Val Thorens Snow Report: 18th February 2013

The snow did not let up last week and Friday's trip up the mountain became a bit of an expedition.

Due to illness, one of our guests missed out on the Four Valleys trip and so wanted at least a trip over to Orelle on their last day. The family included a five year old skier who skied her little legs off!

The weather did not look great but we hoped that we would rise above the clouds. We did at one point see blue sky but then we were in for a chilly trip back home.

The powder down into Orelle was unbelievable. I went to ‘spray’ one of our group and nearly covered them head to toe in snow! Visibility was terrible but the descent was good fun as it was always a soft landing. We were teased at that point with the blue sky moment and opted for the lift up towards the highest point in the Three Valleys. On a slow and cold lift with winds starting to set in we decided to head back to Val Thorens. The run down was great, a taster of what will be to come once I have got time to head right up to the top.

We happily hopped onto the lift out of Orelle and were taking in the views when all of a sudden the wind whipped up along with lots of snow and we had to huddle down. To our delight the lift also stopped several times. Once at the top we turned out of the lift station and could hardly move forward due to the strength of the winds. Our little skier quickly added some more layers and we all decided we would stick close together on the run back to Val Thorens.

Only five minutes in and we were two men down. One of whom was handily wearing a Union Jack Onesie with a Union Jack flag tied around his neck, so pretty easy to identify. After waiting the length of time when you just know something is not quite right we asked a passer by whether they had seen our patriotic boarder. They informed us that they had ‘saved’ him and he was fine. Luckily we did not have too long to worry about what this meant when he appeared through the whiteout to fill us in. He had seen two poles assuming they were the piste and headed in between but unfortunately it was a steep drop. His board was just holding him in place. Luckily his dad saw the fall and hailed a passing boarder to help out.

We did manage to get down to Val Thorens and had a well-earned lunch in the lovely Face West restaurant. Once we had warmed up we began the slow and steady journey home. Conditions did not ease but we all made it back safely.

One set of guests had booked Sun-Sun and managed to reap the benefits of the snowy week by enjoying an incredibly sunny Saturday. They headed up to Mont Vallon whilst we were Chalet-bound setting up for the next weeks’ arrivals.

Sunday was again an absolutely beautiful day. The slopes seem incredibly busy to us seasonaires. Those I have spoken to are opting for alternative non-piste related activities such as snow shoe walking and ski touring - check out our activities page for some alternative holiday ideas. Despite this, our chalet helper this week thought that the slopes were the quietest she had ever seen during February half term so I guess it really depends on the kind of skiing conditions you are used to. The snow is amazing, the sun is shining so it is not such a hardship to wait a moment or two in the ski lift queue.

There is snow forecast again towards the end of the week and temperatures are dropping once again.

In the meantime though it is a good week to work on the goggle tan - just remember your suncream!

Bon Ski.