Happy New Year 2023

Hi everyone and Happy New Year from Méribel. I hope you all had a magnificent weekend and celebrated the start of another New Year. As ever, the Three Valleys put on a fantastic show for all of the visitors here, with reasonably good snow conditions (more on that later) and plenty of good skiing to be had. All of these photos on this post were taken by me over the last week or so.

I've taken part in two torchlight descents the last couple of weeks, one during a mid-week show, and the other one on New Year's Eve itself last weekend. I'm often asked if I enjoy taking part? Sometimes the reply will be an initial tut, mainly because it means extending the skiing day/evening (!) and delaying taking the ski boots off. However I truly enjoy being sent up the mountain on a ski lift in the dark, looking down on resort, and then the actual ski back down.

Being able to take part with other ski instructors is a real privilege, and also quite bonding - a little "work treat" if you like. Quite often we are sent up to the top of the Face black piste, or to the Arpasson mountain restaurant, but not this time. Other options are for us to ski down in the dark on either the Gelinotte or Lievre blue pistes. But both of these pistes are in sub-optimal condition. The ski school directors chose the Olympic, and soon to be World Championships Stade, also described as the ski racing track.

Up until three or four years ago, the torches that we used were blocks of wax that had to be soaked in gel before being lit. Then some clever clog at the school suggested we invested in a more modern form of torch, a rechargeable LED type. And to be fair, they are much cleaner to use, and you can select various different colour lights. The white version is by far the clearest and strongest, and gives you a fighting chance of being able to see where you are skiing. So which colour were we told to switch our torch to? Red! Red, Ladies and Gentlemen. Granted, this is very ESF (the ski school) with corporate branding, so I get it. But red barely gives you any visibility. Hey ho.

I've been skiing with Paul, Miyoko, Phil and Anne this week, who are all based just outside of Hull, and are in their sixties and seventies. They hadn't skied since before the pandemic, and were looking for a ski instructor to guide them around on appropriate pistes, and to give them some top tips for their skiing. It's been a fun week, and they've come up with a team name: may I introduce the 'Golden Oldies'!?!

Right, onto current snow conditions.........

The current snow conditions, and mild weather, appears to be making quite a headline here in the alps and also back in the UK. I've seen various articles on the BBC, Telegraph and other websites about the current state of ski resorts. I've also seen various comments on social media, some of these are accurate, and others quite dubious. I understand that this topic is important to so many, from those involved in the ski industry, to those who are soon to come skiing. In fact I've received several requests for current snow reports, and even an interview request from a journalist working for the BBC World Service Radio.

Let me give you an open and honest report, direct from the ground/snow, here in Méribel in the Three Valleys. It's become quite clear how mild the last couple of weeks have been. There's no denying this. Normally this period can be very chilly indeed, but not this winter. Some evenings (but certainly not all) at resort level, the snow on the pistes hasn't frozen overnight. We have also sometimes had a southerly wind which has warmed up the snow. But it hasn't all been bad news, let me explain........

We have had several weak weather fronts come through recently, with precipitation. This is where different headlines are giving confusing reports. The freeze level, when there's been the precipitation, has been between 2,200 and 2,500 metres. This means that snow has fallen above these altitudes, and sadly rain has fallen below this limit. Rain itself doesn't do a huge amount of damage to the pistes in terms of melt, it's a warm wind that does the most. The majority of the pistes here in the 3 Valleys are above 2,200 metres, which has meant there has been some fresh snowfall top ups. I've been talking to colleagues, friends and my wife (who is here on holiday this week), and they have confirmed this.

I've been cruising around with the 'Golden Oldies' this week below the 2,200 metre threshold. Yes there are currently several pistes closed below this altitude, but this will mainly be because many of these (although not all) don't have snow cannon coverage. We've had a good number of pistes available to use, and the Golden Oldies have had a great week.

Perhaps the press are concentrating their focus on the lower ski resorts that are particularly vulnerable in these conditions? The low altitude, and also possible poor investment with snow making, is quite a factor at the moment. Thankfully the Three Valleys has invested heavily with this infrastructure, and also switched on the cannons when they can. I'm certainly not going to bash other resorts for being at lower altitude, or whatever, that's really not my style. But Méribel, Courchevel, Les Menuires and Val Thorens etc are still coping fine. Don't forget there are plenty of webcams available, click here for Méribel's. And the 3 Valley app is also very good at keeping you up to date and informed with pistes, lifts and various other bits of information.

There's some good news on the horizon. The temperatures are due to drop this weekend with at least one, potentially two, chunky storms coming through. I'm always cautious about quoting possible fresh snow depths, because the weather gods can often bite you on the bum and produce different amounts from those that were forecast. Needless to say, the mountain should have a wonderful refresh of beautiful new fluffy snow. Right, that's enough for this current post. Until next time, and don't forget my usual mantra...... Live With Passion. Martin.