Val Thorens Snow Report: 16th February 2012

So, when curtains were drawn on Wednesday morning to find a thick blanket of clouds hanging low over resort emitting a consistent and dense snow shower, naturally the reaction was one of surprise and elation. The more diligent amongst us took to the slopes, venturing to the higher peaks and over to Orelle in an attempt to surface above the clouds. Below the layer, there was a near total whiteout and strong, gusty winds, throwing around the new snow haphazardly; not ideal riding conditions. For many of us, it was enough to simply bide our time and wait for the predicted clear skies which we were privy to this afternoon. Because of the very poor visibility on Wednesday, the much anticipated Frostgun Invitational freestyle competition had to be postponed, the two days of events being shifted one day forward.

The state of the sky this morning did not bode well for Frostgun as it seemed as though a familiar cloud had made an unannounced reappearance. Initially visibility was not great for a day on the slopes, but as the sun rose higher it did manage to brighten up resort enough to tease people out onto the piste. Following suit from the previous day, many people flocked to the higher points in Val Thorens. Climbing the south western slopes in the Funitel de Cime Caron, there was a rousing cheer as the car broke through the blanket of cloud to be doused in glorious sunshine. Above a far reaching sea of white fluffiness, the surrounding peaks broke through like glistening icebergs. Making our way back towards Val Thorens down the Combe de Caron black piste, it wasn’t long until we were once again submerged in the cloud’s flat light. Despite the lacklustre conditions, the descent was still particularly fun because of the large amount of powder that lay around us. Like many black slopes, this descent is often quite quiet, particularly since the majority of Cime Caron’s passengers use the lift for its access to Orelle.

In the afternoon, the sun began to break up some of the clouds, allowing light into the lower parts of Val Thorens. This was good news for the first day of the Frostgun competition and many began to make their way up to Bar 360 to watch the event. Whilst the air was particularly cold making standing around a little unpleasant, it was nice to see the warm up for tomorrow’s big day and get a taste of some of the talent in resort at the moment. With sunshine, tepid temperatures and a lack of strong winds forecast, it looks as though we may be able to enjoy this fresh layer in some pleasant weather throughout the start of next week.