Banner on an absolute scale, no better than average so far: https://www.snowjapan.com/japan-daily-snow-weather-reports/Niseko-Now/observed-snowfall-analysisJapan looks like it is having a banner year!
Banner on an absolute scale, no better than average so far: https://www.snowjapan.com/japan-daily-snow-weather-reports/Niseko-Now/observed-snowfall-analysisJapan looks like it is having a banner year!
Banner on an absolute scale, no better than average so far: https://www.snowjapan.com/japan-daily-snow-weather-reports/Niseko-Now/observed-snowfall-analysis
Base depths all over look like far from what's needed at places like La Grave, Zermatt and Chamonix. We should be looking for more intermediate slopes that have some base now and hopefully get a layer of new snow next week. In that respect Val Thorens might have more skiable off piste than Val d'Isere.
Hi from Paris. The logistics with 6 are too hard to change so our first few weeks are going to be locked in. When we are a group of three in late Jan/very early February and are due to be in Chamonix I’m open to changing plans.I think sbooker will have a good chunk of terrain to ski at Tignes above that rain line. And hopefully Les Arcs will get resurfaced during next week's storm. I hope sbooker has a car rental planned for the latter part of his trip with only 3 people. Chamonix and especially the Jungfrau region look like very poor options then. They should head south and join James and or/us. Bourg St. Maurice to Briancon (town between Montgenevre and Serre Chevalier) is a 2 hour 40 minute drive.
Post pix!Those never evers in my group are about to be snowed on first the very first time and I can’t wait for that moment
Briancon is the crossroads town between Serre Chevalier and Montgenevre. You can get to places like Turin/Aosta and Grenoble very easily. And as noted in my other post today, it's about 5 hours from Nice/Monaco.I still don’t know whether Emily’s mate Lily will take to snow based activities yet so part of the appeal with Cham is the ability to do easy day trips to Aosta, Geneva, Annecy etc for the girls while I find something to ski on.
I’ve not paid for Chamonix lodging and can cancel until two days prior. I don’t have a car booked but can get one from Geneva or Grenoble. We fly out of Milan (because the girls wanted the last day in Italy).Briancon is the crossroads town between Serre Chevalier and Montgenevre. You can get to places like Turin/Aosta and Grenoble very easily. And as noted in my other post today, it's about 5 hours from Nice/Monaco.
I think Chamonix is a very bad idea based upon all we have heard from Fraser. It would have taken the rain up to 2,500 meters. The top lift at Grands Montets is still down, so there is no lift service at any of its pisted ski areas above 2,700. Vallee Blanche is probably not skiable. On piste skiing is somewhat limited and so may get trashed every day by noon like ChrisC said in the other thread.
I hope you have not paid for lodging there or can get out of it. You shouldn't be paying for lodging anywhere yet after you are done with Tignes/Les Arcs. Neither James nor I have ever had problems finding lodging on short notice in late January. Since it's clear flexibility will be important, hopefully sbooker has reserved a rental car for the latter part of his trip.
This really makes it a no-brainer to head south to Milky Way/Serre Chevalier, etc. after Kylie and the boys go home. You might incur a drop charge for the car, renting from Grenoble and dropping in Milan, but you could always return the car to Grenoble, then take the train to Milan. About 3/4 of the Milky Way complex is in Italy; only Montgenevre is in France.We fly out of Milan (because the girls wanted the last day in Italy).
Yes, but it is moderately likely you'll be limited to on-piste, and Chamonix is not a great choice in that scenario.It is important to remember I don’t get to ski often so being on snow pretty much anywhere and regardless of quality is satisfactory to me.
Give me the micro brews and Grateful Dead cover band at the Mangy Moose over techno music any day. But I’m sure we’ll check it out. (I stick to a ‘no beers before 5pm’ rule so I won’t be doing much table dancing).![]()
This really makes it a no-brainer to head south to Milky Way/Serre Chevalier, etc. after Kylie and the boys go home. You might incur a drop charge for the car, renting from Grenoble and dropping in Milan, but you could always return the car to Grenoble, then take the train to Milan. About 3/4 of the Milky Way complex is in Italy; only Montgenevre is in France.
Due to logistics, I'm holding that off as an add-on to a return to Zermatt. I thought that was going to be last spring but no such luck.You could also add Saas Fee to the list since there is very, very limited off-piste skiing due to incredible glaciers.
Due to logistics, I'm holding that off as an add-on to a return to Zermatt. I thought that was going to be last spring but no such luck.
Like many North Americans, the worst low visibility I'd ever encountered was Grand Targhee, but at least you have trees on the lower 2/3 there. Nothing prepared me for trying to ski in a major storm at a completely above-treeline ski area in the Alps, gah. I'm surprised that no one has developed night-vision ski goggles for that very purpose.Very curious to where they took you on a storm day in Tignes. That inside knowledge would be valuable, since the most common advice is stay inside.
Like many North Americans, the worst low visibility I'd ever encountered was Grand Targhee, but at least you have trees on the lower 2/3 there.
Nothing prepared me for trying to ski in a major storm at a completely above-treeline ski area in the Alps, gah.
This was a lesson I learned last spring. On my last day at Club Med (the one without a guide) I floundered around Val Thorens but heard later at dinner that visibility in Courchevel was OK.Storms are not uniform. There will always be one sector that might have skiable visibility.
Phillipe was intermittently on his radio. Speaking in French but obviously checking conditions with someone.This was a lesson I learned last spring. On my last day at Club Med (the one without a guide) I floundered around Val Thorens but heard later at dinner that visibility in Courchevel was OK.
I'd amend that to "there really is no storm-day skiing in above-treeline terrain in the Alps.""Holy s--t! You cannot see. There really is no storm-day skiing in the Alps..."
I know there's a perception of me skiing primarily "small locals" areas in the Alps but I've also been to the Arlberg three times, Portes du Soleil twice, and once each to almost megaplexes (but very big by U.S. standards) Aletsch Arena, St. Moritz, Arosa/Lenzerheide, and Jungfrau in Switzerland, Val d'Allos, La Clusaz, Megève, and Espace Diamant in France, along with Ischgl and Montafon Silvretta in Austria. I'm a fan of big places as long as it's not a peak period.This is also why I prefer the Euro megaplexes over the small local hills. You might have more powder competition, but you can always find sectors with good snow, exposure, and/or visibility at the big places. Meanwhile, a 2-3 lift area could all suffer uniformly from sun exposure, wind, and visibility and be a total loss.
I'd amend that to "there really is no storm-day skiing in above-treeline terrain in the Alps."
I know there's a perception of me skiing primarily "small locals" areas in the Alps