 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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_thumb.jpg) Taken from down in Bourg St Maurice, early Saturday evening Feb 26th - the new developments at Arc 1800. Conditions still good but the extreme cold means although there's little or no ice on piste, good edges are really needed at the moment on the steeper runs. Most powder tracked out but plenty of fun still to be had in the forests of Villaroger, Arc 1600, Peisey.
A little snow forecast this afternoon and Monday morning - early Sunday am now and the weather has already closed in.
Still very cold (around -15°C at 2000m) and forecast to stay that way until the weather shifts to the SW from Wednesday afternoon. Snow predicted above 500m on Wednesday, but considerably less than originally forecast, long range predictions suggesting that the SW airflow will be a little further south.
Avalanche risk 3 maintained. Latest Arc 1600 webcam ... Long range forecast - animation
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Nice photo PG 
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Snowed overnight. Looked like about 8cm of dry white. Enough to refresh the pistes - conditions on piste with the pretty cold temperatures just about as good as they get on piste. Consistently so all over Arcs and Vallandry. Light, so easy to ski. Sun and cloud most of the day so good vis as well. Didn't really go off piste but not really enough snow to make much difference to it.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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slikedges, hows it look across the way in la Plagne?!
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tomski01,
Sorry, haven't been over as not worthwhile as skiing with slikedgelets in pm.
However, on lift in Vallandry yesterday pm with another Brit (decent skier) who'd been in the Arcs all day and heading back to La Plagne. He said conditions there at least as good though crowded (the Arcs are crowded too - maybe I'm only noticing because I'm skiing with the little ones, but the runs from the top of Transarc and Arpette are like King's Cross during petrol shortage)
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Yesterdays snow report said 10cm of new snow, but the trees looked very green on the webcam - did it only fall higher up?
10 days and counting 
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Some friends were skiing there yesterday - the snow had settled at 1600 and above, but they reckoned around 5/6 cms.
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My contact over in Peisey Vallandry says that the snow is holding up well in the trees, although a bit more skied out at 1800, and slush at bottom lifts. I'm taking my raincoat... 
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Hmm - as you wrote that, the rain was absolutely bucketing down, right up to 2300m. It will be interesting to compare the new snow depths tomorrow to those of 24 hours earlier (140cm at the Aiguille Rouge, 70cms at Villaroger 1100m then). It has been raining so hard that I would be surprised if at least 10 cms hasn't been lost...
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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PG, im hoping those webcams from the town centre in ARC 1950 are right cos it looks like the snow has remained (improved?) in the main street there?! dont know what that spelt for lower down tho 
that said, you are there so you would prob know more whats going on, i hope its not as bad as you think?!!!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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The very heavy rainfall started at 5pm, continued through to 10pm - eased off now. I think the snowcams would have shut off just as it started. We'll see tomorrow!
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lol, ive noticed that lots of the resorts are still showing images from last week sometime, looks great! 
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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The torrential rain washed away 20 cms (down from 70 to 50 cms overnight) down in Villaroger!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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PG, put some fresh snow up high tho eh PG, cant all be bad news??!!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Yes ... 10-15 cms above 2000, so not too bad! But (there's always a but) it's sunny and hot again, so the fresh spring snow doesn't hang around for long too close to the snowline....
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PG, when did the late snow fall last year the photos you put on the EOSB thread were all end of April and showed lots of white stuff how high were those pictures.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Some great shots again PG but surely these late and very welcome falls last season were onto a reasonable established base. Whereas this year in many places in France the base layer has never really built up to the usual extent. Lower slopes didn't have enough snow fall and it blew off many of the higher areas when it did arrive. Real powder that late and in such quantities must also be very unusual. Here's hoping it happens again but..... ah hey ma doots.
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kuwait_ian, less of a base this year, but still reasonable in the Tarentaise - if we have some cooler weather (forecast for the end of next week), they could still be enough depth to support and retain fresh falls. It's in the lap of the gods though, as always. The weather is so unpredictable these days...
