Europe 23/24
- Thread starter Sbooker
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It's great to see comments like this from Fraser:
and
and
ChrisC
Well-known member
Looks like the next round of storms in the Alps will skew high with some rain up to 2000m+.
Here is Col Pers yesterday - a giant off-piste ‘zone’ - with about 4000 vertical feet accessible from Val d’Isere’s glacier. But it's not glaciated.
Henry runs a very useful guide and avalanche newsletter service:
henrysavalanchetalk.com
Here is Col Pers yesterday - a giant off-piste ‘zone’ - with about 4000 vertical feet accessible from Val d’Isere’s glacier. But it's not glaciated.
Henry runs a very useful guide and avalanche newsletter service:
Off Piste Skiing | Snowboarding | Ski Instructor | Avalanche Training
Henry’s Avalanche Talk (HAT) is a team of ski professionals who provide training and essential information for skiers who want to go off piste, but are held back by fear of the unknown. We help you stay safe and have more fun.
henrysavalanchetalk.com
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ChrisC
Well-known member
After achieving a sufficient base, a ski area is only as good as the last week of storms/weather.
My brother gets that question all the time in Telluride. Customer: The snow report said 24" of snow in the last seven days. Where is it? Answer: it consolidated or got skied out.
ChrisC
Well-known member
It's always positive to hear information like this update from Fraser:
Between this evening and Wednesday night, between 1m to 1.5m of new snow will fall above 2500m across some of the north-western Alps - from the northern French Alps, through Switzerland (away from the south), and into the west of Austria (Arlberg/Vorarlberg). The very heaviest precipitation is likely to fall in the northern French Alps (Savoie, Haute Savoie) and the far west of Switzerland, where the risk of avalanche will become extreme at high altitudes, as will the risk of flooding lower down.
By Wednesday night, snow depths above 2800m could approach record levels for the time of year in the higher parts of the Tarentaise (e.g. Tignes) and around the Massif du Mont Blanc.
Temperatures will also start to turn colder on Wednesday, with snow set to fall to more seasonal levels again in many areas, albeit in increasingly small quantities.
It will be interesting to see where James chooses to go skiing in December, but I assume it will need to be higher (75% of terrain above 2000m).
Between this evening and Wednesday night, between 1m to 1.5m of new snow will fall above 2500m across some of the north-western Alps - from the northern French Alps, through Switzerland (away from the south), and into the west of Austria (Arlberg/Vorarlberg). The very heaviest precipitation is likely to fall in the northern French Alps (Savoie, Haute Savoie) and the far west of Switzerland, where the risk of avalanche will become extreme at high altitudes, as will the risk of flooding lower down.
By Wednesday night, snow depths above 2800m could approach record levels for the time of year in the higher parts of the Tarentaise (e.g. Tignes) and around the Massif du Mont Blanc.
Temperatures will also start to turn colder on Wednesday, with snow set to fall to more seasonal levels again in many areas, albeit in increasingly small quantities.
It will be interesting to see where James chooses to go skiing in December, but I assume it will need to be higher (75% of terrain above 2000m).
jamesdeluxe
Administrator
My itinerary is Fraser-approved.
ChrisC
Well-known member
My itinerary is Fraser-approved.
I'm looking forward to photos of James with the Matterhorn behind him.
He will need to get some altitude.
Unfortunately, it appears the rainline in the Alps got up to 2500m today but is lowering substantially tonight changing back to snow. Yikes! It was above freezing at the top of Solaise gondola in Val d'Isere (2500m).
Tony - this storm looks like the weather from Liz's first time to Europe?
However, we need to consolidate this snowpack.
jamesdeluxe
Administrator
It was pouring from when I landed in Zurich until I drove through Chur, then, as Fraser predicted, it cleared up and was sunny down to St. Moritz, where I'll be through Friday. Savognin was in very nice shape all the way down to the village. Supposed to be seasonably cold and cloudy with flurries tomorrow so don't expect much in the way of photos.
ChrisC
Well-known member
Oh.... You did run away from the rain! So many microclimates are relatively close together in the Alps. Drove to the Colorado of the Alps!
St. Moritz definitely has some of the best skiing in the country - I really liked Corvatsch and Diavolezza.
I saw Italian snow reports, and Livigno was doing well. I thought relatively close by.
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St. Moritz is about as rain resistant as you can get in the Alps. But I wonder about natural snow coverage since nearly all of these storms have come from the north or west.
