BLUE SKIES & POWDER AFTER THE STORM
10th February 2020
Last modified on May 21st, 2021
The wild weather has subsided and it’s sunshine and powder snow. At least it is in the Aosta Valley in Italy. PlanetSKI is there. UPDATED
FRIDAY 14th FEBRUARY
Happy Valentine’s Day Folks!
We’re going for a romantic ski in the Aosta Valley… Pila or La Thuile?
Decisions, decisions, decisions…
Aosta, Italy. Image © PlanetSKI.
Decision taken.
We’ve made our way to Pila where we could hardly have wished for better conditions.
As you’ll see and hear in our latest video snow report, it’s blue sky and powder all the way:
https://www.facebook.com/planetski/videos/2653999631405625/?t=2
And as proof of James’s claim, here’s the view of Monte Bianco (aka Mont Blanc) from Pila.
View of Monte Bianco (Mont Blanc) from Pila, Italy. Image © PlanetSKI.
Pila, Italy. Image © PlanetSKI.
Pila, Italy. Image © PlanetSKI.
Meanwhile, over in the Austrian Tirol…..
THURSDAY 13th FEBRUARY
The weather has closed in again with fresh snow falling.
PlanetSKI has moved round to Pila in the Aosta Valley and our editor, James Cove, is in the thick of it.
https://www.facebook.com/planetski/videos/2744800909080936/?eid=ARAcrjhxrcjISbIr2qo3gQldM9-RYCk4QHQ4DIIcPZKdQz8BCQ7MSR4bkjedpBE_cxDDkExQc0Dx9miW
And check out a few images from the slopes:
https://www.facebook.com/planetski/videos/571540886768308/?eid=ARB8-ikb2cG1h5WrzjaE4Hzv0FadaMQQb821_xf_DuK85569JNu4YicPEaPvXasbxs9J2rmEWkBDtgZS
TUESDAY 11th FEBRUARY
Well, we can’t say we weren’t warned of conditions today in La Thuile in the Aosta Valley in Italy.
A sign at the ticket office was simple enough to understand.
La Thuile, Aosta Valley, Italy. Image © PlanetSKI.
The extent of what was open told its own story.
La Thuile, Aosta Valley, Italy. Image © PlanetSKI.
And at the top of the only gondola working this is actually inside as the wind had blown the snow in every time the door opened.
La Thuile, Aosta Valley, Italy. Image © PlanetSKI.
And outside on the slopes:
https://www.facebook.com/planetski/videos/475078726516868/?eid=ARCTybfbyAd9U7eCZbZEIM9nzwNoZcG2dz932U_Jmpk08VIcXuLiRF_zYgjqwALMWzeFACWMJCuzEPpq
And with that I ‘uncommitted’ myself and headed inside for a very welcome coffee and croissant.
La Thuile, Aosta Valley, Italy. Image © PlanetSKI.
And, this being Italy, it came in at the princely sum of €2.60
Outside braver folk than me battled the elements.
But once warm I headed out again and as I dropped into the trees and descended things took a turn for the better.
La Thuile is a fabulous old-school resort that is linked to La Rosiere in France.
It is sort of ‘upside down’ as the steeper runs are just above the village (the ones open today) and the more gentle terrain is at the top.
I will certainly be back and will be writing a full-length feature on the resort – let’s hope by then the wind has dropped.
Meanwhile, it’s looking seriously good on the other side of the Atlantic after some huge dumps of snow, particularly in Colorado and Utah.
We’ve just posted this report:
MONDAY 10th FEBRUARY
The predicted storm arrived right on cue on Monday.
It had been much forecast and here is a video report from our editor, James Cove, filed on Sunday from the Aosta Valley in Italy.
https://www.facebook.com/planetski/videos/1792031164271648/
It seems the trees were more useful on Monday by offering some protection from the winds.
See here for a report from James on what lies ahead as PlanetSKI bases itself in Italy for the rest of the winter:
PlanetSKI arrives in Aosta for 3-month stay
The latest storm brought precious little snow to the Aosta Valley on Monday.
“There was a light dusting but nothing worth talking about, the lower lifts in Pila were running but at the top of the resort it was very windy,” said James.
Over in the Monte Rosa region across the valley the winds were also having an impact.
“The day has been affected by the wind allowing us unfortunately only a partial opening of the area.
Also for tomorrow, Tuesday 11th February, the forecast is, alas, for very strong wind on the valleys of Monte Rosa,” said the ski area in a statement.
“Areas affected roughly include the French Alps north of Grenoble, much of the Swiss Alps (except the far south, including Ticino) and parts of the Austrian Alps (except Carinthia and Osttirol),” said the alpine weather expert, Fraser Wilkin for weathertoski.co.uk, on Monday.
There is expected to be a slight lull in the weather over the next couple of days and then another storm is set to roll in on Thursday.
Meanwhile we are pleased to report snow falling in the Scottish ski resorts.
Here’s our Scotland reporter, Rod Frazer.
https://www.facebook.com/WhereStagsRoar/videos/186914172396004/?v=186914172396004&external_log_id=c71490fb0c6e9b38a71b076bc31d855c&q=where%20stags%20roar
And if it is powder that you are after you could do worse than Voss in Norway.
“We had half a metre of fresh snow last week in Voss and there’s been a further 30cm in the past 24-hours,” said Trevor de Villiers from Norway Home of Skiing.
The resort of Voss has just joined the collection of resorts under the Norway Home of Skiing umbrella as we reported here:
Fancy skiing in Voss in Norway?
Here at PlanetSKI we are planning to ski in La Thuile in the Aosta Valley in Italy on Tuesday which has extensive tree skiing and therefore should offer some protection from the winds.
We’ll let you know on Tuesday what conditions are like there, and across the Alps.
Do check back…
