Messages posted by : admin
Doing a ski-drive mid FEB to Val Thorens. Any info on accomodation at last min???
Started by User in France, 5 Replies |
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Ah, right - somewhat different scenario then! :lol: Mid-Feb is going to be very busy; with the way the snow has been falling there will be very few, if any, cancellations this year so if you're set on Val Thorens you should really look at getting it booked ASAP. BUT... does it have to be VT? Unless there's a heatwave (and a monsoon) you're not going to need the altitude in February so might find more options amongst the smaller resorts that don't get so crowded at half-term? That is peak-season though, so worth doing a bit of planning wherever you want to head. |
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Doing a ski-drive mid FEB to Val Thorens. Any info on accomodation at last min???
Started by User in France, 5 Replies |
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Are you looking for somewhere to stay en-route, or in Val Thorens?
Either way, you're unlikely to have any problem finding somewhere in mid-November; that's very much pre-season so hotels in and out of resort should have plenty of room. Quite a few J2Skiers drive down so hopefully someone can chip in with recommendations? |
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Hi Broom... there was a discussion a month or so ago :- Tips for Flaine.
In short; ugly architecture but the skiing's great (and sounds like it would suit you well). :thumbup: |
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J2Ski Snow Report 28th December 2017
Mixed skies and fresh snow in Les Arcs this morning... More snow in the forecast, after a lighter, sunnier Christmas week in Europe. This Week's Snow Headlines - Another week of snow forecast for Europe. - Up to two feet (60cm) of fresh snow over Christmas in Colorado and Utah after dry December. - Heavy snow in Norway on Boxing Day, with up to 48cm in 24 hours. - Big snowfalls (up to 90cm in 48 hours) in New York State. - Cold weather but little snow in Scotland as all-weather snowmakers start. Europe has had a mostly dry Christmas holiday with the majority of slopes and lifts operating and skiers and boarders enjoying often-sunny slopes. The past 36 hours have seen a distinct change, however, and snow is falling again. This heralds the start of an unsettled week likely to bring a forecast 30-50cm of fresh snow, but also some strong winds and low visibility at times - as well as increased avalanche danger off piste. Unusually, virtually all parts of Europe have snow falling including the Dolomites, Pyrenees, Scotland and Eastern Europe as well as the Alps. Across the Atlantic there was Christmas joy in Colorado and Utah as the December dry spell ended for a few days at least and up to two feet (60cm) of much needed fresh snow fell. That's dramatically improved conditions in the worst hit areas. In the Forecast Widespread and, at times, heavy snow is forecast for many areas over the next week and beyond. The Eastern Alps and some parts of Italy could see some heavy falls today, with Western and Northern French Alps looking to be in the firing line for this coming Saturday. Transfer Day Warning :- Heavy snow is likely to cause disruption this coming Saturday, particularly in the usual bottlenecks of the the Northern French and Swiss Alps, so plan accordingly! Accumulations over the next seven days are likely to be anywhere from 20cm to 50cm across a wide area, with significantly more in a few locations. AVALANCHE RISK Heavy snow and winds, in progress and forecast, mean that avalanche risk will increase over the next week and may be very high in places. Please exercise caution off-piste and take local advice! Always check local conditions and resort opening times directly before travelling! 
See when and where it's going to snow...
