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A fun-filled few days in La Plagne

More heavy snow is on its way!

featured in Snow report Author Stuart Hamilton, La Plagne Reporter Updated

There’s been lots going on in La Plagne the last few days with great skiing and snowboarding to be had over the entire area. With Christmas over, the resort is now gearing up for the New Year celebrations and the famed Pompon Rouge – a live fireworks show and disco on the Front de Neige in Bellecôte. The stage is set for a great night – well worth heading to if you’re here.

The past week has been unexpectedly quiet in resort with much lower queues than anticipated. Thankfully, the expected Christmas rush didn’t really materialize as expected – at least, not compared to previous years anyway. Still, the resort has been getting noticeably busier through this week and, coupled with the expected rush tomorrow, it’s very likely there will be a lot more people here for New Year.

A fun-filled few days in La Plagne

As for the skiing and snowboarding, the early season base we were gifted back at the start of December is still going strong - despite a few weather blips of late. We had t-shirt weather over Christmas but such is the depth of the base on the pistes that, really, the higher than normal temperatures made no difference. There has been a consolidation of the snow – but that’s no bad thing this early in the season as it just makes the base more secure for later in year.

So, with the resort quieter than expected, there’s been some really great riding to be had across all areas. Yes, there were still the usual bottlenecks at the main arterial hubs (eg Roche de Mio, Colosses, Bergerie, Colorado etc) but, even at these lifts, things have been surprisingly subdued given the time of year.

A fun-filled few days in La Plagne

As for the snow, conditions really are excellent anywhere above 2000m. Venture a little lower and it gets a bit more mixed, though the cover is still deep and wide everywhere. I was in Montchavin yesterday and even down low we have a huge cover of snow. That said, it’s worth noting there are a few slick spots to watch out for so be careful – particularly down at village level. The fresh snow that’s fallen here isn’t gripping as well as other areas so be wary of the occasional hard spot – particularly between moguls where the snow can be a bit scraped. Still, in real terms, we are very early season and conditions really are superb across the entire domain. It’s worth remembering, this is actually only the second week of the season!

A fun-filled few days in La Plagne

The forecast for the next few days is very mixed with everything from snow to sun to rain (yes rain – perhaps as high as 1800m-2000m on Saturday afternoon). It started snowing today around midday and is set to continue through tonight and into tomorrow, bringing another 50cm in total.

If you are travelling tomorrow, expect delays – on both sides of your journey, unfortunately. I gather there are already problems at the UK airports but you will also almost undoubtedly hit problems this side with the amount of snow expected tomorrow. This should fall mainly as rain in the valleys but the weather, coupled with the anticipated influx of visitors, could make conditions problematic.

A fun-filled few days in La Plagne

Into Sunday (New Year’s Eve) things are looking quite settled with long sunny spells expected through the day. Get up and out early to catch powder turns after the Saturday dump. On Sunday night, things are expected to deteriorate just in time for the Pompon Rouge and other Hogmanay celebrations across the area. This is just portent of things to come as this storm looks set to rage through most of next week.

A fun-filled few days in La Plagne

Monday looks like being unsettled, particularly in the evening when we’re expecting another 40cm or so. On Tuesday, things should clear a little (powder day!) before another massive storm hits on Wednesday which is currently forecast to bring up to 50cm.

A fun-filled few days in La Plagne

Looking further ahead, things are looking – how shall we say – “interesting”! As part of my job on Snowboard-App and Ski-App, I have access to some longer-term forecasts and signs are showing a period of very unsettled weather right through the first half of January. Indeed, if the charts are to be believed, we could be looking at a repeat of the first half of December as the Jet Stream has shifted considerably from its usual position and is currently flowing directly over the Alps. Signs are it’s set to stay there for at least the next two weeks as there’s a blocking pattern pushing down from the North redirecting its usual shape. This is all good news for ski areas in this area as we’re pretty much first in line for snow that comes from the West and, coupled with the cold Northerly winds, we should be looking at considerable snow for quite some time.

My advice - get out here and make the most of the best conditions in this area for years. 2017/18 really is becoming a season of superlatives.

Our reporter 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).

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