Val Thorens Snow Report : 27th January 2013

The slopes were deserted and snow conditions were great - taking peeks at the blue sky whilst changing beds drew us out onto the piste and we were not disappointed, it stayed that way for most of the day.
I should not have been fooled however by the glorious sunshine, it was still very chilly out there, especially on the lifts and exposed pistes such as Grand Lac and Pelozet. I thought it was going to be the ideal day for topping up my goggle tan but soon the neck warmer and hat were firmly on. My nose has only just recovered from chill burn last week when peeking out of all my layers so I was glad to be able to cover it up this time!

The Becca chair was a long, slow, chilly ride but worth it for the run down. It also started to get a bit breezy higher up at the top of Les Menuires. The clouds started to come in towards the end of the afternoon and temperatures dropped even further so we managed a quick vin chaud sat outside but the gloves definitely stayed on!
The pistes are in great condition right now with a nice covering of soft snow on top taking care of the icy sections that were lurking about a few weeks ago. It is hard packed underneath so if you are a beginner snowboarder make sure that you pack your crash pants to save your derrière!

The forecasted dump of snow on Sunday didn't materialise and the morning was lovely and sunny with amazing views all the way down the valley. We made the decision to head over to La Masse but unfortunately did not get up there quickly enough before the forecast came true and the weather came in, clouding over and taking our sun and amazing views away.

The off piste over the back of La Masse was looking pretty tracked out so we opted instead for the pistes which were in variable condtion - quite chopped up at the top (it was lunch time by the time we got there) with a few long, icy sections towards the bottom. One of our guests did a spectacular penguin style fall/slide down most of one section of the piste so take care out there! Visibility was also not great as the light became very flat requiring a change of eyewear from sunglasses to goggles. The afternoon's skiing definitely required a lot more concentration and our descent was a slow but steady process as we tried to negotiate a few of the icy areas. Despite this, the temperatures were much warmer than Saturday and I had perhaps been a bit too enthusiastic whilst layering up after the low temps the day before.

The clouds were not shifting and by the end of the day we were treated to the delightful sight of snow starting to fall at the top of Les Menuires. There does not look like any more snow forecast until towards the end of the week. The temperatures are rising into plus figures this week but breezier higher up bringing the temperature down with wind chill.
We have enjoyed gloriously quiet January pistes and sadly that may be coming to an end judging by the steady stream of cars heading up the mountain this weekend. Being the Three Valleys however there tends only to be a slight increase in volume of people queuing at the lifts and also more skiers heading towards the base of each resort. Given there’s 600km of piste to go at, there’s plenty of room for everyone.

So, with sun forecast for the rest of the week and a nice dusting due overnight, it looks like we are in for some great conditions this week in the Three Valleys.

Bon Ski!