EUROPEAN ALPS Austria Austrian ski centres had a largely clear and sunny Christmas in common with other Alpine nations. The snow has now arrived however, as have strong winds and poor visibility with it at times – the Stubai glacier delayed opening until 10am on Wednesday 27th December because of it. The snow is expected to come and go for much of the week ahead with up to 40cm expected at many areas by the weekend and then similar falls again into next week. Most Austrian resorts already have good bases thanks to earlier falls. The Dachstein and Kitzsteinhorn glaciers reporting the most with just over 3m (10 feet) lying on their upper runs. France French resorts had a largely pleasant Christmas as snow clouds cleared by the middle of last week to give sunny skies over the weekend and at the start of this week. They almost invariably have excellent conditions on the groomed slopes thanks to all the pre-season and early season snow that has fallen. And now its back with the snow starting to fall on Tuesday evening and expected to be at its heaviest initially this Thursday 28th December with many resorts expecting around 30cm of snow. Then a lull on Friday before more big falls, perhaps bigger than Thursday's this coming weekend. So the avalanche danger is likely to stay around 3-4 on the scale to 5 but hopefully there won't be any problems on transfer days. Resorts in the Grand Massif are currently posting the deepest bases at around 245cm but most of the other big French regions have around 2m lying on upper slopes now. Italy Italy has had a mostly dry and sunny Christmas also but the weather has begun changing here too with fresh snow arriving over Tuesday/Wednesday night and Aprica and Madesimo the first to post fresh snowfall totals of 35cm and 20cm respectively. By the end of Wednesday others had posted as much again or bigger still – 40cm for Pejo for example and 35cm again at Aprica. That's likely to be the start of a snowy end-of-the-week with 30-40cm of fresh snow forecast at most areas including the Dolomites as well as the Alps to the west. The deepest snow bases in Italy are around the 2m mark with Sella Nevea in the extreme east topping the table at 215cm and La Thuile in the extreme west in second place with 195cm. Switzerland Swiss resorts continue to post some of the deepest snow depths in Europe with Engelberg the only ski area in the country so far past the 4m mark at 4.3m snow depth up top. Glacier 3000 near Gstaad is next up with 2.5m. As with the other 'big 4' Alpine nations Switzerland saw a mostly dry Christmas with great conditions on the groomed runs and most of the country's runs open and lifts operating. Even ski areas that aren't posting the big numbers have perfectly decent bases of 50-100cm or better in most cases. And again as with the rest of Europe a snowy week awaits with plenty of snow expected in the next 24 hours and more again at the weekend and in to next week. Eastern Europe Conditions are very varied across eastern Europe with centres closer to the Central Alps seeming to do better with some big snowfalls (20-30cm) in the last few days in the Czech and Slovak republics and more snow forecast in the Polish Tatra mountains too. It's a less rosy picture in Bulgaria so far where resorts could do with some fresh snow. Bansko has a 5-40cm base and half of its 18 runs open but snow is forecast here too for the end of the week. Scotland It's a week since the latest big thaw wiped out snow cover in Scotland and the good news is that the thaw is over and its turned cold with fresh snow on Scottish slopes – there's just not been a lot of it and whilst temperatures as low as -15C are forecast before the next temperature rise at the weekend, there's not much snow expected. That said snowmaking guns, the few that there are, are operating and the two new all-weather snowmaking machines too with Cairngorm making snow for its nursery slopes. Pyrenees After a fairly dry week, conditions are looking much snowier in the Pyrenees. The region's largest area, Grandvalira in Andorra, is almost fully open with all 62 lifts operating and 109 of its 128 runs groomed and accessible too. Temperatures are dropping down towards double digits below zero. It's expecting 40cm of fresh snow by the end of Friday and similar amounts are expected at most ski areas in the Pyrenees. Scandinavia Scandinavia is having a period of heavy snowfall too with fresh snow reported across the region. Some of the big winners in the past few days include Trysil which got 48cm and Hafjell and Hovden which each reported over 30cm of fresh snow each on Boxing Day. Voss got 20cm and Beitostolen 25cm in the same period. North America Canada Fresh snow in both East and West Canada this week as temperatures stay low but precipitation comes in. The temps in the range of -10C to -30C can be quite bracing (!) as usual in a Canadian mid-winter but they also keep the snow light and powdery. Blue Mountain in Ontario in the East has posted the biggest snowfall in the country with 33cm (13 inches) since Christmas, with Stoneham in Quebec clocking up 15cm in the same period, following a 24cm fall in 24 hours on Christmas Day and its neighbour, Le Massif. More snow is forecast in the West, including about a foot (30cm) of snow for Whistler over the next day or two. USA It has been a snowy week in the US with the ski states of Colorado and Utah seeing up to 60cm of snow fall over Christmas – particularly good news after a mostly warm dry November and December had left them struggling to open almost any terrain. They are still way behind schedule compared to an average season with in most cases less than half of their terrain able to open, but it's certainly an improvement. In the East there's been more big snowfalls for Christmas too with some record breaking snowfalls of over 1.2m in Pennsylvania and big snowfalls too in the Great Lakes region. Some of the biggest snow dumps of the last 72 hours in the US are from less well known destinations; whilst Jackson Hole has had 36cm of fresh snow for example, Kissing Bridge in New York State has had 86cm – just under three feet, and Boyne Mountain in Michigan 61cm (just over two feet). |
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Nice one, Ben! Merry Xmas to you! 8) |
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Avalanche risk level is still 4 so prudence the order of the day again. Pistes in great nick with some hard pack down low and a few sun-affected patches.
