Fresh snow every day in 2 Alpes this week

The snow conditions have been outstanding in the village with all button lifts running over the busy New Year's holiday and fresh snow falling each night. The resort staff have done a great job of bashing the slopes, especially the beginner ones, even when the snow has fallen in the early hours of the morning. We have what we call in English “The Front Face” or in French “La Ponte” which is the steep face that comes back down into resort. There are 5 pistes coming down this, 1 Green, 1 Blue, 1 Red and 2 Black which are all in great condition, perhaps especially the red which is great fun and offers fantastic views into the National Park de Ecrins. Even with the rain that has fallen, the skiing is still good higher up although we can expect it to be a little icy under the fresh snow this morning!

This area is just fantastic, with the pistes in perfect condition and the off-piste knee-deep as well. The avalanche risk has, however, remained high over the last few days and will only get higher with the storm and high winds we have had so it is advisable to stick to the pistes unless with a professional.

This area has perhaps suffered most from the high winds but has also received the most snow. Again, the pistes are in great shape although there are areas of surprises bumps where the wind has blown the snow. The glacier has not been opening on time and I can’t foresee it opening at all today with the storm of yesterday and more high winds today.

Well... what can I say?! This is paradise in Les Deux Alpes for off-piste but deserves a lot of respect as it has faces in all directions which currently feature differing snow conditions on them and, therefore, differing avalanche risks. I skied 3 of the 4 faces on the 2nd and can say that I had fresh lines next to my fresh lines! This area was not open yesterday and we don’t expect it to open today. Le Fee is always the last area to open as it holds perhaps the highest avalanche risk and is easy to close and secure whilst the rest of the resort is open. The pistes down to le Fee area also great fun and it holds one of the best mountain restaurants as a bonus! Beware of the Fee Blue run as it has a long flat stretch - if you're a boarder, it's advisable to take a willing skier to give you a tow.

The storm is due to die down during the day but we still have heavy rain in resort and heavy snow at altitude at the moment. Winds are less strong than yesterday but still significant. The resort today is open only in the “bas de piste” section and the avalanche risk has moved up to 4/5. Tomorrow looks much calmer with even some sunny spells in the afternoon. The avalanche risk will still be very high and I would expect delayed openings on higher lifts tomorrow.