Weekly report from HAT - 16/01/08
Since we last wrote there has been yet another 30cm of new snow.
Weather
It has been a great week with intermittent snowfall and a couple of sunny powder days in between (See photo albums). Where I was around La Plagne any snow above 1800m that was not tracked was just superb. Light powder usually around 20-30cm deep.
It was snowing again this morning and there is more snow forecast for Friday. Next week looks to be more sunny than this week and average seasonal temperatures offering some great skiing. The only worry is that it is predicted to be unusually warm this weekend. If this happens it will further stabilise the snowpack but could humidify the snow and destroy its current powdery quality. There is a forecast of light snow on Tuesday.
Safety
Reading the report from Andreas and the bulletin, it seems like we still need to be careful on slopes over 30 degrees especially above 2400m where the base has not been humidified and refrozen.
There are places where it is safe but without good local knowledge about the structure and stability of the snow base, it is hard to predict which slopes are OK and which are not. The guides are finding great snow. You need to get good advice from them if you are to explore steeper untracked slopes.
Another clue about safety can be deduced from any lifts that stay closed. For example during the last week around La Plagne the Traversee chair and the Cretes drag lifts stayed closed. This was more about keeping riders away from unsafe off piste. In this case we were being steered away from 40 degree Northish facing slopes where the piste patrol thought that there was some danger.
Looking for the best snow
With the warmer weather that is forecast and a lot of sunshine next week. It will be more important to look at slope aspect when you are judging where to find good snow. At this time of year south east to south west slopes catch the sun and this will change the snow as the temperature goes up.
Slopes from north east to north west remain largely shady and it is here that you will find more powdery snow. This is very apparent when you ski down gulley's and the character of snow changes as you ski from side to side. Remember that is is not just slope angle but also slope aspect that affects how the snow responds to the sunshine. Steep North facing slopes get no sun. Low angle north facing slopes get oblique sun, low angle south facing slopes get some sun, but steep south facing slopes get intense solar radiation. You can observe the effects of this by noticing the different types of snow you encounter as you ski around.
So track the changing weather, get expert advice on what is safe and think about where the snow is likely to be at its best. So be careful, study the bulletins (on our web logs.) and read ski diaries from Andreas Henry and Wayne Watson of Alpine Experience.
Future ezines will be on Wednesday evening or Thursday - next one on 23rd January.
Regards: Chris Radford. HAT ezine editor.
Snow report from Andreas
Hello again. Last week was amazing with great skiing and fresh snow almost every second day! We've hardly used our "skins" this season since it's been easier to find fresh tracks with just a bit of traversing and hiking.
This weeks snow pack report is a bit tricky due to the different conditions we have had. Last week we had a lot of Foehn wind from the south and southeast and then it turned to west / north- west when it snowed! This means that we could have some slab build up on all aspect of the mountain.
With the first snow last week Meteo France pumped up the forecast to 4 again. I agreed at the time with this but as soon as we started skiing we realised that it was more like a 3. Once again the avalanche forecast is a forecast and you have to be able to make up your own analysis depending on what you see and know.
So, the main way to ski safely at the moment is to understand and remember the layers that have formed over the season and especially the last two weeks. Don't just take in consideration the last snow that falls but try to "see through" the snow pack. You want to think where there can be depth hoar crystals or crusts around and also remember what has been skied a lot so therefore gone through skier's compaction.
I know that this is not the most specific snow pack report I've ever written but conditions are like that so more than ever, talk to people about their opinion, read the avalanche forecast and look around for clues and respect the off-piste etiquette and you should be able to have some good riding.
The forecast is for a bit of a high pressure so hopefully the snow pack will have time to settle a bit as a strong base, ready for the next snow.
Have fun and be safe - Andreas from HAT and Alpine Experience
Tip of the week:
We are restructuring the HAT Thursday in-depth talk and are moving towards a discussion format where everyone can join in and show their photos and videos and talk about the current conditions and chat about any aspect about off piste safety. It will be at 18.00 and Fab and me will be there. If you want to come along, try to go to an intro talk on a Tuesday so you're up to scratch with the basics.