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 Sun, yay! Super piste skiing Picture taken 21-Dec-2017 Upper Slopes : Packed Powder, Lower Slopes : Packed Powder, Off Piste : Variable - Good. |
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J2Ski Snow Report 21st December 2017
Mont Blanc, and snow-covered mountains, seen from La Clusaz this week The Alps have the best pre-Xmas snow for years; falling snow has now given way to clearer conditions and...
This Week's Snow Headlines - More than 4m of snowfall this season in Niseko, 1.2m in past week. - Conditions remain poor in Colorado and Utah, but with signs of improvement. - Snow returns to Western Canada. - Warm weather stalls Scottish 17-18 season start for second time. - Biggest fall so far this season, at Mt Baker in Washington State, nears 6m/20 feet. - Avalanche danger remains high off piste above many ski resorts in the Alps. - Swiss resorts see biggest snowfalls of past 7 days – up to 1.2m The rate of snowfall in the Alps has slowed rather over the past week and has become more sporadic, but it has kept falling and there's not been a day when at least a handful of resorts haven't issued powder alarms for 20cm or more of fresh cover overnight. More snow is expected, particularly in Austria, in the final few days before Christmas and conditions are good pretty much everywhere. The avalanche danger remains high in many resorts however, with the Risk Level most commonly at 3 or 4 (out of 5) on the scale - so heed local advice! In Europe as a whole the only areas known to be suffering a bit are the Scottish slopes, where re-opening before Christmas looks touch and go. Across the Atlantic there's been more snow in New England and Quebec in the East, where conditions are looking great as well as a return to snowier conditions in Albert and BC Canada as well as the northwest USA but it remains fairly dire in Colorado and Utah. It's colder there and snow is starting to fall but so far the big accumulations needed are not in the forecast. In the Forecast More snow, up to 10-15cm, is expected for parts of Austria over the next few days whilst clearer, more settled, conditions are expected to prevail in Europe into the start of next week, with temperatures around seasonal averages and a mix of sunshine and (generally low-level) cloud. The major forecast models are indicating the return of widespread snow a couple of days after Christmas Day, and we'll have more detail on that next week. See when and where it's going to snow... Going Skiing? Please upload a Photo Snow Report! If you're in the mountains, please show us the snow! Check Snow Reports from Ski Resorts for a quick and easy way to upload pictures, straight from your phone. Europe Austria It has been another snowy week in Austria as the country celebrates one of the best starts to the ski season this century. The snow is expected to keep falling over the week ahead too with 20-40cm more snow forecast for resorts like Kitzbuhel, Saalbach, Bad Hofgastein, Schladming, Obertauern and others. These areas have in fact not seen much new snow this week with the biggest falls in provinces like Lower and upper Austria at less well known resorts. The Tauplitzalm in Styria for example has had 105cm (3.5 feet) of fresh snow this week. As you'd expect, snow bases are great almost everywhere and have now passed the 3m/10 foot depth on some glaciers in the country including the Dachstein and Kitzsteinhorn – and it's not yet Christmas. Almost all Austrian ski areas have now opened for the season and the final stragglers should join the rest by Saturday. France French ski areas are looking forward to Christmas and new year with some of the best snow cover they've had for years. Most areas over 1800m have at least two metres of snow depth on upper slopes and there's lots of snow down to valley level; too. The snowfall this week has not been so abundant as last but as skies have cleared this has provided outstanding conditions at times. In fact La Rosiere bucked the snowfall slowing trend as it clocked up several feet of fresh snow on Monday/Tuesday when the snow had about stopped elsewhere. Most French ski areas have 80-95% of their terrain open and with temperatures well below freezing snow quality is holding up well too. There's currently not much fresh snow in the immediate forecast but plenty on the ground! Italy It has been a dry week at most Italian ski areas after the snowy week