J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by admin

:lol:

Yup... all the main forecast models have been frankly un-hinged so far this week and I've had enough! :evil:

The Snow God appears to be drunk (was muttering something about being molested by a marmot and a scuba diver when last seen), the delivery driver's got lost (last seen in Finland) and all lines of communication are down.

Snow is cancelled. Is it April 1st yet?

What time does the beach open? 8)

But seriously... GFS seems to hinting at a mild and dry end to January, with a return to normal for the first week in February. So take your sun-cream...

Pretty strong convergence of the different models in the latest ensemble plots for Geneva, for example.

Hirsty wrote:Just used my boots for the first time in a while last night.

Tempted to ask if you simultaneously got a pain in your shoulder??? :lol:

When you say "used" was this for skiing (indoor or dry slope?) or just walking around the house?

At a guess, that might indicate any of a lack of width in your boot, stance too upright (so foot too forward) or maybe just doing the front buckle too tight - but you need to discuss this with a specialist boot-fitter if it continues.

Had good times in both but would pick Courmayeur of the two.

Cervinia

Generally excellent snow cover (because of the altitude) but can suffer from the wind (altitude!). A good skier might be looking for more excitement after a couple of days as the ski area is not the most varied - but it's very good for intermediates looking for mileage.

Possible to ski over to Zermatt which will keep the experts happy, but the link can be closed if windy.

Scenery is spectacular (Matterhorn et al). Village itself lacks the character of other Italian resorts but is reasonably lively.

Courmayeur

Not a huge ski area but well-connected with a good variety of runs; fun Blues, challenging Reds and a serious Black or two. Some easy freeride between the pistes up top and some good steeps if you go looking. Possibility to do the Italian side descent of Mont Blanc - not done that myself but on my list of must-do runs for the future.

Scenery spectacular (Mont Blanc)!

Attractive village centre with good restos and a chilled-out apres (recall several bars full of lazy sofas and open fires). Bars and ski shops tend to be on the pricy side for Italy but if you have a car you can get out of town (or to Aosta city) for better value.

Very popular at weekends with day-trippers but 99% of them "ski to lunch"; pistes very busy between 11:00 and 12:00 on Sunday and virtually deserted from 12:00 until 15:00 - fantastic time to ski! 8)


Verdict

You'll have a great time in either - if you're doing it DIY your best bet could be a few days in each.

Unless you're going well off the beaten track, you'd best be booking in advance - your dates take you right into the peak half-term weeks so if you want to be sure...

Innsbruck is a big place with plenty of local resorts but they will busy.

Might be worth noting that many online hotel bookings don't have onerous cancellation charges - so you could make sure you've got somewhere to stay without a huge commitment. Check the specifics though, as they do vary from hotel to hotel.

Skiing near Innsbruck
Hotels around Innsbruck Airport
(use the search form to search the locale)

Areas for good skiers? Where to start... :lol:

St. Anton - hard-core off-piste and hard-core partying...
Lech, etc. etc.

A lot depends on the snow at the time, of course, and you can keep an eye on that here :-

Snow Reports from around Innsbruck

If it was me (I wish)? I'd start in St.Anton and move on from there - hire a guide for a day and take the chance to pick their brains for your next destination. Sorted.

Less choice of resorts than Innsbruck, for sure, but perhaps some lesser-known ones which may well be less crowded for half-term.

Probably worth booking if you can though.

BTW, here's a Map of Ski Resorts near Bolzano for ya.

Bugger. It's gone East... :cry:

Iceman wrote:This website says there is 39cm of snow scheduled to fall on Sunday in Morzine - is this really correct?

Hmm, it's "correct" in that, yes, that is what the GFS data was predicting earlier today... but that's changing with every run - as is the Southerly/Westerly extent of the possible snow for this weekend.

In this case, there is a High Pressure system along whose Eastern edge any snow will come - with cold air from the North. The forecast models seem to be having a real hard time predicting where this is going to go. If it moves a little to the East of the current prediction, then the French Alps will see clear weather... a little to the West and there'll be a major snowstorm in the same area.

It could go either way at this point and you might as well toss a coin as look at any of the snow forecast sites... :cry:

Gut feel says this one's going to fizzle out or at least get downgraded but let's hope not.

But that's weather... last week was much more settled, and the snow that fell today in the French Alps was generally very close to what we'd been predicting since the middle of last week.

Are you driving from the UK?

Iceman wrote:'Max Temp/Min temp'

Where is this? Resort, top of the mountain? I doubt it....but not sure....

How much should I be taking off/adding for the resort/top mountain? :?:

Hi Iceman... temps are at resort level... we plan to add temperature at the top (and wind-chill) shortly.