In terms of living our lives, the last few weeks have been horrible for weather. However, in terms of the imminent approach of the ski season, everything is going well. The temperatures have been gradually dropping and the near-constant precipitation has been turning into a snow-line which creeps further down the mountain every day.

The snow has now reached the valley which means that the essential base had started forming on the pistes above us. In all the Tarentaise ski resorts there is snow down and, whilst it might not be particularly deep in places, the forecast for low temperatures and continued snowfall augur well for a strong, snowy start to the winter season. Most places are still over a month away from lift-opening, with even early-worm high-altitude Tignes having two full weeks before the first ski-enthusiasts start their first runs of the season.

Many people hope that the return of the El Nino weather phenomenon in 2023 will bring a bumper winter in terms of powder. Following such a hot, dry summer, which saw extreme melt-back across the mountains, the early onset of snow (and the promise of plenty more) is a welcome sight following a couple of respectable but unspectacular winters in the Tarentaise. Certainly lower temperatures throughout the Alps will help prevent a situation like in 2022/2023, when low-level ski resorts across the region struggled to get started due to lack of snow. This resulted in more people frequenting the high-altitude pistes of the Tarentaise ski areas, making them a little busier than one would like.

Being manifestly pre-season, actual figures are harder to come by, with most ski resorts not publishing snow depths this far outside of opening hours. Fortunately, Les Arcs are reporting fresh snow depth of 65cm at the highest point (the near-mythic Aiguille Rouge), whilst even a rudimentary viewing of the many webcams across that half of Paradiski shows enough of the white stuff at all altitudes to get the adrenaline going.

In short, the snow has arrived and, on the pistes, we anticipate more with little chance of significant melt. Winter has started and it’s promising to be a satisfyingly strong start.