J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by admin

Well day 3 didn't follow the script!

We knew they were opening the Telemix lift at l'Etale for the first time (this season) today so, with no connecting lifts open, we drove over and joined a handful of locals for what we hoped might be some first tracks... but yesterday's clouds appeared to have thickened overnight and the top of the lift barely brought us to the top (of the clouds) so an immediate descent into the fog revealed that yesterday's sunshine had transformed the pistes into hard-pack and the side-piste had gained a crust! Bah, humbug!

The ever-friendly pisteurs preparing another of the lifts advised us to head round to l'Aiguille instead.

So Plan B became driving back around to Bossonet to uplift to l'Aiguille (also opening today for the first time). That was much improved, being above the cloud, but the snow near the top was quite wind-affected so a quick discussion pointed to Plan C!

Which was to run down the Fernuy valley (again, newly opened) to La Balme. Upper section was fab, with skier's left side-piste creamy smooth powder and what was to turn out to be the line of the day!

Plan C ended up being fun, but not what we expected... here it is in pictures!


Oh great, strong overnight winds have transported a lot of snow (and are still doing it), so the Avalanche Risk is back up to 4... so let's ski some pistes... from which we can look down on...


...the terrain we were enjoying yesterday, now exposed and almost empty...

But the pistes were great, with a lot of the wind-blown snow on top of a chalky packed powder surface.

We may or may not have ended the day, thus...


The Belier Cafe never disappoints!

Wanderer wrote:This latest post just increases the levels of anguish

No anguish intended; just trying to show that last-minute breaks are possible without breaking the bank!


So, today... a bit of a contrast (in all senses). Completely split weather conditions between town and mountain; a solid layer of cloud at around 1600 metres all day meant overcast and mist for lower slopes and sunshine up top.

The clearer weather brought many of the locals out which, being La Clusaz, meant that there were far more people off-piste than on - with far more terrain being tracked than yesterday. Quite a few hot shots were out, and - though we couldn't really be sure - one spectacularly massive and perfectly executed backflip that we saw from a lift certainly bore the hallmark of one of La Clusaz's best known residents.

Some pics from today...


Cloudy in the valley, but sunny up top in the La Balme bowl.


We couldn't see across the piste at times yesterday, let alone Mont Blanc!


Sometimes you just gotta sit and take in the view, with all that terrain...

Brucie wrote:How much did they pay you for that commercial?

Exactly the same amount that you pay us, Brucie. 8)

Ski packages to Iceland is news to most people (it was to me), so it's newsworthy.

OldAndy wrote:
You have caused considerable mental distress to many readers..........

https://www.easyjet.com/en/buy/flights?isOneWay=on&pid=www.easyjet.com

Gatwick to Geneva, seats available this afternoon... from £65! 8)

With all the snow reported in November (and forecast for December) we thought we'd go the extra mile for our readers and check it out!

We love early season trips; the slopes are quiet and the prices low. If you can be a little flexible with timings you can find good value for the flights too, so that's what we did.

Home is on the South Coast, UK, so we have a couple of smaller airports within reach; shorter transfer times but fewer flights (enough choice for our needs).

DIY Ski Trip Tip #1 - Time it right to save money

If you can, fly when it's not popular and try to "go the other way" from the majority.

This winter, easyJet have added Geneva flights from Southampton and hopping on the Sunday morning outbound cost us the princely sum of GBP 27 per seat (one way), booked less than a week in advance. We'll return on Friday morning and choosing the silly'o'clock flight got us the return tickets for slightly less.

Accommodation, car and ski hire (when booked online via SkiSet) are all at low-season prices too.


Why La Clusaz?

It's a real French village, with an interesting ski area, where they love their skiing. The village is small enough to have retained its character but large enough to have almost all you need. They keep the pistes in great condition but the attraction for us is the accessible freeride terrain available, and having been here a few times, it's nice to head straight for the right runs for the day.


Conditions

Yesterday (Monday) was first day on the slopes and the snow is every bit as good as expected. It snowed most of the day and visibility was a little challenging at times but the snow is very fresh and light.

Avalanche risk is at 3 (Considerable), so we're playing safe, but with up to boot-deep powder on the pistes there's lots of fun to be had.

Hoping for clear weather today, to take some pictures, but here are a few shots from yesterday...


One of the Blues just above the village; hardly tracked and about as crowded as we saw it all morning!


It's been a while since we've seen the trees laden like this...


Knee deep across the meadows back to the apartment.


More pics to follow later, but conditions are similar across the Portes du Soleil, Grand Massif, Chamonix Valley and most other places too!

Here's a quick overview of the current situation, and some essential tips for staying safe, from Henry Schniewind of Henry's Avalanche Talks

Stay safe off-piste after heavy snow in the Alps

Most skiers and snowboarders remain on the controlled, marked, pistes which have been made safe by the resort before they are opened. But many decide to venture off-piste, into terrain that isn't controlled and therefore potentially poses the danger of avalanches being triggered. With the heavy snowfall experienced in the Alps – especially the Northern and Western Alps, during the past week, the avalanche threat rises considerably.

Current situation – area focus: Northern French Alps / Savoie

There's now about 160cm of snow on north facing slopes above 2500m in the Val d'Isère area and more is forecast. Along with the rapid, heavy snowfall, temperatures then rose to above zero degrees centigrade at 1800m. There were numerous natural slides and avalanches on steep slopes. Despite causing initial instability, the warming trend has gone some way towards helping to stabilise the snowpack. Although areas above 2300m, where temperatures stayed colder, remain in the same conditions as they were previously.

The fundamental instability in the snowpack is the weak layer that developed during two weeks of very cold temperatures at the end of November/beginning of December. Those cold temperatures transformed the then thin snowpack into a 'sugary' in-cohesive layer of 'facets' or 'depth hoar'. That weak layer is still there, particularly at higher altitudes and on northish facing slopes, with lots of more recent snow lying on the top of it. This has created a high avalanche danger rating in the region that's currently at level 4.

Click Here -> for Henry's Facebook Live post : Friday December 15

Key information and facts regarding skiing off-piste and staying safe

- If heading off-piste, stick to slopes with angles below 30 degrees (anything above this could be prone to avalanche at level 3 and above).
- The vast majority of avalanche accidents happen during December, January and February in the Northern Hemisphere. They happen mostly on northish facing slopes – this goes against a strong perception that south facing slopes is where more accidents happen.
- A warming trend (when temperatures go close to or above zero degrees centigrade) during December has an initial destabilising effect on the snowpack but if the temperatures go back down well below zero degrees centigrade, the net result over 12-24 hours means the snowpack will stabilise more after the warming period.
- Never follow skier's tracks if you do not know where they lead to.
- Remember that most of the time nothing actually happens – there are no avalanches, therefore it's very easy to become comfortable with the environment, even when the danger is high.
- Don't base your decisions on intuition if heading onto slopes of more the 30 degrees angle – know the facts and evidence before deciding where to ski.
- Have fun and stay safe out there.

Henry's avalanche talks is about helping people to have fun off-piste and is really passionate about enjoying the mountains.

Henry wrote:"It's great conditions out there right now and there's more snow forecast before Christmas, so we all want to get out there and have fun, but stay safe at the same time when we are skiing or snowboarding off-piste".