Latest posts for the topic "How bad is this years snow."

How bad is this years snow.

Wed, 2 Feb 2011 22:22:38 GMT

As i am a newcomer to the joy of skiing i was wondering how this years snow (so far) compares to that of previous years.
Judging by most online forums i know this year has seen a low in snowfall in certain areas but is it much less than recent years?

Will 2011 go down in history as a bad year?

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Wed, 2 Feb 2011 23:00:26 GMT

I think it depends where you ski.
I was in St Moritz 2 weeks ago and the snow couldn't have been much better.
It is currently pretty decent in Austria too.
I understand much of France is struggling lower down particularly.
I really don't think there is a particular problem with the snow, as its only just February, and there's another 2 months left of the main season to go yet.

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Thu, 3 Feb 2011 07:45:32 GMT

I's not a bad year for skiing, because mainstream resorts have plenty of snowmaking and can ensure that holidaymakers have a good experience. 20 years ago, you skied what nature supplied.
Some skiers will whinge whatever the conditions. I was in the Mon't de Arbois cafe in Megeve one January, taking a coffee break from fabulous knee deep powder on piste, and overheard to 2 young English guys on the phone to their girlfriends. They were complaining that the slopes were all lumpy and it was too hard to ski.
Bless )

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Thu, 3 Feb 2011 08:04:00 GMT

Engadine apart and I guess a few other places there seems to be not as much snow falling this year especially France, but I still had a great ski holiday so over all not too bad this year.

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Thu, 3 Feb 2011 08:31:15 GMT

Strangely enough we had a foot of fresh powder snow at Tignes when we were ski-ing there in October :D

I just hope Courchevel gets plenty of snow in the next 2 weeks, ready for our arrival there :D

Apparently it's quite skiable at the moment, but more snow would be nice.

Ally

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Thu, 3 Feb 2011 08:41:55 GMT

Nobody seems to have come back and reported unskiable conditions yet, so maybe it's not as bad as all that (fingers crossed touch wood again).

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Thu, 3 Feb 2011 09:00:22 GMT

We skiied in Megeve 1st January and for January i was abit disappointed. It rained a bit and the slopes were sometimes icy. . .normally in Jan you have plenty of fabulous snow.

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Thu, 3 Feb 2011 10:01:16 GMT

Its clearly not a vintage year with some resorts luckier than others. But its is not too bad either. As earlier comments have indicated, snow-making facilities now mean that it would be very unusual not to have most of the main resorts open.

I had super conditions in St Anton for 1st week in Jan, though it was extremely cold. Heading off to Soll on Saturday for a long weekend. From the reports available, it seems that they had some fresh snow on 26 Jan and conditions are pretty good at the moment though I am sure they will need fresh snow soon.

One thought that has struck me in recent weeks reading comments from Tony, Dave Mac, Pavel and others is that snow conditions don't really matter too much once you have reached a reasonable level of competence - you will be able to have a good days skiing in virtually any conditions. A good reason to develop and perfect your skill levels!!!

While most of us crave beautiful sunny days following a nice big dump of snow, it is really beginners and early intermediates who struggle with less than perfect conditions. And this can include "too much" fresh snow on the piste!!!

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Thu, 3 Feb 2011 10:02:28 GMT

I have booked a skip trip to Val d'Isere, France from 13-20 Feb 2011 for 2 people. The trip is 595pounds per person. This include hotel at Chalethotel Le Val d'Isere and flight tickets. i would like to resale it for only 500 pounds as i have emergencies and cannot make it to the trip.

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Thu, 3 Feb 2011 10:09:18 GMT

yeah, kind of point taken Wanderer....ISWUM. But isnt it great to have fresh snow that not icy ????? And its softer to fall into !

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Thu, 3 Feb 2011 10:18:29 GMT

tropicana wrote:yeah, kind of point taken Wanderer....ISWUM. But isnt it great to have fresh snow that not icy ????? And its softer to fall into !

Absolutely! But even a day spent skiing hard packed icy pistes is better than nearly anything else, once you are competent enough to manage the conditions!!!

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Thu, 3 Feb 2011 10:22:47 GMT

I beg to differ. .. a day on hard packed picy pistes to me is hell !!

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Thu, 3 Feb 2011 10:23:16 GMT

Sorry misprint there, "...icy pistes"

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Thu, 3 Feb 2011 10:44:04 GMT

I am always wary of resort snow reports that describe the snow conditions as 'hard' or 'packed'; usually means pretty icy for at least some of the day!

In times like this, ever more important to pick your resort carefully.

Certainly not turning into the vintage season early snowfalls indiciated, although I had a good time in Italy, especially on north-facing slopes.

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Thu, 3 Feb 2011 12:37:43 GMT

Looks like North America blackmailed Mother Nature this season !

