When you are away skiing....

Wanderer wrote:I think it is agreed - all us ski-obsessives look out the window to see what conditions will be like for the day.

Now the question is what is your reaction to what you see. Here is my list rated on a scale of 1 - 10 with 1 being despair that I might not get any skiing in while 10 is skiing heaven, perfect blue skies with a lovely dump of fresh snow!:

Rain :cry: - 2: not good but on the plus side maybe it means there is fresh snow up higher :shock:

Thick Fog :evil: - 1: oh no :evil: not good at all - scour the sky for any sign of a break;

High wind 3: which lifts will be open? links to adjoining valleys will probably be closed, it will be cold, cold, cold :x;

Falling Snow 6: its going to be good .... but what are skiing conditions going to be like until it stops?;

Overcast skies 6: could go either way - does it mean a storm coming in with lovely fresh snow? will it blow over? will it be cold?

Blue skies 7 if it has now snowed for a while :lol:
9 if it snowed yesterday :lol: :lol:
10 if it snowed during the night:lol: :lol: :lol:

Have I missed any or got the ratings wrong?

Possibly, yes.

1. Rain
Good news if you are stopping way below the slopes, as it means fresh snow higher up. It also puts off a lot of fair weather skiers, so get up and make the most of it on the first lift!

2. Thick fog
Another reason to get up there, because once on the slopes higher up, the fog will lift quicker and may even not be there at all. In Verbier last Spring, there were 3 foggy mornings, and lots of people were milling about in town because it was gloomy and miserable. However, once up the 2nd lift, there was no fog at all, and you were above the cloud and in the bright sunshine, with the slopes half as busy as normal. Brilliant.

3. High Wind
I have only once had skiing affected by this, in Sauze in Feb this year. The lifts were shut most of the morning, but even when they did allow you up, it was horrible and we came back down again. Unfortunatley, this is the one weather scenario you will want to avoid.

4. Falling snow
Funnily enough, the skiing is usually not as good on the pistes when its snowing hard, particularly for the piste freaks. Off piste is another thing altogether, but visibility is going to be poor, light flat, and if your skis disappear in the white stuff, you have little idea whats underneath, so its going to be hard on the body and not as enjoyable as people would like to think.

5. Overcast
Just get up that lift and get on with it. Ok, it might be flat light, but if you have a large enough ski area to get around, you are likely to find some better weather somewhere on the circuit. If not, its not a big deal, but be a little more cautious in that flat light and wear your goggles.

6. Blue skies
Well its what we all dream of and pray for on a skiing day, especially if there has been fresh snow overnight and the bashers have been at work. A sunny morning always helps you out of bed that little bit earlier.

I think personally the golden rule of thumb is to take the conditions in the resort with a pinch of salt, get on that first lift, and see how the day develops. I do know people who look out the window and say "I dont think I will bother today". I laugh in their general direction.

If it's white outside, then I am going to snowboard. End of discussion.

Ah, but it might not be white outside, thats the whole point.
My view is even if its not white outside, I am going to ski from first lift until last, whereas I believe a lot of people have a day off or go up late if conditions dont seem great first thing.
More fool them.

Tony_H wrote:Ah, but it might not be white outside, thats the whole point.
My view is even if its not white outside, I am going to ski from first lift until last, whereas I believe a lot of people have a day off or go up late if conditions dont seem great first thing.
More fool them.

No it does not stop me either, I just might change my mind on what I intended to do. If its really windy and there is a chance of lift closure, I just go cross country skiing, no probs. It will never stop me going out or lying in bed longer. Well may-be some things could persuade me :lol:

Its got to be worth getting up and proceeding as normal. If conditions really are dire, then have extra breaks and keep warm etc.until you really have had enough ot the lifts get shut. We all know how quickly the weather can change in the mountains and it may only be a very short time before things improve significantly and, as Tony says, you have a decent day after-all coupled with quieter slopes.

Try to remember where my hotel is.

Make as much noise (accidently!) as possible to ensure the rest of the family wakes up – otherwise by the time we get onto the slope the sun is starting to set!.

Ask my skis to move over onto their own side of the bed.

Errk. You don't think I'm getting too obsessive do you? :cry: