Tag Archives: Winter 23/24

KillySnowResort, LaPlagneSnowReport, LaRosiereSnowReport, LesArcsSnowReport, SnowReport, SteFoySnowReport

Snow Report: Oh My God, Weather

Leave a comment

The last week has been completely filled with weather. We’ve had big snow, big rain and snow again… at almost every level. After a very cold November with consistently low temperatures, it’s suddenly got a bit sketchy. It’s not all bad news though…

As you may have seen from my first video snow report of the season the conditions last weekend were pretty awesome for early December. Since that point there has been near-constant precipitation and a wildly-vacillating freezing level. This means there has actually been more snow at all levels, but also rain at all levels, normally followed by more snow! In terms of snow, we’re actually still very well-endowed for this point in the season and I am very much looking forward to getting out in Les Arcs tomorrow. Especially as we’re likely to see some blue skies for the first time in a while.

Here’s a precis of the official snow reports from the Tarentaise ski resorts:

Tignes

At Tignes le Lac (2100m altitude), there’s a 97cm snow base, temperatures are now consistently below 0°C, although that is likely to rise over the next few days as we see some (whisper it) clear skies! Up at 3300 metres, there’s a more-than-decent 270cm layer of the white stuff.

Nearly half the lifts are currently open, although I expect this will increase over the next few days as the weather stabilises and the ski resorts fill up with eager punters. The Toviere section is largely open, only one lift is open on the Aiguille Percee and it’s 50/50 in the Palet section. You can get over to (and back from) Val d’Isere, which is key.

Val d’Isere

Posting a very exact 77cm at 1800 metres and 184cm at 3000 metres, the conditions in ‘Val Dizzle’ are likely to be very similar to Tignes. The last snowfall is registered as today (15th Dec) and the temperatures have been low again for over 24 hours, so it’s probably pretty fresh and soft out there.

There are a higher percentage of lifts open than Tignes at present with the main closures being the Leissieres lift and tunnel (traversing the Crete des Leissieres), the Manchet Express and adjacent pistes into the Manchet valley and the little Signal lift up Les Grands Vallons. Again, expect milder temperatures and sunshine over the coming weekend.

La Rosière

Saturday is the start of the 2023/2024 ski season in La Rosiere, so I don’t have any real-time ski-lift information at the moment. However, on the Italian side of the Espace San Bernardo ski domain above La Thuile there’s a handful of lifts open already.

In terms of enneigement (or snow coverage) I also have practically zero information other than there being 10cm of fresh snow today… (they clearly don’t start measuring snow until the lifts are officially open). Fortunately, La Thuile is indicating 50cm in resort (1450m), 95cm on Chaz Dura (2600m) and 140cm at the top of the Belvedere (2700m). There’s even a suggestion that 65cm at the very top is “fresh snow.” La Rosiere is likely to have similar figures, although it’s worth taking into account La Thuile being on the less-sunny side of the hill, so it will see less sun when it finally comes out this weekend.

Sainte Foy

Despite having comparatively low base numbers (30cm at 1550m, 40cm at 2100m, 70cm at 2650m), most of the pistes in Ste Foy are open. The only closed pistes are present are the black runs, and they are all closed (all four of them).

La Plagne

The snow base numbers in La Plagne really reflect that short but very sharp period of rain we had midweek, with the low altitude depth being quite low, but 2000m and above being very good indeed. At 1250m (which, to be honest, is very low for a ski domain that is over 70% above 2000m) there’s 30cm of snow, at 2000m there’s 92cm and on the glacier (at 3000m) there’s a whopping 270cm. As with Les Arcs, La Plagne doesn’t open until tomorrow, so no lift news as yet.

Again, for a look at what the conditions were like in Plagne Centre last Saturday, check out this video. Despite the ‘up-and-down’ weather since then, I don’t imagine there will have been drastic change. There’ll be another snow report coming from the other side of Paradiski, Les Arcs, over the next couple of days, so keep an eye out for that.

Les Arcs

11cm of fresh snow (14th December) in Arc 2000. An overall snow depth of 108cm. A 45cm base in Arc 1600/1800 and 258cm atop the epic Aiguille Rouge. We are literally only halfway into December. Can’t wait to get out there tomorrow and find out exactly what’s going on…

KillySnowResort, LaPlagneSnowReport, LaRosiereSnowReport, LesArcsSnowReport, SnowReport, SteFoySnowReport

Snow Alert: significant snowfall at all levels

Leave a comment

Fresh snow has arrived in not-insignificant volume all the way down to the valley floor. We woke up this morning at 900m altitude to a good 30-40cm of fresh powder. It has kept snowing lightly throughout the day, although the freezing point has ascended slightly, meaning that below about 1000-1200m it has been a bit wetter.

There’s no doubting that this offering of snow constitutes a decent ‘dump’ that has generously covered the lower slopes of all the surrounding ski resorts and significantly boosted the high-altitude snow depth.

First thing today, Les Arcs (official) was heralding 35cm of fresh snow in Arc 2000, with the 0°C isotherm hovering around 1450m (although I think that’s a little bit conservative, as the highest temperature I saw at 800m today was only 1°C…) Overall, snow depth in Arc 2000 is reportedly 70cm, which is a solid start in November.

La Plagne’s morning figure was 36cm of new snow at 2000m, making an overall total of 63cm.

The official number is Tignes is 30cm of fresh snow at 2100m, and 40cm at the sky-scraping 3300m peaks. This translates to 53cm snow depth at the lower level, and a (very exciting) 170cm at the upper echelon. With Tignes already open to the paying public, this extra powder might help open a few more pistes over the next couple of days. Across the ridge, Val d’Isere is reporting an overall snow depth of 60cm at 1800m, and 80cm at 3000m (although I’m not convinced that these number have been very recently updated).

Sainte Foy, which can be a bit slower to update their recent snowfall, is showing that 20cm fell yesterday (27th Nov) giving an overall snow depth of 50cm in resort, 130cm at the Arpettaz (2100m) and 140cm atop the Col de l’Aiguille (2650m). However, these are “fresh snow” numbers, so we can assume some settling will occur.

La Rosiere have clearly not quite woken up to the winter yet, so I have no official figures, however we can assume they are very similar to the other resorts mentioned.

Typical of early season weather, there is likely to be further precipitation over the next few days (until around Saturday) but, with the freezing level moving up and down like a whack-a-mole, there’s likely to be sleet and rain mixed in with the snowfall. It looks like everything above 2000m should make a net gain, but below that point there could be some ‘settling in’ and, on the lower slopes, even some melt-back. Whatever happens, this first proper dump is good news and makes it feel like true winter is getting a grip.

KillyFeature, LaPlagneFeature, LaRosiereFeature, LesArcsFeature, SkiFeature, SteFoyFeature

Tarentaise Ski Pass Comparison

Leave a comment

There is a huge variety of ski passes available across different ski domains and which pass might be best for you is not necessarily the ‘6 day’ standard. This is therefore just a very basic comparison of the most popular Paradiski (Les Arcs & La Plagne), Val d’Isere/Tignes, Sainte Foy and La Rosiere passes. For more information, and options, check out the specific pages for each ski resort.

Ski Area1day
adult		1day
child		6day
adult		6day
child		KM
pistes		Over
2000m
Paradiski (Les Arcs & La Plagne)705636929642570%
Les Arcs655233026420070%
La Plagne655233026422570%
La Rosiere (San Bernardo)55.541.5/
50*		279209.5/
251*		154
Tignes & Val d’Isere665639633630060%
Sainte Foy383222820443
The reduced price for seniors (65-74 years old) is the same as the prices for children, except in La Rosiere, where the seniors price is marked *

This is just a very basic table and, as mentioned, there are a variety of factors which affect (and complicate) even these basic ski pass prices…

Children

Ski resorts do not have a standard age range when it comes to classifying a person as a child. This means that visiting certain domains is more cost-effective depending upon the age of your child(ren). In Paradiski (both Les Arcs and La Plagne), and in La Rosiere, the reduced rate for children applies to kids between 5 & 12 years old. Under fives get a free pass. Sainte Foy considers children to be aged 8 to 14 years old (under 8s go free). Tignes & Val d’Isere are somewhat exceptional in that ‘child’ covers 8 to 18 year olds, meaning you only have to pay full price once you hit 19!

