Les Arcs Season Thread. (Where you can ask questions on Les Arcs , La Plagne or chat)

The powder is back!! Although the visibility was in and out all day, the snow has kept falling most of the time and plus the 5cm last night there must have been near to 9cm or 10cm of fresh snow higher up the mountain by the time we came down at 5.30pm (nothing like being up from first to last lifts on a powder day) and perhaps 5cm lower down towards Arc 1800/1600.

As it was a Saturday, we were able to put fresh tracks down in almost every area we went and even the trees above Les Coches were fun when the light was difficult higher up. It has started to get a little colder and the snowline is down to around 1500m which is great for the lower stations. The pistes higher up are now in great condition and those lower down, although still in need of more snow, are much better than they were. Hard, firm and well groomed in the mornings and soft and slushy in the afternoons. The snowpark etc. are all great fun and most of the piste natures are now open. Tomorrow should be another good powder day!!

For those driving out the roads are clear right now and the resort seems quieter than the last few weeks. Hope you all have a good holiday! Sorry, to late for pics tonight, off to bed as first lifts again tomorrow with all this powder waiting. Will try to get them online tomorrow. If you take a look at my facebook group page, link below, you will find a daily update each morning of snow and weather conditions direct from the piste at about 8.30am to help you plan your day on the mountain, plus pics of the last few days as I upload them.

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=134900026541300

I'm looking to book for either arcs or plagne next season for a holiday. Can anyone tell me which resort offers the most for a group? Looking for SC accommodation so. What are the supermarkets like in resort, is there enough choice/ variety?

I know nothing about this ski domain so any info people can give me will be a great help.

Thanks

Great conditions today. Fresh tracks in uncut powder almost the whole time with blue sky and little wind.

Started from Arc 1600 when the chair lift first opened and made it up the Arpette chair to put first fresh tracks back down the ridge and then to the side of the Clair Blanc piste and snowpark most of the way back to the bottom of the Arpette chair.

What a great start to the day and it only got better. Back up high above Bois de l'Ours and down through a couloir and trees to the chairs below. Quite a fun warm up so now it was time to head over the back and long untracked powder fields.

After two long trips and many turns later we stopped at the Solliet for a late lunch and then back up the lifts to the Grand Col past the site of an earlier slide today (they managed to get the two person out) and a nice route back to Arc 1950 for a beer in George's Wine Bar. I hope tomorrow turns out as well as today.

The few pistes that we skied today were in good condition after the fresh snow and although busy in places, the resort has less people than last week. Good weather is expected for the next few days, but the lower pistes will suffer if it stays warm as they are becoming very wet in the late afternoons. Although conditions are great now, we do need more snow for the coming Easter high season period.

There have been a number of small avalanches in the Les Arcs / Peisey Vallandry area today and if people are going off piste, even close to the piste, then they need to take great care and ALL carry the correct avalanche safety equipment (minimum transceiver, shovel and probe) and know how to use it or you should stay on the piste. In both incidents today, a total of three people were injured, but no deaths occurred. The snow pack is becoming very unstable with the warmer temperatures so take care out there.

crispyapplepie, Les Arcs is better for shopping as you can easily get down to Bourg for the shops. There are many SC apartments in both resorts. Loads of stuff to do in all the stations. Might be good for you to take a look at the resort web sites and see what they offer.

If you can afford the cost. Arc 1950 is very good. Ski in/ski out and snow sure.

Just a quick report of conditions tonight. Morning conditions are not to great with boiler plate surfaces on most pistes which have melted and then re-frozen over night. Later in the morning they become softer and by late afternoon, some pistes lower down are slushy and heavy to ski. The higher runs are still in good conditions. The off piste higher up is still soft and fun to ski. Lower down after the off piste has softened it is ok to ski, but very cruddy in places. More details tomorrow evening.

UPDATE: The firts avalanche was near the Aiguille Rouge, two injured but recovering. The second avalanche was not in Peisey Vallandry as reported in the press, it was on the Petit North Face of the Bellecote which might be within the commune of Peisey Vallandry, but is accessed from La plagne ski area. One person was hurt but is recovering.

Today we had an easy tour across to Champagny for a nice picnic lunch in the sun and back across Les Arcs for a drink at the Altiport and my first crossing of the waterslide (1 down and still dry).

