Morzine Snow Report: 4th March 2013

The clouds move in from tomorrow morning as the wind picks up slightly. There will be a little cloud in the morning, thickening in the afternoon. The temperatures should be similar to today out of the breeze though, and only a degree or two cooler in exposed areas. The cloud should thin as it moves over during the night but it should be warmer still on Wednesday, with the freezing level set to be up as far as two thousand five hundred meters. Snow showers are forecast at the top of Avoriaz, but this may mean we see a little rain lower down. The clouds are set to stick around in the afternoon, with more snow showers up high (and the possibility of rain lower down) overnight. Thursday should see a brief return of the sunshine with only light cloud cover around. The freezing levels still high, so it should be another warm day on the slopes. Friday should see the freezing level drop slightly, to around two thousand meters, but it will still feel warm. Theres more snow showers due on Saturday, but the wind is supposed to pick up a little too, to around twenty-five kilometers per hour. The freezing level is set to drop over night, so it will be interesting to see what next Sunday brings. It will feel a lot colder though.

It looks like this week you will need everything from sun cream to an umbrella. Just don’t expect sun bathing conditions quite yet!

Over the last couple of days the conditions have been pretty varied. We’ve had hard icy conditions in the morning, and soft slushy conditions in the afternoon, making lunch time the best time to ski. Conditions later in the day have been so slushy that the snow has felt sticky. I’ve skied runs where I’ve almost had crashes cause by my board simply sticking and throwing me. It’s been hard work later in the day on either skis or a snowboard.

The holidays are still in full force and I’ve you’re here this week of next you will probably notice a lot of Parisians about. The Paris area is one of the biggest collective ares in France so when it’s on holiday you really feel it. Expect busy slopes and lift lines, but remember you can avoid them quite easily if you head out of the central areas of resort. I headed straight for Mont Chery, or over to the Swiss side of Les Portes du Soleil for most of last week, and as long as I was up for first lifts, I managed to avoid the worst of the queues. You will also find it’s becoming quite difficult to book ski lessons due to sheer number of people in town. Morzine is reportedly completely fully booked, and I’m sure Avoriaz is either full or close to it. If you’re looking for lessons you’re best bet now is probably to book in one of the mildly quieter ski resorts, such as Chatel, or Morgins. That said, I occasionally work in Morgins, and I know spaces on lessons are currently few and far between.

Things should get quieter after the end of next week though, for a fortnight at least, until Easter hits! Over this quieter fortnight will be the time to come if you’re looking for a last minute holiday though, it might be your last chance with Easter falling late this year. Make the most of the sunshine and snow, there’s now only about seven weeks left till the end of the winter which means we’ll have to wait a whole six months to ski here again. It’s been a fantastic last week and this one looks set to be pretty great too!

Bon ski!