (at the moment) is for the sunshine to continue all week. Snow Forecast is then predicting some light snow on Sunday night, but if the temperature rise continues, it is more likely to be rain at resort level, which wouldn’t be so much fun; it should mean that there is at least a little snow at the top of the mountain though! The temperatures are due to be around three degrees, give or take, at mid level, and should continue to sit like this until Sunday at the earliest. While this does make for some fantastic sunny skiing, it will mean that the snow is going to get very slushy and mogully towards the end of most days.

My advice for this week is to get up early and make the most of the snow conditions, and to remember to use at least factor thirty sunscreen at all times. I saw so much sunburn today, especially on the British visitors!

Take care and enjoy the sunshine.

Bon Ski!!!