Snow depth on the upper slopes of the ski area is now 260cm and in resort the home runs have 180cm.

The weather this week has been far more varied than it has over the last few. And the pistes have been thick with skiers and snowboarders, come snow or shine. The heavy dump of snow at the weekend was not as large as was expected and the snowfall spread itself out throughout the week for a change. With this steady flow, the management of the snow has been very efficient and the pistes have benefited hugely from a frequent dusting. Moreover, with a drastic drop in temperatures, the freezing cold air has kept all the fresh snow dry and light in most places and this beautifully soft stuff is a delight to ride. The off piste conditions have been unmatched with perfect powder, especially in the valleys of Orelle between Grand Fond and Rosael lifts.

Popular mid-level blue pistes such as Plein Sud and Tête Ronde are currently nice and soft and their powdery slopes are littered with moguls of various sizes which can be great fun to navigate. Both also offer excellent off-piste areas and nipping on and off the slope or sourcing lips in the snow from which to get some air on these runs is extremely fun. Similarly, the Dalles run from the top of the Cascades chairlift is an exciting descent suitable for a wide range of abilities.

The weather is set to be clear for the next three days and nights, giving great sunshine. As with much of Europe, temperatures will be extremely low with a maximum of -14C on Sunday.

Local news/events and gossip!

It is going to be an exciting week in terms of ski events with two Skicross European Cup qualifications and finals, the first on Wednesday and Thursday and the second running throughout Friday at the Boardercross.

Snow depth at the top of the ski area is 278cm of solidly packed snow and on the local home runs there is 80cm.

The ski conditions have improved a lot with a continuous snowfall for 48hrs. The local resorts are looking stunning; with snow clad trees and chalets. The powder has added to the well kept pistes. The conditions have been very cold, with wind-chill lowering ski temperature to -18oc and more. Tree lined routes continue to be popular with protection from wind for skiers/ snowboarders and the piste, prolonging the conditions. Snow conditions have been preserved by cool temperatures making for fast skiing. The parks have had varied turnout due to wind and visibility. Snowmaking continues to add to the slope conditions, with perfect riding to be had in the morning.

The forecast remains to be incredibly cold, making skiing for prolonged periods of time with high winds difficult. High winds and cold temperatures are set to continue with light sprinklings of snow set to continue. With wind-chill temperatures could reach up to -25oc through the weekend and into the beginning of next week. General forecast for the week is light sprinklings of snow, cold temperatures and moderate wind. Visibility is likely to be reduced on Monday with cloud cover.

The build up to the Dolimiti night ski race (Ski Marathon) continues until the 10.02.12. Quiz nights, wine tasting and local cuisine continue to be enjoyed by guests visiting the area. Especially the local ham, speck. Another ski show is planned for the 16.02.12, an exciting evening of free mulled wine and spectacular displays by the local ski schools, ski teams and freestyle specialists. On the 17.02.12 an exciting night ski-touring competition called Lors Da Reba will be held from Arabba to the Passa Pordoi.

Following the quick blast of snow that fell during the middle of the week the resort is feeling at its freshest once more. Conditions on piste could not be any better.

Snow depth on the upper slopes is 205cm and the lower slopes of the resort have a depth of 145cm.
The base pack around resort gives a very good covering to all areas allowing every skier or snowboarder to be very confident of any type of turns.

Overall the resort is in a very stable situation opening a wide variety of off piste areas around resort. The usual avalanche equipment is however still required to ensure safety for everyone involved.

The Tignes snow park is well and truly up and going with the big screen recording both the best and worst attempts on the large airbag. Rails and boxes used in last years X-games have been installed into the park allowing any amateur to have a go with the pros.

With sunshine and very cold temperatures forecast over the next three days the resort should stay in fantastic nick. Low winds should allow the majority of lifts in resort to be and stay open.

A giant slalom and freeride demonstration from the local junior Tignes ski club in Val Claret showing the talent Tignes has to offer.

Another great week for powder! With small top-ups of snow through-out the week, and sparkling air constantly, Alpe d’Huez is making advantage of all of the fresh snow.

Snow depth at the top of the ski area is 350cm whilst in resort it has reached 155cm.

Forecasting a beautiful week of sunshine now is the time to be in resort!

Welcome to paradise people, the snow conditions here once again remain perfect. There is thick, fluffy powder everywhere the eye can see; no amount of French mountain folk could possibly piste all this snowfall. So everywhere you go this morning you will be ankle deep, from the pharmacy to the Ranfoilly, the patisserie to the Prodain.

But if you’re really looking for some powder bashing fun, and are ready to take it all the way up to your waist, then head over to the Mont Chery, where the pistes remain unpisted, and the treelines stay tricky and unpredictable, the expert skier will be in heaven. For the less expert among us the runs around the bowl will still excite to the maximum, and this week you can really push yourself, as the powder will always break your fall!

Woooooooaaaaahh it’s cold this morning!! With a big freeze snap making its way through Europe it’s no surprise that it’s cold in the alps, but with temperatures falling as low as -30 degrees we’re all a little bit stunned. But with dry and calm conditions the snow will remain plentiful, so even with the low temperatures flowing through resort, we’re still all feeling a little warm inside.

The Big Mountain Battle is really hotting up in resort this week, with Saturday being the 3rd of 4 heats; the competition is getting fierce and frenzied. So if you’re in resort this week make sure you head down to the Maison des Gets for the finishing line dramas!!

