White winter wonderland again in La Plagne

The temperature hasn’t dropped far and even with a bit of wind kicking about its not really cold out there, we’re back to Jacket weather but with a few less layers underneath than in previous months.

To look out the window though, we are back in the midst of winter. The sky is grey and white and the clouds are low over the mountains, hanging heavy with the promise of snow over the weekend. That promise is a big one as well, our trusty forecast is telling us there’s 32cm of snow arriving Saturday night and that’s just at 2500m, up at glacier level we can hope for as much as 45cm, so there might well be some powder skiing left in this season after all.

Now I’m not saying we drastically need that snow, you know I’m a fan of how well our pisties have worked all season to keep excellent coverage over the runs everywhere in resort, but even I have to admit it’s starting to look a little ropey in places.

I spent today riding around the Montalbert area with the idea of finding the best visibility in the trees. The light was definitely better and the snow still stretches all the way to the village, despite how far it sits below the snow line of the valley. The snow is there but it is certainly getting a little dirty.

As you ride down to Montalbert, Champagny and Montchavin you’ll see that the rocks and mountains that frame the runs are no longer snow covered, and in places the rock, dirt and mud has slipped down or is showing through the snow, turning it a not very picturesque shade of brown. Also in Montalbert the snow is weirdly hairy thanks to the trees above the runs shedding their fibres and needles onto the snow. It doesn’t affect the riding but it’s a little weird. Here’s hoping the new snow this weekend will cover up some of the brown patches and give us back our picture-postcard looking runs.

Hairy snow aside I have some other weird events to report to you first of which is the fact that I (honest to god) spotted a Snow Turkey hanging around under the Colorado chairlift this week. I did not hallucinate it and I am not crazy, I was heading up the lift and I (along with several witnesses) spotted a real live wild turkey wandering around amongst the trees making regulation turkey gobbling noises and seeming entirely unaware of the stir it was causing amongst skiers. Eyes open on that run and report back any sightings please!

Have a great week in La Plagne, enjoy the new snow and fingers crossed that the temperature stays low enough that it falls fluffy and soft and we don’t get any rain. If we do get a good dump of snow then check out the avalanche warnings before you head out on Sunday as the risk will probably rise with any new snow we get.

Most importantly though, eyes open for Snow Turkeys and if anyone can get a picture so I can prove I didn’t hallucinate him, I’d greatly appreciate it!