Morzine Snow Report: 25th January 2013

Another Fantastic Week and More Snow to Come

featured in Snow report Author Debbie Priestley, Morzine Reporter Updated 24 October 2014

Well we’ve had another exceptional week here in Les Portes du Soleil. On Monday night only light snow was forecast, around one centimeter, but in Les Gets over fifteen centimeters fell! This was quite a turn up for the books and did make for some exceptional skiing on Tuesday, especially in Mont Chery where the powder was fantastic!

Avoriaz had some amazing snow too - to be honest, anywhere you skied on Tuesday was pretty special especially with the glorious sunshine that we were blessed with overhead. The pistes were immaculately groomed with a sprinkling of powder on top, just how we like it here! The off-piste was refreshed and the resorts looked beautiful again (well more so!).

I skied Mont Chery on the far side of Les Gets on Tuesday and loved it. This side of the valley is almost always quieter and there are some really good, steep pistes here, mostly red and black runs. Later in the day we crossed onto the other side of Les Gets and saw similar conditions although the slopes were a little busier. Mont Chery was most certainly the best spot of the day! Les Gets in general had great snow and this carried through to Morzine, where the pistes were amazing, really grippy and fast.

On Monday I’d been in Avoriaz just as the storm was coming in. The weather wasn’t great, it was beginning to get a little icy, and we were certainly ready for some fresh snow. I rode down through the stash and the snow was bullet proof - it would not have been a good day to crash off a rail.

Wednesday, however, was another lovely day. Sunshine shone above and the slopes looked great. Although all the easily accessibly powder snow was fairly tracked, the pistes were once again, great. I saw some people out touring, and good on them, as there was great snow to be had if you had the energy to walk for it. Only towards the end of the day did the slopes start to get a little icy, and that was mostly on those back into resort.

The weather forecast is looking interesting, we have a little of everything forecast in the next few days. Friday and Saturday should be sunny but cold, but on Sunday afternoon the snow is set to come in again, light snow is forecast right through Monday. The freezing level is dropping to zero on Thursday night till Saturday morning so watch out for icy on the roads and remember to wrap up warm.

The fresh snow had made for some interesting conditions off-piste in some places, as it is sitting on top of some pretty tracked out stuff. Be careful out there - that pristine powder isn’t always so pristine underneath. If a patch of easily accessible snow is untracked, it’s usually for a reason as I have found out on several occasions. This can range from hidden ditches under the snow, rough crud underneath all the way to an extreme case of a lake under the snow! Luckily the lakes are usually marked out so you know to avoid them.

There is set to be a lot of sunshine later this week, so remember that sun-cream, even when the sun's not shining, I’ve seen some pretty special sunburn this week and it really looked painful. Also remember to keep warm, I’ve been suffering with the cold this week with everything from chillblains to frost nip on my nose. Feeling freezing is horrible, so try and make sure you have enough clothing on.

That said, there should be some amazing skiing to be had so get out there and enjoy it!

Bon ski!