• For more information on how to avoid pop-up ads and still support SkiTalk click HERE.

Jacob

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Oct 13, 2017
Posts
777
Location
Maui
Thanks for the feedback thus far!

How tough a go would it be not speaking a word of French? (Val Thorens etc)

Places like Val Thorens and Val d'Isere are very popular with British skiers, not to mention people from elsewhere outside of France. So, it's pretty easy to get around without knowing French.

The worst thing you might encounter is a bus driver doing the route from Geneva to your resort who doesn't speak English. But even then, at most they might need to ask you which resort you're going to, and they can do that by just saying the name of different places and use intonation to imply a question. And you can just reply by saying the place you're going to.

Other than that, most people you run into at the resort will speak enough English for you to get by.
 

dustyfog

Putting on skis
Skier
Joined
Dec 3, 2015
Posts
174
Any thoughts, reliable European ski destinations in early April?

If you have the patience, and enjoy watching a tour of on and off-piste with a tour guide in Tignes-Val d'Isere in April 2015 and that was a tough, tough snow year for them, then sit back and let this 12 year old show you the terrain, from end-to-end with helpful terrain maps of the routes taken...(and this year 2018, L'Espace Killy has more snow than they can handle, and that is not said lightly, somewhat gravely.)

 
Thread Starter
TS
Goran M.

Goran M.

Getting off the lift
Inactive
Joined
Nov 21, 2015
Posts
456
As of now - conditions are fantastic !!!

And look for the best Easter week conditions ...

place the pin at the Swiss/France/Italy border ...

100km radius and your skiing is going to be fantastic ...

If anybody wants to meet to ski La Thuile/Courmayeur last week of March - let me know ...
 

James

Out There
Instructor
Joined
Dec 2, 2015
Posts
24,453
Conditions in Chamonix weren't fantastic last week as of Wednesday when I was there. They'd had no new snow for like 12 days then. The Vallee Blanche on Tuesday was firm, one would have been just fine with skis in the mid 80's. Any powder areas were wind affected with chunks.

The only trails I skied were at Les Planards getting out of the VBlanche. Pennsylvania like. The general consensus from talking to people is everything on piste was hard. Rock hard.

I'd hardly call conditions at Verbier the week before "fantastic". They were ok. They'd had rain up to 2000m a couple days before I got there on the 19th Feb. High up and off piste snow is very nice. Over in Siviez (still part of Verbier 4 Vallees), they were actually making snow and should have done it earlier. The main trail coming down under the chair that goes to
Combatseline was basically all ice and very firm at that. Pretty dangerous with the crowd. Other parts of Siviez, where you basically have to take the piste, it was like NJ.
The problem with off piste in the lower areas was the snow was rain and or sun affected and refrozen. Even Plan du Fou under the tram which looked great was refrozen chunks that were a bit of a nightmare.

The connector from Savolieres to Medran, was closed. We ended up doing it, and saw pretty quickly why it was closed as we had to cross a pretty large avalanche debris field right away. Then another. There were at least 4 avalanches in that area that hit or stopped short of the trail. Most of them were down to dirt where they slid from. I don't know if they were controlled or not.
Hopefully they got snow last week.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Goran M.

Goran M.

Getting off the lift
Inactive
Joined
Nov 21, 2015
Posts
456
It looked like you had some rough patch conditions wise. Sorry to hear that.

As you probably know weather and conditions in Alps change very quickly. Just few days ago there was a big freeze. Geneva airport was closed. But it is undeniable fact that there is more than average snow this year at least in western Alps. And more snow coming to western Alps. Lots of freeze thaw cycles this year and lots of snow do make for a very high avalanche risk.

www.snow-forecast.com is usually good with this stuff. Chamonix forecasted to receive 30+ inches in next 5 days.

and Wethertoski.co.uk claims "Snow conditions in the Alps remain very good with generally above average snow depths for early March, especially at altitude".

And there are some reports of "Some terrific powder skiing round Verbier last few days. Tomorrow should be special as the sun arrives."

