a skier in blue coming through the trees

a woman in a red ski jacket enjoying the snow

ski tracks in fresh snow in the espace killy

a skier in green and yellow coming over a ridge

the side of a yellow and black helicopter

Another fabulous week of powder skiing with unseasonably cold temperatures

One of the best weeks of the season so far

featured in Snow report Author Wayne Watson, Val d'Isere Reporter Updated 14 March 2016

It has been another fabulous week of powder skiing as the unseasonably cold temperatures have kept the snow dry and incredibly light.

On Monday with the sun shining we had a wonderful run on the impressive Face du Charvet in absolutely brilliant snow followed by some great skiing up at the Fornet. On Tuesday I skied in Tignes and skied the Sachette, and it was probably the best Sachette of the season as it was deep and light top-to-bottom. By Wednesday it was time to walk as the easily accessible snow was tracked and we ‘skinned’ up to the Col des Fours. The wind was fierce on the ridges and summits but hadn’t yet been blowing long enough to damage the snow and we skied first tracks with great snow and solitude. On Thursday we skinned to Mont Roup and enjoyed some lovely snow that had been protected from the wind.

The wind has unfortunately worked over a lot of slopes and what was superb on Wednesday had turned to ‘skiers’ snow by Thursday, and much of the resort has been winded. Between skier/boarder traffic, and sun and wind damage we are already in need of a snowfall and a fresh canvas. It’s remarkable how all that wonderful snow that we’ve been enjoying can change overnight and suddenly instead of perfect powder everywhere we are now scratching around to find quality snow. It’s a bit of a bummer really but what a run of sensational skiing!

I had an unfortunate incident on the Face du Charvet on Monday morning. The Face is steep and exposed and one of the most impressive slopes in the resort, and it’s always atmospheric and exciting to ski. In fact it’s quite rare that I ski it in powder but Monday was the day and it needed to be done. I had a client fall in about his 5th turn and damage his knee to the extent that I needed to call the Piste Services for a helicopter rescue. Two Pisteurs skied down to us and took great care of my client while I packed down a landing zone with two other clients. The entire rescue operation was incredibly slick and professional and I personally am very glad that the Pisteurs received a decent increase when threatening to strike last week.

With several days in a row of brilliant sunshine the pistes have firmed up and are in pristine condition. The firmer snow stands up to traffic much better than the soft fresh snow and the last few days have been the best piste skiing that we’ve had for quite some time. That should continue over the weekend as we have another couple of days at least of lovely weather to come.

Weather in the resort:

Friday- Sunny -10C/+1C Wind from the S at 5km/h
Saturday- Sunny -11C/+1C Wind from the S at 5km/h
Sunday- Partially sunny/few flakes of snow -9C/+2C Wind from the S at 5km/h
Monday-Partially sunny -9C/+2C Wind from the NW at 5km/h

The cold overnight temperatures are forecast to continue for a few more nights, which is great news for the quality of the snow. As the sun climbs higher in the sky it won’t be long until the days become much warmer and the temperatures start to resemble those that are expected in mid-March.

The avalanche risk has been dropped today to 2/5.

Have a fantastic weekend and stay tuned for another update on Monday!

For more updates on a daily basis, follow Wayne's blog.