Worldwide Mountain & Snow Sports Discussion 2017/18

[Blessed Weather]

2 minutes ago, Daniel* said:

No shortage of snow.  

 

Incredible images Daniel!! It's of particular interest to me as I know Bonneval very well. I ski most years at a small resort called Val Cenis and Bonneval is a beautiful village situated right at the end of the valley, a few miles further up the road. It has it's own ski area, renowned for off-piste skiing.

In the summer there is a narrow, twisting mountain road that goes up and over into Val D'Isere and I successfully scared the living daylights out of Mrs Blessed when we drove over it the other year! I hope nobody minds, but here's few pics to show the setting. It's well worth a visit!

[Daniel*]

1 minute ago, Blessed Weather said:

Incredible images Daniel!! It's of particular interest to me as I know Bonneval very well. I ski most years at a small resort called Val Cenis and Bonneval is a beautiful village situated right at the end of the valley, a few miles further up the road. It has it's own ski area, renowned for off-piste skiing.

In the summer there is a narrow, twisting mountain road that goes up and over into Val D'Isere and I successfully scared the living daylights out of Mrs Blessed when we drove over it the other year! I hope nobody minds, but here's few pics to show the setting. It's well worth a visit!

Looks absolutely beautiful imagine waking up to that every morning good to go in all seasons.  

[dubmuffin]

I does look lovely, is that road to Val d'isere the Col de l'Iseran?

[Blessed Weather]

4 hours ago, dubmuffin said:

I does look lovely, is that road to Val d'isere the Col de l'Iseran?

Yes, that's the one. If I remember correctly the highest point of the road is 2,800m. It's the sheer drop at the side of the road on some sections that Mrs Blessed didn't like. Mind you, she had a point - if you accidentally slipped off the road you'd definitely be a goner!!

Coming down into Val D'Isere:

[johnholmes]

Incredible shots of the snow, don't like the look of that road though BW, not surprised Mrs B felt the same!

[carinthian]

Perfect day for ski-ing. Plenty of fresh snow but not as much thankfully as those in the Western Alps. This picture looking towards my apartment in the building on the left. Sunshine and snow showers making for wonderful ski-ing. Back in the warmth now.

 C

[dubmuffin]

The road does look so scary, I'm with Mrs Blessed on that one, but the views would be worth it, if you're driving it must be hard to keep your eyes on the road! You've got a treat in store Malcolm if you are off to Val d'Isere late Jan, I see there might be even more snow before then - snow depths we can only dream of here:)

[johnholmes]

1 hour ago, carinthian said:

Perfect day for ski-ing. Plenty of fresh snow but not as much thankfully as those in the Western Alps. This picture looking towards my apartment in the building on the left. Sunshine and snow showers making for wonderful ski-ing. Back in the warmth now.

 C

What the very little one Paul?

[carinthian]

6 minutes ago, johnholmes said:

What the very little one Paul?

Cheeky. When you off to Wengen ? Must be soon. Get yourself over here lad. The beer is mighty good as well !

[johnholmes]

1 hour ago, carinthian said:

Cheeky. When you off to Wengen ? Must be soon. Get yourself over here lad. The beer is mighty good as well !

Fly out Tuesday for 10 days.

OAP can't afford two places mate! It does look very nice though.

 

[carinthian]

Corvara in the Dolomites this morning. Never been to Italy but looking forward to a visit to this resort in early February with the' old ski team'.

C

[Blessed Weather]

After this last incredible week of snowfall for the Western Alps the forecast synoptic charts for next week are shaping up deliver further huge falls of snow. This 500hPa chart from ECMWF for next Wednesday sums up the 'big picture' very well, with a lobe of the tropospheric PV pushing down into Europe:

Wed 17th Jan

Looking at the GFS charts for next week we can see from the 850hPa forecasts that the 0C isotherm is over the Alps, so freezing level around 1,500m, and the matching precipitation charts show snowfall starting Tues 16th and effectively not stopping for the rest of the week. By Sat 20th January even colder air has arrived with the potential for more widespread, heavier snowfall down to lower altitude - good news for the lower resorts. I'm keeping a close watch on the changeover weekend of 20th/21st - it could be an interesting experience as I'm due to fly into Chambery and transfer by coach to Val D'Isere.

