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Here comes the snow…(and the bad conditions)

Saturday:
A cloudy start to the day is a good sign of what’s to come over the weekend. Expect snow showers during the afternoon, developing to a steady but light snow fall throughout the night. Temperatures will be around the -1 to -5 mark but should plummet to -10 during the evening; so hold back on the revealing tops lads!

Sunday:
Snow, snow, snow!!!! The first snow since new year, an expected 5cm will be very welcome on the slopes. 20km/h winds will make it feel much colder than the actual -1degreeC though so wrap up warm if you’re brave enough to face less than perfect ski conditions.

Baby it’s cold outside…

Thursday:
More of the same; light winds, clear, sunny and cold! Watch out for the icy patches. Definitely worth making the most of the serene slopes before the onslaught of February half-term.

Friday:
Following a clear morning expect some clouds during the afternoon, brought in on an easterly wind. Cloud cover should continue for the next few days marking a change in weather for the late weekend bringing a light dusting of snow.

Following on from today’s blissful conditions on the slopes (perfect for those racers out there) there is another beauty waiting for tomorrow…

Tuesday:
Sunny, clear and warms of 1 degree throughout the day, any winds should drop by the afternoon so a small decrease in temperature shouldn’t be noticeable. Another great day to enjoy a picnic on the side of the piste whilst admiring the view over the valley.

Wednesday:
Expect a colder start to the day and light snow showers are a possibility. Perhaps a day to leave those trendy shades at home and give your goggles an outing as visibility may be low. Chilly through out the day -5’C.

Welcome to the first of a 3 times a week weather report brought to you direct from Verbier.

Saturday:
During the morning expect a little bit of cloud but this should clear during the day, better wrap up warm though as it could drop down to a bone shivering -16’C. The 10 km/h wind should disappear by the afternoon and leave you to experience all the peaceful runs at this quite time.

Sunday:
Beautiful Big Blue Bird for the whole of day, very little wind at all and hopefully not a cloud in the sky. So forget that long lazy Sunday lie in with the papers and hit the first lift to enjoy the amazing fresh corduroy down the M25 and the sun on your face.

The adaptive school has had a good start to the season. All the new adaptive ski equipment has arrived in Verbier and has been constructed. As part of the ski instructors formation week prior to the start of the season the instructors have had a go at using the equipment. Feedback from the instructors was good with many wanting to get more involved in the adaptive services.

I spent Christmas with the Henley family. Sarah Henley took our brand new adult Mountain Man out for a spin and had a week of perfect weather.

Ben Burgess tried skiing for the first time using our new bi-unique over the new year week and made rapid progression to being able to make turns independently by the end of the week.

Robbie Swan returned to the adaptive school for the second year running and progressed from Les Esserts onto La Chaux by mid week meaning everyone could go for a family ski together.

Jacob Ridder, a Verbier resident discovered the adaptive ski school whilst coming to the aid of the Henley family. The family’s Citroen Berlingo got stuck on a hill, Jacob assisted with a tow and spotted all the adaptive equipment in the car. Being a mono skier he was happy to discover there are adaptive instructors in Verbier who can help him progress his skiing and help him ski with his family.

It has been a very promising start to the season but there is still a lot of work to be done. A fundraising programme needs to be finalised, the remaining mono skis need to be delivered and constructed and there is ongoing promotional work with local Swiss charity groups as well as British associations. Even with a long “to do” list I feel really optimistic about the continued development of the adaptive school.