The pistes are all firm and compact first thing in the morning, in some places it seems very icy (not blue ice). By mid morning with the very warm temperatures we are having, the surface of most pistes has softened and are quite pleasant to cross. On the return after lunch, the pistes lower down were very slushy and the snow was heavy and hard for some to turn on easily. The higher pistes are still holding up well, but the lower pistes into resorts are now very soft in the late afternoon and wet.

The conditions right now are more like the end of April, but they do say the weather will be changing again this weekend. There is still plenty of snow right now and you can still ski down to Villaroger, but it is better to ski down to the lower stations in the mornings. There are pistes open to all stations across the Paradiski area, but do not ski down closed runs or you might find little snow lower down.

Hope the snow does come this weekend/next week as they say it will.

Snowcrazy it's been really really great reading all your daily postings about Les Arcs.Helped to get us prepared for our hols then read, in retrospect, what you wrote while we were out there- you do report fairly and accurately. My ski hols are over now ..til 2012. Luckily my two trips out there probably coincided with two of the best weeks for snow in Les Arcs/Peisey-Vallandry.Your skiing sounds so adveturous. As we stick to pistes with family and friends or sometimes the areas in between pistes or through trees at edge we don't get all the best snow conditions you describe.We do spend a couple of hours every few days with an ESF guide to do a bit of more adventurous off piste powder skiing but probably need to book half a day to do some of the runs you describe.Will join your FB page if you can send your link please.Will also still keep reading your posts- enjoy the rest of the season! Hope the snow lasts.

The conditions since yesterday have not changed much. The temps are very high right now so the snow all over the mountains first thing in the morning is like boiler plate 'on piste' or re-frozen crud 'off piste' if the sun has been at it the day before. If it is in sheltered areas then you will still find some very nice soft/firm snow to ride. After a few hours the snow starts to soften and becomes ok, but you still have to take care not to catch an edge.

By the afternoon it is very soft and wet lower down and quite good higher up. As the sun goes down later in the day it quickly starts to re-freeze in all areas 'on or off' piste so it can become quite difficult again. Overall there is still quite a lot of snow higher up in Les Arcs / La Plagne area and you can still get down to all lower stations, but only on the open runs which are being well maintained. The waterslide at the Altiport in this weather is great fun. I will give another update tomorrow. For those coming out next weekend, you will still have a good time.

I have also been skiing in 'Les 3 Vallees' and 'Espace Killy' areas in the last week and in my opinion the Paradiski conditions are equal to those of Tigne / Val d'Isere plus Val Thorens/Orelle and better than Meribel valley, Courchevel area, Les Menuires area and the other lower stations in the Tarentaise area. Take a look at the web cams of each area to make a comparison.

Anyone coming out to Les Arcs, if you fancy meeting up for a beer and a chat, maybe even to ski or snowboard a little, either send me a PM or stop by the Altiport around 4.45pm or at George's Wine Bar in Arc 1950 from 5.30 - 6.30pm most day and ask at the bar for me. The staff are very friendly and will point me out if I am around. Have a good holiday.

Had an easy cruise around Les Arcs and La Plagne today. Poor vis most of the day with flat light. By the time we stopped for lunch in Champagny the clouds had closed in and when we came outside light snow was falling. This continued all the way back to Les Arcs, just about snowing in Peisey Vallandry, but very wet. Higher up in the Arc 2000 bowl it turned to real snow flakes and was still snowing at 5.30pm when we arrived back at Arc 1600 just. It is still snowing lightly up on the mountain tonight. I hope the freezing level gets a bit lower and the snow stays tomorrow.

The pistes today were in a very mixed condition. From the top of Arc 1600 Cachette Chair down to the Arc 1800 station, the snow was 'boiler plate' early on and there were many 'icy' (real ice) patches on the piste on the final section down to the Vagere Chair where the snow had melted and turned to water the day before and then re-frozen. The pistes going over to the VE in Peisey were better with hard compacted snow which was ok to hold an edge. On the La Plagne side, the pistes were generally ok, but with some bare patches on the way into stations both in Belle Plagne, Plagne Bellecote and down towards the top of the Champangy Gondola.

On the return journey the Roche de Mio had good snow but it became very soft going down into Bellecote La Plagne and then toward Les Coches and the VE. Over in Peisey vallandry the pistes had become very wet and even at the top of the transarc it was still quite soft even though the snow was falling. All the way down into Arc 1600 the snow continued to be wet and ok to ski if you have the energy to push the slush around. You can still get down to most stations across the Paradiski area, but all the lower areas are in serious need of snow now. Fingers crossed for tomorrow!