Fresh snow followed by sun in Les Deux Alpes

Plenty of snow and more to come

featured in Snow Report Author Alex Armand - TipTop Ski Coaching, Les 2 Alpes Reporter Updated 14 December 2018

What a week we've had! The weekend saw lots of fresh snow but also lots of wind. The resort was practically shut on Sunday for the high winds with only the Coolidge and Viking drag lifts running. However, it snowed a little through the day and it was actually quite exciting to be on skis as it felt that we were in a huge blizzard although, if we are honest, most of the snow we were in was being blown around rather than new.

Luckily, the wind died down Sunday night and the snow really came. On Monday morning, we woke up to at least 20cm in the village and close to 60cm up top. The resort took a while to open due to ensuring the area was safe from avalanches. When it did open, the front face (the steep area below Crêtes) was just magical. Most of the day we had to imagine the wonderful snowy scene as the clouds surrounded us.

On Tuesday, we swapped clouds for wind again but not so much the resort couldn’t open. The lifts were running right up to the glacier and conditions on the piste where just perfect. Hero snow all around! The oﬀ-piste higher up had been very wind aﬀected and, therefore, it was tricky to ski and not the safest, so we stuck to lower down-oﬀ piste and enjoyed the perfect pistes higher up.

The rest of the week has seen cold but sunny weather with the odd cloudy moment.

The glacier

The snow is just amazing up on the glacier. There isn’t a rock in sight and the pistes are beautifully groomed but soft and forgiving at the same time. For those of you wanting to learn to carve, this is just perfect conditions as the pistes are not busy and the snow is really forgiving so you can hold an edge with ease. I particularly enjoy skiing down oﬀ the glacier to mid station ﬁrst thing in the morning. The pistes are freshly groomed and not busy, and it's a good long run to warm the legs up ready for the day head.

Toura & Bellecombe

La Toura has really been opened up this year with the installation of the new eight-man chairlift. The runs have been amended slightly to reﬂect the one starting point but, actually, it feels like it gives more space and wider runs. Again, the snow is fantastic with not a rock in sight. Bellecombe is one of the best areas at the moment as its been cloudy for a day or so now and the sides of the gullys give you good deﬁnition. The snow is, of course, good here as everywhere in resort. Often the bottom of this area is tricky at the start of the season with rocks coming through and the snow being very thin but this year this isn’t the case, as it's got a full snow covering.

Crêtes

Fabulous snow and a beautiful sunset at the end of the day, what more can you ask for? This area is mainly for beginners as it holds the magic carpet nursery slope, an easy green run and also a relatively easy blue run. The magic carpet run is fantastic for beginners that want to ski easy nursery slopes but would also like to beneﬁt from being up in the mountain with the views and atmosphere this gives.

Bas de Piste

For the moment, only the Coolidge Nord and Viking lifts are open down at the 'Bas de Piste'. The Viking is the easiest of the beginner drags while the Coolidge Nord makes a nice progression. The snow cover is excellent in the village and both pistes have been well prepared. We expect more drags to open next week in the village and for all lifts to be running for the Christmas holidays.

La Fée and the Vallée Blanche

Both these areas are still closed at the moment. We are expecting Le Fee to open very soon and the Vallée Blanche to be accessible for the Christmas holidays. Both have excellent snow cover and we are all looking forward to their opening. I hope to have pics and reports for both very soon.

The week ahead

The good news is that we have yet more snow on the horizon. The forecast is suggesting heavy snow on Sunday and Monday before the sun comes back on Tuesday. Temperatures are staying cold. And it has been cold with temperatures of -10ºC up high and -4/5ºC in the village, so wrap up warm. Just a fantastic start to the season!