Whilst the Val d’Isere/Tignes child classification would seem to be cost effective for teenagers, the “reduced” price is more expensive than an adult price for Les Arcs, so you’re actually still spending more money. The real benefit with Val d’Isere & Tignes is when you have lots of kids aged 7 or under, as they are effectively getting a free ski pass… which goes a little way to ameliorating the increased adult price you will be paying (plus the general common expenses associated with staying in Tignes or Val d’Isere).

Similarly Ste Foy’s beneficial age shift can reduce overall cost, although Ste Foy is simply a cheaper option anyway.

Free days on a 6 day pass

Because a 6 day pass is essentially the industry standard (skiers generally stay for a week), some ski passes have “bonus time” on their 6 day passes, to entice you to ski the day you arrive (or leave). The full Paradiski 6-day pass gives you a free afternoon (half day) on the day before your ski pass starts (essentially allowing you to start your holiday early, but not finish late). The full Tignes / Val d’Isere pass gives you a full seventh day (you effectively cannot buy a 6 day pass, you can either get 5 days, or 6+1). It’s the same at Sainte Foy: you pay for six days, you get seven days. These offers are great if you have the time within your travelling schedule to use them (particularly useful if you are driving or getting an early (on arrival) or late (on departure) ski train).

Value per KM of piste / altitude

Going from the figures alone, you get a lot of kilometres of piste per euro in Paradiski, whereas the lower price of Ste Foy gives you only a limited area in which to ski. Other than the size of the area, you might be considering altitude as a key factor in choosing a ski resort. However, on both these points, the numbers are not the “be all and end all.”

Paradiski is HUGE and, in a week, it’s pretty difficult (and questionably worthwhile) to cover the whole domain. This can be exacerbated by where you choose to stay; the full Paradiski area is much more accessible from Peisey-Vallandry or Montchavin (which are close to the adjoining Vanoise Express gondola), than from Montalbert or Villaroger (at the far ends of La Plagne and Les Arcs respectively). The situation is similar in Tignes/Val d’Isere as, whilst it doesn’t have a one-gondola connection between the two main domains, it is quite linear, making getting from one end to the other quite an endeavour. Another thing to consider is snow, as heavy snowfall can make getting about less straightforward (due to trickier conditions and closed lifts). Also, heavy snow makes it more sensible to stay in one place to enjoy the fresh powder, rather than try exporing in sub-optimal conditions. For most people there is therefore a limit to how many kilometres of piste you actually NEED.

Another thing is off-piste. Sainte Foy may not have a lot of groomed pistes compared with the others, but it has a high proportion of adjacent, accessible (and often underused) off-piste. So if off-piste is your thing, the KM of groomed runs on any given ski area may mean next to nothing.

Lastly, altitude. It can be important, but sometimes it’s not. If it’s snowing everywhere, at all levels, then it can be more important to be in a place with enclosed lifts which are not exposed to high winds and a good proportion of tree runs. In late season, it can better to be on the lee-side of the mountain (away from the sun), than at a higher altitude. Finally, people have a tendancy to “get high” meaning these areas are often the busiest and that there is actually more fresh snow to ride lower down.

Other things to consider

The Sainte Foy prices are somewhat ‘dynamic’ meaning some days/weeks are cheaper than others. The prices displayed in the table above are the most expensive, but you’re really only ever likely to save a couple of euros per day on the standard dynamic prices.

Saturday’s are often cheap, so if you just want to add on a day, that can be a cost-effective way of doing so. Sometimes you have to book in advance (the day before) or specifically online (maybe with a code), but find out beforehand and you’ll be well equipped for some last-minute pow.

Also, it can be simply cheaper to book online and some ski resorts (mostly outside of the Tarentaise in my experience) can put up short-term deals at times.

As mentioned at the start, a 6 day pass might not be for you. It may be cheaper (and more flexible) to pay as you go (PAYG) or pick and choose which days (and even ski areas) you ride as you go along. There are even cross-resort single ski passes which let you ride where you like at maximum convenience. It’s always best to check out all your options before you head out to the mountains.

KillySnowResort, LaPlagneSnowReport, LaRosiereSnowReport, LesArcsSnowReport, SnowReport, SteFoySnowReport

Snow Report: Winter is Coming

Leave a comment

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.