Huge weekend snowfall in Val d'Isere

It snowed Friday night but the winds were extreme enough to keep the resort shut down until 10:00, and even then the opening was limited with only the top of the Solaise sector open. Eventually the Bellevarde sector opened later in the day and there was some good powder in places. Unfortunately the lower slopes are still closed and that takes away a huge amount of possibilities when the wind is blowing. Normally we’d brave the wind on the top section of the mountain waiting to get lower down to the more protected slopes where the skiing would be much better. With the bottom half of the mountain still closed what would usually be our bread-and-butter skiing is unavailable. That should all change this weekend as we’ll have enough snow lower down without needing the artificial snow that we’re lacking due to the damaged snow-cannons.

The good news on Saturday was that amongst the storm they did manage to run the Men’s World Cup GS, which was won by the great Austrian, Marcel Hirscher. It was Hirscher’s 60th World Cup victory and he only has the immortal Ingemar Stenmark ahead of him on 86 victories. Hirscher is now 29 years-old and only time will tell if he can overtake Stenmark, who is considered by many the greatest of all time.

Unfortunately the weather on Sunday was too extreme with winds gusting to 100kmph and snow blowing sideways, so Hirscher didn’t get the chance at his 61st victory as the World Cup Slalom was cancelled. I was surprised that they could run the race on Saturday, and this only happened due to the fantastic work from volunteers who worked all through the night side-slipping the falling snow off the course. It was an incredible effort but nothing could be done to save Sunday’s race with the violent wind. They finally opened the Funival at 15:00 in an attempt to save needing to reimburse everyone for their lift tickets, but I don’t think there were many takers as everyone had lost their skiing mojo’s and moved on with their day.

On these days when the resort is closed down I’d strongly suggest a trip to the Centre Aquasportif. The sports centre is world class with swimming pools, saunas, a steam room with whirlpools, squash courts, a climbing wall, a weight room and cardio room, pilates and yoga classes, and a hall that can be used for basketball, badminton or football. There is also a golf simulator at €25 per hour for up to four players including clubs, and that is the best value in the Alps.

Monday’s forecast is for more snow and significantly less wind. Fortunately it is forecast to cheer up on Tuesday with clear blue skies, and partially cloudy skies are forecast for Wednesday and Thursday. I’m expecting a slow opening on Monday as it will take some time to sort out three days of heavy snow accompanied by high winds, so patience will be needed but be ready to advantage of the blue skies. The avalanche risk will be high, and any off-piste skiing will need to be done extremely cautiously.