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Morzine Snow Report: 8th April 2013

Four seasons in one day....

featured in Snow report Author Debbie Priestley, Morzine Reporter Updated

So, first of all, I have a little good news. Chatel is staying open for another week and will now be closing next weekend. This is great as it keeps more skiing in Les Portes du Soleil open longer and more skiing means more places to explore. Secondly, the mythical 3S Morzine-Avoriaz gondola that looked like it was never going to be finished, is nearly open for business - I'm looking forward to my first ride on it!

We’ve had some very varied conditions over the last couple of days here in Les Portes du Soleil with everything from sun to rain to snow. It’s certainly been an experience. Mornings have started out freezing cold, feeling like we’re in December, followed by afternoons of warmer, spring like sunny conditions. We really have seen four seasons in one day.

Sunday wasn’t quite as bright as forecast, but the afternoon was beautiful in the lower resorts on Chatel, Morzine and Les Gets. Cloud seemed to shroud the Swiss side and sit right over Avoriaz every time I looked across. The snow was bulletproof this morning, and without sharp edges you didn’t really stand a chance of stopping. By midday we saw better conditions everywhere the sun shone, although you did occasionally catch a patch of ice where a tree cast a shadow over the piste.

Saturday wasn’t so bright but luckily the fog cleared into the afternoon. The snow was hard in the morning and soft in the afternoon again, but visibility was poorer than on Sunday. Before that, conditions were pretty mixed weather wise, we saw rain and sleet at one point.

Over the next few days, we have just about everything on the forecast again. If you're in Avoriaz on Monday, expect to see a little snow and wrap up warm as this is forecast be accompanied by twenty kilometer per hour winds. If you’re in Morzine, on the other hand, it’s probably going to rain, so take an umbrella if you’re going for a walk. Tuesday sees the wind speed up, to around forty kilometers per hour at the top during the day, with snow showers and a little sun in the morning, followed by moderate snowfall overnight. Unfortunately this is probably going to fall as rain again lower down. Wednesday morning might be a brighter point, the winds should have dropped back down to around twenty kilometers per hour at the top, and we should see only light cloud cover in the morning, and a sprinkling of snow in the afternoon. Moderate snowfall is forecast overnight on Wednesday night and should continue into Thursday when light snow is forecast during the day, and heavy snow is forecast overnight. The freezing lever is due to rise to two thousand five hundred meters overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, and slightly higher on Thursday morning though, so there might even be rain in Avoriaz village between Wednesday night and Thursday evening. The wind is also due to spike back up to forty kilometers per hour at the top on Thursday morning, so this might be a good day to spend in a swimming pool. Friday should see the snow continuing into the morning, but maybe even a little sunshine in the afternoon, and Saturday morning looks set to be sunny. Apart from the freezing level spike around Thursday, the temperatures looks set to be fairly cool. There is a high of eleven degrees Celsius on Thursday morning,  be mostly it should be cool. The freezing level looks set to sit at around seventeen hundred meters, give or take a little, right through the week, except for Thursday.

With conditions as they are currently sitting, Thursday looks like a write off in my books. Apart from that, aim high, snow is much nicer to ski in than rain, and it looks like there is going to be a fair bit of rain. Make the most of the parts of the ski area that are closing soonest, but don’t forget about the rest. There’s still some great snow to be found, and spring snow can be exceptionally good fun when it gets soft. The rain might wash away a little of the snow, but it doesn’t have to ruin your holiday. Get up high and enjoy the mountain....

Bon ski! 

Stats

Snow Report
  • Alt. Resort: 1800m

  • Alt. Summit: 2466m

  • High Temp.: -4

  • Alt. High Temp.: 1800m