Plenty of "firsthand" reports that suggest that conditions appear much better than when you were there last week.

In general, there is plenty of snow to last well into the month of April and with longer days and temperatures rising it could (and hopefully will) translate to some very good skiing. I will be in Aosta Valley at the end of March and beginning of April and that is why I monitor various websites and forums and I am pretty confident that skiing will be very good (OK, I will stay away from word "fantastic" - my bad choice of words) otherwise I would absolutely not commit for a second trip to the region this year if there is a slightest doubt about snow cover and conditions. There will be some bad days here and there, maybe rain, snow storm, high winds or whatever ... plenty of things to do if not skiing for a day or two.
 

James

Out There
Instructor
Joined
Dec 2, 2015
Posts
24,453
But it is undeniable fact that there is more than average snow this year at least in western Alps.
Well it doesn't mean much if you're a piste skier and it's solid ice.
Skiing the Vallee Blanche with two guys from PA, one just couldn't believe the conditions since "they've had more snow than in decades". He asked about the guide, "isn't he going to take us into a powder field?". No one had told him what it was like up there. Last year when I diditthere was powder.

I've been to Verbier now the last three years around this time. I'd definitely say this was the worst of the three for snow conditions. Lower down was especially tough. Never skied the Vallon D'Arbi itinerary route this year and in the past I've done it twice in one day. Report from someone who did it was awful. One of the party fell and slid, tumbled for nearly 100 meters. Very icy.
Most of this was due I suppose to a brief warm spell and rain.
Sure, the powder on the back side of Mt Fort was really nice. Even the front where the wind hadn't got it or it was skied off. But the route out around the lake to the dam was pretty sketchy at times. The track was icy and rutted and not a lot of fun.
The itinerary route, (not a piste but still marked), Col des Chossures was turned into the longest and widest bump field I've ever seen. Snow wasn't bad, just not a lot of replacement in the week.

But conditions do change quickly, granted. It's also pretty localized. April is a month away..
 
Thread Starter
TS
Goran M.

Goran M.

Getting off the lift
Inactive
Joined
Nov 21, 2015
Posts
456
There are plenty of "firsthand" reports and videos that paint different picture.


Avalanche danger was 2/5.

There will be some more snow followed by rain next few days (rain Saturday) - not every day will be perfect.
And after that rain - more cold and snow and it might be (d)icey for a day or two and back to really good conditions. With the amount of snow on the ground - something really catastrophic has to happen for late March/early April to turn into bad skiing.
I had quite a "few days" skiing the Alps and usually 2 out of 7 days are really horrible - low visibility, wind, warm wind, rain, ice ... you name it. And then, just when one thinks - this is the worst ever- boom, next day turns out to be "one of those days" ... With this much snow on the ground I like the chances of strong ski season being extended well into the month of April and and well beyond for many higher resorts. Not sure if they keep lifts spinning that late.
Another thing to consider - would like to hear opinion on this - I think that in year like this Verbier/4 Vallees or even Chamonix might have slightly worse snow conditions than Courmayeur/La Thuile. Also, Zermatt would be worse off than Cervinia (same pass, over the ridge). I was surprised how different snow conditions were in LaThuile (powder) and La Rosiere (ice). One ski lift ride away ... and perfectly groomed east facing slopes in the morning become icy Formula 1 pistes in the afternoon. Warth/St. Anton difference is often very substantial. Does not mean it sucks though. You know: glass half empty vs. half full type of thing.

I think 90%+ of the skiers would be happy with general conditions - some of us are "pickier" than the others but ... Me personally would take "bad" snow over "no snow" every time. This year general conditions in western Alps are far from "bad snow year".

And unfortunately - one can not just show up and assume/expect that there is "powder field" just because it snowed more than average this year. Those "powder fields" are gone fast, even in the Alps where most skiers stay on "piste".

Day in January, 12 hrs after the 30" dump,
9:40am

IMG_5794.jpg


Next chair up, pretty much same spot:

IMG_5796.jpg

By the end of the day it was all gone ...

