Val Thorens Snow Report: 14th December 2015

We hiked up the lower part of the course and had a great vantage point to see the last couple of jumps before the race for the finish. The Val Thorens ski cross track is known as one of the most difficult in the World Cup and certainly proved challenging with several bad falls, luckily all skiers showed a raised hand to indicate no bad injuries and skied down to finish.

Also this year there was a real delight for French fans watching Val Thorens local and Olympic gold medalist, Jean-Frédéric Chapuis take first place. Apparently this is the first time that he has actually taken the number one spot on Val Thorens course which is also named after him, so a great win!

Unfortunately over the last week there has been a serious lack of snow which is now becoming a slight concern. St Martin de Belleville did manage open last Saturday as scheduled however only to give access to the Three Valleys with the lower piste closed and descent required via St Martin 1. The new St Martin lift however was up and running taking it’s first skiers up the mountain speedier than in previous seasons, much to everyone’s relief.

Similarly La Masse has joined the Three Valleys ski area however with the lower lift open for access only with the lower piste closed. Whilst helping out with pre-opening preparations at Chalet de La Masse yesterday I did however witness many skiers who thought they’d give the piste a shot anyway. I’m not sure their skis would have been in such a good state at the bottom. I seem to say this every year in my reports but seriously if a piste has got a non-missable closed barrier, it is for a reason, the piste is not ready!

I can never understand why skiers think that the barrier means the locals are keeping the powder hidden away just to spoil the fun. There are enough pistes open in the Three Valleys so really there’s no need to go skiing on grass and rocks on the lower closed slopes. Also, it shouldn’t really need to be said, but the words off-piste are certainly a non-starter at the moment. Anything that looks nicely tracked out was done so when it was soft and is now a hard, crunchy base. For the moment, stick to the nicely groomed upper pistes.

The one good sign this week is that there is snow forecast on Wednesday so we have toes and fingers crossed. The snow due is only forecast at a higher altitude however you never know, maybe if the temperatures drop then the lower resorts can receive some snowflakes too (please!)

With this coming weekend being the first peak week of the season welcoming all the Christmas guests to the resort we will just have to hope that Santa has something up his sleeve for the skiers next week. The upper pistes are not by any means in bad condition, the problem will be with a higher volume of skiers in resort that the pistes lacking snow will deteriorate quickly. On the plus side, what is forecast is sun and there are a lot of people strapping on snow shoes to still get out and about to enjoy the mountain views and take on some serious exercise before all the mince pies and Christmas indulgence.

Restaurants such as Chalet de La Masse will be opening up just for walkers if the snow doesn’t come so if you’re not overly impressed with the snow then walk, sledge and lunch your way around the mountain for a change. In the meantime let’s just wait and see if our letters to Santa are answered, we’ve been good this year…haven’t we?!