I skied Verbier 2 years ago early April, the latest I had previously been, and we had good snow and several small dumps in that week, but this was something else.
We were in SC 3 weeks earlier during a particularly cold early March, and driving in from Grenoble we noticed that there was less snow at valley level as we got below 1500m, despite there having been several recent heavy dumps of snow in the region. We were stopping in Briancon, the main town in the area, which is at 1250m roughly, and it was noticeable that as we arrived at 8.30pm in the dark, there was no snow evident anywhere, the roads were dry and whilst it was chilly, it was hardly sub zero. I expected typical Easter conditions - icy morning pistes and slush by early afternoon.
Waking up the first morning, we were greeted by low light, low cloud and a feeling that it might not be the best days skiing ever. We took the Prorel gondola up the to the highest section, and skied down a couple of runs. The snow was pretty grippy, and there had clearly been plenty of it recently, but venturing a small distance off piste I quickly returned to the groomers as the top surface was like meringue and quite tough and unpleasant. Maybe this was going to be a pistey weekend.
Day 1 brightened up at lunchtime, but it was reasonably cold, and snow was forecast that afternoon. We skied down to Villeneuve mid afternoon and caught the 2nd half of the Man U Chelsea game as the snow started to fall, after Mrs H said she had had enough for the first day taking into account it was hard to see and the pistes were quite hard in places. The snow lower down was horrible, like sand or sugar, and quite hard to work under your bases. Beer in LaGrotte sounded like a good idea.
As we retired from the bar a couple of hours later, the rain was falling quite heavily, and we took the bus back to Briancon. Our apartment was literally 50 metres from the Prorel lift station, with a bus stop 2 minutes walk away. We went to bed watching the rain tip it down, hoping that higher up the temps might be dropping and there may be some powder for the morning.....
....and I awoke at 7am bursting for the loo, and looked outside only to get that amazing tingling feeling you get when you cant see anything but white....it had snowed through the night, and the whole mountain was wrapped in snow, and even down at 1200m at town level, it was a snowy scene. Mrs H and I ventured to the gondola, whilst Stewart and his Mrs decided to take the bus round to Villeneuve and go up from there.
The journey up the gondola was amazing - thick snow bending the branches of the trees down under its weight, the odd fresh track through a mass of white snow on the mountain, and a sea of bodies stood at the top, bent sideways from the wind that was blowing the now fine snow in from the east. It was cold and fairly unpleasant, and we decided to get off and over the other side as fast as possible. Just one problem - the collection of bodies on their faces 10 metres down the first piste heading towards the interliniking lifts to the other sections, littered with people who either had no idea how to ski in the conditions, or those who took it too fast and went over. Mrs H and I skied our way down to the first drag without issue, apart from lots of whooping, giggling and repeating how incredible this all was, before disappearing over the lip above Briancon and over the other side above Chantmerle.
Once we got a few hundred metres down, the wind disappeared, and the silence kicked in. It was amazing - here we were on empty pistes, hardly a soul in site, and roughly a metre of fresh snow lying around off piste in many parts.
To say we had a tiring and thrilling day would be an understatement. It was simply stunning. Ok, it snowed most of the day, but visibility was sharp and clear most of the time, and the powder was so dry and fluffy it was perfect. I have not skied with such a huge grin on my face before.
It was still snowing slightly as we left the bar after 3 or 4, or was it 5 beers after a full on day which we thoroughly enjoyed.
The following morning, the sun was out and the sky was clear. It was crisp and clear, and much of yesterdays fresh snow had gone from the lower parts of the mountain. We all took the gondola up from Briancon this time, and Stewart and his OH had possibly the best hour and a half of skiing of their lives as we whisked down from Briancon to Serre Ratier in blazing sun and beautifully soft groomed pistes. Mind you, it was a bit windy at the top!
I ventured off a couple of times on the off piste, which was also really nice and soft, and after a coffee at Serre Ratier, Mrs H and I headed over to the western sections above Villeneuve, only to discover that the Balme chair (which links over to Monetier) was open for the first time all weekend, meaning we could have a crack at the Cucumelle.
My God, what an amazing run this was, as hardly anyone else had sussed out the link was open, and the Cucumelle allowed us to open up and fly down at full speed, on the edge of being out of control at times, and completely have it off down this wonderful red run.
The rest of the day followed suit, with fast and wondeful skiing on soft fluffy pistes high up in the blazing sun.
Stupidly, we decided to ski back down to our apartment in Briancon, and with the days sun and plus 10 degrees temps working on the snow, the last red run down into town was one of the most dififcult and unpleasant runs I have managed. The snow had turned to crystals, again like hard sand or gravel, and it was sooooooo hot all wrapped up in ski jackets, hats, etc. But we did it without incident or damage to our skis.
This Easter was like 3 totally different times of year in 3 days. It was most odd, but brilliant at the same time. Just being able to get in 3 full days at the end of the season for me was a massive bonus, and to find one day with a metre of fresh snow was just incredible, and finishing in a day of glorious sun and soft fluffy pistes was about as good a way to end a season as I can imagine.
Massive thanks to Stewart Dowling and his lovely OH for making this happen. Ok, it was Serre Che again, but what a good choice that turned out to be taking into account the conditions.
Its definitely a place I would recommend for a driving holiday, easy to get to, as long as you dont mind the last 2 hours from Grenoble up and down over the mountain pass through La Grave where the road is, shall we say, hairy. To me thats a challenge though, one I relished.
Briancon is a nice old town, a good base for skiers as its not a ski resort, but just has a gondola in the middle of it for skiers to get up the mountain. Accommodation is well priced, and there is plenty of it. We had an apartment for 6 between 4 of us, with a double sofa bed, a mezzanine floor with a double, and a spare room with bunk beds which we used as a store room. A decent kitchen with over, dishwasher, hob, and fridge, and a dining area with patio doors onto a balcony. For France, I have to say this was impressive, and somewhere I could definitely recommend and use again for a short break.
Easter skiing. I might have to do this again sometime.....if I can stay awake that is.....