You have to be at the right place at the right moment. Or lucky ...

James, I honestly hope that you will get to have better ski days this year.
 

James

Out There
Instructor
Joined
Dec 2, 2015
Posts
24,453
^^ You're giving reports from January.
I don't know what to tell you. In 3 trips this year was the worst for snow. Doesn't mean there wasn't some good stuff to be had. That was 2/19 - 2/28. I don't care what it was like a month before. You can't gloss over rain up to 2000m. It takes a lot of snow to cover that up. And they didn't get it.

I'll say it again, if you were a piste only skier, and not a black level, you were into some rough, ie NJ style ice and crowd conditions at times. A trip down to the Medran gondola base at Verbier around 4 pm was like death race 2000.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Goran M.

Goran M.

Getting off the lift
Inactive
Joined
Nov 21, 2015
Posts
456
That video was from March 4th. Get over it - you had really bad day, most of the people like what they see !

Not everybody is "black level" - far from it !!!

And January photos are to illustrate how fast fresh snow could go not to illustrate current (not February 19th) conditions.
 

James

Out There
Instructor
Joined
Dec 2, 2015
Posts
24,453
That video was from March 4th. Get over it - you had really bad day, most of the people like what they see !

Not everybody is "black level" - far from it !!!

And January photos are to illustrate how fast fresh snow could go not to illustrate current (not February 19th) conditions.
Where is the 6 inches of powder vid from?
Dude, things are worse for people not capable of black level, that's the point. They have to take highly traveled pistes and can't go off where the best snow usually is.
All I'm saying is if you told me conditions were "fantastic" in either Verbier 2/19-2/25, or the Chamonix Valley 2/27,8 I'd call you completely out of touch. As would most of the town in Chamonix at that time. Now if you're willing to skin for 20-60 min a lot of stuff in Verbier opens up. But it's high up. The stuff down low was still not in great shape - due to rain! That will cost you though for the guide unless one is comfortable/ knowledgeable without.

I'd still go back tomorrow if possible.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Goran M.

Goran M.

Getting off the lift
Inactive
Joined
Nov 21, 2015
Posts
456
Please read my post, slowly and carefully. It starts with "As of now ..." that was posted on Friday, March 2nd. NOT February 19th. !!! I agree with you, people really do not care what happened on February 19th. or January 19th.

Most reports out there attest that current conditions were very good (if not fantastic). I do not want to repost from other Euro based forums but it is easy to search for current conditions in Portes Du Soleil, Courmayeur, Chamonix, Verbier, Val d'Isere, Les Arcs and so on ... Even "regulars" and " are reporting very nice conditions and some even claim that Sunday (yesterday) was the best day of the season so far.

Plenty of people are very pleased with current conditions in western Alps. Plenty of them were upset with conditions when GVA airport was closed last week and they had to cancel/change their holiday plans.

I did reach out before I booked my tickets and was assured that late March/early April skiing would be very nice, based on current conditions and weather patterns. That comes from people that live there all their lives, locals. Now, if global warming speeds up dramatically and ruins everything in next 15 days I think we would have bigger problem than sub par skiing conditions.


Secondly, "6 inches" of powder video is posted on YouTube by people that are there (Verbier) NOW . That looks nice to me - not "black level" stuff but still very nice ! Now, I get it that regulars at Elevation 1904 are not after that kind of stuff ...

I see no reason for continuing this back and forth. I appreciate your opinion ...
 

James

Out There
Instructor
Joined
Dec 2, 2015
Posts
24,453
Please read my post, slowly and carefully. It starts with "As of now ..." that was posted on Friday, March 2nd. NOT February 19th. !!! I agree with you, people really do not care what happened on February 19th. or January 19th.
Lol. Yes, read your post with photos from January.
Anyway... I agree, the current outlook is very good for the next week with some much needed significant snow coming and good temps.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Goran M.

Goran M.

