Val Thorens Snow Report: 19th January 2015

Overjoyed to see the soft fluffy stuff once again I opted for a late afternoon snowboard. There was around 25cm of snow that had fallen in resort and rumours of huge dumps of the stuff higher up, I thought I needed to check it out!.

Visibility was understandably not great as snow was continuing to fall, however at around 2400m there was a nice pocket where visibility improved and this provided for a great run down. As I had ventured up the mountain later in the day, a lot of the snow had been pushed around but a smooth run could be found at the edges of the piste. Definitely not a day for the terrace on the home run, we opted for indoor après at La Loy in St Martin to end the day.

With blue sky forecast for Sunday my alarm was set and for the first time in six seasons I was seen to be queuing for first lift! I was very much rewarded for my early bird efforts as the pistes were in great condition. Temperatures had dropped significantly and even my four layers weren’t enough whilst in the shade so I headed for the sunny side of Les Menuires, as it seemed did everyone else, although it did not spoil my fun. If you take a look on the piste map you can actually see all sunny spots indicated with a sunshine symbol to help you plan your route on colder days.

Generally there was a lot of ‘woohoo-ing’ to be heard as people were find untouched areas and enjoying powder in the Three Valleys for one of the first times this year. Equally could be heard the cheering from lifts as people viewed skiers opting for the cartwheel method to get down whilst encountering a rock or two on the way. As ever, the off-piste is getting better but is still a thinner base than normal so proceed with caution.

There is more snow due today and tomorrow which as always is welcome to keep the ski area topped up. The temperature is forecast to stay at around a steady -10 so keep covered up. All in all I’d say that anyone visiting this week will get a great weeks’ skiing, enjoy!

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Read more 3 Valleys Snow Reports from Meribel & Courchevel.