2 Alpes Snow Report: 12th January 2012

Today was the first time the wind dropped far enough to make skiing at the top genuinely comfortable, and we took advantage and headed up the funiculaire to have a look.

There is evidence of high winds all over the hill, with most of the off piste frozen into sand dune formations and a lot of exposed rock on the ridges and wind-facing slopes, disappointing after the huge snowfall promised us unlimited fresh powder. But we’re not complaining because the pistes are thoroughly covered with a base which should last us well into the season.

The dameurs have done their usual excellent job of bashing the snow about, with the result that even those runs which were showing serious signs of wind damage are now perfectly skiable, with loose snow over a packed base. This is making for fast conditions though, and it pays to keep an eye out for inexperienced skiers masquerading as unguided missiles.

I didn’t have much time up there today, and my long afternoon tomorrow has been blatantly stolen by my supervisor, who asked if I was free to cover for someone at the Mont de Lans office until it closes at 4pm. This is not the sort of question to which you can answer “No, because I want to go snowboarding” so I am now stuck indoors all afternoon. Bah and indeed grrrr. I wouldn’t mind, but the person in question is off on a training session for one of those pointless ‘quality’ programmes which big companies seem to consider so essential. Top tip for the people in charge: 99% of your staff think it’s a load of tosh and a complete waste of everyone’s time. Sorry.

Still, I might benefit from a bit of a break, since I have have been boarding like a beginner for the last three days, something which I put down to slightly harder conditions underfoot, which always makes me nervous. Not that anyone but a big girl's blouse would notice, you understand – the pistes are generally in fine fettle with great conditions all over resort. But I'm sure an afternoon spent cheating at Cat Physics will be good for me.

Compared to last week, the place is dead quiet (yet another excellent reason to ski in January) and the only time you’ll see anything resembling busy is on the main routes back to town at the end of the day. Even then, anyone going for the SuperDiable rather than the track down to Cretes will find it more or less deserted.

My next chance to get out will be Sunday, and I might even ski for a change. This will entirely depend on whether or not I’m committed enough to cart boots, poles and a ton of Volkl Tigershark up the Venosc telecabin and round the corner to the ticket office. I probably ought to really, but it has to be said that snowboard gear is a lot easier to manhandle about. Bah, decisions.