Also in resort this week the local shops, restaurants and lift offices are gearing up for Valentine’s day, love is in the air here in Les Gets. The Mont Chery lifts have started the events off in true Les Gets style, with a meal deal offer for the couple to eat in the Gondola, overlooking the resort. The rest of the village is really going to have to step it up to compete with this, for the lucky lovers and hopeless romantics among us, there isn’t much more a special night one can have.

The last couple of days have provided some light snow, just giving a dusting of powder on top of the already perfect snow conditions, with a snow base at the top of the ski area of 348cm.

On piste the runs are groomed and ready to be enjoyed for that fast run down to resort, with clear blue skies providing some amazing views on the way down. Off piste has just the right amount of powder to allow for those fantastic turns and for you to kick up some snow to get that brilliant photo opportunity.

With a light drizzle of snow today, Saas Fee will be provided with exactly what it needs to make the ski conditions just perfect for the weekend. The right level of powder to start, then bright blue skies over the next few days making for some fantastic weekend skiing, the perfect weekend away in the pearl of the Alps.

Hype for the carnival is in full swing, with the plans nearly finished and the carnival ready to get underway next week. This event will provide some amazement for children and adults alike.

Paradiski, is reporting record levels of snow for the February holidays: at the time of writing snowfall currently stands at 4.78 metres. At heights of 1600 metres snow is 1.75 metres and at 3000 metres is as deep as 3.4 metres. Snowfalls of this magnitude haven’t been seen since 1966.

After a few overcast days and a light snowfall at the start of the week, the clear blue skies have returned to Les Arcs. The current spell of cold weather has ensured that the healthy levels of snow already in resort have been well maintained, with most people making an extra vin chaud stop during the day! The conditions have meant that all runs have been open in resort, and there are excellent conditions even as low down as Villaroger at 1200m.

With fresh snowfall forecast in PARADISKI for next week and with 70 percent of its pistes situated above 2000 metres, skiers have a good chance of excellent skiing conditions throughout the ski area until the 21st April when PARADISKI closes.

The sun is out again following the huge amount of snowfall at the beginning of the week, meaning perfect conditions once again all the way from Courchevel 1850 to Le Praz!

Snow depth at the top of the ski area is 230cm whilst in resort it is 177cm.

Temperatures continue to be very nippy, which is great in terms of keeping a lovely base on the piste – but do remember to pack those extra layers.

With the exception of some possible light snow showers this afternoon, the next few days look to be much the same – crisp, dry weather and sunny powder days await. The wind will be generally light, but again there is a definite chill in the air so don’t forget to wrap up warm!

A ‘Festival of Magic’ comes to Courchevel from Sunday 12th to Friday 17th of February, with various workshops, demonstrations and shows throughout 1850 and 1650. On the Friday, why not take the children to the ‘Magic workshop’ from 3 o’clock at the Salon Bar de l’auditorium Gille de La Roques – and don’t miss the Gala Show with ‘Magic Pirates’ that follows, kicking off at 6pm! Tickets are 12 euros.

A top up of 7cm fell yesterday and the cold snap is ensuring the snow stays in perfect condition and the area looks glorious in the current frosty conditions and snow showers are due tomorrow.

Snow depth at the top of ski area is 271cm.

Bitterly, bitterly cold here in Sölden with temperatures dropping to minus 11. However, with the West Siberian wind, it’ll feel more like minus 27 degrees Celsius!! Even though the sun is shining, it will not warm up – so make sure you cover up and get the thermals on! The frost has made the trees rather photogenic too, so remember your camera for the tree runs, as there will be plenty of photo opportunities today. The cold is good news, however, for the snow conditions. With the low temperatures, the snow canons have been operating on the lower slopes to keep the pistes from getting too icy. The snow that fell on Wednesday has also improved skiing on-piste and off-piste – notably not as hard packed as earlier on in the week.

The blue skies will cloud over this afternoon, bringing some light snow this afternoon, which will ease off into the evening to snow showers. This, however, will not raise the temperatures any, as they are staying well below freezing at minus 11 degrees Celsius. The snow showers will continue into Saturday, but visibility shouldn’t be too bad with bright sunny spells forecasted too. Temperatures will finally rise on Sunday to freezing, and light snow is forecasted to fall the whole day. However, with less than a centimetre expected to fall, it shouldn’t affect transfers. The light snow is set to continue into early next week which is great news for ski conditions.

It’s once again Friday in Sölden, which means that it’s all happening at the Giggijoch from 1pm until 4pm. This week at The Sölden Party, rock n roll cover band, Moe’s Garage, will be getting the party started with a mixture of classic Rock ‘n’ Roll tunes and modern pop/rock chart toppers. If you’ve not already gone hoarse from singing a-long at Giggijoch Après-ski, then tonight is karaoke night in SnowRock Café – a chance to sing with the renowned singing barmaids. This evening at club, Fire and Ice, DJ Junior Freak is playing the best dance party hits from 10pm. On Sunday, the traditional

Tyrolean 3-piece band, the Alpentornados, will be leading Die Alm’s Weekly Tyrolean evening.

Even more fresh snow has fallen over the last few days creating some amazing powder conditions in Verbier with the high point of the area, Col de Gentianes, now having a snow base of 300cm.

On piste, the bashers have been working hard to keep the runs in perfect condition; unusually quiet slopes mean that well groomed, corduroy pistes are easy to find well in to the afternoon. The long itinerary run from the top of the Greppon Blanc is an absolute treat this week, it has a little bit of everything from moguls to deep powder skiing making for a classic back country trail.

Bright blue skies are forecast throughout the coming week should make for some fantastic skiing!

The Dahu Freeride competition takes place in Bruson next Saturday showcasing some of the best local freeride talent in one of the best powder seasons in recent years!