© Giles Towler
© Giles Towler
© Giles Towler
© Giles Towler
Sunshine and warm temps return to Morzine
Fantastic conditions across the Portes du Soleil
Following a couple of rather grey weeks in the Portes Du Soleil, the sunshine has well and truly come back to town. Temperatures for the past few days have been around 15C, meaning a return to skiing in a hoodie.
There was some fresh snow at the start of the week, with around 20cm falling on the highest slopes of the Portes Du Soleil area, although there was some rain lower down in town. Since then the temperature has risen significantly. There has been nothing but blue skies without a cloud to be seen for the past few days, starting on Wednesday.
The sunshine and warm weather has meant that the snow gets more and more slushy throughout the day, become quite heavy and slow towards the end. It then hardens up over night as the temperature drops. This means that first thing in the morning it can be very hard, which is great for skiers with sharp edges looking to go fast, but can be a bit hazardous for others. Those wishing to avoid potentially icy conditions would be better off waiting till around 10:30 or 11:00 to head up, when the snow has begun to soften up significantly.
Despite the warm weather the snow cover is still very good. There are a couple of brown patches showing through, but nothing too significant. The recent snowfall has provided a good top up to the existing conditions, so even though there is no snow forecast for the next few days, conditions are still good. On the lower slopes there is still over 30cm of snow on the pistes, and higher up there is almost a metre. At the moment the forecast keeps changing. There was some snow forecast for the middle of next week but this has now changed, and it looks as though there is more warm weather on the way.
The slopes are still very quiet for the most part, as the resort is now into one of the quieter periods of the season. Some pistes are almost completely deserted, especially away from the more central parts of the resort such as Mt Chery and Les Crosets. Areas such as Torgon, in particular, are practically empty. Anyone wishing to complete the full Portes Du Soleil circuit should be warned though, that the final run down to Morgins is closed. There are large areas where the snow has completely melted. It is possible to catch a chairlift down or, for the more adventurous, there is always the option of heading down as far as possible and hiking down the rest of the way.
The main Chapelle park has just been reshaped and is very popular at the moment. The big park in the Arare sector is currently not open. The rollers have been built for the kickers, but at the moment there is no sign of the kickers. They should be built for the last few weeks of the season however. There is one month left of the season in the Portes Du Soleil, with three weeks to go till the Pleney and Super Morzine areas are set to close. Some fresh snow would certainly be welcome, but there is still enough to go around for now. Anyone heading out to Morzine in the next few days will be able to enjoy quiet slopes and beautiful sunny days. Speaking from experience, however, it is a very good idea to bring some sunscreen along for those long sunny afternoons. Despite the warm weather, there is still plenty of good snow to enjoy.
