Xmas gamble in the Alps

jasoncapecod

jasoncapecod

Well-known member
Well, I gambled and kind of lost...I planed on going to Portes-du-Soleil over the Xmas break. The weather had other plans. NO SNOW...
Fortunately I was able to divert to Zermatt. Still not the best of conditions but at least there is skiing..
The hotel in Morzine will hold by deposit for the season. Hopefully my daughter can use it in March..
 
jasoncapecod":1ttw33bg said:
The hotel in Morzine will hold by deposit for the season. Hopefully my daughter can use it in March..
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No way for you to rebook the plane ticket, pay the penalty, and schedule the trip during the March break?
 
No way for you to rebook the plane ticket, pay the penalty, and schedule the trip during the March break?
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Nope.. My daughter has different a different week in March off..


Zermatt has 247km of slopes open..that's more than the entire state of VT and NY combined..
 
jamesdeluxe":1pa9syz8 said:
Admin takes his pound of flesh:
http://www.firsttracksonline.com/2014/1 ... christmas/
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It's a noteworthy news item whether admin knew anyone headed in that direction or not.

Fraser says these same suffering northern Alps areas are going to get rain to 2200 meters over the next couple of days.

Fraser's data shows snow volatility in the Alps greater than most areas in the Rockies but less than in the Sierra. Combined with typical averages in the 250 inch range, Christmas is far from a slam dunk in these places.

I'm guessing jason is constrained to school holiday weeks, which is a big PITA. My sympathies.
 
'm guessing jason is constrained to school holiday weeks, which is a big PITA. My sympathies.
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Yep , This is the last year, next I have a little more flexibility..

Fraser says these same suffering northern Alps areas are going to get rain to 2200 meters over the next couple of days.
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At least most of Zermatt's terrain is above 2000 meters.
 
I've been providing Jason with lots of (too many?) links to news/TRs from the German-language Alpinforum. Even comparatively well-off places like Ischgl are looking at a Xmas of mobbed trails compacted into concrete surrounded by off-piste rock gardens with virtually no cover.
http://www.alpinforum.com/forum/viewtop ... 46&t=52406

Amazingly enough, Wilkins says that Avoriaz will be 90% open this weekend, but once again, that means 90% of its on-piste equipped with snowguns. I'd be packing a full suitcase of body armor for that.

This pic pretty much says it all -- the bus service between Zurich airport and St. Anton/Lech sitting in an Ischgl parking lot. Every lower-elevation resort is going to be shipping its holiday crowds to the higher places.

izvu7bxs.jpg



Jason has certainly redirected to one of the regions with the best conditions right now. The variable is whether he can avoid the hordes.
 
jamesdeluxe":fu9v1phx said:
The variable is whether he can avoid the hordes.
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On the plus side, Zermatt is expensive and not close to gateway airports. I thought this might make it analogous to Aspen, which is almost liftline-proof.

However:
1) Fraser says Zermatt is mobbed at Christmas, even in normal years. I don't know entirely what that means, but if you want to have lunch at those amazing places we did (Zum See below Furi, Chez Vrony in Findeln, Chalet Etoile just above Plan Maison in Cervinia), you might want to make reservations.
2) There are just 2 trails down into town, and I strongly suspect they will be of the concrete/body armor variety at the end of the day. There are downloadable lifts to avoid these (funicular from Sunnega, train from Rifflealp/Riffleberg, gondola from Schwarzsee), but I would expect some serious liftlines in mid/late afternoon.
 
I'm am responding on a iPhone so this will be brief.
Yes they are two open trails to the base. Only groomers are open. But there is100miles of them and they are like velvet. No need for fancy lunches. I ate in cevina for 15 bucks for two pp.

It was easier to down load on the matterhorn glacier gondola. My hotel is 50yrd from the gondola
 
jasoncapecod":38y59u5v said:
No need for fancy lunches. I ate in cervinia for 15 bucks for two pp.
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Trust me, Chalet Etoile is well worth the experience, and it was somewhat less expensive than the gourmet places on the Zermatt side.

jasoncapecod":38y59u5v said:
It was easier to down load on the matterhorn glacier gondola. My hotel is 50yrd from the gondola
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At Furi you can switch to another gondola going up to Riffleberg, then a chair toward Gornergrat. Hopefully the #29 piste is open to go from there to the Sunnega/Rothorn sector. 29 is a long and winding scenic run with easy off-piste options if you cut its switchbacks.

I doubt Stockhorn is open but what about the Hohtalli tram and the #30 and #31 "skiroutes?" That was our favorite sector in Zermatt.

If weather is good you might want to spend a lot of time on the Cervinia side. It probably has more snow and it's more moderately pitched so should fill in faster and have more widespread coverage. And its sunnier exposure is irrelevant (or maybe even a plus for visibility) at this time of year.

It's actually good that Jason is there now before the thundering hordes arrive.
 
I will look into that restaurant and those trails. It was windy on the Italian side this afternoon so we went back to zermatt.
My last day of sking is on the 26th.
 
Per Weather To Ski:

Monday 22 December 2014 - Game-changing dumps next weekend?

The Alpine forecast is starting to look very interesting indeed, with the prospect of some big snowfalls by the weekend. Before we get there, however, we have a few days of mostly dry and very mild weather to get through in the run up to Christmas.

For Sunday 28 December 2014 Potential for massive snowfalls across the northern Alps in particular next weekend

As for the prospects of the big storm later in the week, there is still uncertainty in the detail of course.

The American GFS model is an absolute peach and would comfortably deliver between 50 and 80cm of new snow over a large part of the northern Alps between Saturday and Monday, especially in the north. Even before then we are expecting some lighter falls over the northern and eastern Alps (especially Austria) as early as Thursday.

By contrast, the European model has the storm further west which would be great for the western and southern Alps, but not quite so amazing for the east (Austria). We should get a clearer picture in the next 24 to 48 hours.
 
SKI-3PO":3ooo7h66 said:
Thanks for the report. I will be helping to create the thundering hordes next week.
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The enigmatic SKI-3PO reappears. Where will you be, uh, thundering?
 
Tony, SKI-3PO, and Jason -- who knew that FTO was a den of unapologetic 1%ers?

For the record, my two trips to Lech were in 2004 and 05, back when it was a favored spot for dirtbag trips. :-D
 
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