Getting off the lift
Inactive
Joined
Nov 21, 2015
Posts
456
Bad avalanche on Vallon D'Arby, it looks like 4 people are at the bad end of it ...

Cold snap, some moisture but not sure where fresh snow is heading. Southern and Western Alps might get some fresh snow.

Somehow, I am thinking that Dolomites might benefit from this weather pattern.

One week before going back to our beloved Val d'Aosta ... can't wait
 

Nobody

Out of my mind, back in five.
Skier
Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Posts
1,272
Location
Ponte di legno Tonale
The snow cover instability is high everywhere, weak layers underneath, snowstorms with heavy snowfalls followed by rising temperatures and rain (I was up at passo Tonale last week, three days of bad weather with relatively heavy snowfalls but no cold temperatures...two days of sun and a bit of cold and wind, another day of bad weather with snow but again no cold temperatures followed by a day of heavy rain up until 18000 mt...)
This week a local young man has perished in an avalanche right above Corvara, Dolomites. He went missing in the late afternoon and when he did not come back home at the usual time, SAR was launched...They found him by tracking the skipass passages and then searching in the area of his last lift passage thanks also to a report of ski tracks ending under an avalanche being spotted in the late afternoon...Not many details have been released about where exactly he was skiing or with which kind of equipment except "skiing off piste" (I read also somewhere "without beacon" but not much else)...
On the same day an avalanche has struck a groomed run on the Marmolada, no one was, luckily, hit or buried althougth search parties had to perform search and probing activities to assure no one was really impacted.
 

James

Out There
Instructor
Joined
Dec 2, 2015
Posts
24,453
Bad avalanche on Vallon D'Arby, it looks like 4 people are at the bad end of it ...

Cold snap, some moisture but not sure where fresh snow is heading. Southern and Western Alps might get some fresh snow.

Somehow, I am thinking that Dolomites might benefit from this weather pattern.

One week before going back to our beloved Val d'Aosta ... can't wait
Wow, looks bad for four people. Could be under 6 meters of snow!
I've skied that route six or seven times. Didn't do it this year because they had had rain to 2000 m and the snow was ice and crud.

Article in French.
https://www.lenouvelliste.ch/articl...-personnes-emportees-par-une-avalanche-744032
 

Nobody

Out of my mind, back in five.
Skier
Joined
Nov 13, 2015
Posts
1,272
Location
Ponte di legno Tonale
Last edited:

James

Out There
Instructor
Joined
Dec 2, 2015
Posts
24,453
It's very hard to tell from photos, and the piste map is beyond useless to show that area. It looks like where the avalanche occurred is skier's right of the itinerary route. That open space to the right of the avalanche in the photo I think is the skier's right edge of the usual route and you probably wouldn't be that far over. But if that's correct you would cross the avalanche path on the narrow traversing trail through the woods that's visible. You then descend the open area, bottom left of the photo, and go on flat terrain probably 15 minutes to the gondola at La Tzoumaz. That would mean that someone on the regular route could have gotten caught on the traveraing trail.
But I could be wrong about the geography. I don't even bother to post the piste map because you essentially make a right angle turn and traverse on the standard route but that isn't shown on the map.

However, if that's correct, it would coincide with a small slide we saw last year. That would have been below the left dirt patch, in that gully. The slide was small and stopped well short of the traversing path.
IMG_4901.JPG
If you've seen the short film Ten, (highly recommend), the Vallon D'Arbi is mentioned when the guy who gets paralyzed, and has been on a sit ski for six months, beats the other skiers to Tzoumaz in his sit ski.
 
Last edited:
Thread Starter
TS
Goran M.

Goran M.

Getting off the lift
Inactive
Joined
Nov 21, 2015
Posts
456
I do not know how many times it is proven that abundant snow does not mean good conditions off piste. So many people see big snowfalls and go for "powder" that more than often bring them to very dangerous situation. Tragic in this case.


Be true to your ability - there is so much fun to be had as long as you are sliding on snow !
 

Sponsor

Staff online

Top