J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by admin

Mont Blanc - from the top of the Balme chair

The highest section of the La Clusaz ski area opened on the 8th December for the day (a week ahead of the official opening) - with several Red and Black runs, and the Balme bowl (off-piste) open.

Following overnight snowfall, boot deep powder on a firm base was on offer pretty much everywhere. Altough cloudy in the morning, the sky was pretty clear by early afternoon and visibility good.

Conditions were the best I've opened my season with for many years, and probably amongst the best the area has seen in early December.

Cover was complete in both Balme and Torchere sectors. The skiers on the mountain appeared to be almost entirely local (no surprise) and that was reflected in the speed with which the Balme bowl was tracked - which has all helped to pack down an excellent base both on and off the pistes.

Although a sign warned that "Prudence" was required, the run down to the bottom (of Balme) was well covered and made for a great run down in the morning - although thaw/freeze had hardened it by the afternoon.

The sector was closed due to bad weather on the Sunday, but considerable snow has fallen throughout the day and more is expected overnight, tomorrow (Monday) and Tuesday - as per our Snow Forecast for La Clusaz.

We skiied today in Chinaillon (Grand Bornand) and although much of it was in poor visibility (falling snow) there was more good skiing both on the couple of open pistes and off-piste around the Maroly run. Although the base is evidently not as well developed as La Clusaz, conditions were still pretty exceptional for Grand Bornand at this time of year.


Off-piste - Torchere - La Clusaz

All in all an excellent and promising start to the season in the Aravis.

Same again this week! Last weekend brought significant snow across much of The Alps, and this weekend looks set to follow suit. Some fairly major snowfalls are expected, particularly on Sunday, with the total fresh snow likely to be around one metre through the course of the weekend - across most central and northern alpine areas.

In a similar pattern to the last storm, the initial snow line may be around 2,000 metres but will descend rapidly - to as low as 1,000 metres. Temperatures will vary through the weekend and should help to stabilise the new snow.

From Tuesday, temperatures should fall and stay cool for at least the next week or so... looking good for the rest of December.
:D :D :D :D :D :D :D

Hi Lisa, we ski in and around La Clusaz most seasons; you can rest assured last January was pretty unusual. This season has started well and the highest section (La Balme) will be open this weekend (a week early). Barring a heatwave, January should be good.

Reckon your mum will love the place. As for the pistes... the runs back down to the town from the Cret du Merle lift are not that steep; they're big, wide and (often) sunny and can be taken at a leisurely pace if she wishes.

The green down to La Balme, and the return, are snow-covered roads so not particularly wide - but they're not steep either. If the snow is slow or sticky there can be some walking and polling involved; so be aware - but they make for pleasant diversions through the forest!

Best place for gentler runs is on the Beauregard - your mum can ride the gondola up and down to return to the town.

Hi Gareth,

From the forum - click the Ski Europe tab above, then select a country from the Skiing Destinations (left-side menu). Each country page has a tab for WebCams.

Once in a "country webcam" tab you can switch countries with the left-side menu (e.g. if viewing the Andorran ski webcams, then clicking Austria... you get the idea).

Here are short-cuts to ski resort webcams for the big four :- Austria, France, Italy and Switzerland.

The country pages feature webcams for the most popular ski resorts - and there are links to the webcams for the other ski resorts lower down.

I'll add some short-cuts to the site drop-down menu shortly, and to the country-specific forums.

Quite a few of them appear to be covered in snow this morning! Nice. 8)

Enjoy the views!

skisuit wrote:We can not hire a private tranfer bus as Geneva is not the nearest airport to the resort we are going to.

Which resort are you going to? We have several transfer partners who, together, cover quite a range of resorts from Geneva.

With 7 travelling I'd be surprised if you can't get a private transfer at a reasonable rate.

pavelski wrote:Never would I place a toast in an old liner!

:lol:

Ok, I'm glad to hear that - one day we'll ski the same slopes Pavel; but I think I'll still decline if you offer me toast... :D

julietP wrote:will it be pretty snow sure in March?

Unless there's a heatwave, yes, should be as good as anywhere. Les Contamines has a local reputation for holding onto the snow better than other resorts in the area, so if you do catch the end of a dry spell then that'll be top of your list.

March is a great time to go - slopes should be fairly quiet and the snow should be about at its best (fingers crossed).

Good plan!

Les Contamines and Chamonix are both about 15 minutes drive from St Gervais - as is Megeve. Argentiere is 5-10 minutes further up the valley from Chamonix.

Depending on your skiing level it'll be worth visiting most of those if you can.

Check the Tourist Office websites for maps - you should be able to relate the piste maps to road maps and figure out where the base lifts are. Invariably there will be parking by the lifts, so you shouldn't have a problem. Just don't leave it late to park on the Sunday(s) as good snow brings up lots of day-trippers from Geneva and the surrounds.

You've probably seen it but we have a map of Les Contamines which shows where the other nearby resorts are.

Hope that helps - a couple of the forum regulars have chalets in the area too, so should be along shortly to fill in the details. 8)