Ski season 2015/16

prunudo · 08-01-2016 7:04pm

CardinalJ wrote: »

Seven of us off to Mayrhofen in the morning. Have been keeping my excitement in check because of poor snow. Few decent dumps this week so now letting it off the leash.

Have a great time, I'm heading there with a few mates next month so will be interested to hear how the conditions are.

a148pro · 08-01-2016 11:07pm

Meh tried to post picture of today's powder but, and perhaps I am some kind of illiterate, but I find it very hard to post a picture from boards from a phone. And to be honest, if I find it hard there's a problem.

Rew · 09-01-2016 9:30am

Heading for Squaw Valley in Tahoe today...

maddness · 09-01-2016 3:05pm

jvan wrote: »

Have a great time, I'm heading there with a few mates next month so will be interested to hear how the conditions are.

Exactly what he said⬆️

Fattes · 09-01-2016 10:34pm

Three photos taken in the same resort on the same day 1,500 meters in the difference

prunudo · 09-01-2016 10:53pm

Was watching the webcams from Morzine and the rain had melted any of little amount of snow they had in the village. Freezing level is really high at the moment.

a148pro · 10-01-2016 12:46am

Snowing heavily down to 1500m in 3vs today, temperatures due to fall next week with snow down to below 1000m so should be some welcome respite from the conditions.

Timmaay · 10-01-2016 9:39am

Just back from a great week in Chamonix, got 2 epic powder days which we spend off piste! The town itself got a serious dump of snow I think thur, but with all the rain falling yesterday I'd say most if it is gone. From a resort point of view I'm happy I've ticked chamonix off the list (especially for the nightlife in the town ha), but wouldn't bother with it again 2bh, esp during early season like this when you got too much bus'ing around to be able to find enough open runs.

Skibunny77 · 10-01-2016 5:18pm

Will be in St Anton, this day six weeks. The thoughts of a ski holiday is pretty much the only thing getting me through dreary January!

AlternateID · 10-01-2016 9:25pm

Two weeks to go for me.

This might be difficult to see in the photo but it's snow here in Ireland. Spotted it on my way back to Dublin today near Carlow. Think it's Mount Leinster and Blackstairs Mountain.

a148pro · 10-01-2016 10:24pm

Timmaay wrote: »

Just back from a great week in Chamonix, got 2 epic powder days which we spend off piste! The town itself got a serious dump of snow I think thur, but with all the rain falling yesterday I'd say most if it is gone. From a resort point of view I'm happy I've ticked chamonix off the list (especially for the nightlife in the town ha), but wouldn't bother with it again 2bh, esp during early season like this when you got too much bus'ing around to be able to find enough open runs.

Timmaay how deep was it actually? Every report I read had Chamonix getting hit harder than anywhere else, crazy amounts. Its the same for this coming week again.

a148pro · 10-01-2016 10:28pm

AlternateID wrote: »

Two weeks to go for me.

This might be difficult to see in the photo but it's snow here in Ireland. Spotted it on my way back to Dublin today near Carlow. Think it's Mount Leinster and Blackstairs Mountain.

Looks class, think I remember seeing the same mountain hold snow a few weeks after the cold had left a year or two ago, was very warm at the time (its to the right if you were driving from Kilkenny to Dublin, right?). Hoping to bring the kid up the Dublin mountains soon if I can figure out a road that's safe to drive up and down. He's super jealous that I went skiing last week so colder weather is well timed.

AlternateID · 10-01-2016 10:37pm

a148pro wrote: »

Looks class, think I remember seeing the same mountain hold snow a few weeks after the cold had left a year or two ago, was very warm at the time (its to the right if you were driving from Kilkenny to Dublin, right?). Hoping to bring the kid up the Dublin mountains soon if I can figure out a road that's safe to drive up and down. He's super jealous that I went skiing last week so colder weather is well timed.

Yep that's the place. If I had time and a suitable vehicle I'd venture up for a look.

Timmaay · 10-01-2016 11:46pm

a148pro wrote: »

Timmaay how deep was it actually? Every report I read had Chamonix getting hit harder than anywhere else, crazy amounts. Its the same for this coming week again.

