Messages posted by : admin
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That certainly didn't "fail-safe" did it? :shock:
Presumably both the drive and the brake mechanisms failed and it was the weight of the skiers making it run "backwards"? Hopefully the Georgian authorities will publish the results of the investigation in short order, and none of those injured will have lasting effects. Whatever the cause, you don't expect to have to "bail out" of a crashing chair lift! |
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Had something similar many years ago from slightly-too-large hire boots; shins take ages to calm down once bruised.
Check with your Doc if concerned but icing it a couple of times a day and exercising and elevating your legs should help. |
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J2Ski Snow Report 15th March 2018
A bit of sun, and a bit of snow for Cauterets today... J2Ski Snow Report 15th March 2018 Winter continues into Spring! This Week's Snow Headlines - Snowy end to the week expected in the Alps and Dolomites. - A third March snow storm hits North America's East Coast. - Engelberg reclaims current-deepest-snow-base-in-world title (655cm) from Mt Baker in US (610cm). - Heavy snow again in California (March snowfall is as much as the rest of season put together). - Biggest snowfall in Europe of next 48 hours may be at the continent's most southerly major resort, Sierra Nevada in Spain, where 60cm+ is forecast. Considering the start of astronomical spring is fast approaching next week (and meteorological spring has already clocked up its first fortnight), it's still looking fairly snowy on both sides of the Atlantic, and in many cases snow depths are still getting deeper, even at resorts which officially only have a month of the season left. It's not all snow though, it has been getting gradually warmer over all and some resorts did report rain at lower elevations this week whilst the snow deepened up top. But March looks set to continue snowy in many areas for at least the coming week with 30-50cm of snow forecast by the weekend for many resorts. Across the Atlantic it has been snowing too on both East and West coasts again. The East seems to have been taken particularly by surprise with three successive snow storms transforming conditions there after an often too-warm February. On the West there have been more huge snowfalls, including 20-50cm overnight at many resorts around Tahoe yesterday, as the March deluge continues. In the Alpine Forecast This coming weekend will see colder weather return across much of The Alps, The Dolomites and The Pyrenees, with precipitation coming in as snow to quite low levels for March - as low as 1,000 metres in many areas. Temperatures look like remaining below the seasonal average for at least the next week, and perhaps beyond. Avalanche and Off-Piste Risk Widely varying temperatures, and abundant snow, means the avalanche risk remains extremely complex; so always take local advice before leaving marked runs; have fun but stay safe! 
See where it's expected to snow this week...
EUROPEAN ALPS Austria A mixture of sunshine and cloud for most of the past week on Austrian ski slopes with little fresh snow and therefore little change to base depths. If anything, there's been some thawing at lower elevations as temperatures have crept above zero at times. There was some snowfall at the start of this week, the biggest measured 20cm in 24 hours to Wednesday in the Silvretta region but more commonly 5-10cm to freshen up the slopes. The deepest snow (up to 595cm/20 feet at Kauneral) continues to be on the glaciers but the snow pack remains healthy across Austria, particularly on higher slopes. More fresh snowfall is expected for the latter half of this week but in most cases forecasters are just expecting another 5-10cm, nothing huge. France It's been a fairly snowy week in France with resorts reporting up to 30cm of fresh snow in 24 hours and snowfalls also from northern to southern French Alps. It's looking like it will stay snowy too with forecasts of another 20-40cm of snow by the end of the week. It's not all good news though, on the one hand Chamonix reported nearly a foot of fresh snow on Tuesday morning, on the other it reported rain falling below 1800m. It's had 50cm of snow in the past week, the 4th most in Europe and second in France behind La Grave with 70cm. So to sum up – it's been snowy at times and it's going to stay snowy at times. Base depths remain remarkable with spring less than a week away – Avoriaz reached a total of 4m on its upper runs, 2m on its lower runs this week. Italy Italy's north-western Alps have seen the most snow again of the past week as the prevalent weather system seems to be favouring the southern Alps for the biggest snowfalls. Resorts in the Piemonte region have reported up to 40cm of snowfall in the last 72 hours and, a little to the north, Cervinia's base in now 230-400cm after another 20cm of snowfall in the past few days, so it's looking good for its spring skiing season in to May. The week ahead is looking quite snowy in Italy too with 30-50cm for many ski areas in the country forecast by Saturday. Around a foot of snow is forecast for the Milky Way region on the French border for example, with 35cdm expected at San Martino in the western Dolomites. Switzerland It has been an often snowy week in Switzerland over the past seven days too and here also more snow is forecast in the run up to the weekend. Engelberg has had 220cm of fresh snow in the last few days and says its upper slope base is back up to 655cm (22 feet) moving back above Mt Baker over on the US Pacific Coast. There's still two months of the season to run there. Elsewhere it's a picture of deep snow on upper slopes across Switzerland (504cm at Andermatt) but thawing cover on lower runs as you'd expect in spring. Many still have a metre or more lying even on lower runs but Grindelwald, for example, says it has 0cm at resort level. Eastern Europe Mixed weather the past week in Eastern Europe with some snow, snow rain, some cloud and some sunshine. Slopes in Bulgaria