Val Thorens Snow Report: 22nd January 2012

A far cry from the slick, icy pistes of last week, they are now soft, powdery and a little choppy in places. Many of the eager new arrivals hit the slopes early this morning as the cogs began to turn and the ski lifts began their daily cycles. Plein Sud was a particularly pleasant run to sample in the morning sun. It is always a pleasure to be early onto a slope after a hefty dump of new snow, giving you a blank canvas into which you can carve your own lines. With a fresh load of powder dumped on the distinctive mogul fields on the higher reaches of the piste, the ride was wavy and bouncy as snow shifted underfoot. The nursery slopes near the Peclet cable car were, due to their shallow gradient and the slight stickiness of the snow, underpopulated. Many of the ESF instructors and other groups of beginners flocked to Plein Sud as sunlight spilled onto the piste. Whilst the run can be taken fast and there is no shortage of off-piste banks to ride either side, with its un-intimidating gradient it is also a suitable and encouraging place to practice skills at beginner and intermediate levels.

As for those off-piste areas, if you turn left at the top of the chairlift and cruise underneath the Bouquetin cable-car as you descend, the previously icy banks to the right are now exceptionally soft and powdery. Without the steep gradient of the powder-fields atop the Bouquetin, these are more accessible for those who don’t want to stray too far from the piste and spend hours wading around, waist deep in snow. Moreover, the rolling hills that surround Plein Sud make these very fun to ride and offer odd humps and lips to keep you on your toes.

Heading down from Plein Sud and through Place Caron, you can get to the Cascades chairlift which goes a little way up Aiguille De Peclet. A favourite in the afternoon for those heading to Bar 360 for an après ski drink, Cascades is also a good route to take to access a selection of runs of varying difficulty. At the top of the lift, a left turn will take you to the Cascades slope, a breif un-pisted black run which soon joins Roc, the green run which heads back down towards Peclet. A right turn will offer you the choice between the Dalles blue and 2 Combes green runs, the latter of which is the route to 360 and Chalet du Thorens. Whilst the run is fun and leisurely, it is more commonly used as a route past the restaurant to the chairlifts Moraine and Portette.

Ascending almost to the top of Pointe De Thorens (the remainder of the incline is handled by the Col chairlift), Moraine offers access to the Moraine and Genepi blue runs. Both are relatively straight and don’t offer much variation in their geography, but they are still nice and quick with a few steeper stretches. Like Plein Sud, they are un-intimidating but simultaneously quite fun and exciting, especially if you enjoy dipping in and out of the off-piste.

A change from the last two weeks, there’s a little more variation in the weather forecast this week. Whilst tomorrow and Thursday should be sunny, light snow showers are predicted for Tuesday and Friday and Wednesday morning may be a little cloudy. Tuesday and Wednesday will likely be the windiest days with top speeds of 20km/h and temperatures are jumping around between -3 and -18 throughout the week.