Sun returns to greet Courchevel’s fresh snow

Sun returns to greet Courchevel’s fresh snow

A week of almost non-stop snow leaves Courchevel overfilled with snow

featured in Snow report Author Eliot Prince, Courchevel Reporter Updated 26 January 2018

Over the last 72 hours, 50 cms of fresh snow have fallen in Courchevel, particularly during Sunday where a blizzard raged all day and night. Adding to this, well over a metre fell last week starting on Tuesday. High winds and bad visibility did leave conditions variable and The 3 Valleys lift links remained shut for prolonged periods of time. Reports explain that record amount of snow has already fallen for the 2017/2018 ski season, the most since the 1980s.

Cold air temperatures through last week produced dream-like snow conditions with gorgeous fresh powder every morning. Whilst the resort was slow to get running every morning as snow clearing jumped into full flow both on and off the piste, once the mountain opened up off-piste skiers found some all-time great conditions. Light fresh snow settled onto the solid snow pack appearing to bond strongly and leaving a stable snowpack.

The early stages of this week have seen conditions change once again. Despite snow throughout Sunday above 1600 metres, warm temperatures and some rain have left the snowpack in a slightly worrisome state. Monday saw the avalanche risk raised to a 5 out of 5, signalling severe risk across the resort.

Today, Tuesday 23rd January sees the introduction of brighter times. A low cloudy start to the morning is being replaced by patches of blue sky and sun. There is sure to be a rafter of beaming smiles around the mountain this afternoon as we finally get fair weather. You can expect skiing conditions to settle down over the next couple of days with warmer afternoons on the horizon. Pistes may be hard and icy first thing but the surface will soften up throughout the day. Best skiing conditions may well be produced between 11:00 and 15:00, so think about taking a packed lunch and skiing through the middle of the day.

Warmer and sunnier weather should make life perfect for fair weather skiers. Wednesday and Thursday will keep the sun with temperatures touching above freezing at all altitudes. If you’re looking for a lunch spot in the sun try some warmer lower altitudes like Le Praz or La Tania. For the real sun traps, you could even take yourself off to Meribel for the afternoon.

Huge swathes of snow and ice now encompass Courchevel with astounding snow walls encapsulating the roads. Trees have disappeared and the terrain is almost unrecognisable. At the summit, a whopping 330cm of snow base stands proudly with over 220cm in most other areas. A few bits of the ski area continue to remain closed due to the unstable conditions, lifts including Creux Noir and Chanrossa will take time to open up.

For sunny mellow afternoon skiing, Courchevel 1650 is just the ticket with quiet, wide open runs that hold the sun until the last of the day. You could even ski all the way down into the village and find a chilled out apres ski sport at the Fire and Ice bar on the snow front. Happy hour runs from 16:30 pm which includes 5€ drinks and mouth-watering free pizzas around the fire.

The finish of the month is likely to see another blast of snow and cold temperatures, particularly on Friday and Saturday. Currently, the forecast signals over 20cm of snowfall for these days across the valley. More updates will come later in the week to keep you up to date on these conditions. If you’re out skiing this week then you’re in for a treat and if you’re arriving over the weekend then there could well be yet more fresh snow to greet you in the resort.

Eliot Prince is a freelance writer with a focus on the ski industry, he offers services to small and bespoke companies.