ChrisC
Well-known member
Arrive January 26th
Europe 23/24
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Arrive January 26th
ChrisC
Well-known member
Flaine really skis better than the press it gets - certainly better than Megeve (which typically is just tree-lined runs, lower and less snow), and on par with Avoriaz (but with longer runs). And you can choose either a modern slopeside development (Flaine) or a charming French village (Morillon or Samoens).
I often see Avoriaz or Megeve on Top 10 French Ski Resort lists, but almost never Flaine.
It's also reasonably priced. You will not find many 5-star lodging/restaurants, but average French eateries/inns are quite good.
ChrisC
Well-known member
I have a reservation at an inn half-board outside Gstaad town at the base of one of its ski area lifts - Sanaanmoser. I was going to use it as a base to ski 2 Gstaad areas (Zweisimmen-Saanenmöser-Schönried and Gstaad-Saanen-Rougemont) in one day, and Glacier 3000. Might cancel.
You probably want to see the Jungfrau areas in all their snowiness - incredibly charming.
But they don't need much snow to be back in action due to pasture land as a subsurface. One or two storms totaling nearly a meter.
Forgot about Arolla. A large TGR contingent will go there before/after their Andermatt gathering.
I want to go back to Verbier and ski a few of its classic off-piste lines: Back of Mont Fort, Stairway to Heaven, Mont Gele (anything), and a few more of the Attelas couloirs (under the Funispace lift) - particularly Number One or Rock-n-Roll. About 5 big hits. I am quite comfortable doing those by myself since I can navigate them, am familiar with them, and they do get skier-packed. Best lift-served couloir skiing - equivalent to Chamonix/La Grave, if not better.
Zinal. Like to do the large Chamois Bowl and the off-piste run to Lac Moiry Dam/Reservoir off the backside. Feel confident to do it alone since it's popular and the reservoir is line of site. The most difficult part is sliding along the dam to get to the road/hiking trail to Grimentz.
South-facing off-piste? I noticed Verbier's Mt Gele south face had maybe one good day in Early Feb. Otherwise, you are skiing a nice spring slurpee mix more like typical Pacific powder storms.
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Yes that is my concern. Belalp and Lauchernalp have extensive uncontested off piste but will ski much smaller if limited to on piste. However they are not as steep as Mt. Gele so south facing should be less sensitive to direct sun. Both Crans Montana and Aletsch Arena have scale for a full day of groomer skiing, so trying one of those first should give us an idea what to expect off piste.
We want to see the Jungfrau areas in their scenic splendor in good weather. The start of our trip is now in extended forecast range and predicted clear with perhaps 30-50cm new snow before we arrive. Liz is in favor of going to Wengen even if our skiing is limited to the upper part of the altitude range. I'm inclined to agree that might be a great way to start off her first skiing after the knee replacement. From there it will be easy to take the Lötschberg Tunnel into the upper Rhone Valley.
ChrisC
Well-known member
I also have been concerned about Glacier 3000. It's been entirely closed three days this week (Tu-Th), and portions have not even opened this year (purple). So, I am not sure how reliable it is. Shut down everything from this past storm system? It is a high glacier with likely no visibility.
I think you can take a bus to the Les Diablerets ski complex a few miles away, need to see what resort is on what lift ticket.
Might abandon the Gstaad area and just stay longer in the higher Val d'Anniviers region. I have a few more days to decide.
I'm now leaning toward skipping Glacier 3,000. It would be our first day, a Saturday, and might be overly busy if conditions at all those surrounding areas are bad.
Val d'Anniviers seems an obvious choice over Gstaad with the altitude issues.
Val d'Anniviers seems an obvious choice over Gstaad with the altitude issues.
To give you an idea of Glacier 3000, an April 2021 report. Not a place I'm tremendously motivated to check out.
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Nope. We will likely keep our original Jan. 19-22 reservation in Wengen. The prior weekend is heavily booked. Fraser informed me that Wengen has World Cup races Jan. 11-14.
Fraser's report:
Thursday 4 January 2023 - Great snow conditions at altitude in the Gastein Valley today! Weathertoski is currently in Bad Gastein, where it was partly cloudy with the odd very light flurry this morning, but mostly sunny this afternoon with a freezing level around 1300m.
