© Sam Birch
© Sam Birch
© Sam Birch
© Sam Birch
© Sam Birch
© Sam Birch
© Sam Birch
© Sam Birch
An incredible start to the season in Les Arcs
Life is good, and so is the snow
There are times in every person’s life where they can stop, figuratively count their blessings, and just reflect on how lucky they are. For me, this opening week in Les Arcs has been one of those times. Not only have I spent days sliding down immaculately-groomed pistes, hitting the soft stuff in the verges, wading through seriously deep powder in the off-piste and, perhaps most importantly, establishing my seasonal face-tan, but it is just the first skiing week of the winter.
Christmas came early for Les Arcs. We were gifted tonnes of fresh snow almost every day for weeks before the lifts actually started running. It has been like opening an advent calendar except for two main differences; firstly, it started in the middle of November and, secondly, instead of receiving a small piece of low-quality chocolate we have been rewarded with powder. The snow base just kept increasing and the whole mountain, from valley-level upwards, has looked and felt tremendously festive. Everyone who has, so far, strapped on a snowboard or snapped into their skis knew it was going to be good. It was much better than good. It is still much better than good.
Since the last big dump of snow on Monday, we have been enjoying sunny weather with very few clouds. The temperatures have stayed below freezing at all altitudes and there has been no snow melt whatsoever (even down at 800 metres). However, the clear skies and continued sunshine have ensured that skiing is very pleasant indeed and actually made sunscreen a necessary addition to the pre-ski ritual.
The pistes are, therefore, in excellent condition and, at this stage, predominantly open. Typically, the week preceding the Christmas holidays is comparatively quiet in resort and, despite the epic snowfall, these last few days have seen very little ski-traffic across the mountains. Although most of the “immediate” off-piste spots on the verges of the popular runs have been well-ridden, they are still powdery and by no means “tracked out.” Each day the pisteurs have secured new sectors across the mountain, giving willing skiers and snowboarders more room to explore and lay fresh lines in previously untouched powder. Noteworthy areas which have been recently opened include Comborciere, Muguet (both black) and Malgovert (unpisted “natural” red) above Arc 1600; the Grand Col (red) and Refuge (black) above Arc 2000; and Arandelières (red) and the top section of Vallée de l’Arc (blue) from the Varet lift.
Official figures show snow depth to be 215cm on the Aiguille Rouge, with 110cm down in Arc 1600. Even at the domain’s lowest point, in Bourg St Maurice, we have nearly a metre of snow on the ground. This means that the runs going down into Villaroger are fantastic, although Solliet (black) and the Stade de Slalom (red) are currently closed. Also, the three runs below the funicular at Arc 1600, Granges, Violettes (both red) and Bois de Saule are highly recommended for both novelty and quality. On all classifications of piste, but especially blue runs, the snow is retaining a grippy top layer on an otherwise smooth surface. On some black and red runs, moguls are beginning to form, although these are almost universally soft and powdery. I doubt there are any ice patches out there, I have certainly not seen (or felt) any.
At the time of writing, only four of Les Arcs’ 53 lifts were closed and, of those, only Vezaille takes you to a piste which is otherwise inaccessible (and that is a very short blue run). Clocheret, Comborciere, Combe and the Grand Col, which were all closed at the start of the week, are now open. This has increased the number, and variety, of accessible runs for intermediates and experts. Unfortunately, we are still waiting for the magnificent seven black runs from the Varet and Aiguille Rouge gondolas to become accessible but, as they are some of the most precipitous and the avalanche risk remains at 3 (considerable), better secure than sorry. Skiers are now able to ride Varet, opening up Arandelières (red) and the off-piste around Vallée de l’Arc, but the Aiguille Rouge lift is still “pedestrians only” until the Glacier du Varet has been designated safe. Overall the snow is great, the lifts are open and we are ready for the holidays to begin.
Merry Christmas everybody!