The last few GFS runs have been consistent with these forecasts, so higher confidence than usual in the general outlook. Charts for Tue 16th, Wed 17th and Sat 20th:

850hPa  

Precip   

The severe-weather.eu guys have also picked up on the outlook:

 

[johnholmes]

So much for my hope of blue skies and white powder snow when I arrive Tuesday 16th. Looks like the snow shoes and some walking or riding around on mountain railways, coffee, brandy-oh dear!

[Blessed Weather]

I thought people might be interested in this on-the-ground report from Val Cenis, emailed to me this morning from the British guy who runs the resort ski company MGS Ski. It gives a good feel for how unusual - and indeed dangerous - this week's heavy falls of snow have been:

"It has been absolutely unbelievable weather with tons of snow falling, followed by rain in the village and then more and more snow.  Great for the skiing, but almost all lifts were closed on Monday and Tuesday due to so much snowfall which made the avalanche risk the highest it has ever been, they were flying black flags.  We've never seen anything like it, nor has anyone from the resort.  The campsite on the other side of the road was evacuated at 6.30am, I believe on Monday morning.  There were two avalanches which came down either side of the campsite and stopped just before reaching that low (point).  Avalanches have been falling all over the place and on Tuesday evening from 5-7 pm there was a mandatory order for everyone to stay indoors.  They were setting off the big avalanche on the L'Arcelle side of the mountain and wanted to be sure no one was outdoors!

Yesterday, they were able to open some parts of the mountain and we were then able to have our first afternoon group ski for this week.  Needless to say, it's been a bit difficult for clients this week with very limited skiing." 

Meanwhile around the Alps, resorts have been trying to get back to normal. This pic from Rosiere, France this morning. Just as well they're not big on Elf & Safety over there!

 

[Blessed Weather]

On 1/9/2018 at 23:01, dubmuffin said:

We travelled back from Val d'isere on 30th December just missing the travel chaos due to a very early transfer. It was snowing so heavily on that last evening I just had to go out for a walk (beer) despite the need for an early night! Since we returned, I have been avidly watching the reports and photos with utter amazement and awe. How incredible the weather has been there since we left. Like buses, 3 years worth of snow in one go:)

Tempted as I am to go back asap to Val or Tignes, or even Italy, to make the most of it, we are trying to meet up with friends in Spain in early March so any thoughts on the likelihood of decent snow in Sierra Nevada or Andorra soon would be appreciated ? Their snow depths look paltry in comparison. 

I do feel for those in the Alps who have arrived but have been unable to ski, must be very frustrating ?

Hi dubmuffin. Apologies, I meant to respond to your question before now but forgot! The next 10 days will certainly see spells of snowfall in the Sierra Nevada and Andorra skiing areas. (See my post - above - and the synoptic charts that show the big picture). But a look at today's GFS 12z take on snow depths shows some waxing and waning over the period up to Sunday 21st Jan - I presume as new snowfall accumulations subsequently are subject to some melt.

But in any case and more importantly, it's too far out to provide an accurate forecast about how the snow conditions will look in Andorra or the Sierra Nevada for March. Instead, a much better pointer is to look at the '3 Year Snow History' tables (below) for the two resorts. It makes interesting reading and shows that snow depths in March for both resorts are HIGHER than in January - in most years substantially so.

So whilst nothing can be guaranteed, I think your possible plans to join friends there in March 'should' be fine! Good luck!

Andorra  Sierra Nevada

Tables from:

https://www.igluski.com/ski-resorts/andorra/pas-de-la-casa/snow-history
https://www.igluski.com/ski-resorts/spain/sierra-nevada/snow-history

Edited January 11, 2018 by Blessed Weather
Links added

[J10]

Does anyone have snow pictures which I would be able to use on the homepage

Looking at Snow-forecast, it looks as if the snow level is set to drop somewhat so lower resorts can get more snow. 

Before then drier and colder, hopefully, this should help reduce the avalanche risk and allow the ski resorts to reopen where they have been badly affected.

