© Rob Wood
© Rob Wood
© Rob Wood
© Rob Wood
© Rob Wood
© Rob Wood
Cold temperatures keep the snow fresh in Alpe d'Huez
Continuing cold temperatures are great for the snow condition ahead of the half term holidays
We awoke to a heavy blanket of cloud here in resort today but, thankfully, it cleared at around 2000 metres, above which it was nice and sunny. The cloud cover did lift as the day went on.
The temperatures remain cold, which is great for the snow condition and, on piste, it continues to be nice and light. We have had a couple of little “top-ups” over the past few days as opposed to significant snowfall but, nonetheless, these have been just enough to keep the pistes in great condition. Around 15/20cm fell last Wednesday into Thursday and a further 5/10cm fell overnight on Sunday into Monday this week.
Today, temperatures in resort, at 1850 metres, got up to around -4ºC. This is a bit warmer than of late when around -8ºC has been the afternoon high. It looks like it will remain cold for the next few days but, by the middle of next week, the afternoon highs look set to get into positive figures, around +2ºC by Wednesday. Up at the top of the Pic Blanc, at 3300 metres, highs today were -9ºC which is up from the bitingly cold -15/20ºC that was the case earlier in the week.
As has been the case for the last week or so, the weather seems set to remain fairly settled for the next 7 to 10 days and winds will be nice and light, at around 5 to 10kmph. Check out our detailed 7-day weather forecast for a day by day forecast.
Thankfully, after a run of fluctuating avalanche risks, the ski area has been well secured by the pisteurs of SATASKI and risk is down to 2 out of 5 across most of the domain. Only over in Mont Frais it stands at 3 out of 5 due to the softer, wetter conditions that are prevalent over there.
The school holiday period begins on Saturday with the UK and French schools starting their holidays. Next week will no doubt be very busy, so it’s always worth getting away from the main “bowl” area around Alpe d'Huez. The slopes are always much quieter over in Auris-en-Oisans (across the “scare chair”). It is well worth venturing over there and there is plenty of choice of pistes. Likewise, the pistes in Vaujany and Mont Frais are always significantly quieter.
On-piste snow cover now stands at:
- Alpe d’Huez resort (1850m) - 198cm
- Pic Blanc (3300m) - 315cm
- Auris village (1650m) - 198cm
- Auris Signal (2176m) - 198cm
- Villard Reculas (1500m) - 198cm
- Vaujany (1250m) - 70cm
- Oz-en Oisans (1350m) - 90cm
- Montfrais (1650m) - 120cm
- Dome des Rousses (2800m) - 200cm
Off piste cover now stands at:
- 2500m - North: 300cm, south: 290cm
- 2000m - North: 215cm, south: 170cm
- 1500m - North: 100cm, south: 60cm
- 1000m - North: 5cm, south: 0cm
Snow cover currently extends all the way down to around 1000 metres, well below even the very lowest of slopes in the Grand Domaine ski area.
We had 64 lifts open today (out of 68, so a 94%) and 27 of these (out of 30, so a 90%) were in Alpe d’Huez itself. These lifts are serving 100 pistes across the Grande Domaine ski area. Of these 100 pistes, 26 are green, 31 are blue, 27 are red and 16 are black. So there continues to be something for everybody with plenty of choice at all elevations, as has been the case for the past few weeks. This is very good news ahead of next week's half-term holidays.
A few of the black runs continue to be recommended for “bon skieurs uniquement” (good skiers only), in the main because of their mogully terrain. These are Balcons, Balme and Chateau Noir, meanwhile, the super-steep and mogully Tunnel run is currently recommended for “very good skiers only”. But black run Fuma over in Auris on the way down to Maronne has had this caveat removed in the last couple of days. These warnings and piste closures are in place for a reason, so please bear them in mind.
Both snowparks are open and in great condition. The one over in Vaujany provides a nice change from the main one here in Alpe d’Huez, although it is a bit smaller.
We continue to have 100% of the cross-country ski trails open, with 39km of lovely groomed trails. In addition to these, there are 36km of walking trails open (out of 37km, so a 97%). The walking trails are really fantastic, offering breathtaking views, they really are a great way to spend an afternoon and get away from the crowds. My favourite is the trail up to Lac Besson which runs from the far end of the DMC up to the Lake.
As spring fast approaches, the days are really starting to stretch. Sunrise this morning was 07:51 and, with sunset at 17:47, we get 9 hours and 56 minutes of daylight.
