J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by admin

With our last weekly snow round-up before the Christmas weekend, all of us at J2Ski would like to wish you and yours all the very best for a great break.

Further snow in almost all European ski areas improved conditions last weekend, although a few days of milder weather have affected the snow pack in lower altitude resorts.

The big snow news of the week came from California, with Mammoth Mountain and other resorts reporting anything up to a mammoth 12 feet of new snow in a week!

European Weather and Snow This Coming Weekend

A sharp dip in temperature across the Alpine area is forecast for the next 48 hours (through Christmas Eve), and it will be very cold for several days before temperatures rebound toward the seasonal averages. The dive in temperature will be accompanied by a fair amount of precipitation. Although the exact mix of rain and snow is difficult to predict, and will depend very much on local conditions, there is certainly the potential for significant snowfall through Friday and into Saturday.

Further out, conditions look unsettled and light snows are quite likely at various times throughout the next week.

We'll be back with more snow news next week - have a very Happy Christmas!

Yo Ho Ho!

tracyk859 wrote:Hi, I am Tracy . I am a new member of forum.

No, you're just another retarded spammer - *** off.

Le Dauphine is reporting two people injured, one seriously, in the avalanche.

http://www.ledauphine.com/haute-savoie/2010/12/21/deux-blesses-dans-une-avalanche

Not a good Christmas, but the injured are not in danger so that's one blessing.

Came across the immediate aftermath of a large slide that crossed the Blue piste (Dahu) just below the peak of the Tete de Saix. It passed under the Chariandes Express chair, from which we saw an extensive search underway just after 13:00 today. The search lasted around an hour, with 20-25 searchers involved in an organized search. We saw at least one helicopter arrive and depart. Not nice.

To my untrained eye it looked like a classic wind-laden slab starting at the top of a gully and, apparently, triggering a much larger slide on a convex slope immediately below that swept through scrub vegetation and onto the piste. Fierce winds had been blowing from the other side of the ridge for 2 days and we saw a number of smaller slides on similar aspect slopes today.

The rather crappy picture below (phone and poor light) shows the debris almost right across the piste; I'd estimate up to 2 metres deep.


:shock:

Keep em coming snowcrazy - hoping for trip to Les Arcs this season so very useful to get updates from on the spot. Thank you!

tin pot wrote:I've had a word with the mechanic, he's not that keen on winter tires

Does he know anything about them? :evil:

tin pot wrote:the best thing to do if you're doing it is to get a spare pair of front wheels, put the winter tires on that and then you can swap them on and off much easier.

It's certainly a good plan to get a spare set of wheels, but that's a full set. Do not even think about running two winter tyres with two summer, it's beyond stupid. Massively different levels of grip between front and rear has never been a good idea. Even if you survive leaving the road backwards at the first slippery bend, your insurance will almost certainly not pay out and you'll probably be looking at a prosecution (possibly for killing your children).

However, *do* get *4* winter tyres, with or without spare rims, and you will be able to drive more confidently and much more safely to your destination - probably without needing to use chains.

There's nowhere within 5 hours of Calais that's worth the journey (there are small, occasionally open, hills in the Ardennes and Vosges but that's not what you probably want). There are, however, plenty of places to stay to break the journey on the way to the Alps and they needn't break the bank.

Driving has its own pros and cons, suits some people but not others, and you're doing the right thing by asking here (and getting some great advice - the tips in the earlier post really do help when the weather gets snowy).

Driving with young children is another dimension and you need to plan on lots of ad hoc breaks (when they want to go, they want to go NOW), give them the chance to run about and stretch their legs (and then fall asleep in the car if you're lucky), take snacks, give Teddy a good view, etc.

La Clusaz and Le Grand Bornand are both good for families; you might also look at Morzine and Les Gets (same distance from Calais).

It's well worth doing though! 8)

Getting on for a foot of fresh powder... At the Autoroute services 40km outside Geneva. Been snowing on and off for much of the journey (from Reims) today. If you're driving tomorrow bring o
Plenty of screen wash - got through 10 litres since Calais!

Bon voyage to everyone traveling this weekend.

I'll be there tomorrow - will drink yours for you, no worries.