Last report from HAT - 25/04/08
Last Snow Report of the Season April 25, 2008.
This is the last snow report of the season and this week we've decided not to keep going on about how great the skiing is at the moment since most of you are not going to be coming out skiing again this season.
Instead, I thought I would thank all of you for your interest and support of HAT. This past year has been the best year ever for us on various different fronts: Talks, Courses, Events, Sponsorship, Sales (of adventure skiing products) and overall enthusiasm from you! I would also like to thank the whole HAT team for their dedication and commitment to what is becoming the standard for quality on off-piste & avalanche awareness for the general public.
And a special thanks to Chris Radford for ensuring that these e-zines are of top quality and kicking my ass into gear to report back to him when I just feel like resting after a long day of riding and talking!
But... I can't resist saying that the snow is still awesome and I hope that more of you start taking advantage of the late April and early May skiing in the Alps. If you don't believe how good it is at this time of year, check out my Ski off piste blog (which I may not update until late this week as I'm just back from a three day tour in the Massif de la Vanoise).
And you can check out more photos of April skiing in the French Alps on the Skiing with HAT photo gallery.
Here's one last 'Tip of the Week' on Spring Skiing:
SPRING SKIING! respect the spring snow 'melt-freeze cycles'.
Off-piste spring skiing is one of the best things that the Alps have to offer - often with lift access to all slope orientations: north, east, south and west. Her are some hints on how to get the most enjoyment out of it:
Once the new snow melts during the day and then freezes at night a few times in succession after a snowfall, the top snow layer begins to form a crust that gets deeper and stronger after each melt allows free water to drip down and re-freeze during the night. This layer therefore becomes stronger with each cycle of melting and freezing. If untouched, this top crust is smooth and solid first thing in the morning, then it becomes progressively softer with the warmth of the sun as the day goes on: starting on east faces, then south, then west and finally north (but, due to lack of sun, north takes a few more cycles of melting and freezing to 'come around' and become solid after a freeze).
The trick is, after a couple good melt-freeze cycles, to get on the slopes when the snow surface is smooth and solid with only 2 or 3 cm's of soft melted snow on top (slopes that have been in the sun only for an hour or two). Then you need to get off those slopes when the snow surface begins to get too soft and mushy.
In sum: it needs to freeze well the night before - the ideal is a cool clear night (below freezing in the areas/altitudes where you are going to), which will re-freeze the melted parts of the snowpack solid (if it hasn't melted then obviously it won't re-freeze!). So you look to get on the east faces first thing, 9 AM or earlier if possible, because the sun rises in the east and therefore those slopes get the sun first! Then you move to south facing slopes, then west. Do this right and get some of the best skiing of the season... maybe of your life.
Aside from a night that is not cool enough, the only thing that gets in the way of great spring skiing is the nasty ruts in the snow that people leave behind because they either ski spring snow before they have had time to go through the melt-freeze cycles or they ski slopes that have melted too much e.g. they are too soft and mushy - for example, an east face after about 10.00 AM after a moderate freeze the night before and warm sun on the day in question. In both cases frozen ruts are left for those of us who come and ski at the right time... and this makes us very sad.
If you have any questions about how to time good spring skiing, just ask any off-piste guide. They will be happy to explain, because their quality of skiing at this time of year depends on people playing the game right!
Ride Hard ! Ride Safe
We will keep you up to date with HAT developments and news for next season. This will be via a series of short emails over the summer.
