© Stuart Hamilton
A brief return to spring in La Plagne
A brief sunny spell in Paradiski
After a winter which frequently felt like it might never end and which seems to have stretched from November, we finally experienced something nearing spring over the last few days in La Plagne. Although short-lived, the clouds at last gave way and the area was bathed in beautiful warm sunshine through Friday and Saturday.
This has been the longest, snowiest winter in living memory and, at times through this season, it’s been hard to believe there even was a sun as storm after storm rolled in. In fact, I heard the other day we’ve had an estimated 14 sunny days since the season started way back on December 16th.
Of course, the cumulative effect of our perpetual winter is we’ve now still got cover to rival that of mid-winter. While the temperatures are at last noticeably rising and there’s a hint of the snow retreating in some places, we’ve still got incredible depths for this late in the season.
Thinking back to this time last year, I remember a river forming on the lower slopes of Bellecôte while most of the lower village runs to Montchavin and Montalbert were already stripped bare. Not this year. Instead, this season, we have exceptional cover that will easily outlast the rapidly-approaching closing date of 28th April. Indeed, around the area, the official depths remain outstanding for the time of year.
On the glacier at 3000m, there’s still a deep and wide cover of 405cm. At this altitude, the snow remains soft with a further 20cm falling on 5th April.
In the main stations at 2000m we still have 230cm - well above the typical 1-1.5m we’d normally expect at this time of year. Warmer temperatures are finally starting to transform the cover into lovely spring snow across the main area - though the last fall on 5th April (18cm) was like glue for the first couple of days as temperatures didn’t drop low enough for a freeze-refreeze to take effect.
Meanwhile, down low in the villages, spring is gradually beginning to have an effect with the cover now slowly reducing. Still, there remains a very impressive 35cm total depth even with the recent precipitation on 5th April falling mainly as rain. Warming temperatures mean there has been a fairly marked reduction in cover but it’s worth remembering we are in the second week of April and the altitude here is only 1250m so, on balance, conditions really are still very good.
In terms of the runs, we have an incredible 9/9 green, 70/73 blues, 29/34 red and 10/19 blacks still running. The blacks are closed mainly through an increased risk of avalanches – currently at 3/5, I have seen a couple of natural slides on Le Biolley directly in front of our apartment so please, heed the warnings. Also, if a run is marked closed, it’s closed for a reason and you should not ride it, even if it looks safe. On Saturday, I saw a few people ducking under the warning banners to ride the Roc du Diable link between Les Blanchets and the snow park. This is an innocent-looking run until you consider the potential slide risk off the Col de Forcle, which it cuts directly across. The same applies with the Petite Rochette and Geisha runs which traverse over the back of Grande Rochette down to Champagny. Neither piste is steep but they both run through avalanche-prone terrain so, if they’re marked closed, really – do not ride them. In particular, Geisha runs along a mainly flat valley floor which could end up a real trap in a slide.
As for the weather, the forecast for the coming week is again rather mixed though there is a hint we might return to more spring-like weather towards the weekend. I say ‘hint’ because, really, we’ve been promised improving weather for a while now but it sadly never seems to appear. Of course, it’s not all bad news as the lower temperatures have afforded us incredible late-season conditions and some really enjoyable riding. That said, I know I’m not alone amongst people who have been here all season when I say it would be nice to finally see some sun.
Other than the incredible conditions, the most noticeable thing over the last few days has been the huge drop in skiers and snowboarders on the runs. I’m sure I remember this time last year being considerably busier but right now, as I write this, I can see empty chairs whizz by on the Bergerie lift outside our apartment. This lift is typically one of the busiest and most popular in the resort so it’s quite strange to suddenly see it so deserted.
There are now just less than 3 weeks to get out and enjoy the best late-season conditions across the resort in a lifetime. The cover we have will undoubtedly endure long beyond the closing date so, if you’re after a late-season slide, now is the time. Flights and accommodation are cheap, the resort’s annual Subli’Cimes celebrations start this week, the resort is quiet and there are the usual shenanigans of the closing parties to look forward to. Season 17/18 isn’t over yet.
Stuart Hamilton is Creative Director of iRide App (iOS / Android) and Editor of Ski-App and Snowboard-App (ski and snowboard video apps available exclusively on Android).
