Great snow off and on piste : 12th January 2012

The sun is still shining, the snow in the 3 Valleys is still gorgeous, and the only change to report is that the Méribel valley is finally 100% open.

Today, every single piste, lift, snowpark, 3 Valley link and cross-country trail opened for business. Méribel never quite achieved the magical 100% figure last winter as the two runs below the resort remained closed due to low snow cover. This year, in contrast, not only are Villages and Raffort runs open, it’s also possible to ski all the way down the itinerary to Brides les Bains at 600m.

What a brilliant start to the winter this has been! There is much talk already about this being the best season for many years. It’s a bit premature to say that (as we well know, conditions can change rapidly) but it’s fair to say this has been the best start to the season for a very long time.

Today I skied in Méribel and around Les Menuires valley and found lovely, soft and grippy snow from top to bottom of all the runs. In fact the only hard snow I encountered all day was on the last couple of hundred metres coming back down into Mottaret at the end of the afternoon. Otherwise, conditions on the pistes are perfect.

In my last report, I mentioned my fears the off-piste had been wrecked by last weekend’s high winds. In fact, there is some great snow off-piste, providing you know where to look.

Yesterday I skied with Mountain Guide Damien Souvy in Champagny. This is a little village linked to la Plagne in the Paradiski ski area. If you are wondering why on earth I’m telling you about the snow in different ski area (there is, after all, a snow reporter for our sister site Laplagnet.com) this is because you might like to know you too can enjoy a day skiing there for free.

If you purchase a six-day 3 Valley pass, you are entitled to ski one of those days in either the Paradiski or Espace Killy areas. The closest resort to Méribel offering this deal is Champagny, a short 40 minute drive away. The lure of Champagny is that the off-piste doesn’t become tracked out as fast as Méribel – this is because it tends to attract families and intermediate skiers who leave the powder well alone.

Knowledgeable Damien found us some excellent powder snow in the more sheltered valleys as well as some “interesting snow” in windier and sunnier areas.

Scarily, we also saw evidence of big avalanches where the entire snowpack down to the ground has slipped. Damien explained that this was due to rain earlier in the season, combined with rising temperatures now.

If you would like to see what one of these creeping avalanches looks like (rather like a Hollywood special effect) take a look at the short clip entitled “how to avoid being touched by a creep” on Henry’s Avalanche Talk website.

(Note, if you are an off-piste skier, or want to become one, I urge you to attend one of Henry’s excellent regular talks held every Thursday at 5pm in the Doron Pub in Méribel. It won’t make you an expert, but it will give you enough knowledge to make informed decisions about where and when to go off-piste.)

Of course, the best way to ski safely off-piste and find the very best snow is always to take a guide. Contact Méribel’s Bureau des Guides for details of group and individual guiding in our own ski area.

• Latest Conditions
  Excellent
• Depth of snow on lower slopes
  120cm
• Altitude of last snowfall
  1450cm
• Date of last snowfall
  6 January 2012
• Depth of last snowfall
  80cm
• Total number of pistes
  85
• Highest temperature
  2C
• Altitude of lower slopes
  1450m
• Depth of snow on upper slopes
  216cm
• Avalanche risk
  2
• Altitude of upper slopes
  2700m
• Number of pistes open
  85
• Altitude of highest temperature
  1450m

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