Escape half-term hordes at the Altiport : 12th February 2012

The French holidays began on Saturday so for the next four weeks the slopes will be busy, busy, busy.

We Méribel-dwellers are, of course, delighted that people want to visit our resort: our livelihoods depend on it. But we have been so spoiled by the empty slopes and fantastic snow of the past month that it’s hard to accept sharing your little corner of snowy paradise with tens of thousands of other people.

You will have noticed from the figures below that there has been no fresh snow in the past couple of weeks. In fact, there has been some hyper-light snow on several occasions recently, but so little that it doesn’t appear in the official figures. Snow that falls during these periods of intense cold is so light that you can quite literally blow it off your car in the morning with a few good breaths. The good news is that the very low temperatures have kept the pistes in great condition without the deterioration that usually occurs during long, sunny periods.

The long cold spell also means Méribel’s pavements are excitingly slippery. The town’s chief snow clearer (an important man here) explained he couldn’t salt the pavements because salt only works when the temperature is above -8C and it has remained considerably colder than that since the last snowfalls. Until this cold snap ends, I recommend wearing ice-grippers on your boots.

Today I couldn’t quite face the hullabaloo of hundreds of ski school classes meeting at the Chaudanne. Instead we escaped to the tranquil Altiport forest for a spot of cross-country skiing.

Ski de fond, as the French call it, is a sport in need of an image-makeover. Most people associate it with either sweaty men in Lycra or ladies too nervous to try ‘real’ skiing. Personally, I love cross-country skiing and the snow-hound and I are regularly seen puffing our way around Méribel’s forest tracks. Today, it was blissfully quiet. We only bumped into two other skiers, one of whom politely said “bonjour” and the other stopped for a friendly chat. What a contrast to the bustling downhill pistes.

To my mind, the Altiport area of Méribel is one of the most beautiful parts of our valley. Even if you don’t fancy trying cross-country, it’s worth the short ride by free bus up here to enjoy the views, use the walking paths or eat at one of the two excellent restaurants here, le Blanchot and the Altiport Hotel. Over the next four weeks, I intend to spend quite a few peaceful afternoons here.

• Number of pistes open
  84
• Depth of snow on upper slopes
  205
• Latest Conditions
  TUESDAY 14th of February: Really cold for the morning, sunny during the morning in spite of some high clouds. Clouds are more present during the afternoon. Strong north breeze. Maximal Temperatures: At 1000 meters: 0
• Depth of snow on lower slopes
  145
• Date of last snowfall
  28/01/2012
• Depth of last snowfall
  Plus de 30 cm
• Highest temperature
  -20

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