As predicted the weather deteriorated Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday it was just low cloud with a trace of new snow. Xavier got the word that Courchevel was less foggy, so we went over there. The intervening Meribel Valley was quite foggy, but the Lac de la chambre run entering it from Val Thorens was smooth packed powder early in the morning.
We entered Couchevel at Saulire and skied to the Chanrossa lift. Xavier knew a long off piste excursion from there be we took a pass on that with the flat light and minimal amount of new snow. We then skied on piste all the way to Courchevel 1650. For awhile the new snow blended with the spring snow (not much freezing as it was about 30F) to a creamy smooth consistency, but at 1,700 meters it abruptly became sticky. This was probably the rain/snow line overnight.
We rode a couple more lifts to reach Courchevel 1850. Here is the Altiport, where the rich and famous arrive by helicopter, though not in this weather.
I asked Xavier if the Russians (Couchevel 1850 is a notorious oligarch hangout) had been kicked out and he said yes. Perhaps not coincidentally he said a couple of the high end restaurants like this one had closed early this season.
We also skied by the general area where Michael Schumacher had his December 2013 accident.
He is still alive but reputedly in a vegetative state.
The Niverolle and Aigle runs from Saulire down to Mottaret were the toughest of the day. They have sunny exposure and thus variable surfaces and the fog was heavy here. We rode the Plattieres gondola and Cote Brune to return to Club Med in Val Thorens by 2PM. Ski groups have the option to ski through to 2PM rather than take the 12-2 lunch break. This is a necessity if you want to range far afield in the Trois Vallées.
We skied 8,800 vertical in Courchevel, 10,600 in Meribel/Mottaret and 2,400 in Val Thorens Wednesday.
Thursday was foggy all day, so only Weem, Lucy, Mike and I joined Xavier. Once again the Lac de la chambre run skied nicely despite the bad visibility. Xavier wanted to take a run off Mont Vallon, but the gondola there had a mechanical problem.
So we returned to Val Thorens, where Mike bailed out due to the bad vis. The rest of us took two runs off the Peclet gondola. Snow was good but vis was still bad. In a few places we would ski just on the off piste side of the trail boundary markers for softer snow.
We went into Club Med for the normal noon lunch, and Lucy and I decided not to ski the afternoon. I had a month end snow report to do, and our remaining days at least promised some new snow if not improved visibility. Weem joined another Level 4 group for the afternoon so Xavier could go home. I skied 11,900 on Thursday and took no pictures.