© Wayne Watson
© Wayne Watson
© Wayne Watson
© Wayne Watson
© Wayne Watson
Val d'Isere Snow Report: 14th December 2015
Take note of the 'piste closed' signs this week
The sun has continued to shine and the only snow falling out of the sky is man-made! Thank goodness that the Val d’Isere/Tignes area has such a world-class snow-making operation with extensive top-to-bottom coverage on most pistes and a healthy supply of water.
We are extremely fortunate as our skiing is excellent considering the lack of snow around the Alps and many resorts will now be worried about being able to open for Christmas.
The Face du Bellevarde was in stunning shape for the Men’s World Cup Races over the weekend and the town’s business community was extremely happy with the influx of people coming into the village. The Ladies circuit will be arriving in town for their races next week and if you get the chance do go to the prize giving ceremony held in the main street after the races at around 6pm. It is a lot of fun with fantastic animation and you get a chance to see the world’s best female skiers up close and personal.
With the Ladies World Cup next week the La Daille piste to the bottom has been cut in half and I’d recommend taking the bubbles down from the Folie Douce at the end of the day. The narrow piste is the only way to ski down to the bottom of La Daille and it gets extremely icy and very crowded. It’s a bit of a nightmare and unless you’re fearless with great technique and sharp edges I’d give it a miss.
Another place to avoid is the ‘closed’ piste down to Les Boisses and Les Brevieres. (This may sound obvious but if you’re skiing off-piste you can end up on the closed pistes further down without knowing that they are closed). Either the snow cannons have had the wrong mixture or they have been leaking water but the normally gentle piste is solid ice and extremely nasty. I’ve never come across such a dangerous bit of piste before, so do respect the signs if you’re tempted to ski down for lunch. (You can down-load on the bubbles).
As for the off-piste, not much has changed as we are desperate for snow, but we are still managing to find some great skiing.
- Tuesday- partially sunny -6C/3C wind from the south at 5km/h
- Wednesday- partially sunny -3C/5C wind form the south-west at 5km/h gusting to 45km/h
- Thursday- sunny -4C/6C wind from the south-west at 5 km/h
- Friday- overcast -2C/6C wind from the north-west at 5km/h
We were expecting a few flakes Tuesday night and during Wednesday but the forecast has unfortunately changed to ‘partially sunny’.
-
Follow more from Wayne in his blog.
