The Lesarcsnet.Com Les Arcs Snow Report

It"s easy when they all point in the same direction!

It is still blowing a gale in the Paradiski, even in the lowest villages and down in the valley too. Dust is being blown around lower down and further up it was like being in an ice blizzard, the snow was being blown so hard it was stinging my face really badly; any exposed skin was not safe today! The local weather forecast stated that we would have twenty kilometre per hour winds but it was definitely a lot more than that up the mountain. Of course, with the wind chill it was also bitterly cold up there and really not very enjoyable.

The snow conditions have been greatly affected by the winds. Exposed areas where there are no wind breaks such as trees, are now bald and all that remains of the piste is a sheet of ice which is the first layer of the base we have that has frozen since the start of the winter. Needless to say these areas are tricky to negotiate but thankfully they can be avoided, look out for them though because if you try and turn on one it is likely to throw you off! On the plus side, where snow has been blown off some parts it has been blown to others and the benefit of this is some nice off-piste if you know where to look. An example is the forest down to the Bauches lift in Montchavin-Les Coches where the snow has been completed lifted off the Dos Rond area and blown into the trees. It is a little hit and miss but after the initial wind yesterday it was definitely a hit for me.

Many layers were donned this morning before I took the Vanoise Express over to Les Arcs while the sun was shining. Not long after I got over there the whole mountain was blanketed by high cloud and with that flat light. It was still very windy but the Vanoise is pretty sturdy and although it did have a good rock on, it was running all day. From the top of the Peisey chair lift as I skied down towards the start of the Fôret track where the wind was almost bringing me to a stop on a blue run! It was not a good idea to go up high so I stayed in the trees and skied over to Arc 1600 and back at as low an altitude as possible. Once back over in La Plagne it was a similar story, at the top of the Bijolin at 2200m there was not a lot of snow left on the Mont Blanc and Dos Rond blue runs. We really need a good dump of snow.

It is expected to snow for the next couple of days and the winds are forecast to decrease by half which is really important if new snow is falling. Off-piste skiing now and especially after the next snowfall, will be pretty dangerous because the wind will have made it very unpredictable.

[1] Generally described in more detail in the resort avalanche bullettin (e.g. altitude, aspect, type of terrain etc.)
[2] Additional load:

• High: e.g. group of skiers, piste machine, avalanche blasting
• Low: e.g. skier, walker
• Steep slopes: Slopes with an incline of more than about 30°
• Steep extreme slopes: Particularly unfavourable in terms of the incline, terrain profile, proximity to ridge, smoothness of underlying ground surface.

This is an indication of status at time of writing. Please check latest situation at the lift stations before setting out.