Weekly report from HAT - 19/12/07
Having been out around Bellevarde and Tignes over the past 3 days, we have seen a marked change due to the effect of a southerly wind. On Monday this wind reached 50km/hr above 2500m.
It is now 7 days since it last snowed and the temperatures remain very cold -10 to -15C so the snow is holding up well and remains in fantastic condition on the pistes, but if you are going off piste you need to look harder to find the best snow. It probably requires expert guidance to work it out now.
The recent snowfall fell in a NW wind or no wind. This south wind is re arranging the snow. Much of the obvious off piste is quite enjoyable but the condition is variable between, wind blown, wind crusted, slightly sun crusted on the south facing and some delightful patches of powder.
The Meteo France Bulletin tells us the snow pack is stabilising and the risk factor is now level 2 . Keep an eye out for wind slab created by this southerly wind. The bulletin tells us to be careful of the NW facing slopes.
We are expecting glorious sunshine on Thursday and then some sun and cloud and milder weather this weekend. Some forecasts say there will be snow, but this seems unlikely.
Some weather models point to a classic cold front coming in from the NW on Tuesday in time for Christmas. But not all models say this, so we will have to wait and see.
Regards - Chris Radford - HAT ezine editor
We have opportunities to ski with Henry. You will develop better off piste skills and increase your confidence to stay safe and have fun out there.
25th 26th Dec - celebrate the festive season in the off piste for 2 days.
1st 2nd Jan 2 day Avalanche Awareness
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Snow report from Andreas
Hello all riders: What a week we had last week! It's been a long time since we had such a good start of the season and let's be honest, skiing doesn't get much better than that.
As the skies cleared last week, we got announced an avalanche risk of 4. It soon became obvious that that was not quite the case in our area. Remember that the avalanche bulletin is a forecast and sometime it's not 100 % accurate like any forecast.
However with all the snow fell we definitely had to be cautious and a few slabs where triggered by skiers / borders but luckily no one got seriously injured. So, just because we had an avalanche risk of 4 and no one died, don't think that next time there's a 4 you don't have to worry!
Then by early last week we had some very strong winds coming out of the east / south. This meant transportation of snow and a few slabs built up and got triggered! Don't forget that I does not have to snow for the avalanche risk to increase if it's windy.
The snow pack is somehow settling but with the cold temperatures that we are having, we have to keep thinking about the temperature gradient and the formation on faceted grains and depth hoar.
Also keep an eye out for surface hoar, which in of self is not dangerous but when buried, it can act as a weak layer.
Another interesting thing that we observed is the large number of "trans-avalanches". We also call these types of avalanches "creeping and gliding" since it start with a small crack or opening and eventually the whole slab can release down to the ground. These are areas to avoid or treat with most respect.
So to sum up, when this is written, the snow pack is generally pretty stable but there are still a few traps out there and as more and more slopes get skied, it gets tempting to go further and further a field so keep your guard up if you find some nice slopes or couloirs that haven't been skied yet!
Have fun and be safe
Andreas Bjorklund
HAT Mountain Safety and Alpine Experience
Tip of the week:
Practice with your transceivers early on in the season. Even if you've done some before, you need to keep practising to be efficient. The time to learn is not when your friend is under the snow!
Read the actual snow conditions and you can predict where the snow will be best.
We have seen quite a few changes to the snowpack over the past week, It has been one of those weeks where you cannot rely on the advice of your mates who tell you they found great snow yesterday in place xxx. The wind and sun can change it all very rapidly and what was good yesterday may not be good tomorrow. You have to read the conditions both before you go and when you get out there.
Any good off piste guide will know about the recent weather and recent snow reports and may well have advice from his team colleagues. But you will always see them go and look at the actual conditions when they get out there. When you see good snow (or bad snow) make a note of the altitude and aspect and shelter. It is likely that in the same circumstances elsewhere, you will find similar quality of snow. Today I found perfect powder in sheltered bowls facing south east at around 2500m in Tignes. This was replicated later on Bellevarde.
The other evidence to look for is obvious signs of danger. There are a number of small cornices with wind loaded slopes underneath. This could be deduced by looking at the wind direction and the shape of the snow on the slope. On 2 occasions we avoided crossing some 35 degree slopes with great powder just because we were not sure about the effect of wind loading. A more experienced guide may have deemed it OK, but we were not sure so we played safe.
