early season - meribel or tignes?

hi folks
anyone help me with the choice - which will have best ski conditions Xmas / New Year time?

bitoffluff wrote:

hi folks
anyone help me with the choice - which will have best ski conditions Xmas / New Year time? 

Tignes is the safest bet for your Xmas/New Year trip. Even if (and don't even consider it) there is a dry start to the winter, then you can ski on the glacier at Tignes. If you are in Meribel, you will have a long journey to high altitude snow under those circs.

Hi ,

I agree with Bandit ,Tignes is the better option as there is the benifit of the Grande Motte glacier,and skiing from 2100mtrs+,although there is high altitude skiing in the Trois Valleee's resorts if the snow cover is poor (hopefully not) then it is still a bit of a trek to Val Thorens which is usually okay early on).

Also near Tignes is the Pissalaise glacier above Le Fornet just up the road from Val D'Isere at the start of the Col D'Iseran which is not a million miles away by car or bus,Tignes has one of the best snow records in europe so should not be a problem (although the weather is not 100% reliable anywhere)but i have a feeling it will be another great year again.

jon.

Hi

I agree tignes would be the best choice in terms of snow conditions - although if you can book closer to the time you could get a late deal and choose a resort based on the snow conditions.

Snow History for both resorts, in cm. Since the reports are likely to be the mean for December, both reports are likely to be on the low side, since you would be there at the end of December.

To get a clearer picture, you might also look at the January mean, and average December and January.


Meribel Lower/Upper Dec 2001 to 2007
8/38 6/75 6/64 20/39 28/41 13/29 59/124, Average 20/59

Tignes Lower/Upper Dec 2001 to 2007
18/35 33/149 33/112 38/95 33/60 20/62 83/117 Average 39/90

Averages are only a guide. You should also look at the absolute numbers. Meribel has 4 seasons from 7, where the village snow level is less than 150 deep. This an indication that the snow is only just arriving in any quantity.

The other factor to take into account in a typical year, is that most Alpine pistes will be covered with artificial snow.

Tignes every time.