Morzine Snow Report: 14th January 2013

Thursday morning dawned gloomy, with a grey sky, and snow threatening to fall. But the impending weather front was not what I was thinking about. I had somehow manage to get myself signed up to Giant Slalom training with work in Morgins, down a usually rather icy red piste, on skis. Anyone who has read my snow reports from recent winter seasons will know that skiing is never top of my to-do list. Apart from being terrified to start off, I ended up really enjoying a days race training. I was, needless to say, terrible at it, but the race coaching team at M3S in Morgins were incredibly patient, and most importantly, great fun.

The slope was perfectly groomed, (this is the red run down into Morgins from La Foilleuse Restaurant at the top of La Foilleuse three man express chairlift), and even though it was in the shade, the snow was grippy and smooth. I was actually very impressed with Morgins that morning as the Swiss side of Les Portes du Soleil sometimes doesn’t seem to have quite the same level of slope grooming as the French side. Race training aside, there are some great slopes in Morgins, and it’s a nice place to visit if you want to explore further afield in Les Portes du Solei. That said, be warned if you are on a snowboard, there are a lot of flat slopes on the way back from Morgins to Avoriaz.

On Friday the snow had really arrived, it started on Thursday afternoon and didn’t stop. On Friday morning we were very grateful of my four wheel drive truck as we struggled to make it out of the parking area outside my flat. Snow fell all day, and although it was cold, the lying snow was heavy and really hard work to ride though, even with a powder board. We gave into the storm quickly and had coffee in a café in the afternoon instead of heading back up the hill. This was a slight mistake though as higher up in Avoriaz the snow was reportedly much lighter and deep too.

Saturday was the day to ride with blue bird skies breaking early and some fantastic on and off piste conditions all over Les Portes du Soleil. Unfortunately for me, Sunday was the day of my ski exam and as someone who rarely skis on piste, skiing off piste was not something I had even considered! I was expecting a nice gentle morning of ticking the boxes to sign off my BASI course but instead our first run was through knee-deep powder. One cartwheel and a lost ski later and I really woke up. The snow was fantastic - I just had the wrong equipment (or me) stuck to my feet. I somehow managed to pull myself together, and with help from the lovely Helen Trayfoot (BASI ISTD trainer for BASS Chatel), I managed to pass my level 1 ski instructor's course. True to form, I raced home, walked the dog, grabbed my board and went out to celebrate on my snowboard. The powder was mind-blowing, especially in the glorious sunshine.

Sunday was a little trickier: the snow was still great in the morning, and in Les Gets especially, it was still dumping but the light was not ideal. Low cloud cover shrouded most of central Les Portes du Soleil, and by midday it had stretched over all of Chatel and Chappelle d’Abondance as well. This meant visibility was poor and it also felt really cold out on the mountain.

The weather forecast is however predicting an improvement. Monday is set to be sunny with a little cloud about and light snow over night. Tuesday is a little less bright, with cloud and light snow through the afternoon and into Wednesday. The snow will continue lightly until we’re due another gloriously sunny end to the week. The wind speed is due to be fairly low except on Wednesday afternoon but temperatures are due to be cooler so remember to wrap up warm.

Thank you to everyone who prayed for snow, enjoy it while it lasts!

Bon ski!