© Wayne Watson
Mixed weather but great Easter skiing in Val d'Isere
Frequent top-ups of snow mean another weekend of great skiing
The weekend was very mixed weather-wise and as forecasted we had just enough light snow each morning to have a real go and ski positively as well as navigate. We seem to keep getting wonderful top-ups of unexpected snow to go with the visibility. It the village, we seem to get a dusting of snow but up on the mountain we’ve had anywhere from 10 to 30cms of fresh powder each morning!
Temperatures remain very cold for this time of year so we’ve continued to ski excellent powder snow. However, the sun is still strong enough to damage the snow anywhere but north as soon as it pops out, even if the rays don’t have the power yet to transform the spring slopes into spring snow. I think one hot sunny day would do it and the option of spring snow to go along with powder snow on northern exposures would be wonderful. At the moment, our options are limited and we only have one day before we need more snow or serious sunshine.
On Friday, we had just a little light hovering above the Aiguille Percee in Tignes so we headed that way and had a really good run in the Sachette with pretty decent visibility and good snow, although it had been slightly compressed by the wind.
On Saturday, we had the brightest morning of the weekend and my wife Gill and our 14 and 12-year-old daughters Millie and Katie joined my group. We had a brilliant time up at the Fornet where we skied the Combe du Signal, the Combe du 3300, the Pays Desert with a ten-minute ‘skin’ and then a trip over the Col Pers and out through the Gorge du Malpasset to finish. It was a real pleasure having my family with me and Katie especially enjoyed searching the mountainside for chamois and bouquetin, and we spotted quite a few of both.
Sunday was a little more overcast again and, along with my girls, we had fantastic skiing off the Verte, then the Borsat, the Chardonnet, the Tourne, the Sachette and the Familial to finish.
It was another outstanding weekend of skiing and it’s incredible how this winter just seems to go on and on! We’ve endured so much flat-light this season, which is really fatiguing as it takes so much concentration to navigate and protect yourself from injury, but the reward snow-wise has been quite stunning! I can’t remember ever skiing so much top-quality powder day after day like we have since the end of January, and we’ll look back on this season as one of the best in quite some time. Still, it would be nice to finish with a month of sunshine and some spring snow options!
The weather for the week ahead looks mixed, but what else is new? The good news is that we should get a little sunshine each morning and that should make all the difference. Get up and out there early to make the most of what little sunshine we may have, and to avoid the crowds and take advantage of the pistes when they are at their best. Have a brilliant week and look out for another update on Monday!
Follow more from Wayne on his Daily Diary.
Ski safely off-piste
Exploring beyond the ski resort boundaries is an amazing experience for anyone who's physically fit and has mastered the pistes well enough. There are, however, risks associated with venturing outside the safety of the marked/patrolled ski area, including awareness of your actions on those below you on the slopes. Mountain guides are professionally qualified and have extensive knowledge of the local terrain, to provide you with the safest and most enjoyable possible experience in the mountains; as a visitor here we highly recommend you hiring one. Many ski schools and also mountain guides provide instruction in off-piste skiing, avalanche safety and mountaineering techniques. Make your time in the mountains unforgettable for the right reasons, ski safe!
