Morzine Snow Report: 23rd March 2012

We got out early yesterday, skiing towards Avoriaz just after 9.30. First port of call was the Bleue D’Árare, my favourite piste. The conditions were superb right from the off. Unlike some of the other pistes which are hard and icy first thing in the morning, the D’Árare does not seem to suffer from that freeze thaw effect. The top inch or so of snow was really soft with a firm layer underneath providing loads of edge grip. We put in three or four runs before deciding to move on to other areas.

Initially we headed in the direction of Linga and got as far as the Combe before deciding on a change of plan. The pistes heading into Combe were all a little icy and hard; it was a little early in the day for them to soften up. A case of mistiming. We should have come here a couple of hours later in the day.

We swiftly headed back to Linderets and onwards to the Mossettes and Les Crosets. The latter gets the sun as soon as it comes up over the Dents du Midi and the pistes, therefore, soften up very early in the day. The conditions were great around 11am, when the south facing aspects are already getting very soft and slushy the opposite side of the valley is just on the turn with the top layer of snow softening.

We put in a number of runs using the new Les Crosets and Grande Conche chairs. The latter has really opened up some runs that used to be serviced by a very slow old lift. We even headed off the piste and found some untracked soft snow. Again, that top inch or so of snow had softened right up but the firm layer underneath stopped us sinking too deep. These conditions only prevail for an hour or so before the thaw reaches deeper into the snow pack and things become very porridge like.

For a little variety we headed into the Les Crosets park. I have not been doing much park riding this year but there was a long row of maybe 6-7 kickers to skiers' right that were in perfect shape to get the feel again. Not too big that things would end in disaster if you came up short – perfect. If you fancy your chances then there are some really big features in here, proper super star stuff. Even if it’s a little much to ride over it’s good to watch some of the really good riders hitting these features. Very impressive indeed.

To finish off our day we headed back to France and the Secteur Chavanette for some bump skiing in the Canyon du Schott. Again things had softened up nicely making it easier to control the speed on the bumps.

Bon Ski