© Anita Gait
© Anita Gait
© Anita Gait
© Anita Gait
© Anita Gait
© Anita Gait
Sunshine returns to La Plagne
Hard pistes in the morning & spring snow in the afternoons
The end of last week gave us some unsettled weather with low clouds and moody skies on Friday and Saturday which culminated in a dumping of snow on Saturday night.
The forecasted 30 odd cm’s did indeed fall and though we were half expecting it to land as rain it was surprisingly light and fluffy. Sunday morning dawned bright and sunshiny clear and fresh tracks were had down every piste in resort as skiers revelled in this bonus late season snow fall. Alas it didn’t stay fluffy for long, Sunday got off to a warm start and by lunch time the new snow had become slushy and wet and the roads were soggy with melt water. Still, for those who got out in the morning it was a good few hours of fresh tracks fun.
The clouds descended on us again Sunday afternoon and hopes for another week of sunshine seemed unlikely but Monday was bright and Tuesday too and looks like we’re in for a few more days of bluebird skiing.
The temperature hasn’t jumped all the way back up yet though, today had a definite chill to it and since I’d ditched some layers and my buff after seeing blue skies out of the window, I felt a little chilled each time I stopped for a moment or sat on a lift. That chill has had its effect on the snow as well, freezing it hard over night and keeping it solid throughout the morning.
This does mean that this morning’s skiing was on snow which was much harder and even icier than I’d like, but it also mean that no moguls were forming because the snow was too hard to kick up into piles, runs stayed smooth for hours.
As the day progressed the runs were a surprising mixture of rock hard ice and slush depending on whether the sun had reached them or not. The Montblanc run especially was a real mixture of conditions with sheet ice, puddles, muddy brown slush and crisp cords all having their say before 11 am. Ditto Sources run from the top of the Roche de Mio, where the top section was groomed to lovely crunchy cords and then we rounded the corner to steep section and found it so hard packed that it was nearly impossible to get an edge into it and the whole section was a jumble of skiers and boarders frantically attempting to make turns they couldn’t control and trying not to slip top to bottom of the steep section.
Ice makes fools of us all though so at least we all reverted to beginner stances and panic turns together and no one made it through with any grace or style.
After lunch the chill in the air finally lost out to the sun and the snow softened up all over the mountain and will probably be much softer over the next few days as Wednesday and Thursday look to be really warm days with minimal wind. It’ll still freeze overnight though so if you don’t fancy testing your edges on ice you should still avoid the first hour of the day!
If you fancy doing something different this week and you have some energy to spare why not check out the Rando by Night event happening tomorrow night 29th March. Participants meet at the base of the Stade Olympic in Plagne Centre at 6.30pm then hike up to the top of the Verdons before cruising back down for a bit of night skiing. If you fancy it it’s a 2.5km timed hike with a buffet and prizes waiting at the top, you can sign up until 4pm tomorrow in Plagne Centre where you can also pay your €5 entrance fee and collect your bib. For more info drop an email to info@la-plagne.com.
Or if you’re feeling inaugural, then head to Aime 2000 at 11am on Thursday 30th March to see the officially opening ceremony of the Envers chairlift which is finally, finally planning to open this week.
Whatever you’re up to this week, have a great week and enjoy the sun! don’t forget your sunscreen, sunburn clashes with salopettes!
