© Alex Chapman
© Alex Chapman
© Alex Chapman
Great start to the festive season in 2 Alpes
Well what a start to the festive season and holidays we have had! Since my last report we have seen even more snow with 40cm falling before the weekend and another 30cm on Monday! Monday saw non stop heavy snowfall with no wind. This meant the flakes fell straight and fluffy giving us a second Champagne powder day!
On Tuesday the sun came out and the resort was literally a paradise. We had splendid views, great snow both on and off the piste and everyone was smiling, whooping and having a fantastic time! The rest of the week has been very similar! Wednesday we have seen the wind levels increase a little. This has caused increasing avalanche risk particularly above 2400m.
The Glacier
The snow up here is fantastic, the pistes are now fully covered and groomed, hero snow skiing! The resort is open to 3400m now and we hope to see the last T-bar La Lauze open on Saturday ready for the Christmas week.
The views are magnificent from up here, you can see right over to Mont Blanc to the south and into the National Park de Ecrins to the south. The resort has a viewing platform up at 3400m looking out over the Vallon de la Sel. This is well worth a trip!
Bellecombe Area
This is probably one of our best areas and it hasn’t let us down this week. The pistes are perfectly groomed and great fun and the off-piste is deep, cold and powdery! The Bellecombe area is all north facing so it keeps the snow fresh and cold the longest!
The last closed piste in this area, Bellecombes 6, a black run we are hoping to see open on Saturday. There is evidence of it being prepared and I saw a ski patroller on it planting some piste markers yesterday!
The Valley Blanche
This area isn’t open yet although I’ve included it in this report as there are clear signs of preparation! The pistes have been bashed yesterday and there are quite a few tracks coming down the off-piste. This is likely to be locals ski touring up but also ski patrollers enjoying a run down having put up the piste markers and protected the lift pylons etc. We are expecting this to open on Saturday ready for the Christmas holidays. I for one will be on the first lift on Saturday!
Village Level Runs
The button lifts are now all running and the slopes are well covered with cold grippy snow. The slopes are now busy down here with lots of school groups learning to ski for the first time. It's fantastic to see so many children out learning a new sport! This is alongside 20+ English schools competing in the International Schools Championships so the young are here and skiing hard at their own level! What a fantastic opportunity for everyone and a great thing to see!
La Fee
This is due to open on Saturday, the ski patrollers have been working on it for the last few days and we can see evidence of them enjoying their last run down the south face at the end of the day!
The Forecast
The forecast is for sunshine right through until Christmas day now. We are looking at temperatures rising slightly over the next few days but not so much it will effect the snow. But enough to be pleasant.
The long-term forecast is for more snow, some channels are predicting another meter or so. I think it is a little too far ahead to be sure to enjoy the powder and perfect pistes we have for the next few days and keep an eye on the forecasts for the following week.
My Next report will be after the weekend when we will have more idea whats coming our way! Merry Christmas everyone and those of you that are lucky enough to be skiing in Les Deux Alpes this Christmas. Be sure to say hi or give us a wave! #skiwiththebest