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More snow & break in clouds shows Tour du Charvet in great condition

Wow, what an absolutely fabulous weekend of skiing that was!

featured in Snow report Author Wayne Watson, Val d'Isere Reporter Updated

It continues to snow and we’re getting just enough light to navigate and ski positively off-piste, but it’s just flat enough to keep the fair-weather-off-piste people away. 

On Friday we had excellent visibility and we opened the Tour du Charvet in great conditions. It’s a stunning place scenically as well as terrain-wise and to have it without a mark on the mountain is always special. We then headed up to the Fornet to finish our morning on the Pissaillas Glacier.

It then snowed Friday night and through Saturday morning, and it was back to skiing in flat-light but the snow was wonderful. We headed to the Grande Motte in Tignes to get as high as possible hoping to get above the cloud, and although the cloud cover was a little thinner it wasn’t the easiest conditions for navigation. Then came Sunday, which might just have been the best day of the season. The snow was outstanding, the light was decent and at times excellent, and the powder was deep and light. (See photos) We again opened the Tour du Charvet in some of the best conditions ever, followed by some outrageously deep and light snow at the Fornet. It truly doesn’t get any better!

To be honest I don’t have a clue what the piste skiing has been like over the weekend. Saturday is always a great piste day as its ‘change-over’ day, and the pistes are empty. Sunday is the next best day for piste skiing as maybe 35% of the resorts clients for the week are travelling. But one thing that you can always count on is that the pistes will be immaculately groomed, and as usual, the earlier you get out there to take advantage of the conditions the better!

After a little light snow Sunday night a bright sunny morning is forecast for Monday.

Weather:

  • Monday- Sunny AM- Cloudy PM with light snow during the night   -14C/-4C  Wind from the S at 5km/h
  • Tuesday- Cloudy  -11C/-5C  Wind from the S at 5km/h
  • Wednesday- Partially sunny  -13C/-1C   Wind from the S at 5km/h
  • Thursday- Partially sunny  -9C/-1C    Wind from the NW at 5km/h
  • Friday- Cloudy -8C/-1C   Wind from the NW at 5km/h

The avalanche risk has been 3/5 for most of the week, although the risk was bumped up to 4/5 for some reason on Saturday. There was very little new snow and absolutely no wind so I was very surprised with the higher rating. My wife phoned in a panic saying that in the UK there have been reports of 5/5 avalanche risk, which is total nonsense. Although there have been a few slabs triggered on dubious slopes late in the day the skiing has been relatively stable. But that can change drastically and very quickly depending on the wind, so beware!

The cold temperatures for this time of year are giving us the best powder of the season, and long may it last, but we are now in March and with the sun climbing higher in the sky with each passing day these cold days will not continue for too much longer. But until the heat starts to arrive fill your boots as the skiing is superb! Have a great week and look out for another update on Friday!

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NB: Off piste skiing and mountaineering are dangerous. The opinions expressed in these articles are very much time and condition specific and the content is not intended in any way to be a substitute for hiring a mountain guide, undergoing professional mountaineering training and/or the individual's own back country decision making.

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