Generally the conditions were good above 1500 meters once the snow had softened up the rain crust below 1800 meters. There has been no big falls of snow since the 3rd week of March but some small top ups over the last week bringing 10-20cm from 1500 meters although conditions remain very soggy on lower slopes (it is April).
I’ll be in the Mont Blanc massif this weekend so will bring some updates from there. There is certainly a lot of snow around at the moment. At 2500m we measured 230cm and 3meters is typically. Mont Blanc reports 6 meters at the top of the slopes but 3 - 4 meters is typical. Looks like it will be a good end to the season again this year.
In Auvergne we now have spring conditions with a good snow coverage, it is a good time to explore the couloirs, following the sun to get a soft carpet touch!
A bit of fresh snow coming on top.
Looks like you are in the Val d’Enfer in the first picture.
I’ve spent the weekend at Tre la Tete in the Mt Blanc range - but not much skiing as I was doing my FFME Level 2 glacier travel and rescue course. Saturday was great weather, warm in the afternoon. Very sticky snow though and we had to do 1500 meters of our own tracks rather than using those already laid down - the examiners wanted to work us hard - then we had to rig up mouflage to practise crevasse rescue. The main problem was finding an open crevasse as all is well covered following the recent snowfall. We overnighted in the Conscripts Refuge which is like a hotel in the mountains - apart from the fact there is zero water available except in bottles (even for hand washing or teeth cleaning) which doesn’t seem very ecological.
Overnight there was about 10cm of snow and it was even snowing a bit down in les Contamines at 1000 meters this afternoon. Unfortunately we had to ski the best of the fresh roped up in teams of three! Virtually impossible to ski nice turns. We were able to ski down to 1350 m without too many rocks. There were some old wet snow slides visible on south facing slopes and some patches of snow that broke away in slabs on an old base.
We’ve pretty much been hunkered down during the bad weather this week. Monday had a surprising cold snap when temperatures dropped 12 degrees over the space of 4 hours bringing snow to valley floor levels. The zero isotherm then climbed right back up to 2200 meters over the following 8 hours bringing rain to 2000 meters. We’ve had 40cm of fresh snow at this altitude but below 2000 meters conditions have degraded losing 20cm of snow cover at 1500 meters.
The temperatures finally dropped on Friday with around 10cm snow down to 1000 meters. With a spot of cold on Saturday night we should see some good touring conditions on Sunday. The avalanche risk in the Alpes is Considerable above 2000 meters. The sector north-west to south-east is particuarly suspect with some slabs hidden by the fresh snow.
any idea how that is now? I had a plan to do the Finsteraarhorn this week but don’t think the weather and conditions will be good enough, the Chablais looks a good alternative maybe although I don’t know the area at all.
I was in the Chablais too, went to the Haute-Pointe above Sommand. The base was reasonable above 1750m but a bit soft lower down (and waterlogged at 1500m). Spring snow conditions although I was a bit late for the ski down - 35 degree east face at 11am is probably not the ideal combo. The main problem with the Chablais is lack of altitude… and isn’t it a long way for you?
I was in the Chablais too, went to the Haute-Pointe above Sommand. The base was reasonable above 1750m but a bit soft lower down (and waterlogged at 1500m). Spring snow conditions although I was a bit late for the ski down - 35 degree east face at 11am is probably not the ideal combo. The main problem with the Chablais is lack of altitude… and isn’t it a long way for you?
It’s between the house and the chalet, around an hour from either. The weather up the in the Oberland is likely to be foul so I was looking for an alternative, it turns out the arrangement I had to ski with someone probably won’t happen anyway this week.
It has snowed about 20cm at 1500 m in the Northern Alps over the last 24 hours (very heavy rain in the valley). In the Jura the mountains are white from 800 meters approx but I suspect the skiable snow is quite a bit higher. In the Alps the snowline is around 1000 meters.
The couloirs were packed with powder, the weather cold and nice, and the riders scarce… It seems it won’t last as rain is coming for the end of the week, but that was a day to remember!
The couloirs should turn soon to spring snow but should be skiable until the end of the month at least.
The Envers looks good. I last skied it in very icy conditions, great shot, were you skiing the slopes on the other bank of the valley?
I went up to la Pointe d’Andey in the Bornes (HS). Some of the best snow of the season although the vertical was a bit limited. First you have to brave the Beast of the Solaison
The weeping Madonna
then excellent snow
the slope even gets a bit steeper
Notice how I instinctively veer off before reaching the cliffs (it was a convex slope and I didn’t know they were there as I had climbed from the other side...)
About 10-15cm of fresh on a hard base above 1600 meters. 5cm of fresh on a breakable crust with the skiable snow down to around 1250 meters on a well sheltered North facing slope.
The Envers looks good. I last skied it in very icy conditions, great shot, were you skiing the slopes on the other bank of the valley?
I took the picture from the valley floor after the second run of this Envers du Redon. As a Sancy oldtimer, you will be shocked, but ice was nowhere to be seen or found, even below the fresh snow that packed all mountain flanks
This exceptional situation shouldn’t survive the coming rain, and we will most probably soon climb (the resorts is going to close on the 20th) and ski the couloirs in Auvergne traditional fashion on a mix of ice, spring snow and grass!
Here is a view yesterday from the Bornes/Aravis frontier.
The snow was a bit variable. Crusty on east-south-west slopes and variable powder on north slopes. We probably didn’t choose the best route. A steep couloir with lots of avalanche debris which we certainly felt in places skiing down. We might have been better on an east slope as the sun was strong enough to melt the weak crust.
For the weekend we are looking at rain clearing from the south in the Alps with a fine afternoon but a new weather system arriving during Sunday. We should see 50cm of snow at altitude but with 18C in the valley there will be a lot of rain below 2000m. Is it the end of the season in mid-elevations?
We’ve finally moved out of our unsettled but wintry mid-April into perfect spring sking condtions. There is still snow from 1350 meters on forest trails and excellent skiing to be had on south facing slops from 10am. Steeper slopes have a fair bit of avalanche debris so you have to choose carefully.
