That's quite enough snow now, thank you : 22nd January 2012

What a fabulous, abundantly snow January we are having! Another 60cm has fallen and it is becoming difficult to clear all the fresh snow as there is nowhere left to put it all.

This season is shaping up to be one of the greats; the sort of winter that people talk about for years to come. I bumped into my neighbour yesterday, a woman who has lived in the valley all her long life and is renowned for knowing absolutely everything. She was photographing the overloaded roofs of the local barns as a record for her grandchildren. “When did you last see so much snow in the resort?” I asked, hoping for the official, definitive verdict on this season. “Euh….a very long time ago,” she replied. So now you know. There is more snow in Méribel now than there has been for “a very long time”.

The best pistes to ski when snow is falling and the visibility is poor are low, tree-lined runs. These afford better visibility and shelter from the winds. Yesterday we skied two of the best: Raffort and Lapin.

The first is an easy red run which descends below Méribel to the village of Raffort, with a return via the Olympe gondola. This run is usually very quiet as few people know it exists. It’s quite narrow in places, so not one to take if the snow is icy, but in fresh snow it is a true delight.

Lapin is the wide, blue run which descends from Altiport to Méribel Village (that confusingly-named village a couple of kilometres from Méribel). The recently-updated golf chairlift whisks you back up to the Altiport, so you can ski this run over and again on bad-weather days.

It was at the bottom of Lapin that I discovered my personal Holy Grail: the ultimate hot chocolate. If you regularly read this report you will know I have scoured the 3 Valleys to find the definitive hot choccy. I have tasted hundreds in my attempts to locate the ne plus ultra of hot beverages. Well, I have finally found it in the Méribel Village bakery. This chocolat chaud à l’ancienne (just €3.50) is the the thickest, most intensely flavoured hot chocolate I’ve ever tasted. It was so good that we all let out little moans of pleasure at the first sip and greedily scooped out the last bits with our fingers, all manners forgotten. We also shared a slice of the bakery’s tarte aux poires et amandes, just one of the many delicious goodies on offer. This calorie-fest left us so full that we didn’t need any lunch. To find bakery le Village des Pains, simply ski into the car park below the Golf chairlift and you’ll see it 20m ahead of you, next to the Lodge du Village restaurant.

If, like me, you find a day on the slopes is incomplete without a good chocolate chaud, here are my other three favourites in the 3 Valleys. First prize, le Chocola’the in Courchevel 1850. Second, Hotel le Portetta in Courchevel 1650. Third, Hotel Manali in Courchevel 1650. If you know of a really good hot chocolate in the Belleville valley, please do let me know! 

Snow conditions, as you may imagine, are amazing at the moment. In fact, there is almost too much snow off-piste. Yesterday, my skinny skis submarined – ie they sunk and stopped in the deep powder, somersaulting me over the front. Time, I think, to buy some fatter skis. My personal verdict on winter 2012? The season that required fatter skis to cope with all the snow.

• Depth of snow on upper slopes
  235cm
• Altitude of lower slopes
  1450m
• Highest temperature
  4C
• Altitude of highest temperature
  1450C
• Number of pistes open
  82
• Altitude of upper slopes
  2700m
• Avalanche risk
  4
• Latest Conditions
  WEATHER FORECASTTUESDAY 24th of JANUARY: Some light snowfalls are possible during the morning. Nice sunny spell this afternoon. Many high clouds hide the sun at the end of the day. Maximal Temperatures: At 1000 meters: +7
• Depth of snow on lower slopes
  145cm
• Altitude of last snowfall
  2700m
• Date of last snowfall
  21st January 2012
• Depth of last snowfall
  65cm
• Total number of pistes
  85