Val d'Isere Snow Report: 14th December 2012

This week we did- we had the sunny days after the storm! With snow piling and piling and the wind blowing and blowing, a lot of lifts were closed due to safety reasons, chairlift problems and avalanches alike. This could only mean one thing, the next sunny day meant lots of new terrain to work with.

After playing phone tag with various folks on their day off, we wandered over to the Fornet, meeting powder-minded people along the way. The snow was absolutely incredible - light, stable, and deep. The clouds were out and visibility was tough so a morning of tree runs was essential. Nothing like a tree to tell you where your changes in terrain are. After 5 exhausting runs, first hitting skier’s left over the gulley by the Télécabine and then to skier’s right through the blue piste Mangard we called it a day. All other lifts had closed to due winds and the trees were starting to get a little tracked out. Just saving the legs for another amazing day!

We had another early rise the next day because of weather projections of both a sunny morning and an undecided afternoon. After heading to the Fornet, we ducked again into the trees to see what untracked snow remained. Though the snow was still amazing, we decided to venture over to Solaise after a couple of runs and see what was open on the backside. Nothing had really been hit and our snow-curiosity was insatiable. Truth is, nothing was open between the Laisinant and piste “L” but the Laisinant trees looked unfairly untouched. We charged in. This was by far some of the best snow I have ever had the chance to ride - light and flaky but solid enough to hold our weight. Plainly, awesome.

The next day we ventured out back to the Fornet and headed even higher in altitude, closer to the cloudless sky. The sun was out and we were ready to make it count. Taking the Pyramides lift up, we traversed as far right as possible and hit the mother load. The high winds that had previously shut everything down had actually blown snow over all other tracks leaving us a huge playground to charge through. Ours were some of the first tracks that day and we made sure to make them count. Some were getting adventurous dropping anything in site while others carved to their heart’s delight. After numerous face shot descents, our legs were begging for a break so we took the Lessières lift up and over the ridge into Solaise. The rest of the day was spent on the Solaise piste and even on the empty and perfectly groomed Pissaillas Glacier - carving, bonking, jibbing, and cruising everything.

Thursday was another undecided day with a push and pull vibe between the sun and the clouds. With most places tracked out in Solaise and le Fornet, we thought there was no better day to sleep in a bit and take our time heading out. Our legs still recovering from the past couple of days, we stuck to the pistes in Solaise. Cruising on the higher pistes as the lower ones were fairly icy from snowmaking, we took our time, taking breaks here and there. Let’s be honest, we took a lot of breaks! As with our après-skiing and partying, we’re still in training to be the best seasonnaires possible!