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Temperatures have fallen a little - but the Tarentaise valley once again received several hours of heavy rainfall last night (and it's still raining right now - hard). The freeze level is still pretty high up, unfortunately for the low altitude resorts (about 1800m). Still, conditions must have improved a bit at altitude. More showers (rain below 1800m) expected today, warm Monday and Tuesday, with rain (below 1800m) expected Wednesday morning again.
Looking a week ahead, the long range forecast indicate a brief respite between Thursday and Saturday with the passage of a cold front, but suggests the warm westerly airflow will reestablish itself during the latter part of the weekend.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| kuwait_ian wrote: |
| Some great shots again PG but surely these late and very welcome falls last season were onto a reasonable established base. |
That was my thought skiing today Ian. Where the snow has gone any fresh snow this late in the season won't last as long as the ground is now quite warm and very wet.
| kuwait_ian wrote: |
Whereas this year in many places in France the base layer has never really built up to the usual extent. Lower slopes didn't have enough snow fall
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4.5 meters in the Pyrénées, 2.5 meters in the Vercors and 2 meters in the Chartreuse, Bauge and Aravis. I think there was no lack of snow at low and mid altitudes but heavy rain is really fatal. I remember having an argument earlier in the year with a group of 'climate experts' who said a 1.5C average temperature rise would have virtually no effect on alpine skiing as adiabatic cooling was 0.6C / 100 m. They didn't seem to understand that an average rise meant more extremes and that rainfall was not good for the snow pack.
| kuwait_ian wrote: |
| Real powder that late and in such quantities must also be very unusual. |
No it happens nearly every year in the last 2 weeks of April / first week of May. Mabye not this year?
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| davidof wrote: |
No it happens nearly every year in the last 2 weeks of April / first week of May. |
Well that's encouraging to know. Thanks davidof. And Whistler has had a welcome late recovery from a waterlogged disastrous mid season so truth can be stranger than fiction.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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PG - we're in Les Arcs this Saturday for the week - please tell me some good news about the snow conditions (even if you have to make it up!) - by the way, we're staying in Arcs 2000.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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[good news mode] The coming week? The good news is that it's snowed a bit, settling above 1800m. And that they (currently) forecast progressively cooler temps from Saturday, with light snow above 1300m on Monday.
Conditions are ok, given the heat/rain of recent weeks. Obviously they could be better, but look on the bright side, a lot of resorts are much worse off! With 51 of 53 blues still open, 23 of 32 reds, 9 of 19 blacks, we're not complaining! [/good news mode]
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PG, how come La Plagne seems to have a relatively low percenatge of their area open compared to Les Arcs and many other resorts...i appreciate the condiitons arent what they could be, but is there more to it than that??
dnt get me wron,g im not gonna moan, they still have plenty to keep me occupied im sure!! 
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You know it makes sense.
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Overall depths are good, the blues are fine, it's mostly the reds and blacks that have closed... depends where they are in terms of altitude/aspect etc - for example the heavy rainfall below a certain level combined with high temps caused some steeper pistes to avalanche, shedding all of their cover, and this in several resorts around the Alps.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Quote: |
caused some steeper pistes to avalanche, shedding all of their cover
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blimey! 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Thanks - I'm tempted to ask for the bad news angle ...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Legal Steve, you don't want to know, believe me Best to set off in ignorant bliss!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Quote: |
| Sorry, can't give you any recommendations on the best chair to spend the night |
I would say Combette, but it doesn't have any foot rests.
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Good conditions yesterday - at last some cold weather and a reasonable frost to harden things up a bit. A few days of the same expected, so even if it will be a bit slushy later on, it's a definite improvement on the past few weeks!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Just got back from a week in Val d'Isere and I would say thet conditions are pretty normal for the time of year. There is good skiing above 2000m though it doesn't do to go low after lunch. Conditions on Solaise and up in the Le Fornet area are really good with even some unskied powder around after Thursday's snow. As for Les Arcs, driving past yesterday it still looked white down to 1400 on the Vallandry side and the Paradiski was running. It would be pretty warm low down with bare patches. I think freeze/thaw is the best to hope for as new snow doesn't keep in the strong sun.
If the EOSB has to truck up to Solaise or Le Fornet every day, there will still be decent skiing I'd say, but then I am an incurable optimist.
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