La Clusaz Snow Report - March 6th 2007

Skiied the afternoon; overall pretty much Spring Skiing conditions.

La Balme (highest part of the ski area - up to 2600m) is in good condition and coverage is complete. Pistes are very good - a little firm in places but no ice (in the afternoon at least). Off Piste is firm and highly variable - some crust in places, other pitches quite lumpy but generally reasonably smooth and plenty of interesting terrain to have fun with.

The lowest runs (back to town at 1500m) are variable - a fair amount of very slushy snow with a lot of bare patches coming through on the very lowest slopes. Still well covered above about 1700m though.

Rain in the town last night, with a forecast freezing level of 1700m, should have improved the upper slopes further but won't have helped the runs home.

For the latest official report see the j2ski Snow Report for La Clusaz.

Powderhound

Update - March 7th

Superb skiing in true "hero snow" on La Balme. Excellent time in boot deep and very light powder off piste (and on it too, early on) on a firm base. Fairly fierce wind at times made for some interesting visibility but generally it was good.

Last night's snow fell to about 1800 metres, with rain below that - so the lowest runs back to town are pretty soggy but still well covered. Above that level the skiing remains good to excellent.

Clouded over this afternoon which kept the temperature low, and hints of more precipitation of the right kind to come tonight.

Caution is needed on some off piste slopes as the fresh snow has fallen, in places, onto wind-swept hard-pack and evidently hasn't bonded. One of our party triggered a small slide on a North-East facing slope just before lunch. We'd noticed signs of minor avalanches on other sheltered slopes of similar orientation, immediately beforehand, and were crossing one at a time so nothing untoward... but a sobering reminder.

Similar conditions are likely across the Northern Alps for a few days (until the next heatwave!) so take care.

Powderhound