Messages posted by : admin
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This should be added to the FIS Skier's Code :- Always give way to Moose!
In Breckenridge earlier this week... Video credit to Next9News
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A short but sweet section of video, showcasing the half-pipe talents of GB Park and Pipe's rider Peter Speight in the Laax snow park.
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What Ranchero said!
Do it! 8) |
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From PR recently received from France Montagnes :-
FIVE OF THE BEST SKIING INTO SPRING EVENTS Rock The Pistes Festival, Les Portes du Soleil 19th – 25th March Rock The Pistes is a free music festival with headliners playing on stages dotted about the vast Portes du Soleil ski area. The festival features an eclectic range of acts to reflect the breath-taking variety of locations. With headliners including 2017 BRIT Awards breakthrough winner Rag 'n' Bone Man and electro-swing party-starters Caravan Palace, Rock the Pistes 2017 looks set to be a big hit!  en.rockthepistes.com
Val d'Isère Winter Golf, Val d'Isère 22nd-26th March A fun golf tournament on snow in partnership with BMW and the Ryder Cup, featuring two days of free play (open to everyone) on the specially built course in the Manchet Valley, street golf in the village and the France vs UK challenge- a match play competition between captains of industry, celebrities and key golfing figures from both countries. A great event to tempt golf enthusiasts to the mountains! Click here for details The Great British Celebration, Les Arcs 27th – 30th March A brand new event putting the spotlight on British culture! For 4 days of festivities, the whole resort from the station in Bourg-Saint-Maurice to the top of the Aiguille Rouge, will be decorated in the colours of the Union Jack. With fun team events from skiing to archery, as well as a raft of live music, there is but one motto: fun, partying and skiing! The Great British Celebration Subli'Cimes, La Plagne 5th-18th April One of the flagship Skiing Into Spring events, La Plagne decks out its 6 summits in a remarkable range of themes. Expect bungee jumping, reindeer, saunas, jacuzzis and beach bars at the top of the mountains across La Plagne's vast ski area! Subli'Cimes Défi Foly, La Clusaz 23rd April One for lovers of chaos and late-season laughs, Défi Foly is a madcap day that's been going for 25 years and is still going strong! Competitors ski down a slope that ends abruptly in a small lake, the objective being to skim across as far as they can. Typically in fancy dress, all types of sliding craft including skis, snowboards, monoskis and the "UFO" (Unidentified Floating Objects) category are encouraged. Without fail carnage, hilarity and occasional heroics ensue! 
Defi Foly, La Clusaz |
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If you've been reading J2Ski for a while, you'll know we're big fans of Spring Skiing; long days, plenty of sunshine and a pretty much daily chance to sit in the sun with a cold beer (or ice cream!) after your last run down.
After a day on the snow, you can find real warmth coming into the valleys; the streams are full of melt water and sunnier slopes will be pushing up mountain flowers and attracting the wildlife. Then there's the snow; if the snow pack's half decent then, yes, it'll be hard first thing and getting slushy by the end of the day but for many hours in between you'll have a sun-softened few cms on a smooth base... proper "Hero Snow"! Second only to powder for fun, and more forgiving, this often extends beyond the pistes - and varies in consistency from a very fine "Slush Puppy" layer to full on Corn Snow. And, of course, if it does happen that Spring is on the cold side then you've always got the chance of late season powder and freshies on slopes that are far quieter than any peak season week. So, will there be snow this Spring? Well, it certainly looks like it - there's just been loads! The caveat, of course, is that you have to look for a little altitude but you don't need to take that to extremes. Here's our snow history chart for La Clusaz, for example; deepest snow of the season (up top) in March... 
We like the video France Montagnes put out this week... worth a few minutes of your time... France, in particular, have a lot going on in the mountains this Spring and we'll be posting some more info on their events through the next week or so. |
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A very predictable, and predicted, result of the huge amounts of snow that has fallen in parts of The Alps this week - combined with varying temperatures - is a very high avalanche risk.
Slightly paradoxically, the few days of warm weather will help to consolidate the snow pack in the medium term but it does mean that the risk remains high for the next few days. Overall Avalanche Risk Levels are at 3 (Considerable) across a very wide area of Alpine region and it's worth paying attention to the detail in today's Avalanche bulletin from the Tyrol :-
Even though the above is for the Tyrol, it also applies to many other parts of The Alps and you should absolutely check local advice before leaving the piste this weekend. The full bulletin can be found here :- https://lawine.tirol.gv.at/en/home/bulletin/ Enjoy the snow, but stay safe! |
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Huge snow for The Alps this week, with more expected today, and still more for the American West.
