Another great weekend even without any fresh snow

On Friday we went over the Col Pers and ‘skinned’ up to the Glacier Pers to ski some excellent pitches of soft winter powder. With the sun still shining on Saturday we headed to the Fornet again and did three-short-10-minute ‘skins’ out wide in the Pays Desert and skied wonderful snow with total solitude.

By Sunday it was time for a change of scenery and I headed to Tignes on a reconnaissance mission to see what might be available for the week ahead. It was all looking a little scratchy en-route to the Sachette so we skied some perfectly groomed pistes before climbing up to the little Col. I looked over the Col and there wasn’t much on offer on the northern side so we ‘skinned’ up on the sunny side and skied some beautiful spring snow all the way to the bottom. The fact that the spring slopes are starting to come around is great news as it gives us some much needed options as we await some fresh snow.

I heard from Henry (HAT) that the Gorge du Malpasset was passable so we finished our morning on Saturday with a trip over the Col Pers and down through the gorge. Conditions had changed overnight and it was much more difficult than I thought and although we made it through I won’t be doing it again unless it snows heavily. Most of the way down is extremely easy but there is one section of about 5 metres where you must side-step up a narrow ledge and if you fall off you’ll drop down into the water.

It will get more difficult now as the afternoons heat up and the snow gets slushy and re-freezes at night. The section in question doesn’t get any sun so it remains icy until late in the day and it will just get trickier with each passing day. I definitely recommend not passing through the gorge unless you are an expert and very sure on your feet, and even then I’d think twice, and if you’re a boarder it’s totally non-starter! (See photos but they don’t do it justice). A couple of seasons ago four people drowned in two different accidents so please take this warning seriously.

After several days of sunshine the pistes are in absolutely immaculate condition and couldn’t be any better. It’s probably the best piste skiing we’ve had since the pre-Christmas period and it should continue into next week as the weather is looking pretty stable.

Weather in the resort:

• Monday- Partially sunny -8C/+5C Wind from the S at 5km/h
• Tuesday- Sunny -9C/+5C Wind from the S at 5km/h
• Wednesday –Sunny -9C/+3C Wind from the N at 5 gusting to 45km/h
• Thursday- Sunny -8C/+4C Wind from the NW at 5km/h
• Friday- Partially sunny -7C/+5C Wind from the W at 5km/h

As you can see the weather looks as if we should see mostly sunshine all week long. The wind doesn’t seem to be too much of a factor except on Wednesday. Anytime it blows 45km/h in town you can count on some pretty serious winds on the summits, such as what happened last week when it blew 119km/h on the summit of Solaise.

Have a fantastic week and stay tuned for another update on Friday! (If you want to follow the conditions daily check my blog on the link below).

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