Varied between resorts and heights, and 2bh I didn't bother reading any reports on how much actually fell, but over the course of the week it must have been an easy 50cm up on the slopes, well over a metre in some of the off piste stuff! That was funfun, finding them lovely pure powder undisturbed runs weaving around trees!

Fattes · 11-01-2016 4:09pm

The snow is starting to return to the Alps, this is the first 30cm off the 1.4 meters we are due the next 4 days

Fattes · 11-01-2016 4:30pm

Oops here is the link of today's conditions

http://youtu.be/awHYejCO37Y

dzer2 · 12-01-2016 11:25am

Second day of big dump in Tyrol good job I packed a second set of gear, visibility poor but conditions great after yesterday:-!

cormee · 12-01-2016 12:38pm

dzer2 wrote: »

Second day of big dump in Tyrol good job I packed a second set of gear, visibility poor but conditions great after yesterday:-!

I've gone from worrying if there will be enough snow, to worrying that there will be too much snow, in the space of a week, for my Holiday in Val Thorens.

a148pro · 12-01-2016 4:46pm

cormee wrote: »

I've gone from worrying if there will be enough snow, to worrying that there will be too much snow, in the space of a week, for my Holiday in Val Thorens.

Read online today that road from geneva to chamonix is closed due to avalanche risk which is pretty insane given that that drive is the least ski resort drive to a ski resort I know. When are you going? Should have calmed down by the weekend and will be ****ing epic as there has been no real opportunity to get off piste up there yet in last week

cormee · 12-01-2016 5:03pm

a148pro wrote: »

Read online today that road from geneva to chamonix is closed due to avalanche risk which is pretty insane given that that drive is the least ski resort drive to a ski resort I know. When are you going? Should have calmed down by the weekend and will be ****ing epic as there has been no real opportunity to get off piste up there yet in last week

I'm going on the 23rd

, can't freakin wait! The webcams look great.

See this article about some bloke who phoned for help from the avalanche he'd been caught in, in VT: http://www.valthonet.com/news/lucky-escape-for-a-british-snowboarder-caught-in-an-avalanche-this-weekend-693512

So what happens when the roads are closed? Diversions? The first time I ever went on a snow holiday a bus driver had a heart attack ahead of us, and the road was blocked, it took 8 hours extra to get to Alpes D'Huez, in the middle of the night, along small alpine roads (pre - sat nav)

Fattes · 12-01-2016 9:40pm

a148pro wrote: »

Read online today that road from geneva to chamonix is closed due to avalanche risk which is pretty insane given that that drive is the least ski resort drive to a ski resort I know. When are you going? Should have calmed down by the weekend and will be ****ing epic as there has been no real opportunity to get off piste up there yet in last week

Other than the Blanche highway which is from start to finish in the middle of two high sided mountain ranges boarder it the whole way

a148pro · 12-01-2016 9:52pm

cormee wrote: »

I'm going on the 23rd , can't freakin wait! The webcams look great.

See this article about some bloke who phoned for help from the avalanche he'd been caught in, in VT: http://www.valthonet.com/news/lucky-escape-for-a-british-snowboarder-caught-in-an-avalanche-this-weekend-693512

So what happens when the roads are closed? Diversions? The first time I ever went on a snow holiday a bus driver had a heart attack ahead of us, and the road was blocked, it took 8 hours extra to get to Alpes D'Huez, in the middle of the night, along small alpine roads (pre - sat nav)

Road between Val Thorens and Les Menuires (the next resort down the road) was closed for a few hours today for avalanche control. I drove down it the other day in heavy snow and there was car after car headed up. They keep it open at all costs because of the financial importance of it so you should be fine. There are lifts up to the 3v from way down the valleys, St Martin and Brides des Bains also I think so if the bus gets stuck in traffic you could always hop out and get a few turns in. I would expect nothing less from you Cormee.

