© Giles Towler
© SeeMorzine.com
Perfect conditions in Morzine at the moment
Plenty of snow and now the sun is out!
Due to the heavy snowfall over the past couple of weeks more and more of the ski area has opened early for winter throughout the week.
Pleney, which was scheduled to open this coming weekend, is now partially open throughout the week. Not much is actually open on the Pleney itself - with only a couple of runs officially open - but the links to Nyon and Les Gets are open allowing people to ski to the different areas.
After the snowfall of the previous week, the sun has finally come back. The temperatures have risen slightly but it is still fairly cold, meaning that the snow is still in excellent condition.
Normally at this time of year only Avoriaz is open, and even then it is only partially open. The sheer amount of lifts and pistes that have now opened up, combined with the low number of visitors at this time of year, means that most of the slopes are very quiet and empty.
Nyon in particular is quiet at the moment, with most people staying high in Avoriaz. The snow cover is still excellent on the lower slopes, however, with 120cm of snow having fallen at resort level, compared with about 160cm at the summit. The pistes are well groomed and there is still some good off-piste to be found.
The run bringing skiers back from Nyon to the bottom of Pleney has been kept topped up with artificial snow. The lift company have been taking advantage of the continued cold weather to stockpile plenty of artificial snow, and there are huge piles of it at the side of many of the slopes.
The conditions in Les Gets are also very good at the moment, with more of the resort opening up following the early opening of the previous week, 8/26 lifts are now open on that side, and 10/48 runs. The only significant area that has not yet opened is Mt Chery but this is due to open this coming weekend. Looking across from the Chavannes and up Mt Chery the snow cover looks excellent and there will be plenty of people keen to get up there first thing when it finally does open.
Super Morzine is now fully open, with all five lifts and all eighteen runs open. Last year this was one area that really struggled for snow cover throughout almost the whole winter, so it really shows just how different things are this year.
Most of Avoriaz is now open with only a handful of runs still closed. The Mossettes opened during the week, linking Avoriaz up to Les Crosets and Champery. The links over to Chatel are now also open.
The Chapelle park in Avoriaz has opened, as has the Stash. The Stash usually needs good snow cover in order to open, so it illustrates how much snow there really is. The Chatel park is scheduled to open this weekend as well.
Some of the off piste snow has become slightly crusty on top, but conditions are still better than at any time last winter.
The sunny weather is currently expected to last for the next few days at least, with more snow due by the middle of next week, continuing in to the weekend at least. The roads have all been cleared of snow but there is still snow on all the pavements so be careful walking around!
The avalanche risk has dropped from 4/5 to 3/5 which is still considerable, so be careful off-piste.
This has been one of the best Decembers many people in Morzine can remember and anyone visiting over the school holiday period should be in for a treat.
