Val d'Isere Snow Report: 7th December 2011
And the snow kept on falling. A rare powder day in Val d'Isere
Today was one of those rare powder days where the snow just kept on falling. It was so thick it was almost filling in the tracks ahead. Although the ski area is still limited, and the visibility was poor, it was an amazing day to be up the hill. So if you were inside, hiding from the snow, you missed an amazing day.
The weather forecast (depending on which one you look at) is for this to continue too, one says sun and one says snow tomorrow, so take your pick, but here in resort, the snow doesn’t look like it’s about to stop. The snow is piled high over everything, meaning driving conditions are a little dicey, but who needs to drive when you can ski!
There was a whopping one hundred and thirty centimetres of fresh snow at the top of the mountain, and sixty centimetres in town. The avalanche risk boosted to a four out of five with all this fresh snow on top of a less than wonderful base, but it should drop slightly tomorrow with Meteo France predicting fewer natural slides tomorrow than today (Wednesday). So thumbs up for powder days, as long as you have all the gear, and all the idea!
I spent most of today at the top of the Solaise area in Val d’Isere. The snow was waist deep in places, and I will admit to a few cartwheels in the deeper stuff. Over in Tignes, the conditions are similar, although only six pistes were open compared to the fifteen in Val d’Isere. The visibility was a little challenging, especially with my mirrored lenses but with the soft snow to land on, it wasn’t all that bad. I rode with a friend with flat light lenses in his goggles and he had definitely made the better choice. If the snow keeps dumping tomorrow, then finding a pair of flat light lenses could be a good idea. If you’re on a snowboard, you might want to set your stance back a little bit too.
The snow is amazing, but the risks are high due to how quickly the snow has fallen, so if you are intending on heading off the beaten track, make sure you know what you’re doing. See our article on how to stay safe for more information, Also, beware of the slight lack of a base below all this new snow; there is the odd tree stump, rock or bit of brush just under the surface. Please trust me on this one, hitting any hidden objects can hurt!
So tomorrow, my advice would be to get up early, and try and catch some powder on those pistes. The resort should be open fully soon, and we can’t wait!
Enjoy the powder!
