Archives for 2007

Bright blue skies and un-crowded slopes made for pleasant skiing in Verbier. The snow promised for 2 days ago didn’t materialise, instead we are experiencing a mix of hard pack and spring snow skiing.

Conditions on the main mountain are icy in the morning but softening up in most places by early afternoon. The advice is to have a late breakfast then follow the sun – from Attelas to La Chaux first thing then on the sections below Ruinettes after lunch..

Most of the itinerary routes remain closed. However, Tortin is reported to be in good condition as is Mont Fort – except the traverse at the top which is somewhat rocky. Fontaney now has large icy moguls great for masochists – but for the rest of us best avoided until a new snowfall arrives.

At Savoleyres the front side of the mountain is icy early on but then quickly turns to spring snow down the front. The red run down to La Tzoumaz is to be avoided unless you want to practice your technique over the large sections of sheet ice.

The parapenting (paragliding) community were out in force today taking advantage of the warm breeze coming up from the valley. The next few days look ideal for taking to the skies and I will be following up on my basic pilot course by learning to take off and land on skis – will let you know if this is easier than running!

The weather forecast for the next couple of days is sunny with temperatures of around –1 C on the mountain and low wind speeds
Parapenting at Ruinnette

Well, there’s good news and there’s bad news.

The good news is that the Christmas rush is a distant memory and the pistes are nice and clear. Sadly the downer is that the light was pretty closed in again today, and after the rise in temperature there doesn’t seem to be any snow on the horizon.

In fact, Sandy’s just poked his head round the door after finishing his lesson and said that the snow’s ”soupy” and it’s pretty mild at the top of Savoleyres. Les Essertes is also looking unwell…

Still, when you can get up to Cabin Mont Fort, not have to slalom round any rocks or people, then get a table to yourself and watch the world go by, it’s not all bad, is it?

A series of avalanches after the heavy snowfalls of last week has claimed the lives of at least 8 people across The Alps. There have been a few slides here in Verbier but fortunately no-one has been hurt. Mountain Guides are warning all skiers and boarders to be extra vigilant and fear that many people are taking unecessary risks.One of our instructors here at European Snowsport, James Cove has, written the story for the BBC web site.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6241463.stm

And another for the SCGB on a lighter note….

http://www.skiclub.co.uk/skiclub/news/item.asp?intCategoryID=1&intItemID=4471

Avalanche debris at Col des Gentianes today

Well, I’ve got to admit it wasn’t a great day in resort – raining in the town and nearly as high as Les Ruinettes. Not good. And it was white out conditions for quite a lot of the day.

Pretty rubbish really.

The good news is that it’s forecast to clear up and get colder again. And the clouds broke just before sunset, so at least we had a pretty impressive end to the day…

After the success of yesterday’s day off, we (Sandy, Louis and I) found ourselves with a free afternoon….so it seemed rude not to.

So, with the impressive young Jo in tow, we headed off into a few inches of fresh, with more forecast for tonight…

Here are a few glimpses of the afternoon (through the cloud…).