Val Thorens Snow Report: 11th January 2016

The first snow to transform the resort arrived at the weekend causing slight traffic chaos late Saturday afternoon but nothing compared to this time last year. As usual it is always the cars without snow tyres which caused a bit of a backlog in Les Menuires but luckily it didn’t cause too many problems further down the hill. I did see someone driving with their ski buddy sat on the bonnet of the car, a unique snow driving technique!

Sunday saw a bright start which quickly changed with snow clouds rolling in and lingering for most of the day. It did still cause a bit of a surprise though later that evening when emerging from the bar to find that it had been dumping snow outside! Monday saw a bit of a mixed bag with blue skies, then some more snow and wind which was not the best and a bit torturous given the improved slopes as everyone was itching to get out there.

We were then rewarded on Tuesday with blue skies, pleasant temperatures and amazing skiing! The pistes are in great condition now, it’s crazy how little time it takes to totally transform the resort. With all areas now open some pistes that were lacking snow canon help still have a few loose rocks so do take care.

The off piste is now gradually being tracked out by people eager to find the powder however there was an avalanche on Tuesday in the La Masse area and luckily no-one was involved. As ever our advice remains the same, make sure you look at the avalanche risk, know the area well and be well equipped with transceivers etc.

It really is a welcome sight to see truck loads of snow being cleared away rather than having to be brought to the resort to patch it up! There is more snow due not just this week, the following week too which is fantastic. At the moment anyone in resort is being treated by overnight snow and clear days, skiers delight.

This week is always a bit of a secret for those in the know who book year in year out the first week of January, generally quiet pistes, good temperatures and luckily (just in time this year) great snow too. It’s also the time when seasonnaires get to play out with the Christmas and New Year weeks out of the way. Having being politely requested by the resort that seasonnaires did not ski the last couple of weeks due to the less than adequate snow conditions, today’s snowboarding felt more of a treat than usual!

This week's agenda is really more of the same and looking forward to making up for lost snowboarding time!