The Alpedhueznet.Com Alpe d'Huez Snow Report

The Tunnel piste

Spring has finally reached Alpe d'Huez and I love it... even if it's only for one day! At 10am it was -8.5°C in resort and I was rather dreading hitting the slopes. But as the sun continued to rise it found strength and we were basking in temperatures of just -2°C at Pic Blanc (3330m) by midday.

I wanted to head to the top of the pistes as high winds and glacial temperatures this week have made Pic Blanc a pretty unattractive prospect. As I reported on Tuesday, the extremely low temperatures have maintained the snow coverage despite a few sunny days, but the pistes have been rock hard. Today, with the warmth of the sun, the snow has finally started to soften and it's just incredible.

The highest pistes are quite challenging at the moment as they've been blasted by the winds over the past few days and most of the top layer of loose snow has been blown away. The snow is hard-packed at this altitude, making it hard to get an edge but they are smooth so it's possible to make large, sweeping turns and traverse across the piste to lower your speed.

From the top of Pic Blanc there are just two routes down: via the Sarenne; or the Tunnel. I try to alternate between the two, to keep a closer eye on snow conditions and I'm glad I opted for the Tunnel today. Having said that, conditions on this steep Black piste, renowned for it's moguls, were far from perfect! The first section is the steepest and the entry was tricky today. As you exit the dark tunnel you queue along a narrow ridge as each skier or snowboarder gingerly makes their way into the bumps. Today the snow was rock-solid and the first few bumps were huge, meaning it was far easier – and possibly safer! – to traverse over the tops of the moguls until you were happy with your line.

After about five turns the bumps disappeared and the run was the smoothest I've ever seen it. Although hard, the snow was grippy and fresh on top so once you got a rhythm going it was pretty plain sailing. The second of the three bumpy descents was harder to negotiate, as the the moguls were more defined but the third section was totally smooth so I think we got off quite lightly. We followed the path to the Lac Blanc chairlift, which took us back up to 2700m.

Today I chose Couloir, Retour Bergers and Bergers for my route back to resort and the pistes were stunning all the way down. The hard-packed snow of earlier in the week has been softened slightly today, making it easier to turn and stop. By 2100m I could feel the snow starting to get just a tiny bit heavier underfoot but certainly not enough to affect your speed or stability. In fact, the snow was perfect all the way to resort. The pistes are quiet so they aren't too choppy and coverage is excellent. I was devasted to have to come home so early and leave the sunshine and snow behind me for another day.

The six-day forecast is dominated by sunshine and this does look promising, however we're still expecting the freeze level to fall to 0m meaning temperatures well below freezing in resort and on the mountain. On Sunday and Monday, the winds are set to return and peak at 50km/hr which is the sort of speed we've come to expect mid-winter. There's no denying that Spring has come late this year but with today's warm weather, we can at least see that it's on its way!

Vickie will be reporting on the snow conditions in Alpe d'Huez on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, throughout the season.


Check out what to do around town once the lifts have closed with our Apres Ski Report - a weekly round up of what's hot and where to party in Alpe d'Huez!

[1] Generally described in more detail in the resort avalanche bullettin (e.g. altitude, aspect, type of terrain etc.)
[2] Additional load:

• High: e.g. group of skiers, piste machine, avalanche blasting
• Low: e.g. skier, walker
• Steep slopes: Slopes with an incline of more than about 30°
• Steep extreme slopes: Particularly unfavourable in terms of the incline, terrain profile, proximity to ridge, smoothness of underlying ground surface.

This is an indication of status at time of writing. Please check latest situation at the lift stations before setting out.