Our snow reports (and the summer updates) are your guide to the resort's pistes and activities, mixed in with news, views and gossip from around the slopes. We aim to offer more than just stats about snow depths, and we always give you an honest and frank account of what the snow is really like. We want to give you the best information to help you make decisions as to when and where to ski. We try and keep the reports coming regularly, especially when the snow is falling; but even when conditions aren't great we'll give you plenty of ideas and insiders' tips on where to go and how amuse yourself on the slopes. If you have any feedback on the reports please let us know.
Skiing conditions don’t get much better than this. Powder paradise on Saturday was followed by corduroy paradise on Sunday. Friday’s snow storm left us with 20cm of fluffy powder at all altitudes and picture postcard perfect scenery. Saturday is by far the quietest day of the week in the 3 Valleys so yesterday we were able to put down fresh tracks off-piste, with virtually nobody else to disturb the snow before us. We spent the morning putting wobbly, wiggly lines down the side of la Face, Faon and Jerusalem pistes where the snow was light and even and delicious. Bliss.
By today all the runs had been groomed, so we had acres of immaculate, soft corduroy to play in. Snow this soft and perfect is immensely flattering to your skiing and confidence-boosting. (One of my friends calls it ‘hero snow’.) I certainly felt like I was Chemmy Alcott all day.
Despite it being the start of the French holiday period, the slopes really weren’t busy this morning. Even during peak season, if you can get out at 9am to catch first lift you can get ahead of any queues, and this is especially true on Sunday mornings when most people are still occupied with ski hire and lift passes. First Saulire lift brought us to an empty Combe Saulire and we spent the rest of the morning seeking out runs in the Courchevel valley that are less frequented. Low and often hard runs like Folyères and Moretta Blanche in la Tania had great snow on them today. Dou du midi, Bouc blanc, Cretes and Petit Dou also had great snow – even Dou des Lanches which is often scraped hard at the bottom. These runs off Loze are usually quiet even in high season, so if you are looking to avoid the crowds, it’s worth heading over there.
The 3 Valleys is such a vast ski area that you really can find quiet slopes even during the busiest weeks. I’ll keep this report updated with where we find quiet skiing – and where we run into queues. We have a few more suggestions of how to make the most of the French holiday period in our top tips page.
Finally, a plug for a new Skinets product: the merinet, courchnet and valthonet i-phone apps are now available. They feature all the news, weather forecasts and snow reports from the sites as well as useful information, piste maps and videos. You can download them from the iTunes store here >>
We will be keeping this Meribel snow and rock report updated two to three times a week during the winter season, and weekly during the summer. If you want even more up-to-date news on the ski conditions, check out our video snow reports or why not sign up for our Dump Alert? We'll email you each time it snows enough to significantly change the skiing conditions. It's great to know that the snow is falling in the run-up to your holiday, and it might even allow you to book a last-minute weekend when the snow is particularly good. The service is free, and you can unsubscribe whenever you like.
SNOWPACK The snowpack is weakly bonded in most steep slopes [1] .
AVALANCHE PROBABILITY Triggering possible, sometimes even with low additional loads [2] . The resort avalanche bulletin will indicate many slopes which are particularly affected. In certain conditions, medium and occasionally large-sized natural avalanches may occur.
[1] Generally described in more detail in the resort avalanche bullettin (e.g. altitude, aspect, type of terrain etc.) [2] Additional load:
High: e.g. group of skiers, piste machine, avalanche blasting
Low: e.g. skier, walker
Steep slopes: Slopes with an incline of more than about 30°
Steep extreme slopes: Particularly unfavourable in terms of the incline, terrain profile, proximity to ridge, smoothness of underlying ground surface.
This is an indication of status at time of writing. Please check latest situation at the lift stations before setting out.
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