Val Thorens Snow Report: 8th January 2012

That night and the following day saw the largest amount of snowfall of the week, nay, of the season. Whilst some of the lifts remained open (a handful I might add), the pistes were sucked of life as thick snow fell and strong gusts rushed it haphazardly around in a blizzard. It was very much an indoors day. It was particularly unfortunate for the weekly guests because, as their transfer day approached, the slopes were so inhospitable that venturing out was a ghastly affair. The ferocity of the weather calmed down on Friday and there was an eerie stillness that hung over a particularly snow-laden Val Thorens. Frequent trips were made to our piste facing window to chart the progress of the lift openings. Sadly, we were left wanting for the entire day. With an avalanche warning level of 5, the highest warning that can be issued by the piste patrol, the entire valley was deemed unsafe.

Of course, this was a sad prospect as it meant that, on the penultimate day of the holiday week, many would not be able to do precisely what they travelled here to do: sample the glorious pistes of Val Thorens. Nevertheless, akin to those nostalgic memories of ‘Snow Days’, the local slopes and the streets of the town were full of children and adults alike. Whether they were throwing snowballs, sledding, building snow-kickers or simply having a bit of rough-and-tumble in the snow, there was a mischievous ‘school’s out’ vibe bouncing around resort.

Of course, the real advantage of this was that there is now a load, an abundance, a veritable plethora of snow in resort. Presumably, the piste patrol put in a great effort throughout Friday and Saturday to tame it in time for the new arrivals at the beginning of this week since the conditions of the pistes today were fantastic. Happily, the predicted light snowfall was nowhere to be seen (fingers crossed that it will not appear over the next few days) and the skies were largely clear. Blankets of cloud cut through the valley at various levels and the best option proved to be to venture skyward above the clouds where the sun shone gloriously. After a few warm up runs on Plein Sud, we promptly headed to Orelle, having learnt last week that it is the most beautiful location in resort and offers some very exciting pistes.

Breaking my usual form, I spent the day with two extremely fast and competent skiers, an interesting change of pace for a boarder who usually navigates the mountain with at least one of his own kind. The day was spent trying to keep up and attempting some off-piste runs in Orelle that I would normally have shied away from. After descending the Mauriennaise red, we ascended the Peyron chairlift (reputedly one of the slowest in resort) which is officially used to access a blue run of the same name. However, as is revealed on the ascent, this area is home to wonderfully exciting off piste areas, some slopes more extreme than others. There are flat sections and rocks aplenty, aspects which made me dubious, initially. However, after cutting off the blue run it became apparent that these hills had a lot to offer and truly give the feeling that you are on the top of a mountain. With avalanche concerns hanging over us, we were careful in assessing our route and were cautious about our spacing and speed, good practice for these areas which lack the sturdiness of the more ridden off-piste slopes.

Even more beautiful than the Alps is the weather report for this week. Exhausted from the recent snowfall, it looks like we may be given exactly what we are pining for: clear skies, winds dying down to 5km/h and the lowest temperature rising to -1. For those of you who arrived this week, you are in for a good one. Enjoy!