[J10]

8 hours ago, Blessed Weather said:

I thought people might be interested in this on-the-ground report from Val Cenis, emailed to me this morning from the British guy who runs the resort ski company MGS Ski. It gives a good feel for how unusual - and indeed dangerous - this week's heavy falls of snow have been:

"It has been absolutely unbelievable weather with tons of snow falling, followed by rain in the village and then more and more snow.  Great for the skiing, but almost all lifts were closed on Monday and Tuesday due to so much snowfall which made the avalanche risk the highest it has ever been, they were flying black flags.  We've never seen anything like it, nor has anyone from the resort.  The campsite on the other side of the road was evacuated at 6.30am, I believe on Monday morning.  There were two avalanches which came down either side of the campsite and stopped just before reaching that low (point).  Avalanches have been falling all over the place and on Tuesday evening from 5-7 pm there was a mandatory order for everyone to stay indoors.  They were setting off the big avalanche on the L'Arcelle side of the mountain and wanted to be sure no one was outdoors!

 

Yesterday, they were able to open some parts of the mountain and we were then able to have our first afternoon group ski for this week.  Needless to say, it's been a bit difficult for clients this week with very limited skiing." 

Meanwhile around the Alps, resorts have been trying to get back to normal. This pic from Rosiere, France this morning. Just as well they're not big on Elf & Safety over there!

 

Amazing snowfalls over parts of the Alps. 

[Blessed Weather]

23 hours ago, johnholmes said:

So much for my hope of blue skies and white powder snow when I arrive Tuesday 16th. Looks like the snow shoes and some walking or riding around on mountain railways, coffee, brandy-oh dear!

John - here's a training video of how to get out of your snow-bound hotel next week!!!

 

[carinthian]

23 hours ago, johnholmes said:

So much for my hope of blue skies and white powder snow when I arrive Tuesday 16th. Looks like the snow shoes and some walking or riding around on mountain railways, coffee, brandy-oh dear!

 

12 minutes ago, Blessed Weather said:

John - here's a training video of how to get out of your snow-bound hotel next week!!!

 

 

23 hours ago, johnholmes said:

So much for my hope of blue skies and white powder snow when I arrive Tuesday 16th. Looks like the snow shoes and some walking or riding around on mountain railways, coffee, brandy-oh dear!

John, you will love it. Have some old boys coming out from the UK on Saturday to stay .. Have told them to bring a hip flask. Think they will need it..SNOW!!!! all the way. I am so excited, that I wake up at 5am to go for a walk in it. My wife thinks I am mad.

c

[carinthian]

Wish you a nice Friday. That's looking down from the top of the Black run. One of the steepest in Austria !

C

[Blessed Weather]

1 hour ago, carinthian said:

Wish you a nice Friday. That's looking down from the top of the Black run. One of the steepest in Austria !

C

Stunning photo Paul!!

[Blessed Weather]

Wow! Up to 500% of normal precipitation possible for the Western Alps next week!!

 

[J10]

https://www.netweather.tv/weather-forecasts/news/8675-dry-and-settled-to-start-for-the-alps-colder-next-week-with-widespread-snow-from-the-north-west

Dry to start but then heavy snow expected from midweek, and to lower levels than recently.

[dubmuffin]

21 hours ago, Blessed Weather said:

Hi dubmuffin. Apologies, I meant to respond to your question before now but forgot! The next 10 days will certainly see spells of snowfall in the Sierra Nevada and Andorra skiing areas. (See my post - above - and the synoptic charts that show the big picture). But a look at today's GFS 12z take on snow depths shows some waxing and waning over the period up to Sunday 21st Jan - I presume as new snowfall accumulations subsequently are subject to some melt.

But in any case and more importantly, it's too far out to provide an accurate forecast about how the snow conditions will look in Andorra or the Sierra Nevada for March. Instead, a much better pointer is to look at the '3 Year Snow History' tables (below) for the two resorts. It makes interesting reading and shows that snow depths in March for both resorts are HIGHER than in January - in most years substantially so.

So whilst nothing can be guaranteed, I think your possible plans to join friends there in March 'should' be fine! Good luck!

Andorra  Sierra Nevada

Tables from:

https://www.igluski.com/ski-resorts/andorra/pas-de-la-casa/snow-history
https://www.igluski.com/ski-resorts/spain/sierra-nevada/snow-history

Thanks for the reassurance, I know March is a long way off in weather terms. I seem to remember reading something a while back about the relationship to southern Spain and the Alps, - a bad year for the Alps meant a good year for SN. From my limited understanding, I presume the weather pattern that is giving the Alps all this snow is the same one keeping SN quite dry and warm at the moment.

I might sneak an early February weekend in first, then I can go to Spain happy in the knowledge I saw the Alps at their best, then SN will be a bonus:)

[knocker]