Fattes · 12-01-2016 11:07pm

http://wepowder.com/forum/topic/220662

Rew · 13-01-2016 12:31am

http://www.merinet.com/news/lucky-escape-for-a-british-snowboarder-caught-in-an-avalanche-this-weekend-693512

A young British skier was this weekend caught in an avalanche in an off-pitste section between Meribel and Val Thorens and luckily escaped unharmed. Although he did not have any avalanche equipment he was able to raise the alarm by phone and was successfully located by the rescue team.

karl83 · 13-01-2016 1:14am

All this talk of fresh powder is great but just be cautious of where you venture. The snowpack isn't great in most resorts and there is high avalanche risk. You shouldn't go off the piste unless you have the right kit and know how to use it. In Val d'isere alone there has been a few deaths over the past week. Stay safe and enjoy yourself. The side of the pistes might look fun and safe but you don't know the risks either.
Here's a photo of proof.
https://www.facebook.com/300761126617863/photos/a.313683591992283.88148.300761126617863/1219320964761870/?type=3&theater

Fattes · 13-01-2016 9:59am

karl83 wrote: »

All this talk of fresh powder is great but just be cautious of where you venture. The snowpack isn't great in most resorts and there is high avalanche risk. You shouldn't go off the piste unless you have the right kit and know how to use it.[/url]

You shouldn't go off piste, unless you have assessed the risk and are knowledgable enough to do so. Avalanche kit is a requirement it should be for when things go wrong, not a basis for going off piste under any circumstances.

This is us right now, resort is closed until at least 11 due to avalanche risk, that said there is still off piste that ewe know will be skiable and safe this am.

granty1987 · 13-01-2016 11:38am

The long wait before my trip to Japan is coming to a close, just over a week now. Seems like I booked it a century ago

It has been snowing ever day (bar one) since before Christmas. They basically are pressing the reset button every night and have fresh lines every day and judging by the webcams, the place is deserted!

YEOWWWW!!

cormee · 13-01-2016 11:43am

granty1987 wrote: »

The long wait before my trip to Japan is coming to a close, just over a week now. Seems like I booked it a century ago

It has been snowing ever day (bar one) since before Christmas. They basically are pressing the reset button every night and have fresh lines every day and judging by the webcams, the place is deserted!

YEOWWWW!!

:mad: <- Jealousy

AlternateID · 13-01-2016 6:31pm

Report of an avalanche in Les Deux Alpes today at about 3pm. French school trip with teacher reportedly on a closed black run. 2 dead and 5 still missing when I last read.

a148pro · 13-01-2016 7:19pm

Yes very ****ing grim, there are far worse things in the world of skiing than not being able to ski

Fattes · 13-01-2016 8:44pm

Ah France, worlds strictest rules for working as an instructor, but every school teacher is allowed bring their classes skiing! Absolute stupidity from the teacher IF the piste was closed as reported

The thing is if you are careful and know where to ski conditions are excellent today

Fattes · 13-01-2016 8:44pm

Ah France, worlds strictest rules for working as an instructor, but every school teacher is allowed bring their classes skiing! Absolute stupidity from the teacher IF the piste was closed as reported

The thing is if you are careful and know where to ski conditions are excellent today

fannymagee · 14-01-2016 12:28am

Fattes wrote: »

And yes the helicopter photo is Soll, it was taken by the head of BBC sport, on the 30th of December unless he is lying on his blog and in two posts replying to questions about the exact location. He did however speak of better conditions in Kitz.

Fattes wrote: »

Original poster has been advised of the wrong location identification in his blog post and updated thanks for the clarification. Helpfull as I was using his and 5 other peoples info for an article I am putting together

Johnny is a friend and his blog is not part of the beebs website, he publishes ot as part of a excellent sports news resource behind a paywall for industry news.

You are welcome. Hope he edited his blog to reflect his error ;-)

cormee · 14-01-2016 12:53pm

fannymagee wrote: »

You are welcome. Hope he edited his blog to reflect his error ;-)

Ah, Fanny, the best blogs in the world, written by the most reputable in the business, can't beat the bit of local knowledge, eh?

Rew · 14-01-2016 2:33pm

Fattes wrote: »

Ah France, worlds strictest rules for working as an instructor, but every school teacher is allowed bring their classes skiing! Absolute stupidity from the teacher IF the piste was closed as reported

They are now reporting that the teacher was actually a local guide, some muddled reporting or miss translation early on I suspect:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/14/avalanche-deaths-france-judicial-inquiry-pupils-closed-piste

The judicial investigation will focus on why the teacher leading the school group, who is believed to have been a local instructor from Les Deux Alpes, took the children on to a closed ski run.