Top 100 Snowiest Ski Areas Worldwide 
Another snowy view from Le Grand Bornand this week! This Week's Snow Headlines - Up to 2.4m/8 Feet of snow in the French Alps in the past week. - Les Arcs, Chamonix and Cervinia have had 1.5m/5 feet in the last 7 days. - More big snowfalls in western North America, unseasonably warm in the East. - Four of five Scottish ski areas have at least some terrain open. The Alps have seen some of their biggest snowfalls of the season this week. Some resorts have had as much snow in the first week of March, as they've had in the previous three months! But for nearly every ski area it has been a good week for building bases and providing fresh cover as we enter the last third of the Northern Hemisphere season. Although ski areas in Austria, Italy and Switzerland have reported up to 1.5m/5 feet of snow in the past 7 days, ski areas in the French Alps have reported the biggest snowfalls with up to 2.4m/8 feet of snow. But the snowfall has not been without 'issues'! Ski lifts, and at times whole resorts, have been closed by the weather this week which has included snow, violent gales and warm temperatures. These have all combined to bring a high avalanche danger and avalanches have been reported in or near Courmayeur and Tignes, among others, in the past few days. Elsewhere in Europe there's been some good snowfall in the Pyrenees, more relatively good falls in the Dolomites, more snow in Scandinavia and several Scottish ski areas have been able to open. In North America it's a case of still more big snowfalls in the West, but unseasonably warm temperatures in the East. In the Forecast North and East areas of The Alps should see further big falls today, with as much as 60cm forecast for some Swiss and Austrian ski areas and lighter falls elsewhere before the current band of snow fizzles out as we move into Saturday. A few warm days to then come in The Alps, with a little more snow at altitude, should give everyone the chance to get out ... but please be extra cautious in light of the new snow. Avalanche risk will be very high in places so take local advice before leaving the pistes, don't duck any ropes (seriously, just don't!) and make sure you and your buddies are all properly equipped. Have fun, stay safe! From early next week, the weather looks to be settling into an un-settled pattern (we like) with temperatures around the seasonal average but regular top-ups of fresh snow across a wide area. Conditions will continue to evolve toward Spring skiing later in the month, but there's going to be fresh at altitude and deep bases are going to give some great skiing at Easter. 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. Austria Austria has seen a mixture of very snowy weather in the northwest of the country, with less in the south east. The biggest reported accumulation was in The Arlberg which has had over two feet/60cm of snow in the past week, much of that in the last 48 hours. The Ziller Valley also did well with 30-40cm of snow although not much of that sticking around at lower elevations, with Mayrhofen still reporting no snow at resort level despite a 35cm accumulation there. Across most of the rest of Austria snowfall has been more in the 10-30cm range, with similar amounts forecast for the next few days. France France has had the biggest snowfalls in Europe and, just about, in the world with La Rosiere claiming 2.4m (8 feet) of snow in the past week according to one snow reporting service and the Chamonix Valley up to 1.8m (six feet) of snow. Les Arcs had around 1.5m (five feet) and most other areas at least 60-90cm (2-3 feet). Monday and Tuesday this week saw particularly heavy snowfall with a number of areas reporting 60-75cm of snow in a 24 hour period. All the snow, sometimes accompanied by very strong winds, caused some operational difficulties and a number of resorts including Alpe d'Huez, Chamonix and Tignes were forced to close some or all of their ski areas, in Tignes' case after an avalanche crossed a piste. The snow should set up French resorts for the remainder of the season with a number now having upper slope bases at the 3m/10 foot mark. Italy Italy had a similar divide to Austria with heavy snow in the West but less significant snowfall in the Dolomites although there was some. Cervinia reported the country's biggest snowfall with 1.4m/ nearly five feet of snow in the last seven days – the most this season and resorts in the Aosta Valley posted 60-80cm accumulations. In the Dolomites the snowfalls were in the 20-40 mark but ski areas in the Fassa Valley are now claiming a 1m snow depth on upper slopes for the first time this season – the deepest in the region. Switzerland Most Swiss ski areas have had at least 40cm of fresh snow and many as much as 80cm in the past week. Anzere has topped the table with 120cm (four feet) of snowfall reported. As has been the case for much of this season only the far south eastern corner where resorts like St Moritz have not had too much snow. Gstaad, which