Courchevel Snow Report: 1st January 2015

Here in les 3 Vallées, the New Year started in perfect fashion with a gorgeous bluebird day. I always love skiing on 1st January as it is the quietest day of a super-busy week. Having made the effort to be up for first lifts, we felt super-smug to discover we had the first few pistes and lifts to ourselves, all in beautiful sunshine.

I’m delighted to report the snow is now generally very good thanks to a huge dump last weekend. True, the snow is not as deep as we would like and some of the lower, more minor pistes are still not open. On runs without snow cannons, you sometimes encounter bits of vegetation or stones poking through the snow, eg the red run Marmottes is rocky. However, overall the quality is very great, especially when you compare it to the situation only a week ago.

It has been very cold so the snow still has that lovely squeaky, scrunchy quality. In fact, it was so cold on Monday, skiers were perplexed to find their skis sliding much more slowly than usual. This happens in very low temperatures because the snow crystals remain sharp and angular, providing greater friction against your ski bases. Now the temperature is rising, this effect is wearing off.

For me, the blue run Creux is the ideal first slope of the day. Creux lies at the top of the Saulire and is easily accessed from Méribel or Courchevel. It is groomed virtually every night so you can usually enjoy perfect “Courchevel corduroy” snow (and nowhere in les 3 Vallées grooms the snow quite so beautifully as Courchevel). This run is very popular and people tend to bomb down it, hence it is worth getting here early before anybody else is around so you can carve your way from top to bottom without worrying about collisions.

From the bottom of this run, we were interested to take one of this winter’s new chairlifts, the fast and comfortable 8-seat Aiguille du Fruit. This has replaced two elderly and slow chairlifts and now gives much quicker access to either the Marmottes or Suisses chairlifts which whip you back up to the top of the mountain.

After a few runs on the Courchevel side of Saulire, the slopes began to get busier. Where should you head to avoid crowded runs in peak season? Courchevel 1650, of course (or as I should say, Courchevel-Moriond, as it has recently been rebranded). This part of the valley always seems much quieter than Courchevel 1850 and it’s rare to find a lift queue here even in peak season. The slopes face in a northerly direction, so there is often great snow and the scenery is spectacular. There are lots of easy blue runs and a few reds, so it’s perfect for intermediates or for when you want an easy, cruisy ski day. And it is also home to my personal favourite coffee stop, the Fire and Ice bar at the Hotel Portetta. This has fabulous hot chocolates, a sun terrace with firpits and comfy sofas and a stunning view.

A couple of other places to note in this area – for families, don’t miss the blue Indiens run, where there is a children’s Indian-themed play area with lots of activities. Also, when it is mild enough to picnic, the best place to do so is at the top of Chapelets chairlift, where there are tables with a view to die for and hungry choughs to feed.

Finally, I’m pleased to have found some moguls today. The trend over the past few years has been to groom every slope to wedding-cake smoothness and never allow moguls to develop. It was rather a nice surprise today to find Chapelets and Bel air pistes were covered in friendly, soft and powdery medium-sized bumps, just the perfect size for practising. Though I have to admit my thigh muscles are now aching after all that unaccustomed effort….

After this weekend, the holidays end and the ski area will suddenly empty. Roll on my favourite time of the year– empty-sloped, super-quiet, low-season January!

- ed: Also take a look at the Video Snow Report from Alpine Action.