Today we skied in Sportgastein, the highest and most remote ski area in the Gastein valley. The snow was excellent with packed powder on all but the very lowest part of the ski area, which was a bit more hard-packed but still grippy with no ice.
Empty slopes and fabulous grippy pistes in Sportgastein today
Elsewhere in the Alps, there has been plenty of fine weather around today with the cloudiest conditions along the northern fringes of the Austrian Alps. The next storm will arrive from the south-west tomorrow, merging with fronts arriving from the north-west.
Just about all parts of the Alps are expected to benefit from fresh snow at some point between Friday and Sunday, during which period it will also turn colder, with any snow falling to very low levels by the end of the weekend.
As for snow conditions, they remain a bit mixed across the Alps right now. There is generally still lots of good skiing around, particularly at altitude and across the northern half of the Alps, though some weaknesses remain, with below average snow cover across most of the southern Alps and more generally at lower altitudes.
Thursday 4 January 2023 - Great snow conditions at altitude in the Gastein Valley today! Weathertoski is currently in Bad Gastein, where it was partly cloudy with the odd very light flurry this morning, but mostly sunny this afternoon with a freezing level around 1300m.
Today we skied in Sportgastein, the highest and most remote ski area in the Gastein valley. The snow was excellent with packed powder on all but the very lowest part of the ski area, which was a bit more hard-packed but still grippy with no ice.
Empty slopes and fabulous grippy pistes in Sportgastein today
Elsewhere in the Alps, there has been plenty of fine weather around today with the cloudiest conditions along the northern fringes of the Austrian Alps. The next storm will arrive from the south-west tomorrow, merging with fronts arriving from the north-west.
Just about all parts of the Alps are expected to benefit from fresh snow at some point between Friday and Sunday, during which period it will also turn colder, with any snow falling to very low levels by the end of the weekend.
As for snow conditions, they remain a bit mixed across the Alps right now. There is generally still lots of good skiing around, particularly at altitude and across the northern half of the Alps, though some weaknesses remain, with below average snow cover across most of the southern Alps and more generally at lower altitudes.
ChrisC
Well-known member
If you are considering Upper Rhone areas, you should go to Saas Fee for a day or two. Its scenery is off the charts - on par with Zermatt, Chamonix, Jungfrau, etc. Huge mountain vertical-wise. Car-free, very walkable, bustling village. There is not much off-piste since it is so glaciated and has many open crevasses, but it's almost like skiing a lift-served Vallee Blanche. Saas Fee is actually not huge from a piste network and can be covered easily in a day, but there are other satellite mountains like Saas Grund. I only did a night and day at Saas-Fee, but it was beautiful and definitely a top Swiss experience.
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ChrisC
Well-known member
I was looking at a few YouTube videos to visually refresh the best navigation of Verbier's Back of Mont Fort couloirs and came across this Jerry...
This is how not to ski off-piste at Verbier - or anywhere. OMG - this guy is out of control! A totally clueless NY skier does Europe. Doubt he has any safety equipment. Love the Euros lecturing him at times. Love his horribly wrong advice.
This is how not to ski off-piste at Verbier - or anywhere. OMG - this guy is out of control! A totally clueless NY skier does Europe. Doubt he has any safety equipment. Love the Euros lecturing him at times. Love his horribly wrong advice.
ChrisC
Well-known member
The best parts of all the resorts are open. Murren starts high and is at essentially 100%. Grindelwald-Wengen looks good. You are lucky to be going after the races since they will open that course to skiers and it is pretty amazing how it wraps back on itself from the Lauberhorn summit to Wengen. And it looks like you can ski down to the new S3 and Gondola. First mountain - that is always hard to be good. Basically, cruising in the sun, gacking at the Eiger, Mönch & Jungfrau.
The only really good off-piste skiing is at Muren. I was even thinking of returning to Murren on this trip.
Just so many people enjoying winter in every form - hiking, taking trains for scenery, touring, skiing, etc. True winter sports mecca.
ChrisC
Well-known member
I was researching why Powderhounds gave Glacier 3000 a good review (here), and why my friend Nick (Val d'Isere/St. Anton ex seasonaire) and James' video are like - avoid.
Most of the good stuff is on the front faces, and if some of these runs go low - likely into questionable coverage territory.
