Thread: Snow for the Euros.

Horizon and I (possibly one more friend) are planning to head to the Alps next weekend (27 Mar), just following the snow and the lowest possible airfare we can find. Any maggots having any plans/suggestions?

If i were you i would wait....right now the conditions are not what you can call "good" :-)

Originally Posted by irbis

Horizon and I (possibly one more friend) are planning to head to the Alps next weekend (27 Mar), just following the snow and the lowest possible airfare we can find. Any maggots having any plans/suggestions?

if i were you id watch the forecasts. because the 27th is not this weekend

the 27th is THE weekend to go.

generally it looks like west /north right now. but be sure to look for a place with base. my decision day will be on wed/thursday. but im guessing west is my path because i want to ski pow AND some real lines. maybe cham /la grave. but if it snows a ton in the north i may do day trips from here...

quite impressive, eh?

(spontaneous slide after the touring-group had passed this area, pic by me)

Originally Posted by subtle plague

if i were you id watch the forecasts. because the 27th is not this weekend

the 27th is THE weekend to go.

generally it looks like west /north right now. but be sure to look for a place with base. my decision day will be on wed/thursday. but im guessing west is my path because i want to ski pow AND some real lines. maybe cham /la grave. but if it snows a ton in the north i may do day trips from here...

am now stoked about the fact that I arrive in cham for a week on 27th

hmmm maggot meet up ?
because unfortunately my "guide" has other obligations during that week and I want to ski some cham lines (i only did the cosmique a few years back....)

as i said im not certain yet. the forecast may turn out worse than it looks right now.... but as of this evening it looks like the first serious storm cycle this winter.

keep ALL your extremities crossed !

Originally Posted by Arno

am now stoked about the fact that I arrive in cham for a week on 27th

Am now super stoked because I arrive in cham for a month on the 26th!!!

Originally Posted by Météo Chamonix

Tendance du Jeudi 26 et Vendredi 27 Mars 2010

Retour d’un flux de Sud bien doux sur nos massifs Jeudi. Foehn et Lombarde soufflent assez fortement dans les secteurs exposés. Des passages nuageux plus ou moins opaques circulent. Quelques ondées probables à l’Ouest de nos massifs et sur la frontière italienne.
Vendredi, possible généralisation des pluies à l'ensemble des massifs avec un refroidissement.

Foehn is bad but precipitation and colder is good at altitude.

@Marius: impressive photo. This slope is quite well known for having big slides from time to time. Skinning just from col to col without losing too much elevation then may be quite a bad decision since you are getting trapped under this huge slope.

Sidenote: are you scouting this secret gem for some "new" lines or are you just drinking beer there (like the many thousands pistencarvers)?

Originally Posted by subtle plague

hmmm maggot meet up ?
because unfortunately my "guide" has other obligations during that week and I want to ski some cham lines (i only did the cosmique a few years back....)

as i said im not certain yet. the forecast may turn out worse than it looks right now.... but as of this evening it looks like the first serious storm cycle this winter.

keep ALL your extremities crossed !

Fingers are crossed and I'm dancing like mad over here..might start sacrificing chickens later on Let's hope we get a nice big dump eh?

My 2 regular ski buddies are out of the pictre (one is abroad, the other fucked his ACL) so if anyone wants to share some turns.......

Has anyone here rented skis in chamonix before? Is it easy to find big skis?

I am leaving Canada today making the decision to leave skis here because I'm only going to be skiing for 1-2 weeks and then traveling around europe for 4 or 5 weeks after.

Originally Posted by cramp

or are you just drinking beer there (like the many thousands pistencarvers)?

drinking beer, as usual.

btw: gets tracked out relatively fast nowadays. and the drinking tourists are gone (more or less). ****-hotels are leading the way to the next big thing there...

Originally Posted by pfj

Has anyone here rented skis in chamonix before? Is it easy to find big skis?

I am leaving Canada today making the decision to leave skis here because I'm only going to be skiing for 1-2 weeks and then traveling around europe for 4 or 5 weeks after.

TGR Big? Or Euro big?

You can definitely find wider skis for hire. Probably no Lotus 138s but I can think of 3 or 4 shops what would have something Gotama-sized.

Originally Posted by JoeStrummer

TGR Big? Or Euro big?

You can definitely find wider skis for hire. Probably no Lotus 138s but I can think of 3 or 4 shops what would have something Gotama-sized.

Just came from there last week and there seemed to be a good variety of rentals.

A few places had the Black Crows for rent which look like a really interesting ski to me, and I would've checked out if the snow was softer when I was there.

Originally Posted by pfj

Has anyone here rented skis in chamonix before? Is it easy to find big skis?

Check out Snells. They seem to have the best range of options.

Originally Posted by Météo Chamonix

Tendance du Vendredi 26 Mars 2010

Temps humide avec le passage d’une perturbation probablement assez active en cours de journée. Foehn et Lombarde cessent, généralisation des pluies à tous nos massifs en après-midi. Fort vent de Sud-Ouest en altitude puis de secteur Ouest le soir.

Isotherme 0°C en baisse vers 1800 mètres.
Limite pluie/neige vers 2000 mètres puis 1600 mètres le soir.

Tendance du Week-end prochain

Flux d’Ouest à Sud-Ouest humide et instable. Alternances de passages d’averses et de périodes d’éclaircies. Limite pluie/neige en moyenne montagne autour de 1200-1500 mètres.

Might need some 110 udf - glad I'm bringing them!

Snells has the BD Zealot and Megawatts for rent, plus various Dynastars like the Pro Rider and Mythic Rider.

Swiss Rail stations offer bag storage and will take bags up to ski size for up to a month (possibly longer). Cheaper than renting skis likely, and you can shove the rest of your ski shit in the bag and not drag it around.

^^^ they'll even shift them to another station for you if it's inconvenient for you to pick them up where you left them

Anyone keen to do some touring in the next few weeks? This weekend might just be too good to pass up the chance to ski lifts, but I am super anxious to get into the mountains under my own legs. I am willing to go anywhere in Switzerland, I am based in Zurich. Who knows their way around?

Easter weekend could be a prime time for a longer hut-to-hut. Any thoughts/suggestions/partners?

In the meantime, much dancing/praying is underway.

Anyone driving between Cham and verbier in the early morning this week? Im looking make some turns in verb - If I go by train will only get there after 10am.

Got first tracks on Grand Envers this morning. Snow was good up high, but very heavy by time we hit the mer de glace. Best skiing I have had in 18 months though.

ahh bummer saw after i left rented some gotamas today and not super impressed think ehps are better in all conditions. skied grand montets snow at the top wasnt too bad but super heavy. anyone in the area up for some skiing this week?

morocco did not suck. The TR is in telepath's hands, hope it will be online soon

Originally Posted by verbier61

morocco did not suck. The TR is in telepath's hands, hope it will be online soon

Damn! Glad I have sat last week inside a dark room full of monitors instead of eating moroccan cuisine,hugging donkeys and skiing jebel toubkal...

Good that you guys are back safely and make sure we get some stokage!



I scored today this :










Even more awesome when they do their magic after half an hour of skiing!

Originally Posted by verbier61

morocco did not suck.

Agreed.

verbier61 after the exit couloir off of Ras n'Ouanoukrim (4083 m):

ahhhhh patxi you're sucha photo master..........
and that couloir you've find was an hidden gem

Just got back from an excellent trip to Switzerland. Not an incredible amount of fresh snow, but plenty of good turns to be had. A little Coreshot action.

http://www.coreshot.com/index.php?op...=119&Itemid=48

So weather gurus - what's going to be the pick this weekend?