Morzine Snow Report: 22nd December 2011
A change in weather. No more powder
A change in the weather today, more specifically it has gone very mild in resort with temperatures reaching +2 degrees. The skies are very over cast, things are a little damp, you can feel the moisture in the air. Obviously this would have an effect on the snow so we headed up the Pleney to find out more.
It was the first time up that side of the mountain this year for me. We decided to aim for Nyon as there is some really good skiing there, particularly off piste. However, that idea was to prove a little optimistic. I headed down piste G, which was technically closed and, as it turned out, for a good reason. The piste hadn’t been prepared so I had to ski through all the lumps and bumps and super heavy, wet snow. It was hard work but I made it to the Pre Favre lift below the Nyon Plateau eventually - not to be recommended.
I met my ski pal for the day and we hung around for 10 minutes waiting for the lift to open, a bit of a nuisance but the lift operator was still clearing snow. Once at the plateau the TS de la Pointe was yet to open. The reason being the pisteurs were still using explosives to force avalanches. They’d been at it a long time as I could hear the explosions from home at 7:30 this morning. It’s essential work and made quite an impressive bang followed by an avalanche just under the Combe red but above the Aigle noir. Obviously, if the avalanche isn’t triggered in this way then it could be a skier who sets it off.
With that in mind and the avalanche sign indicating a risk level of 4 we decided on a cautious approach and stuck to the pistes or just the other side of the piste markers. A risk of 4 means 'avalanches are likely to be triggered on many slopes even if only light loads are applied', but don’t forget this only applies to the off piste areas, you are safe on piste.
Dipping into the edges of the off piste area proved that the mild temperatures had made yesterday’s light fluffy snow compact and had compressed it into heavy, wet snow. I guess the off piste good times could not last forever. Similarly the piste offered heavy snow but obviously it had all been compacted by the piste bashers. The skiing was quite nice actually, considerably better than boiler plate hard ice. Snow like this is also good for learning on as there is less risk of catching edges and it is slower running, helping to control speed.
We moved on to the Chamossiere area using the brand new télésiège of the same name. Normally there is a black and a red option form the top but today only the red was available, presumably due to the avalanche risk. Not such a big problem, the red is really good, lots of changes in gradient, natural twists and turns and nice and wide. A good run but a little frustrating we could not let rip as the visibility was not brilliant. That cloud is hanging low!
We decided enough was enough and headed for home, I cruised down the green Retour des Nants run all the way to the bottom of the Pleney for a nice easy finish to the morning's skiing.
The sky conditions will be clear tonight and the temperatures are dropping to -4. This will freeze things up a little and take the moisture back out of the snow. For the first time in a number of days we are due mostly blue skies tomorrow so it could be the pick of the week. It’s getting colder again Saturday and a little more cloudy. There could even be some snow. Christmas day will apparently sport pleasant conditions on sunny higher slopes.
Bon Ski
