Glorious weather and great skiing conditions in Les Arcs

For the next week, the freezing level is expected to follow a much more regular pattern, with the days being relatively warm before dropping below zero overnight. This will cause many pistes to start firm in the morning, before softening up with exposure to sunlight. In Arc 1600, where the mountain casts shade over pistes like Arolles, Arpette and Granges until around at least midday, the snow can feel hard and less easy to grip. This is often particularly noticeable on the Cachette run after the Arpette intersection, which can be very sheer before the sun works its magic. The red pistes coming down from the Col de la Chal (Teppes, Plagnettes, Tuffes) can also experience a similar change throughout the day, although the additional elevation in this area makes the warming/cooling process less extreme, so overnight hardening is often less severe.

In the forests above Arc 1600, Arc 1800 and the whole of Peisey-Vallandry, the trees cause shade which can slow down the sun’s softening-up of the firm upper crust. Certainly today, runs like Aigle, Morey and Myrtilles were staying harder, and thus faster, for longer. On nearly all the wooded downhill pistes on this side of the mountain, when the weather is clear, you should find the right-hand side softens up more rapidly (as the sun gets to it first). Also, in the margins of the pistes, where the trees have shed their white mantle at the lower echelons, you may find hard icy “marbles” on the runs. These are usually quickly dealt with by the piste-bashers but can make the edges of the pistes a complete judder-fest in the initial instance.

On the Ours red run down to Plan Peisey it is possible to ride a number of different conditions over a relatively short distance: starting fast, consistent and confidence-inspiring near the “2300” lift, the trees bring hard, smooth sections, in addition to mini-snowball “marbles,” then there are rather unexpected gentle moguls, before you finish on the slower, softer at the sun-drenched finish.

High up, where trees are sparse and the temperature variation is less pronounced, the pistes are much less varied. Although hard in a few (predictable) places, they are mostly quick but sufficiently grippy. There are still a few choppy patches on steeper runs like Clocheret and Belette, and even low-incline blue runs like Renard and Belvédère; these may dilute your speed slightly but should keep flattening out as the week progresses. In general, skiing conditions on-piste are pretty ideal at present; not too hard, not too soft, largely predictable and very visible.