But as they say, Skiing a day with bad snow, is better than not skiing at all ! Fingers crossed Chamonix gets hit with some new snow by the 12th, however its not looking to bright at the moment, but bring it on !

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Thu, 3 Feb 2011 13:49:55 GMT

EmmaEvs wrote:Nobody seems to have come back and reported unskiable conditions yet, so maybe it's not as bad as all that (fingers crossed touch wood again).

valloirre was pretty unskiable in parts-all of the south facing slopes were bare and we were actually skiing in hoodies with no hats or anything in mid jan!!

feet were even not cold and didnt need to heat my boots in the morning!

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Thu, 3 Feb 2011 15:42:35 GMT

I think it does depend on where you go because a friend has just got back from Borovets and he said it was ok but lots of ice and some even bare lower down which is pretty unusual for feb. High was all good though.
I haven't managed to get away this season so I am off to chill factore in Manchester to get my fix

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Thu, 3 Feb 2011 20:12:32 GMT

I was in Soll last week and although the recorded depth will not read very deep, the skiing conditions were excellent. When we were there we had a good dump of snow over 24 hours and even for the good intermediate skier it was more tiring and challenging for a couple of days but then again this must really help your technique for when the pistes are perfect.

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Thu, 3 Feb 2011 22:14:19 GMT

tropicana wrote:I beg to differ. .. a day on hard packed spicy pistes to me is hell !!

I agree, curry and snow do not go together! :lol:

My frau said last weeks conditions were terrific, really good skiing. That's great. If she is happy, I'm happy. If she isn't happy,.......

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Fri, 4 Feb 2011 07:39:10 GMT

My frau said last weeks conditions were terrific, really good skiing. That's great. If she is happy, I'm happy. If she isn't happy,.......

The essence of a succesful ski holiday - we can all learn from this :lol:

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Fri, 4 Feb 2011 08:42:42 GMT

Perhaps we've been spoilt by the past couple of years which have been exceptionally good.

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Fri, 4 Feb 2011 09:08:20 GMT

Nothing is guaranteed in life snow being one of these, we need to be able to ski all conditions just how many holidays have you skied perfect powder, for me not many six years possibly so enough winging and ski to the conditions :D

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Fri, 4 Feb 2011 10:24:20 GMT

This winter sucks eggs around here (Dolomites). Worst year since 06/07. No good dump since christmas. I'm driving distance and it hasn't been worth a day trip....streams of High pressure after high pressure from mid-atlantic. Long range models are bleak, but here's to hoping the cycle changes soon.

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Fri, 4 Feb 2011 11:12:07 GMT

Jabe444 wrote:This winter sucks eggs around here (Dolomites). Worst year since 06/07. No good dump since christmas. I'm driving distance and it hasn't been worth a day trip....streams of High pressure after high pressure from mid-atlantic. Long range models are bleak, but here's to hoping the cycle changes soon.

Where are you based as I was looking to ski the Dolomites the beginning of March, thankfully nothing booked yet :evil:

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Fri, 4 Feb 2011 11:59:25 GMT

Has anyone been out to Les Saisies recently ? Does anyone know what the conditions are like, we have a trip booked 5th March and I'm panicing cos looking at recent reports there has been no new snow for ages

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Fri, 4 Feb 2011 15:50:57 GMT

Thats 4 weeks away yet, good grief!!! Plenty of time for snow to fall if conditions aren't great right now, and it looks ok to me:
http://www.trinum.com/ibox/saisies/images/webcamISDN1.jpg

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Fri, 4 Feb 2011 17:27:50 GMT

But the thing to remember guys is that it can all change in the space of a day ! So if all hope goes out the window, put faith in mother nature to have a hissy fit and rage snow on the slopes !

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Mon, 7 Feb 2011 08:42:29 GMT

I'm in Vicenza. Last ski fo rme was 13 Jan, Paganella, two days after a snow of about 6 cm, which did good to cover up the ice. I've been waiting for a dump to go again, but keep waiting....and waiting. I had friends go to San Martino di Catrozza this past Saturday...lots of ice, freeze/thaw conditions. Last snow there was a slight dusting in Mid January. The snow park was well maintained but pretty bleak overall. It has to turn around soon! Dolomites are a great area for a ski trip, just not a good year for snow. Check out: dolomitisuperski.com

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Mon, 7 Feb 2011 10:03:29 GMT

OK - my prediction :)
Second half of February will see a hug dump in the Western Alpes!
But resorts will shut lifts etc etc etc
Access will be difficult etc etc
Beer will run out !!!!!
:thumbup:

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Mon, 7 Feb 2011 13:03:53 GMT

Im just back from les saisies on saturday. pistes around saisies were in fantastic condition, piste bashers and snow machines doing a fantastic job. we skied across to crest voland were there were quite a few bad icy and bare patches on the routes that were not cannoned, but on the routes that were cannoned, they were great. we also skied to notre dame too and the slopes again that were cannoned were in good shape but the some were quite icy. we didnt get to praz sur arly because the blue route linking back to les saisies side looked quite bare and muddy and it is quite narrow and we are only 3rd week skiers so gave it a miss, but there was plenty to ski on in les saisies. had a great time. dont worry.