1) Top Piz Nair tram and two upper Fuorcla chairs at Corviglia closed.
2) Western Furtschellas sector at Corvatsch closed, as well as lift and trail skiing into town from Corvatsch.
3) Diavolezza/Lagalb closed.
St. Moritz is not as rugged as Zermatt, but there are still lots of boulder fields that may need deep coverage to become skiable. I think James may be on piste close to full time. However the on piste snow conditions Liz and I had there were as good as anywhere I've experienced in the Alps. James' skiing will probably be better than any we will get until we arrive in Europe Jan. 12.
1) Top Piz Nair tram and two upper Fuorcla chairs at Corviglia closed.
2) Western Furtschellas sector at Corvatsch closed, as well as lift and trail skiing into town from Corvatsch.
3) Diavolezza/Lagalb closed.
St. Moritz is not as rugged as Zermatt, but there are still lots of boulder fields that may need deep coverage to become skiable. I think James may be on piste close to full time. However the on piste snow conditions Liz and I had there were as good as anywhere I've experienced in the Alps. James' skiing will probably be better than any we will get until we arrive in Europe Jan. 12.
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ChrisC
Well-known member
In Switzerland, it looks like everything changed back over to snow by early evening, and it really started dumping at 2000m +.
Was snowing in Val d'Isere town by early evening
There are now record snow depths at many ski resorts in Switzerland (which has great government data sets from long-term sites):
Verbier Here
When I skied Verbier in February 2019, 180-200 cm was enough base for excellent coverage on its steep off-piste terrain.
Grimentz/Zinal Here
Glacier 3000 (near Diablerets / Gstaad) Here
Davos Here
Lenzerheide/Arosa Here
Was snowing in Val d'Isere town by early evening
There are now record snow depths at many ski resorts in Switzerland (which has great government data sets from long-term sites):
Verbier Here
When I skied Verbier in February 2019, 180-200 cm was enough base for excellent coverage on its steep off-piste terrain.
Grimentz/Zinal Here
Glacier 3000 (near Diablerets / Gstaad) Here
Davos Here
Lenzerheide/Arosa Here
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ChrisC
Well-known member
wePowder even has a Powder Alert out now
wepowder.com
PA#4: compensation for the northern Alps - wePowder
After a phase with rain in the lower areas in the Northwest Alps, we will get fresh snow on the northern side again!
jamesdeluxe
Administrator
Just got back from a storm day at Corviglia: 12 inches on the lower mountain, 18-ish up top and it's still nuking right down to the valley. There's a lot of snow in St. Moritz. Unfortunately, it was a classic Alps low-visibility setup, where if you left the staked pistes, it was impossible to see anything (I've asked this before -- when is someone going to invent "night goggles" for skiing?).
No pix. There were so few people on the mountain, it was tough to find subjects but that left plenty of untracked powder where they'd groomed the previous evening.
I'm now 0 for 3 at Corviglia. Each time I've gone there's been awful visibility. Bad luck for me given that it's known as a place where rich people go to cruise in the sun.
No pix. There were so few people on the mountain, it was tough to find subjects but that left plenty of untracked powder where they'd groomed the previous evening.
I'm now 0 for 3 at Corviglia. Each time I've gone there's been awful visibility. Bad luck for me given that it's known as a place where rich people go to cruise in the sun.
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Wow. I knew they were having a good start but I didn't realise it was that good. I guess they just need the occasional top up now to keep the base healthy. I'm still 5 1/2 weeks away so anything could happen in that time I guess.
Rich people? What are the lift ticket prices?
I will be skiing at Zermatt at the end of January on my Ikon pass. It looks like mountain rescue is on ones own dime in Switzerland. When reading it appears insurance is generally sold with day tickets for this reason, however Ikon doesnt have this. The sell “Spot” insurance, however must be US resident for this. (I am in Canada). Has anyone had any experience purchasing a specific insurance to cover any potential mountain rescue in Switzerland. I dont think this kind of peril would be covered by my travel health insurance.
I add the ‘snow supplement’ to my travel insurance.
jamesdeluxe
Administrator
France offers the option to add mountain-rescue insurance at €3 per day or season-long option for 45€ (which I assume is only valid in France/I'm not sure). As far as I'm aware, the other Alps countries don't have an organised initiative to ensure that skiers are covered. We discussed it here last season.