© Wayne Watson
© Wayne Watson
© Wayne Watson
© Wayne Watson
© Wayne Watson
Wild weather in Val d'Isere this week
Storm Eleanor has hit Val d'Isere hard
With an absolutely incredible storm raging off-and-on we really haven’t done all that much skiing. However, on Tuesday we did manage some good powder skiing in the trees at the Laisinant and Fornet.
On Wednesday, with heavy snow overnight, rain up to 2300 metres and winds gusting to 100 km/h, the only runs open were the beginner slopes at the bottom of the mountain and the Funival, which was open for a very brief period. One of the pisteurs told me it was unskiable so I went home to do paperwork and then go to the gym.
Another 60 to 80 cms of fresh snow fell Wednesday night and, with high winds, Thursday was another difficult day for the security and snow removal teams. The storm has become so serious that all the satellite roads in town to the Fornet, Chatelard, the Rue du Balme, as well as the road to Tignes, are all closed. The road down the valley to Bourg St Maurice is also closed. The avalanche risk is 5/5 and the resort was totally shut down on Thursday morning and remained so all day.
This extreme weather has caused a few accidents in Val d'Isere during the past week. Last Saturday, a 22-year-old Parisian died in an avalanche when he and five friends decided to ‘skin’ up to the Refuge des Fours and spend New Year’s in the refuge. Somehow, they made it to the refuge in flat light and falling snow, walking through one metre of heavy wet snow with an avalanche risk of 4/5, bordering on 5/5. Unfortunately, once they arrived, 4 of the party decided to go for a ‘skin’ late in the afternoon when the avalanche occurred. Fortunately, Sunday morning was sunny so the Mountain Gendarmes could go up via helicopter to retrieve the body.
On Monday, a family of German’s decided to ski the notorious Face du Charvet with a risk of 4/5. No one would have even considered for a fleeting moment to ski the Face du Charvet in these conditions but the family found themselves stuck in the cliffs between the left and right exits from the main slope. Two pisteurs risked their lives to try to help them and eventually they needed to be air-lifted to safety by helicopter.
On Wednesday afternoon, at around 3 o’clock, a massive avalanche came down across the road to the Fornet. The debris was piled up between 3 and 6 metres and, at first, it was thought that a car was underneath, which triggered a huge search and rescue mission with avalanche dogs and probes. As far as I know, a car wasn’t located there and, at 18:00, they opened the road to a convoy of vehicles before closing the road again.
The snow/rain limit is forecast to rise to 2600 metres on Thursday afternoon, which will help stabilise the mountain in the long term. The pavements in town are absolutely lethal at the moment. With the snow/rain level going up and down like a yo-yo the pavements are either soaking wet and incredibly slippery or frozen solid and even slipperier! Whatever you do don’t get caught with your hands in your pockets or a child on your shoulders.
We’re expecting an improvement in the weather tomorrow so people should be able to start travelling again. Good luck on your travels and have a great weekend! Look out for another update on Monday.
