With cold temps Val d'Isere remains snow sure

The storm arrived Sunday night and winds of 140kmph were recorded on the summit of Bellevarde. It probably snowed about 25cm but with the violent winds, some slopes were stripped bare while others had huge amounts of snow drifting in. The avalanche risk jumped from 2/5 to 4/5, and the skiing on Monday was pretty tricky as the wind remained a factor and with light snow falling it was very difficult to see. Only the lower half of the mountain was open but there were some good sections of snow, and the skiing was pretty good considering the extreme weather conditions.

On Tuesday the sun made a welcome return, and because of the wind direction during the storm the best skiing was on the sunny slopes in Tignes where we had some fantastic skiing. The snow ranged from creamy wind-compressed snow to perfect powder, and after two days of scratching around in flat light everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The avalanche risk remained at 4/5 on Tuesday, and it’s incredible how many people just jump in and tackle steep slopes in avalanche terrain in those conditions. There were a couple of avalanches and at least one skier was injured, but fortunately no one was killed.

With all the wind that we’ve endured there isn’t good snow everywhere. There has been some nice powder in the lee, and avenues of creamy snow in the gullies and between patches of old tracked snow and areas of rain-crust. The wind has whipped the new snow off in places exposing the rain-crust that arrived December 24th, and all the way up to about 2800 metres. With yesterday’s ‘powder-frenzy’ there wasn’t all that much easily accessible powder left on Wednesday, so I took my clients for a walk. I had a father and son team from Australia who had never used skins before and we had a fantastic morning on the Crete du Genepy and Mont Roup. We skied some avenues of lovely creamy snow as well as some excellent powder pitches, and they were ecstatic with their day. Being habitual piste skiers it was a totally new experience for them, and a real eye opener to the possibilities that a short walk can offer. Thursday was overcast with light snow, and I headed up to the Fornet for a change of scenery and to take my clients over the Col Pers. We had to search around for good strips of powder or creamy snow, but the ambience was fantastic as no one else was around and we had a couple of Bouquetin above us on the way out.

The past two seasons we’ve had the right conditions for the Gorge du Malpasset to be full of snow and passable, so that when you go over the Col Pers you can ski right to the valley floor and exit through the gorge. It’s a magnificent trip, as you ski down on a snow-bridge that is above a raging river, and there are always holes where you can look down into the water below. Visitors to Val d’Isere over the past two seasons have had an easy time skiing through the gorge, and some have come to think that the Gorge du Malpasset is always skiable. Unfortunately this season the Gorge isn’t passable, and is extremely dangerous. The Pisteurs have had a couple of rescue missions during the past two days; one where a helicopter rescue was needed, and another where they needed to rope up those in need and walk them out on the icy and treacherous summer path. If you’re arriving in Val d’Isere any time soon and thinking of skiing through the Gorge du Malpasset ,don’t do it. The rescue is expensive and endangers those who will need to come and save you.

On the music front, don’t miss Andreas and Karen at Le Petit Danois every Friday at 17:00, the Guinea Pigs play the Danois on Thursday’s at 17:30, and the Baraque has music every evening except Monday’s starting at 19:30. The weather next week looks pretty good for the most part, with temperatures ranging from -10C to -15C with lots of sunshine and some off-and-on light snow mid-week. Have a great week, and look out for another report next Friday.