Portes du Soleil Snow Report: 9th December 2013

You can’t really beat early season skiing when the snow is good. We stretched our legs for the first time this sunny Sunday morning at La Grande Terche. We haven’t got our season passes yet so decided to give Avoriaz a miss in favour of our local slopes in Saint Jean d’Aulps. La Grande Terche is just a 10 minute drive from Morzine and is handy for anyone in the Vallee d’Aulps. For the weekend of 7th/8th December the lifts have been open to everyone for free!

The really early snow has created a great base on the slopes despite their low altitude. We were expecting solid ice but instead were met with lovely soft groomed snow. And what a day for it! Beautiful bluebird skies, not a cloud in sight. The skiing was a little limited, only the gondola and one button lift have been opened so far. However for the first slide of the season it was perfect for a couple of hours before work. Plus there was hardly another skier or boarder in sight!

It is evident that more snow is needed across the Alps but for the beginning of December it is great to have so many low altitude resorts open for skiing.

While Carol was down in St Jean D'Aulps we headed up to Avoriaz to test the slopes and our legs for the first day of the season.

There was no queue at the Prodains bubble and thankfully the parking barriers are not yet in effect so we parked up for free headed up in the new bubble.

It has to be said that the new Prodain lift is a huge improvement on the old cable car. It is so fast and comfortable and I would be surprised if there were any queues this season in Prodains. The bubble has floor to ceiling glass wall so the views of the valley, especially on the way down are amazing and as wee pulled into the lift station at the top I was already giddy with excitement.

Coming out of the bubble we were met by clear skies, crisp, cold air and the sight that would pretty much sum up the snow conditions; perfect pistes but bare surroundings.

The early snow has been well groomed and well used by the piste patrol and the snow cannons have obviously been fireing. The pistes are in excellent condition; firm and fast in the shaded areas like Arare but softer and grippier on the sun soaked south facing slopes. The cover on piste is great and there are no rocks or patches of grass but it is clear that we're going to need another big dump of snow before we can venture into the off piste.

For a first day back conditions were perfect with clear skies over head and the sun shining it was great to be back on the hill. A few runs to warm up the legs proved that fitness was an issue so we stopped for lunch in the sun and had a beer before heading back out.

We kept riding until the last lift down. Although there is just enough snow to ride back to Prodains I didn't fancy the run down and reports came back that it wasn't much fun. As Carol mentioned we do need more snow but for an early, pre-season opener last weekend was great. Roll on next weekend when the Rock on Snowboard Tour comes to Avoriaz with the official opening of the season.