are still holding a fairly good base however and all of the country's centres report they're pretty much fully open. Bansko has the deepest base in the country at 100 – 270cm and 17 of its 18 runs are open with all but one of its lifts operational. All report bases of 50-60cm. Scotland Still good conditions in Scotland even though temperatures have risen a degree or two above freezing. All five Highland centres remain pretty well fully open – from Glencoe, with 100% of its slopes open still, to the Lecht with 10 of its 22 runs to ski. It's due to turn colder from the weekend again but there's not much snow in the forecast. Pyrenees The Pyrenees, like the alps, have been seeing a mix of sunshine and snow. Bases here are good too – up around the 2m mark, with all runs open and all lifts operating, pretty much, so it's currently looking good for Easter and beyond. Europe's most southerly major ski area, Sierra Nevada in Spain, may get the continent's biggest snowfall by the weekend with more than 60cm (two feet) forecast. Scandinavia Not much change in the Scandinavian ski nations over the past week – only that the hours of daylight are rapidly getting longer and from next week's equinox on will quickly outstrip the alps. Snowfall of 5 – 10cm has been reported at ski areas across the region, with Kvitfjell in Eastern Norway reporting one of the bigger accumulations, but resorts in the west of the country still have the bigger base depth totals at up to 3.8m. North America Canada Some of the biggest snowfalls in Canada this past week have been on the East Coast and in the past 48 hours as the latest storm to hit the east Coast has brought 30-40cm 24 hour accumulations to many areas in Quebec, including Mont Ste Anne and Mont Sutton. The deepest snow remains on the west however where depths are over 4 metres (13 feet) at some BC coastal ski areas. Generally ski conditions remain good across most of Canada though, with most international destination resorts in the country running at capacity. USA It has been a second week of heavy March snowfall on the East and west Coasts of the USA. On the west it means that snowfall in March already is as much as the whole of the winter period, on the east it is more a case of a return to winter after a worryingly warm February saw snowpacks thaw dramatically. East Coast snowfalls have been as much as 115cm (nearly four feet) in the past week at Wildcat Mountain in New Hampshire (including 60cm/2 feet in 24 hours on Tuesday/Wednesday this week). On the west bases are as deep as 6m (20 feet) at My Baker in Washington State and 30-50cm of fresh snow has been reported including 30cm (a foot) in the past 24 hours at resorts like Heavenly and Squaw Valley. More snow is expected in the West including more in California and as far inland as Utah, over the next few days too. |
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Hi Rich, we've been there once or twice... 8)
Spring may have arrived by April (although there's no imminent sign of it just yet!) so you'll probably want easy access to the La Balme sector - as the bowl holds onto the snow much longer than the rest of the ski area, and will get the best of any fresh that comes. What sort of skiing are you after, and do you have any preferences for accommodation? La Clusaz has options to suit most people. |
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Looks great Icy... but more pics required or it didn't happen! :thumbup:
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Our partners Snowtrex are having one of their "Crazy Booking Nights" this evening (taking bookings from 5pm until 11pm), and have offers including Accommodation AND Lift Pass from just €79!
Click the image above or go to www.snowtrex.co.uk |
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J2Ski Snow Report 8th March 2018
Sunshine and Snow in La Clusaz this morning, seen from the top of Beauregard... J2Ski Snow Report 8th March 2018 Big snows in Western USA and parts of The Alps. This Week's Snow Headlines - Huge snowfalls in California; some resorts get 1.8m (six feet) in 48 hours. - Fresh snowfall in the Western Alps. - 'Beast From The East' closes some Scottish ski areas for a while but brings fresh snow. - North America overtakes Europe for world's deepest snow base. It has been a snowy week in Europe and North America with lots of fresh snow in the Alps and some huge snowfalls in Western North America, setting the region up nicely for some sunny spring skiing. The Western Alps have seen the most snowfall with the biggest accumulations in the south, along the French/Italian border. Closer to home, Scottish ski slopes have built their deepest base of the season so far thanks to the 'Beast from the East' weather system which did close access roads to more easterly centres like Glenshee and brought strong winds but has also brought lots of fresh snow ahead of the Easter holidays. There have been big snowstorms in both East and West North America, the latter seeing over two metres (six feet) of fresh snow in the last seven days. That meant avalanche closures and other issues in the short term but also now means it should be a great Spring skiing season after a slow 2017-18 season to date. Mount Baker, now with a 622cm base, has also overtaken Engelberg (615cm base) to claim the 'deepest-base-in-the-world-at-present' title which the Swiss resorts had held all season to date. In the Alpine Forecast Un-settled weather is expected for much of the next week, particularly in the West of The Alps. There will be snow at higher altitude, but temperatures will rise after the weekend, with rain likely at lower altitudes. Looking further ahead into next week, things should cool off again, with more precipitation probable. Avalanche and Off-Piste Risk There have been a number of fatal avalanches in the past week, and the off-piste risk level is currently extremely complex; varying substantially from slope to slope. With milder temperatures forecast, and rain at times, this will remain the case for a while yet. As always, take local advice before leaving marked runs; have fun but stay safe! 
