Cold & clear with most of the ski area open now

After the heavy snowfall from over a week ago conditions have been cold and clear for the most part. Very high winds caused some lift closures and had the unfortunate effect of blowing some of the new snow from the higher and more exposed slopes, but the good news is that temperatures have stayed very low, meaning that the new snow has held on and, for the most part, not melted away.

Some areas do now have some rocks coming through on the piste and it is very inadvisable to head off piste as that has become rocky again following mostly good conditions at the start of last week. Some patches of ice are starting to appear too, so it is important to be aware of the conditions in front of you and control your speed.

The cold temperatures have also meant that it’s been possible to run the snow canons in Avoriaz in order to start building up the snow for the half pipe. Work has also continued on the Chapelle snowpark. 

Les Gets has continued opening more pistes up, with forty three out of fifty pistes now open. Elsewhere the majority of Morzine (including Pleney, Nyon, Chamossiere and Super Morzine) is open now. The same is true of Avoriaz, although some of the higher, more exposed black runs are still not open (such as Coupe de Monde).

In Chatel fifty nine out of seventy three pistes are open and fifty five out of sixty one lifts. The snow cover is considerably better on the higher slopes around Linga than on the lower slopes.

The links between the resorts are now open meaning that it is possible to complete the full Portes Du Soleil circuit, skiing between the resorts of the Portes Du Soleil and crossing over the border into Switzerland and back. The main piste down to Champery is not open, however, although this is quite normal for large parts of winter anyway. You can find all the most up to date piste and lift openings for the whole Protes du Soeil on our Live Lift Status page. 

Conditions are generally good although ensuring that the edges on your skis or snowboard are sharp might help avoid any falls on the patches of ice.

There is currently no snow on the short term forecast but the temperatures are due to remain low so hopefully the snow will stick around for now and we can get some new snow before the February holidays.