© Sam Birch
© Sam Birch
© Sam Birch
© Sam Birch
© Sam Birch
© Sam Birch
© Sam Birch
Spring has sprung in Les Arcs
A week that started with regular snow finishes with sunshine
Springtime in 2018 officially began on Tuesday 20th March and, to mark the occasion, the thick clouds which had dominated the mountainside almost immediately began to clear. Following three days of light snow over the weekend, we have now seen consecutive days of blue skies and sun. The pistes are lovely, smooth and fairly quick and visibility is perfect.
The slopes of Les Arcs are currently enjoying a mid-March lull so there is very little traffic on-piste and practically no queues on any of the lifts. The weather conditions are gorgeous and all the lifts across the resorts are currently open. The surfeit of off-piste powder that we had on Saturday, Sunday and Monday has now been thoroughly smashed, and the majority of pistes are well-groomed providing smooth and quick riding.
The pistes
Despite the arrival of unbroken sunshine and the associated requirement for suntan lotion, the temperatures on the mountain are staying low. The freezing level has barely reached 1400 metres this week so the snow has stayed consistent underfoot. On the Arc 1600 and Peisey-Vallandry snow fronts, it does start to feel slushier towards the late afternoon but the effect is fairly minor. The snow depths are still exceptionally high (>4m at 3226m and >3m at 2000m) creating a huge cold thermal layer which, in turn, helps to reduce melt-off. The sunshine, therefore, has little detrimental effect on the slopes, if any.
Some of the steeper and more exposed red runs have formed a hard top layer, although there is strictly very little ice. The very last section of Vagere above Arc 1800 is quite sheer in places, as is Cachette dropping into Arc 1600 and parts of Grand Renard from the Col de la Chal. All of these (and other harder runs) still have a decent covering of soft stuff in the margins, allowing you to find more grip if you need it. The blues are generally quite quick but well-groomed, inviting all-mountain cruising between the various villages.
There are a few choppy areas which have not yet felt the full force of the piste-basher, providing a fairly soft and unstructured mogul experience, particularly the Coqs red run from the Vagere lift. Elsewhere there is ample opportunity to ride real thigh-burning moguls, with all the off-piste down from the Col de la Chal now a textured wonderland.
The lifts
As mentioned above, there is very little on-piste traffic this week, with many areas (and lifts) feeling rather deserted. The Arc 2000 bowl is by far the most popular sector despite having very similar conditions to the lower altitude resorts. Everywhere on the other side of L’Arpette, from Plan Peisey to Arc 1600, is particularly tranquil. I have barely waited for a lift this week, mostly scooting straight onto a chair, so have been able to shred to my heart’s content. Only the Aiguille Rouge gondola has seen waiting of up to 15 minutes, although this is absolutely the exception to the rule.
In addition to opening all the lifts, Les Arcs is also beginning their Spring programme. The two Big Air Bags (one next to Mille8, one adjacent to the Altiport bar) are seeing their first daredevils and soon the waterslide will be anointing heroes and claiming victims in almost equal measure below the snowpark.
The forecast
The sunshine is going to stick about until Saturday/Sunday and the temperatures are going to stay low. At the moment we are anticipating another snowfest next week, with a procession of powder days at all altitudes. With the off-piste areas both well-flattened and comprehensively-covered, this should make for excellent skiing beyond the piste-markers. Winds are going to pick up a bit, and this may lead to some high-level closures, but with traffic likely to be light we are in for some serious happy, snowy, fun time in the immediate future.