Patrick Kanner, the French sports minister, told Europe 1 radio: “Why did the guide, who has been injured himself, take them on a run that was closed? Bad signage? Lack of judgment? The judicial inquiry will tell.”

AlternateID · 14-01-2016 3:39pm

All speculation at this point. It's entirely possible that they were at the bottom of the slope or the kids went first. I'm sure there'll be a few gopros amongst them anyway for the investigators to review.

I dont know · 14-01-2016 3:39pm

@cormee, 17 of us heading to Val thorens on the 23rd, might bump into ya somewhere

Rew · 14-01-2016 4:15pm

AlternateID wrote: »

All speculation at this point. It's entirely possible that they were at the bottom of the slope or the kids went first. I'm sure there'll be a few gopros amongst them anyway for the investigators to review.

If I were speculating id be wondering did the single unrelated skier who was killed come from above them and set it off.

cormee · 14-01-2016 4:32pm

I dont know wrote: »

@cormee, 17 of us heading to Val thorens on the 23rd, might bump into ya somewhere

I'd say I'll hear ye before I see ye!

a148pro · 14-01-2016 5:34pm

Rew wrote: »

If I were speculating id be wondering did the single unrelated skier who was killed come from above them and set it off.

Account on snowheads suggests that the avalanche came from an off piste area above the closed run. Account comes from a guy there that day who had skied the closed run with a guide the day before (when the risk was 4, 3 on the day of the avi). Guide had told him that the off piste area above the closed run was way too dangerous to ski. Confirmed (as is often the case) that the closed run had been skied a good few times on the day of the avi also.

Two simple lessons to take from it, never ski a closed run, never assume previous tracks mean the slope is safe. In fact its often a later skier who sets it off.

Rew · 14-01-2016 6:01pm

I assumed it had come from off piste and onto the closed one alright

Fattes · 14-01-2016 6:49pm

cormee wrote: »

Ah, Fanny, the best blogs in the world, written by the most reputable in the business, can't beat the bit of local knowledge, eh?

Or the most misquoted post of all time?

Fattes · 14-01-2016 6:54pm

Rew wrote: »

I assumed it had come from off piste and onto the closed one alright

It is looking like it was a teacher rather than a ESF instructor which is pretty common. Many resort runs close because of the risk of what is above. Our home run blue has not opened once this season, due to the risk of what is above.

Resorts don't close resorts unless they have to and normally they close them due to safety. Again we have a separate run that was closed for 2 weeks due to wind forming overhangs above it and yet every day people skiing it. It does not take a skier to release a loaded slope they can release naturally and normally this is a big risk and why the slope below will be closed

One thing is for certain is that the investigation will be quite detailed and will hopefully provide answers.

Fattes · 14-01-2016 7:01pm

Fattes wrote: »

Original poster has been advised of the wrong location identification in his blog post and updated thanks for the clarification. Helpfull as I was using his and 5 other peoples info for an article I am putting together

Johnny is a friend and his blog is not part of the beebs website, he publishes ot as part of a excellent sports news resource behind a paywall for industry news.

Maybe if people read the blog, instead of jumping on a high horse and attempting to bully and belittle posters it may help!

mahoney_j · 14-01-2016 7:44pm

Fattes wrote: »

Maybe if people read the blog, instead of jumping on a high horse and attempting to bully and belittle posters it may help!

Christ get over yourself

AlternateID · 14-01-2016 11:07pm

Rew wrote: »

If I were speculating id be wondering did the single unrelated skier who was killed come from above them and set it off.

CNN are reporting the teacher has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Fattes · 15-01-2016 1:15am

mahoney_j wrote: »

Christ get over yourself

I tried once I am too fat

Steve · 15-01-2016 1:22am

Play nice folks.

Not a suggestion..

granty1987 · 15-01-2016 11:08am

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-35320514

Sad day for wintersport enthusiasts in Japan. Overnight bus transfer to a ski resort in Nagano went off the road. Think it may have been driver fatigue / over worked but nothing's been confirmed yet.

fannymagee · 15-01-2016 12:47pm

Fattes wrote: »

Maybe if people read the blog, instead of jumping on a high horse and attempting to bully and belittle posters it may help!

Can you post the link? Id be interested to read it but don't know where to look if it's not the BBC blog.

Ski season 2015/16

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