J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by verbier_ski_bum

OldAndy wrote:Oh well......
My little plan of a sneaky week in Tignes mid-April has been scuppered!
:cry:
Apparently we are having new Sofas so there goes the budget........

Sacrilege

Have you seen the size of the glacier now? I remember there was a T-bar from just above col de Gentianes and so that you could ski the piste and go back up just below Mont-Fort in 2004-2005, but over that summer the glacier receded to the point that T-bars couldn't reach the snow anymore. They opened Mont-Fort for a day in July couple summers ago because they got tons of snow in May and June but skiing was rather "limited" - the first run on ice and the second run in slush for 300 m vertical, there was snow all the way towards Col de Gentianes but no feasible way of bringing people back. OK for a day as an amusement but I doubt many people would come back for the repeat if they opened it the following weekend. Locals would rather be biking, climbing and hiking in summer. And to get people to Mont-Fort they need to run 3 additional lifts. Pointless whichever way you look at it.

Yep, the snow that arrived on Tuesday night was of much better quality than the snow of the previous two days. Still below 2000 m there is sheer ice but higher up skiing was very good minus the wind.

Of course! I could potentially buy it if they said 15th of May but 90 cm in the end of a March to stay open till end of June??? Unless they also promised Arctic cold:)

Since it's April 1, I will check with Televerbier tomorrow :)

If your group is all the same level and you are good at planning and sticking to your plans then you should be ok in the resort that is not linked, or if people in the group agree to split for a day and ski in the area more suitable for their needs. Each area in Chamonix has enough skiing to keep your day interesting and some can be more protected from weather so will be open when other areas are shut. But linked resort like Verbier doesn't require advance planning, you can always drop your beginners, do a lap of off piste and join them within an hour or sooner. Verbier "satellite" resorts give access to the same skiing and accommodation is cheaper there but they are frankly boring, more suitable for families with kids who don't like to go out. If you hit a good week then going out is not important as you will be skiing hard but there are weeks when the last thing you want is to be stuck in a boring place. I skied combined 5 hours from Saturday morning due to conditions, so being in a lively resort helps. Though on the plus side it's easy to get to Sion from Tzoumaz or Nendaz.

It's not snow, it's white cement, truly leg breaking stuff. Bit lighter at the top but only just a bit by mid-mountain it's like skiing in cookies dough. So nothing to get excited about. I rarely say this, but I would rather have blue skies and sunshine than this 'snow'.

I use snow-forecast but I double check with meteosuisse and I trust the latter more. So snowflakes on snow-forecast don't excite me unless this forecast is confirmed, otherwise I just ignore it.