I will see how this recent weekend storm comes in to make a decision, but I doubt there will be enough snow. Likely cancel my reservation and just float. Look for a clear weather day for Verbier. Go up to Zinal for a few days. And if a storm comes in, shelter in the tree-lined slopes at Gstaad.
Tony - Glacier 3000 might be a nice easy warm-up day with great scenery.
From wePowder guide book - Glacier3000 Freeride.
While in the Eastern Valais in Feb 2022, I planned to go to Saas-Grund; however, that day turned out to be a big nasty storm and the next day I ended up at Aletsch Arena. The closest I got to the Saas areas was Visperterminen. I still plan to check them out when the stars align in the future.
ChrisC
Well-known member
Meanwhile, Val d’Isere/Tignes continues on with its great winter. Another 45cm/18” up high. More on the way.
335 cm Grand Motte / 137 cm Tignes Le Lac
Don’t need to mess with that part of the trip.
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335 cm Grand Motte / 137 cm Tignes Le Lac
Don’t need to mess with that part of the trip.
61 reactions · 3 comments | Henry Schniewind on Reels
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Fraser says Saas Fee and Zermatt have received little natural snow. I realize that might not matter much with Saas-Fee skiing being all on groomers, but if the upper Rhone areas I've mentioned have abundant snowpack and decent off piste surfaces, I think they should have priority on this trip. Sometime we'll get Saas Fee on a return trip to Zermatt.
ChrisC
Well-known member
Not sure why he implies that. According to the Swiss government data, Zermatt is above average. See Gornergrat stats. Although Zermatt’s yellow itineraries have yet to open, it’s early for the rocky terrain.
Saas Fee is less impressive.
Gornergrat stats
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ChrisC
Well-known member
Meanwhile, Val d’Isere/Tignes continues on with its great winter. Another 45cm/18” up high. More on the way.
335 cm Grand Motte / 137 cm Tignes Le Lac
Don’t need to mess with that part of the trip.
61 reactions · 3 comments | Henry Schniewind on Reels
Another 78cm new at Tignes
Fraser's report:
Saturday 6 January 2024 - Fresh snow for many parts of the Alps!
Weathertoski is currently in Bad Gastein where it is snowing this morning with a temperature just below freezing.
We already have a few centimetres of fresh snow on the ground in Bad Gastein at the time of writing and, with it forecast to continue to snow lightly/moderately for much of the day, another 5-10cmis possible here by the end of the day.
Most other parts of the Alps have also seen or are seeing some fresh snow from this latest storm, with the rain/snow limit continuing to fall today to around 500m in the northern Alps, and 800m later in the southern Alps. It will remain wintry tonight and tomorrow with snow showers to very low levels almost anywhere, but increasingly favouring the northern foothills of the Alps. The wind will also increase, becoming very strong at altitude on Sunday.
By the end of tomorrow we can expect 10-20cm of snow to have fallen across much of the Alps, though with less in some south-western parts (e.g. Pila, Milky Way) and a bit more across some northern regions.
Snow conditions are obviously improving across most of the Alps even if snowfall totals from this storm are not especially high overall. As any snow is falling to increasingly low levels, it will also look wintry right down to low altitudes by tomorrow, especially in the northern Alps.
Saturday 6 January 2024 - Fresh snow for many parts of the Alps!
Weathertoski is currently in Bad Gastein where it is snowing this morning with a temperature just below freezing.
We already have a few centimetres of fresh snow on the ground in Bad Gastein at the time of writing and, with it forecast to continue to snow lightly/moderately for much of the day, another 5-10cmis possible here by the end of the day.
Most other parts of the Alps have also seen or are seeing some fresh snow from this latest storm, with the rain/snow limit continuing to fall today to around 500m in the northern Alps, and 800m later in the southern Alps. It will remain wintry tonight and tomorrow with snow showers to very low levels almost anywhere, but increasingly favouring the northern foothills of the Alps. The wind will also increase, becoming very strong at altitude on Sunday.
By the end of tomorrow we can expect 10-20cm of snow to have fallen across much of the Alps, though with less in some south-western parts (e.g. Pila, Milky Way) and a bit more across some northern regions.
Snow conditions are obviously improving across most of the Alps even if snowfall totals from this storm are not especially high overall. As any snow is falling to increasingly low levels, it will also look wintry right down to low altitudes by tomorrow, especially in the northern Alps.