Morzine Snow Report: 2nd January 2013

Although shortlived, it was a nice start to the morning, especially for those who made it up the hill. It was a quiet and peaceful morning, and felt especially so after last nights festivities. The celebrations from last night, went on well into the morning, and I think a lot of people are still in bed at the time of writing this.

The weather has changed now, the cloud cover has come in, and although down low, there is a little rain about, head a little higher up the mountain, and we’re getting some New Years day snow!!! It looks like it’s only going to be a few centimeters (as forecast) but keep your fingers crossed we might get a little more.

The weather forecast over the next couple of days has some highs, and some lows, but it still looks like it’s going to be a great weeks skiing ahead. The snow should cease to fall tomorrow morning, although it is set to be cold tomorrow. Wrap up warm and wear sunscreen, as the sun is set to come out in the afternoon. The sun is set to continue through out the week, along with warmer temperatures and only a little cloud cover towards the end of the week. The weekend looks warm and very sunny. Hopefully next week will see some cooler temperatures and some more snow. Although the sunshine will make for some great pisted skiing days!

This week started well up high, with fresh snow on Sunday morning making skiing in Avoriaz very pleasurable. As usual, skiing in the morning is probably your best option as the snow is in better condition, and the slopes are usually quieter. Unfortunately this was followed by a brief spell of warmer temperature on Monday, lower slopes suffered a little from the thaw and re-freeze, and became rather icy while higher up remained in pretty good condition throughout.

With fresh snow on the horizon (and slowly starting to fall lowed down) the skiing should be pretty spot on. The powder between the pistes will be restored briefly, and the hard icy snow on some pistes will hopefully receive a fresh coating of the white stuff.

This is still one of the busiest weeks of the season, so it really is a good idea to make the most of the quieter mornings, and if you have the energy for it, ski through lunch time, avoid the busy restaurants and savor the empty lifts queues for that brief hour or two. You’ll also benefit from quieter restaurants if you eat later and almost anyone here will tell you it's darn near impossible to find a seat in the lunchtime rush.

As is the tradition at New Year, have you made any resolutions yet? Going by the rather large snowfall we’ve had this winter, I think mine is going to be to get out on the slopes every day that I can (and maybe pass my next instructors exam!).  If you’re coming out for a holiday here, or are already on it, how about trying to make the most of those peaceful snowy mornings?

In summary, make the most of the mornings here, stay high (on the mountain that is!), and revel in any sunny days that come your way! On that note, always remember the sun cream, even if it’s not sunny, panda lines really aren’t cool, even if they do prove you’ve been on a ski holiday!

Happy New Year!!!