Tignes Snow Report: 15th February 2012

It’s half eight local time, and we’ve had around ten centimetres of fresh snow in town, so hopefully there will be more up at the top of the mountain. Unfortunately we’ve also got a little bit of wind in resort, this will probably mean that although there will be patches of fresh snow, there will also be icy areas where the wind has scoured the slopes.

This week is half term week for English schools and the start of the four week long French holidays (staggered by region) so the resort is pretty busy, especially on the slopes. You will probably experience a bit of queuing if you’re in the busy areas of resort. In Val d’Isere, to avoid the crowda, you should probably steer clear of the Bellevarde section as this is where all the ski schools head. Over in Tignes, and you probably want to try and avoid the runs back into town, as these seem to be the busiest ones throughout the day. Tignes les Brevieres offers some nice runs on the way down, and is usually pretty quiet.

I was skiing in the Bellevarde section of Val d’Isere today due to some work commitments and although there are a lot of ski schools around, the pistes don’t feel all that crowded. That could be something to do with the flat light and weather conditions. It felt incredibly cold again, and you couldn’t really see anything in front of you. I was struggling even with my flat light lenses.

The light snowfall didn’t exactly help with the visibility either. Although the snow is needed at the moment, it was causing a few issues for skiers and snowboarders. The soft stuff was piling up into little bumps and as the flat light was preventing you from seeing these lumps, there were quite a few crashes.

The weather forecast is for the weather to clear again by morning, we should then have sunshine, mild temperatures and low winds till Saturday when the next weather front hits. Sunday looks set to present a little snow, and a slight rise in the wind with the sun returning again on Monday. The temperatures are set to be a lot warmer than we have been experiencing, they should average out around minus eight so the danger of frost nip will have dropped a lot. You will still need to remember to pack enough clothing as the wind can cause the temperature to drop drastically and very quickly here.

The next couple of weeks will see the busiest weeks of the French half term holidays. The slopes will be busy in the same places I mentioned above, as a basic rule of thumb. To find the quieter slopes, head for the areas near the edges of the piste map, such as Le Fornet or Les Brevierres. The ski schools tend to congregate in the middle of the piste map, and that’s where it is busiest, particularly mid morning when all the kids are having hot chocolate stops in the cafes!

Another good tip is to try and ski at lunch time, when everyone else stops for their lunch. If you take either an early or late lunch you can avoid the worst of the crowds both on the piste and in the restaurants and cafes!

A final note on the off piste, although we’ve had a little fresh snow tonight, everything is still going to be pretty rough so take care. There will now be quite a substantial weak layer in the snowpack thanks to the cold weather too, so make sure you have all the gear and know how to use it. Snow is beautiful but it really can be dangerous!

Wherever you go, enjoy the sunshine and some great skiing!