that preceded last week's report. There has however been some fresh snow in the Italian Alps to the northwest of the country with 10cm in the Milky Way region, 25cm at La Thuile and 30cm at Cervinia. On slope conditions are good to excellent across the country for Christmas Week after all the November and December snowfall; off piste there's not much fresh left to find. That could all change in the next week though with longer range forecasts predicting big snowfalls next week in the Dolomites as well as the Alps. The country's deepest bases at the moment are 140-180cm in Bardonecchia, 110-180cm at Madesimo and 110 -195cm at La Thuile. Switzerland The exceptional start to the season for snowfall in Switzerland continues with some (more) big accumulations over the past seven days. Murren has received 116cm (nearly four feet) of fresh snow, with other big winners including Villars (77cm), Engelberg (85cm), Grindelwald (102cm) and Wengen (98cm) whilst Adelboden, Anzere, Champery, Les Diablerets and Saas Fee all reported 60cm (two feet) of new snow. Most other areas got 30-60cm fresh. The snowfall will ease over the week ahead, leaving great off piste powder, although inevitably and frustratingly the avalanche danger is up at max too. Engelberg's 436cm upper slope base depth is the deepest in Europe. Eastern Europe A mixed picture across Eastern Europe. The Czech Republic is looking good with some healthy snowfalls in recent days, Železná Ruda - Špičák for example has had 35cm of fresh snow in the last 72 hours and has a 120cm base up top. By contrast in Bulgaria there's not a lot open yet and bases are thin at 20-40cm. Scotland We're in to the all too common cycle of cold then too-warm weather in Scotland. All five Highland centres were open at the weekend (although Nevis Range not offering skiing or boarding), as was the Lowther Hills Club Field in the south. Then temperatures rose around 15 degrees from sub-zero to double digits above and the thin cover vanished, ending snow sports at all centres for now. That is except for limited areas of machine made snow being created in positive temps by the new Technoalpin all-weather SnowFactory machines on trial at Cairngorm and Glencoe. Cairngorm report they're creating a nursery slope with theirs. Pyrenees Conditions are pretty good in the Pyrenees with 50-100cm of snow cover in Andorra and 15-25cm of new snow in the past week and more in the forecast. On piste conditions are reported to be good with nearly all terrain open, and in Baqueira Beret's case over The Spanish border they're proudly proclaiming all 130km+ of their runs will indeed be open for Christmas week. Scandinavia Not a lot of fresh snow in Scandinavia over the past week and a big range of snow reports from a 10cm base at the Oslo Ski Center up to 2m+ already at Bjorli and Voss. Most runs are open but it has been warm so the snow is getting wet at lower elevations and more southerly latitudes, however colder conditions and more snow are in the Christmas forecast. North America Canada The snowiest week for a while in Canada with snowfall continuing in Quebec in the East but the return of snowfall too in the West for the first time in a few weeks. The past few days have seen powder alarms for 20cm+ of snowfall in 24 hours at ski areas on both sides of the country at the same time, which is quite unusual. So conditions are generally very good everywhere, but very cold too with lows around -25C around Christmas. Marmot Basin is typical reporting two more runs have just opened there taking their tally to 86/91 runs – most other areas have almost all runs and lifts operational for Christmas and New Year. USA Conditions are markedly better in Eastern North America than the West as they have been all of December. However as snow keeps dumping on New England and states like Colorado and Utah remain fairly dry the difference is getting more marked. There has been a little fresh snow in the West and it's now staying cold over Christmas, but the forecast is only for an inch or so each day, not the big falls the area is famous for and badly needs. So bases are around 50cm and terrain open only 5-20% of capacity at most of the famous areas. There has been snow in the northwest though with resorts in Montana, Idaho and Washington state posting 30-90cm falls in the past few days and Mt Baker passing the 5m seasonal-snowfall-to-date total. |
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