© Nick Spearing
© Nick Spearing
© Nick Spearing
© Nick Spearing
© Nick Spearing
Val d'Isere Snow Report: 24th November 2015
Pre season snow report for Winter 2015/2016
Our reporter on the ground in Val d’Isère, Nick Spearing, is here to give us the low down on the snow conditions in town the week before the lifts open and we can all get our skis on!
What a difference a week makes. This time last week, the locals were walking around in their light t-shirts basking in the mild autumnal conditions. There was not a spot of white in sight. Fast forward to today. The temperature has been near double digit minuses (despite the sun shining) and the thought of green ground is out of everyone’s mind for another 4 and a half months.
All you have to do is talk to anyone in town to realise how grateful they are for the past weekend’s dump down. The town still remembers the bleak start to last winter. “Were you here last year? I was walking around in my flip-flops until the middle of December”, is just one of the many stories I have heard from last season’s terrible start.
As I’m sure you remember, this was definitely not a problem isolated to the Tarentaise Valley, the majority of the Alps suffered. Not until the temperatures dropped around the Christmas period did the season really kick off.
No such problem this year!
This weekend has well and truly set the snowbase for the season. The Val d’Isère tourist office are currently reporting 80cm at 3000m and 22cm at 1850m. Not amazing, but a decent start.
Given that there’s more snow on its way, it is hard not to be happy with how the weather is treating us so far. 18-20cm forecasted to fall at 1850m over the 25th and 26th November and with another weather system rolling in for the weekend (supposedly promising similar snowfall again) the base should have tripled at resort level by the end of Sunday. Over 60cm at the base by the close of the opening weekend is not to be sniffed at.
The opening weekend promises to be a fun one. The tourist board are putting on their “first tracks” event that gives skiers the opportunity to try out some of the new range of 2016 skis from brands such as Atomic, Scott, Salamon, Head and all the other major brands.
The plan is to offer this at the base of Solaise Express chairlift, if the run down to resort is open (the Tourist office will announce which runs are open on Thursday or Friday). If not, the contingency is either for the ski test to be at the top of the Olympique or down in La Daille.
As well as the ski test, there will be live music and a whole host of fun. Not to be missed if you are in resort. You can cap that off with a Vin Chaud at the tourist office from 4.30pm. Keep up to date with the plans for the weekend on the official Val d’Isère social media channels and website.
Looking ahead, the big question is whether the Criterium du Premier Neige will be taking place. The opening event of the FIS World Cup season has been cancelled in Val d’Isère twice in the last four years. I posed this question to the lovely people of the Val tourist office. I was met with a definitive “yes”.
The stars of the World Cup circuit are due to be battling it out on “Le Face” and “OK” pistes for the men and women, respectively. With a rumoured three metres of snow needed to have the race go ahead, the snow cannons will surely be on day and night to get set up for the big race.
Who knows how much snow we will get in the next week or two, but all I know is… I cannot wait to get up on the hill!
