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Val d'Isere Snow Report: 22nd April 2015

Marmottes and Flowers and Sunshine Oh My!

featured in Snow report Author Holly Millar, Val d'Isere Reporter Updated

Have you seen a marmotte yet? It's that time of the year again and these furry little creatures can be spotted all across the Espace Killy from the chairlift. As someone who has never seen a marmotte before, I find this quite exciting. Marmotte sightings mean the snow is melting away quickly here in Tignes, but it doesn't mean the skiing is over!

There is still some good skiing to be found around Tignes, but it definitely depends on the time and place. At this point in the season, some pistes have become almost unskiable and if you head out too late in the day, conditions are quite poor. But if you are smart about it, there is still some great fun to be had on the slopes. It's not over just yet!

On Tuesday, we decided to have a cruise day over to Val D'Isère to see what conditions were like. If possible, avoid skiing Face! The top of the run isn't so bad, but as you make your way down, giant slushy moguls and rocks are quite prominent. It's quite a work our for those legs, even at the end of the season! Once you get to the other side of Val, there is some great skiing to be had! Still a bit slushy, which is to be expected this time of year, but we found some great skiing under Manchet Express and Madeleine.

Our season here in the French Alps is most certainly coming to an end, but there is still lots of time for some spring time cruising. There is nothing quite like riding around in just a sweatshirt and feeling the warm sun on your face! But remember to wear sunscreen, as the sun reflecting on the snow will give you QUITE the goggle tan/burn. Also, rocks and dirt patches have become prominent hazards in the last few days. Even on slopes with good snow coverage, random rocks can still be spotted and can cause you (or your skis/board) a lot of pain.

Forecasts this week are calling for sunshine and warm temperatures until Saturday, with a high of 11 degrees Celcius today. Once the weekend starts, we will see lots of clouds, some rain and maybe even a little snow? Seems hard to believe right now but some weather sites are predicting a snowfall of about 5-10cm starting Sunday and continuing into Tuesday. Could this be true? One final powder day may yet be upon us? I'll believe it when I see it!

The snow base in Tignes Le Lac (2100m) is currently 50cm, which is still pretty good! At the Grande Motte (3300m), the snow base is around 150cm so no shortage of snow there. South facing slopes will lose their snow base the fastest and are looking quite brown these days. Even some flowers spotted! The only crispy cold snow you will find at this point will be on North-facing slopes above 3000m.

On Thursday, be sure to check out the Water Slide in Tignes if you haven't already. Starting at 15h between the Palafour lift and Maison Tignes, you can have a laugh under the sun and watch people try and make it across the water on their skis or snowboards. Some even attempt it in swim shorts! This is certainly the best way to combine summer and skiing.

Happy slush skiing!

Location

Map of the surrounding area