has had 80cm of fresh snow, reports Europe's deepest base at 4.9m. Scotland Conditions remain challenging in Scotland but probably the best they've been all season now. Nevis range has led the way able to open about half their runs and actually enjoying spectacular conditions at the weekend with perfect blue skis and no wind. Glencoe and Cairngorm also now have quite a lot of their higher terrain open although with thin cover in places. Further east the picture is less good with just a few runs with thin cover open at The Lecht and Glenshee still unable to re-open. Pyrenees There's been more snow in the Pyrenees, continuing the great winter there. Grandvalira in Adorra, the region's largest resort, reports 55cm of fresh snow this week and a 120-180cm base. At Pal Arinsal the base is 170-220cm so looks great for the rest of the season. On the French and Spanish sides there's not been so much fresh snow reported – more like 20-30cm, but base depths are also good, for example 110-200cm at Baquieira Beret in Spain and 200-280cm at Cauterets in France. Scandinavia Scandinavia has had mostly calm conditions this past week and temperatures are in the -5 to -15C bracket at most areas. Snowfalls of 5 to 15cm have been reported by many of the regions resorts. Hemsedal had one of the larger snowfalls and now has a 50cm base, at Ruka in Lapland (Finland) 75cm and at Are in Sweden its 80cm – all normal snow depths for the region. Eastern Europe There's been some serious snowfall in the Czech and Slovak Republics with Jasna reporting more than 30cm in the past few days and 18cm at Spindleruv Mlyn. Further east there's been less snow but bases in Bulgaria are still good and 10-15m of snow is expected in the next 48 hours at resorts like Bansko and Borovets. Bansko has a 1.5m base and Borovets 135cm. North America Canada Great conditions in Canada still with some good snowfalls this week, particularly in the West, on already good bases. Temperatures have also 'warmed up' to the -5 to -15C region, making it all much more enjoyable to ski or board. Fernie has some of the best conditions with a 285cm base and 30cm of fresh snow. Big White has a 233cm base but has had 55cm (nearly two feet) of fresh snow and Whistler has had 92xm (over three feet) of snow in the last 7 days – it has a 284cm base. It's been less good in the East with not much fresh snow and temperatures rising above zero. Tremblant in Quebec has had just 4cm of snow this week and has a 110-130cm base. USA America is a nation divided with unseasonably warm weather in the East and the fourth very snowy month in a row underway in the West. As every week it seems it's just a long list of resorts posting big snowfalls , although some centres in Colorado have performed better than recently this week with 60cm/2 feet at Aspen and 32cm at Winter Park. Still more huge snowfalls in California with 95cm for Heavenly (3.3m base) and 60cm (2 feet) at Squaw Valley where the base is 637cm (over 21 feet). There's a bit of a thaw in the East with more southerly ski areas calling it a day on winter 16-17. Killington in Vermont, biggest in the area, says temps are around +5 with 6cm of fresh snow this week and a 61-91cm base. |
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Just MHO, but been there and got the t-shirt. You're thinking in the right direction; skiing with little ones can be great fun but best to treat it as a holiday with some skiing, rather than necessarily a "ski holiday". You don't need a big ski area or metres of powder, which let's you widen your choices of resort massively, and I hear you on the budget... 8)
Good plan if you have that choice.
As Dobby said; that's not a great time to be out with small people - they get cold and tired a lot quicker than the rest of us. If it's blowing a blizzard and -20C it won't matter how much money you saved... Been there and done that - won't do it again... My advice, really, would be to focus on late season. Easter is just a great time to be in the mountains with kids; way more sunshine, warm afternoons, un-crowded slopes (other than the actual holiday days like Easter Sunday when locals turn out in force, of course). Been there and done that - every time now! Prices are lower also, and a lot of resorts have special deals for late-season skiers. I'd recommend looking at Italy (Pila, as above - but also Monterosa who do offers like free lift passes, with local hotel bookings, for the last weeks of the season) and definitely don't overlook France. The French are having a big push with a widespread "Ski into Spring" initiative and have lots going on. I've just seen an ad for La Clusaz (somewhere I know well!), for example :- "Learn to Ski - From 8th to 28th April, Free Lift Pass, Free Lessons and 50% off ski hire". If you're planning ahead for next season then you've plenty of time but browse around and check out the late-season deals this year; there'll be similar next year. HTH :thumbup: |
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