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Val Thorens Snow Report: 1st April 2012

Family fun

featured in Snow report Author Andy Wilson, Updated

Thank goodness for Val Thorens. Whilst other resorts are degrading into puddles of slush, the highest resort in Europe is enjoying some of its busiest custom of the season. Of course, there is no escaping the fact that the season is coming to a close and slope navigation has had to adjust to meet the changing conditions of the snow.

With Easter approaching, the student heavy party atmosphere has somewhat dissipated and a more family friendly atmosphere has emerged. There are, of course, the usual afternoon haunts in which the young adults can keep themselves busy (La Folie Douce, Bar360), but there are more youngsters in resort than ever. Whilst it may not be the most perfect snow conditions in which to learn to ski, one could not wish for a more joyous place to take their children at this time of year. Of course, with the impeccable piste knowledge of the ESF and the various other ski schools, hunting out the best stuff on which to practice your snow-plough and parallel turns is an easy task.

If you found the slopes to be a little soggy this week you will surely be pleased to know that there has been a relatively significant drop in temperature since last week (around 5 degrees if you are interested) which has restored the freshness of the snow somewhat. At this time of year there is no real way to combat the slushiness of the snow, but at least with the colder air it holds itself together for a more significant portion of the day. After the busy Saturday changeover (out with the students; in with the families) I found myself unable to hit the mountain before around 11am. To my surprise I was met by an unfamiliar hardness underfoot and once again fell into the ease of boarding on proper snow as opposed to some sort of snowboarding/wakeboarding hybrid.

Going against common instinct, we headed as far down in resort as possible to the Boismint chairlift as we have found that the pistes located at the top seem to offer some of the most consistently reliable snow. The slopes themselves offer a mixture of different experiences but the most all-around recommendable is the blue run called Blanchot. There is a tendency to assume that the more advanced the run, the more exciting and fun it will be. Whilst this can certainly be the case, more often than not, a blue run can be as, if not more, exciting than a red and this is certainly how it is down here (see also Tete Ronde vs. Christine). It is relatively wide and winds down the mountain making it a popular slope for learners who want to take their time and become familiar with a given piste. Sure enough, ski schools were there in their abundance today along with small family groups. Having said that, the piste can also be taken at some speed and there is a wealth of off-piste banks and slope-side lips to keep the more advanced and adventurous entertained. It is a particularly good piste on which to practice rotation tricks on boards and skis.

It has taken a good four months, but I have finally sampled the Val Thorens toboggan run, thereby discovering the most enjoyable activity in resort (nay, in the whole of the three Valleys) that isn’t snowboarding or skiing. Boasting the longest toboggan descent in France, this is a 45 minute white-knuckle thrill ride. This is a great activity for groups of friends (we had 19 of us hitting the track for a birthday celebration) but is also suitable for families to take part in. The toboggans themselves are equipped with breaks on either side and mastering the art of navigating the corners to achieve maximum speed is enthralling. Of course, the breaks also allow you to control your speed throughout so you needn’t worry about not being able to stop and flying off the track. Those under five must travel with an adult so they can simply sit back and let the parent do all of the hard work. Registration is at the Chalet du Thorens (just above the Cascades chairlift) and costs €12 during the day or €19 for Wednesday’s and Thursday’s toboggan nights.

One last bit of interesting and extremely promising news to close the report. The majority of us waved goodbye to the possibility of any significant snowfall some weeks ago but it looks as though we may in fact be having a dump this week. Due to fall between Tuesday and Thursday (perhaps continuing even further) we are expecting some moderate snowfall which could amount to 15cm. Should this materialise, the cold air will help keep it fresh and maybe even top up our off-piste areas with some extremely missed fluffy powder. Fingers crossed folks!

Stats

Snow Report
  • Alt. Resort: 2300m

  • Alt. Summit: 3230m

  • High Temp.: -3

  • Alt. High Temp.: 2300m

Location

Map of the surrounding area