Snow expected in the Chamonix Valley this weekend... find out where else...
EUROPEAN ALPS Austria It has been a snowy start to the week in Austria, although so far the snowfall has been quite light with resorts only reporting 5-20cm of fresh snow over the past few days. With some Austrian ski centres only having a month of the season left, March conditions could hardly be better with deep snow bases on the mountain's upper runs and still good top-to-bottom coverage for almost all. Up on the glaciers where the season will continue to May or June (possibly even July) at some the bases are exceptional at more than 4 metres for most and nearly 6 metres (20 feet) on the Kaunertal glacier. France Ski areas in the French Alps have had a snowy week with Tignes and Val d'Isere issuing powder alarms on Saturday morning for 20cm of snow overnight. The fresh snow was of course very welcome as it always is but the timing wasn't ideal for Saturday change-over day with chains obligatory to some resorts. The week is continuing with a mixture of sunshine and snow showers with the Grand Massif region reporting 16cm yesterday. The heaviest have been in the southern French Alps but coverage has widened to pretty much the whole country. Snow depths remain good across almost all areas with most having 3-4 metres lying at altitude so it's looking good for Easter 2018 in the French Alps. Italy Western Italy, particularly the Piemonte region, saw the heaviest snow in Europe in the middle of last week with up to 80cm of fresh snow falling. The resort here now has a 4m base – one of the deepest in Italy and indeed all of Europe. It has stayed snowy in the Italian Alps ever since, although the snow has not been so heavy. The snowfall has also continued over to the Dolomites where there have been small accumulations – Arabba posting 10cm of fresh yesterday. Temperatures in Italy remain below zero with not a lot more snow forecast but there are signs of it getting snowier again towards the weekend. Switzerland Switzerland has actually been just about the snowiest spot of the past 24 hours with up to 20cm (8 inches) of fresh snow reported. The Portes du Soleil region in the west has seen the biggest falls with Kandersteg also reporting 20cm in 24 hours yesterday. Generally conditions remain excellent across the country, particularly on higher slopes, with almost all runs open and lifts operating at every Swiss ski area. As mentioned above the country has finally lost its 'deepest base in the world at present' title to Mt Baker on the US Pacific coast. Engelberg, which has held it almost all winter until the weekend, says its base has dropped 5cm to "just" 615cm (20.5 feet) despite getting another 8cm of snowfall this week. Scotland The winter weather last week in Britain brought heavy snow to Eastern Scotland leading to road closures around Glenshee and The Lecht and some of the biggest snow drifts in some years. It has continued to be fairly windy and snowy through this week with temperatures staying low, resulting in great skiing conditions once the wind has eased. All five centres are more or less fully open. Pyrenees Conditions continue to look good in the Pyrenees as we enter spring. In Andorra there's around 1.5m of snow lying on lower slopes and another metre up top so almost all runs are open and nearly all lifts operating. The February snowfall has eased off but there have been a few centimetres of fresh in the past few days. Scandinavia There's not been much fresh snow reported in Scandinavia this week, and there's not much in the forecast either BUT there is plenty of snow and temperatures are typically 5-10 below zero (C) so on-slope conditions remain excellent, resorts report. The deepest snow remains in Western Norway where several areas have more than 3m/10 feet lying. Eastern Europe It's sunny and a little too warm in parts of Eastern Europe with temperatures up to 7C in Bulgaria at times, but there is some fresh snow in the forecast over the next 48 hours as temperatures dip, just a few inches. Nearly every ski run is open and almost all lifts are operating in the region. North America Canada Western Canada continues to look good with deep bases built and fresh snow falling. Big White in BC posted another 25cm at the weekend and most resorts in the region (including Whistler Blackcomb) now have at least 3 metre bases with some passing the 4m mark (including Grouse and Cypress mountains on the West Coast). Massif du Sud, a ski area in Quebec in the east, seems to be going against the North American trend and is reporting a 504cm base, the deepest on the Eastern side of the continent by some distance. USA It's been quite a dramatic week of weather in the US with both East and West coast ski areas reporting some big storms. In the East, where ski areas have been suffering from rather too warm conditions, the storm brought heavy snow to some areas in New York State, Maine and Vermont which had been fearing rain, so was very welcome. It has caused other issues such as widespread power outages but the snow is the welcome bit. On the West Coast there has been by far the biggest snowstorm of the season, bringing over two metres of snow in the past 7 days to some centres. Much of this was concentrated in to 48 hours at the end of last week when some resorts received 1.8m (six feet) causing issues including in-bounds avalanches leading to closures at Mammoth and Squaw Valley. The snowfall also brought big accumulations across a wider swathe of western North America with big falls reported in states like Utah and Wyoming too. Now things are settling down it is looking good for spring skiing with bases passing the 3m/10 feet mark after a slow season up to now. |
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Glad that worked out well for you all, and thanks for the update. It's easy to forget just how much fun snow can be, even if you're not skiing! Look forward to hearing about your first steps on skis next winter then? 8) |
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