Snow Conditions Leading Up To The Festive Season

Hi everybody, and welcome to the latest post direct from Méribel. The early season vibe continues, and very soon the pace will pick up with the popular festive period almost upon us. I've been ski teaching this week for the first time this winter and have thoroughly enjoyed it. It's around this time that many skiers start to become more interested in what the snow conditions are like. There are of course many ways of getting this information, whether it's through webcams, social media and other reports. But why don't I give you an up-to-date, unbiased review? Are you ready?

By the way, I've taken all of these photos myself over the last few days. To give you a bit of a background, I arrived in Méribel for the winter just under three weeks ago. Plus, I've been skiing both the Méribel and Courchevel valleys. I haven't once felt the need to go over to Val Thorens to search for some good snow.

I'll be honest and say that since I've arrived, there hasn't yet been one of those huge storms that comes along and deposits a shed load of snow. However, what has fallen - along with low temperatures - has been rather useful.

Similar to other parts of Europe, including the UK, we have had several days of freezing cold weather especially at night time. Why is this good for this time of the winter? It means that snow making can be switched on to produce the invaluable base on the pistes. The process takes a while though, it's not an overnight thing.

There are now a good number pistes that have snow cannon coverage. Let's not forget the massive investment that's been made over the last few years with increasing the water storage via several sizeable reservoirs. This investment has paid off already this winter. From my experience of skiing on pistes the last couple of weeks covered by snow cannons, there's been some excellent skiing, with very few stones around now. That's amazing compared to ten years ago or so for this early stage of the ski season.

We have had a few small to medium weather fronts come through, which have regularly topped up the snow depths. Nothing ground breaking, but still all really useful. This has meant that along with the snow making, every other day more and more pistes have opened up.

In general, I would say that we are in a good position for piste skiing at this early stage of the winter. No huge storms yet, but there is some good piste skiing around from top to bottom of the mountain. Off piste however, I wouldn't want to risk it properly at this stage. Sure, snow depths are increasing, but rocks, boulders and tree roots really aren't that well hidden yet. Patience will be required.

So there you go, that's my annual early season update. Last week I suggested a link for a weather forecast website, one that's quite a well known. I've recently come across another site that I like, called Meteo Blue, here's the link if you are interested. My ski instructing work is about to turn up a notch or two this coming weekend. And I'm really looking forward to catching up with many of my regulars over the next few weeks. Keep safe everyone and do come back soon. Don't forget my ski blogging mantra, Live With Passion. Martin.