Les Arcs Season 2014 - 2015, New Thread for this season starts on page 29.

The posts from snowcrazy20 look great for this time of year. A question for you, my wife and I intend staying in Bourge Saint Maurice next January, February and March (2014). We're Looking for a nice two bedroom apartment in Bourge within walking distance of the funicular, any recommendations? Also, are there ski lockers at the top of the funicular where we can leave our skis and boots overnight?
Tillylilly

Hi Tillylilly. Yes you can keep your skis at the rental shop at the bottom of the funi so you do not need to carry them home each day You can also arrange for your boots as well.

If you need somewhere to stay in Bourg either google Bourg and you will find many liks or send me a PM with your email address plus details of your budget/dates and I can see what might be available amongst my friends. Hope that helps.

Two days on the Bellecote and powder again today (Sunday). We had to get over to the Bellecote as quickly as possible this morning to get the best snow, but it was worth the effort.

After leaving Les Arcs we headed straight to the Bellecote bowl via Roche de Mio face which still had some soft snow in one of the more sheltered gullies.

Then a quick lap of the bowl on another untracked face with some good powder. Well worth the extra work to get into the face.

Finally over the back of the North Face down to the Cheval restaurant for a nice refreshing drink. The snow from the top of the ridge into the couloir was powder and in many places on the route we took, still untracked. A bit of a challenge today as we had quite a steep line into the face and needed to take care not to cause any slides. Going down through the cliffs was fun and the snow stayed good all the way down to the meadows below.

Then the hard work really started with soft, slushy and heavy snow mixed in with crud and 'death cookies' from the avalanches above all the way to the bottom of the river exit. You can still easily reach the bus stop without needing to walk which was great, but the snow lower down is very wet right now.

Despite the heavy conditions at the bottom, the snow higher up made it a great day out in the warm sun. We may just go back again tomorrow to make another route.

The pistes around Les Arcs and La Plagne that we skied today were holding up well in the warm temperatures and in the morning firm and great for carving. In the afternoon they were very soft, slushy and sticky in places, but you can still get everywhere without any problems. There is still loads of snow around and all stations are open although they have now closed a few lifts permanently and some pistes are also closed due to soft snow in the afternoons and the risk of avalanches onto those pistes.

If you plan to go off piste, take care and best to go in the morning when you will find typical spring conditions.

I am still very behind on all the photos, but will try to catch them up shortly.

https://www.facebook.com/LesArcsWinter/photos_albums

Hi Snowcrazy, I was in Les Arcs beginning of Jan (seems like a lifetime now). How long have you got left of the season out there ? Wish I could go for 1 last week but cant afford it and have to work :(
I have enjoyed your posts you have written and pictures taken, keep up good work. Never know you may see me next year :)

BRITISH ALPINE SKI RACING (BARSC) is coming to Les Arcs at the start of next winter for a race week.

For all those interested in Alpine Ski racing. It has been announced that the British Alpine Ski Racing Championship Festival of British Children's ski racing will be held in Les Arcs next winter from the 28th December 2013 to 2nd January 2014.

For further information use this link.

http://www.barsc.net/_pdfs/BARSC%20Championships%20release%20March%202013.pdf

For all those families that normally come to Les Arcs at this time of year for Christmas/New Year and are interested in allowing there children/teenagers to take part. It is very simple to enter these races as a 'one off' opportunity without joining in all the expensive other races around Europe. For details of how to enter the races you can take a look at the BARSC web page or the Britski web page. Links below.

http://www.barsc.net/index.html or http://britski.org/

If you have any questions that are not answered on the web pages above or need help you are welcome to PM me and I will try to point you in the right direction. I also know a few people that may have places to rent during that period.

Hope this helps with your planning for next winter.

'217.26 km / h on a mountain bike' today on the snow.

Eric Barone made his final attempt today and managed to better his last years time. Great result. He hopes to be back again next year for another attempt. More details can be found at the link below.

https://www.facebook.com/LesArcsWinter/posts/443022669113152?comment_id=2927095&offset=0&total_comments=1#!/EricBarone.VTT?group_id=0

The Spring conditions have really taken hold today.

We managed to get one last trip down the Bellecote Canadian couloir today by the easy entrance, but needed to be off the route by lunch time as the snow was becoming very soft and unstable. We had to cross a number of new avalanches today on the way out along the river bed track. Although there were some ski tracks from the last few days in the couloir it was still a good ski in challenging conditions.

After a drink at the bottom we headed back to Les Arcs and a nice lunch at the Vache restaurant in Peisey. Then a fast (slushy) ski back to the waterslide at the Altiport and home.

I think today may well be my last big off piste route for a few days until the snow becomes more stable and the colder spell forecast for the coming weekend arrives. The off piste conditions right now mean that you need to complete any routes very early to be sure to stay safe. What a change from the powder we skied yesterday.

However in the mornings you can still find firm snow which is great for carving on the pistes. By mid day the lower slopes are very sticky and even higher up the snow is quite soft on the pistes. If a piste is closed, take notice. With the high avalanche risk in the afternoons (level 4) it is not a good idea to go on closed runs.

Despite the spring conditions, for this time of the season, the snow depth is still excellent and you should be able to ski until the 27 April without any problem to all the stations that remain open. So far I have not seen any brown patches on open pistes.

This really has been a great season. Stay safe out there!

Thursday 18 April. I went up a little late today. Good to have a rest sometimes. Blue sky all day and warm. Great for the suntan, but the snow gets very soft and slushy by the afternoon.

Met up with friends and skied around 'on piste today', first in Les Arcs for a while, then over to Peisey and across the Vanoise Express to the top of Champagny. Finally up the Roche de Mio for a look over at the Bellecote Glacier and then back through the tunnel and lunch on the way down to Plagne Bellecote.

In the morning the pistes started off firm and good for carving, but quickly became soft and slushy. After lunch they were wet and heavy, but still ok to ski as long as you kept your speed going.

The good news is that more snow is forecast higher up for the next couple of days which, as long as it gets colder will be good for the off piste (maybe), and the piste should be freshened up nicely. As there is still plenty of snow coming into the stations and you can still ski in almost the whole ski area. For those people coming out or staying for the last week of the season, you should be able to have a good final ski. Not bad for the end of April!!

NEWS FLASH!! IT IS SNOWING IN BOURG again, about 5cm so far and it is still coming down. LOADS more up on the mountain.