Good Conditions Continue in the Alps
24th January 2023
Last modified on January 29th, 2023
Cold temperatures and more snowfall in the Alps are turning January into a great month for skiing and snowboarding. There’s also snow in the Pyrenees, while parts of North America and Scandinavia are continuing to deliver the goods. UPDATED
Sunday 29th January
Seems there’s more snow coming soon..
Saturday 28th January
Decent weekend in the mountains and then some snow early next week.
What’s not to love?
4-day forecast. Image © PlanetSKI
The photo above was taken in the resort of Lelex in the Jura mountains to the north of Geneva.
We have been there for a few days this week and were rather smitten.
In fact totally smitten:
PlanetSKI has now just arrived in Chamonix for a couple of days – we’re on our way to Les Arcs and Les3Vallees – where the forecast is similar.
The road trip continues (and grows).
We’re thinking of heading back to Switzerland week after next, but who knows.
There may be a chance to make a few turns in Adelboden, a reort we have never skied in.
Anyway, what about the current snow conditions and the forecast?
Here’s our editor, James Cove:
And check out a few images from our day in Vallorcine/Le Tour – one of the less skied and visited areas of the Chamonix Valley.
There will be a full report on Vallorcine coming on Sunday/Monday so look out for that.
In the meantime…
Chamonix, France. Image © PlanetSKI
Chamonix, France. Image © PlanetSKI
Chamonix, France. Image © PlanetSKI
Chamonix, France. Image © PlanetSKI
Chamonix, France. Image © PlanetSKI
More to follow…
Friday 27th January
There are glorious winter conditions across much of the Alps.
There is some thick cloud in places in the parts of the Alps blocking the sun for those at low altitude.
Fortunately PlanetSKI is at high altitude, above the clouds.
Jura mountains, France. Image © PlanetSKI
We are currently in the Jura mountain range in France.
Over the weekend the weather will remain stable with similar conditions across the Alps.
There is more snow in the forecast for early next week.
“It’s still too far off to be sure on the detail, but it seems likely that the north-eastern Swiss (e.g. Flumserberg, Klosters) and Austrian Alps (away from the south) will be most affected, with 10-30cm of new snow possible during the first wave and the same, or even more, in the second wave,” said Fraser Wilkin from weathertoski.co.uk
“The northern French and north-western Swiss Alps (e.g. Portes du Soleil) should also see a bit of snow but not as much as further east (where the pressure will be higher).
Temperatures will remain cold.
Pays de Gex, Jura mountains. Image © PlanetSKI
Pays de Gex, Jura mountains. Image © PlanetSKI
Some PlanetSKI readers have been sending us their experiences and photos from out in the mountains after the recent fresh snow.
“I am still skiing untracked and deep powder in Val Frejus in the Haute Maurienne in France,” said regular reader, AJ.
“The last 10-days have been some of the best powder skiing I have done in years.”
Haute Maurienne, France. Image c/o AJ.
“I have a season pass for the five resorts in the Maurienne that I bought last October for €350 (£308).
“I am 12-minute drive from Orelle in Les3Vallees, but so far the little uncrowded resorts have been more than enough.”
Haute Maurienne, France. Image c/o AJ.
“The pistes here are decent but most skiers leave the off piste alone and there’s still powder under the lifts.”
Haute Maurienne, France. Image c/o AJ.
And here’s the obligatory sunset shot from Laura Polglaze in Wengen, Switzerland.
Murren, Switzerland. Image c/o Laura Polglaze.
Despite the enforced unicorn attire of the PlanetSKI editor we would like to point out a more serious matter – the avalanche risk off piste in many places.
It is “considerable” at level 3.
65% of avalanche fatalities occur when the risk is Level 3 so please take care out there folks.
Avalanche risk. Image © PlanetSKI
“The conditions across the Alps now are far and away the best of the winter and are generally better than average for the time of year,” said PlanetSKI’s editor, James Cove, on Tuesday 24th January.
“I was out in December before the rain fell and have been skiing in France and Switzerland over the past couple of weeks in the north-west Alps.
“I skied 70cm of fresh powder in Verbier and I can’t remember the snow being quite so good in my recent visits.
“The key thing has been the cold temperatures that have preserved the snow nicely.”
Verbier, Switzerland. Image © PlanetSKI
It is a view mirrored by Fraser Wilkin from WeathertoSki.
“Snow conditions are now somewhere between good and excellent across most of the Alps,” said Fraser on Tuesday morning.
“They are especially good in the French Alps, the south-western Italian Alps (eg the Milky Way) and the far south-eastern Alps (eg Nassfeld, Dolomites), all of which have fresh snow to varying degrees.”
Before we go into the more detail, here’s James Cove’s latest snow report from La Clusaz in France.
It’s looking good.
La Clusaz, France. Image © PlanetSKI
La Clusaz, France. Image © PlanetSKI
There may not have been any more snow in La Clusaz in recent days but some ski areas in the south-western Alps have had a significant dump in the past 24-hours.
Around half a metre or more came down in parts of Italy and over border in France during the day on Monday and overnight.
Fraser Wilkin says a ‘Retour d’Est’ is responsible.
“The areas most favoured by this Retour d’Est are the southern Piedmont (e.g. Sestriere, Prali, Prato Nevoso, Limone) and some resorts just across the border in France, including those in the eastern Maurienne (e.g. Bonneval sur Arc), the Queyras (e.g. St Veran) and the eastern Mercantour (e.g Isola 2000).
“Most of these areas have seen upwards of 50cm of fresh snow, with 70cm+ in some spots, with a bit more to come today, though not nearly as much as last night.”
Val d’Isère also had around 20cm of fresh snow at resort level at 9am on Tuesday and 50cm up on its Pisaillas glacier.
There have been some freshies in the Italian Dolomites and the Carinthia region of Austria, but otherwise it’s stayed dry and chilly in the Alps.
Over the next few days there’ll be a bit more snow in the south and east but next week the heavy snow is forecast to return to the northern Alps.
There’s also been snow in the Pyrenees and it’s still coming down.
Matí ❄️❄️📷 @jachunflay
Début des précipitations liées au retour d’est #pasdelacasa #andorra pic.twitter.com/z82FAxVhHk— Météo Pyrénées (@Meteo_Pyrenees) January 24, 2023
Norway has had spectacular powder skiing and snowboarding for weeks now.
In Myrkdalen, however, it’s turned mild.
On Tuesday morning, the resort reported 16cm of ‘wet snow’ at the top, where it’s 1 degree Celsius, and rain at the base.
Over the Atlantic in North America, there have been epic conditions so far this season in some parts – mainly the western US.
Palisades Tahoe in California has had record-breaking snowfall.
So far there has been 14 feet – that’s more than 4 metres – in January alone.
They’re calling it Janu-buried.
But after the snowstorms, came a break in the weather at the weekend and blue skies.
It’s not so perfect further north over the border in Canada but that doesn’t mean there isn’t good skiing to be found.
Revelstoke, Canada. Image © PlanetSKI
PlanetSKI’s Claire McAteer is there and reporting for us as she travels around.
We’ll be updating this snow report so do check back.
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