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Mon, 7 Feb 2011 15:24:58 GMT

It's hard to tell yet whether this year will go down as a bad year for snow. It's only beginning of February so plenty time to go. I know that Western Swiss Alps didn't see much snow since Christmas and the same goes for France. There was some snow in January, but not that much and it was during the warmer weeks so was gone very quickly. Basically what everyone is skiing now on are leftovers from November-December snow and artificial snow that resorts managed to make during cold weeks. Bad news is that warmer temperatures are back. Tortin in Verbier was officially closed last weekend due to lack of snow cover - there is almost no way now to negotiate rocks at the top, and too many rocks are showing under and between moguls if you can make it there, two major accidents there on Saturday so Sunday morning it was closed. Couple other off-piste itineraries are also closed. On Saturday on piste at 2900 m I saw grass sticking through snow cover - this is how thin it is. Avalanche danger is at 1, which is quite ridiculous. On the other hand, given how long a decent dumpage may last, 2-3 good dumps will make conditions skiable well into April and it will be just an average season for this part of the world (last 2 years were exceptionally good). So far no snow is expected in the next 10 days, locals talk more about end of the month. With warmer temperatures this means that some runs might be closed and no off-piste will be available. But it's still early so good chance that the year won't make history books.

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Mon, 7 Feb 2011 18:01:02 GMT

Thanks Verbier_ski_bum and Karen72 :D

I really appreciate hearing about the condition of the pistes from people who have recently been there. As someone else said, in another thread, saying 'hardpack' or whatever doesn't really give enough of a description.

Ally

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Mon, 7 Feb 2011 18:32:42 GMT

I've been in Schladming and Bad Gastein last week and the snow was great, specially on the pistes.
It is warming up now but I think it will be good for another few days easily.

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Tue, 8 Feb 2011 00:22:45 GMT

Just back from a week in Morzine, while they havn't had snow for quite some time they were doing there best to keep things going with the snow cannons hamering away all night. Thankfully it stayed cold during the week so while the conditions were not perfect most of the runs were open with only a few which catch lots of sun closed - mind you one that was totally shot had a dozen ponies grazing on what should have been a blue run!

Avoriaz had some good snow, especially on the highest runs, dropping over the border the south/east facing Swiss resorts had taken a hammering with white ribbons that were allegedly pistes coming down through the green mountains.

The temperature started rising dramtically later on Friday and by the time we came of the slopes in Les Gets at 2.30pm on Saturday 5th Feb the thermometer in the car was showing +19.5 degrees. OUCH!

Rustyinn

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Tue, 8 Feb 2011 06:25:16 GMT

OMG :shock:

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Tue, 8 Feb 2011 12:54:20 GMT

Join the J2Ski forum snow dance on Saturday!

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Wed, 9 Feb 2011 08:02:43 GMT

Man made snow equals bad skiing conditions

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Wed, 9 Feb 2011 08:18:38 GMT

Jabe444 wrote:Man made snow equals bad skiing conditions

That's true Jabe444 - but it's much better than having to walk (or graze ponies!). And I think it partly depends on the quality of the snowmaking equipment, as well as the environmental conditions at the time the snow was made.

If you see it as another challenge and a chance to practice one's technique ski-ing on a different type of snow it's not so bad - like icy snow, powder snow, slushy snow, corrugated concrete snow, and then manmade snow.

Ally

Re:How bad is this years snow.

Wed, 9 Feb 2011 12:04:55 GMT

Jabe444 wrote:Man made snow equals bad skiing conditions

I used to agree with that statement but not anymore!

I am just back from a fantastic few days skiing in Soll, mainly on artificial snow. They had a modest fall of snow about 2 weeks ago but no really big dumps. They have also been hit with some high temperatures - we had 12C on the top of the mountain on Monday and glorious sunshine - a very pleasant change from a very damp and grey Dublin!.

Despite this, they are managing to keep virtually all runs open and in great shape with fantastic skiing to be had. If I can manage the technology, I will try to post a picture later on of the South-facing valley run down to Brixen. The piste is a line of white against a green mountain with virtually no snow other than on the piste itself but it was still in good condition. Thats not to say that there wasn't the occasional patch of ice about and some slushy bits but overall - brilliant.

From what I can gather, they have invested very heavily in cannons and equipment and it is paying off in spades. For a relatively low resort, it is able to deliver a super skiing experience with relatively little snow.

Of course, it would be even better with a good dump of snow.