We’ve had some GREAT snow in the last few days even if it has only been a very little bit. Last week I expressed myself in the following manner, “There are times when a guy will take anything he can get ….” What a difference a few cm’s make! Especially in the gullies and lee slopes where the wind has blown the snow, where accumulations have built up to a whopping 15 cm! The colder temps have helped too - making the snow feather light. We didn’t get all the snow that we were hoping for, but we can’t complain at all.
Snow Stability
The outlook for this coming week is for a bit more snow on Sunday-Wednesday.
For the snow stability: of course it has been very stable up until now. But predicting snow stability is all about looking at what we have now and at what could happen in the future. When we do get a good amount of snow we have to think about the layers of angular crystals, ‘frisette’, and depth hoar on flat and shaded slopes above 2200. These layers are not a problem now; but, with the next significant snowfalls (total 30 to 40cm or more in one place), they will be a source of instability under the new snow on shaded slopes that were not subjected to much skier compaction over the last few weeks. So that really means in places that were not ‘pisted off-piste’ and more on north-facing/shaded slopes that have not been skied very much - this weak cohesionless snow makes up the whole snowpack in some of these shaded north facing slopes.
Tip of the week: “The most important thing to remember while riding in fresh snow is to have a smile on your face!” (a quote from my friend Andreas from HAT & Alpine Experience). Let’s hope there will be something more to smile about soon.
‘Ride Hard Ride Safe’!
Henry
PS We’re doing lots of transceiver training at the moment in Val d’Isère: 35 euros for saisonaires for a full afternoon of coaching, timed searches, basic rescue procedures & a waterproof reference card. Call Jamie on 06 23 05 75 09
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