BACK TO WINTER! (photo J. Cummings) After another weekend of very high temperatures for this time of the year, this coming week will be much cooler in the N French Alps. It will be back to winter with snow showers on and off throughout the week in the mountains – even down to 1000 m as the week goes on. Natural snow cover above 2000 m or so remains very good for the time of year (as it has been all season). At altitudes below 1600 m it’s pretty non-existent. At the time of writing (Sunday) great smooth spring snow conditions are in place. Over the last few days the snow has been warming up ..read more

After a weekend with very high temperatures for this time of the year, colder air will move in on Tuesday with fresh snow. Slowly clearing up for the rest of the week to become sunny and mild again by Thursday. Higher altitudes, accessing 2300 m and above, continue to be the best places to ski. Natural snow depths above 2000 m or so remain good for the time of year while at altitudes below 1600 m they’re pretty non-existent. It’s now nearing the end of the season for most resorts of the N French Alps. Snow conditions are currently very spring-like, dare we say, even ‘summer-like’. This will ..read more

More unsettled weather at the start of the week with a few snow showers at higher altitudes. Turning sunny and mild for the time of season from Thursday as a high pressure weather system settles in. This should last for at least a few days. It’s been a wild week of weather with snow and rainfall and high S’ish winds. Natural snow depths at altitudes above 2200 m remain OK. However, with the milder temperatures, accompanied by the drying Foehn wind and minimal/no overnight refreezes, natural snow depths have shrunk from what they were 2 weeks ago, even at higher altitudes. Below 1800 m or so ..read more

A varied week of weather in the N French Alps. After colder temperatures and snowfall on Sunday, Monday will be sunny and milder with a Southerly weather system coming through. Snow showers at high altitude throughout the rest of the week. Snow conditions in N French Alps will be very variable this week, with mild temperatures, intermittent rain or snow showers. Even just sprinklings of fresh snow will make a nice cushion to ski on. Best snow coverage remains in the higher altitude resorts, particularly over 2200 m. Unfortunately, lower and mid-altitude resorts are really suffering from lac ..read more

A mild and largely sunny week in the N French Alps, with a few snow showers at high altitude on Monday. Feeling very spring-like. Snow conditions in N French Alps will be very variable this week, with mild temperatures and plenty of sunshine. A few snow showers above 2400 m or so at the start of the week, but rain at lower altitudes. As long as there are a few successive days of warm sunshine and clear nights, causing ‘melt freeze cycles’ * we wouldn’t be surprised if ‘spring-snow’ conditions** don’t start to appear towards the end of the week! For the moment though, the snow is very much i ..read more

A mixed and complicated week of weather ahead for the N French Alps. Cloudy days with snow showers interspersed with some great sunny days. Most of the N French Alps should still see some light snowfall on Sunday (5 to 10 cm maybe), and light snow showers on and off throughout the week . Natural snow depths above 2000 m are great, but not  at lower altitudes. You can currently ski down to about 1400 m on many N facing slopes, but only to about 1800 m on S facing ones. Lower and mid-altitude resorts are really suffering from lack of snow, and their piste grooming teams are working very ..read more

Things are going to get more unstable than usual (especially on North’ish, shaded slopes above 2200m) with snowstorms forecast in the Northern French Alps and surrounding areas over the next week or so. Photo Thanks to Trevor Godfrey.   A quick accident reduction ‘TOP TIP’ is to avoid steep slopes above ‘terrain traps’. During many ski seasons, more than half of avalanche deaths involve ‘terrain traps’. Simply avoiding ‘terrain traps’ below steep slopes is a big first step towards reducing risk towards an acceptable level. See this aspect of accident reduction in this short 10 minut ..read more

A snowy beginning to this week for the N French Alps, up to 1m of new snow along the French Italian border in some places (less towards the interior of France). A real mix of unsettled snowy spells, interspersed with great sunny days this coming week. High altitude areas in the E of the N French Alps, near the ridge bordering Italy, are benefiting from another ‘Retour d’Est’ phenomenon on Sunday, which could bring up to a metre of fresh snow at the mountain tops. The more E and SE parts of the region will receive the most snow. Haute Savoie areas (Portes du Soleil, La Clusaz, etc) won’t ben ..read more

Feeling more like winter again! A cooler week than recently, with some snowfall predicted for the N French Alps & surrounding areas, particularly along the mountains on the French side of the border with Italy. Photo J. VACHER Snowfall is predicted this week. As we keep saying,  if any significant fresh snowfall (20 cm or so) does happen this will make for a very worrying period of snow instability at higher altitudes (above 2300 m) on the colder N’ish facing slopes (see the feature photo courtesy of Julien Vacher from this past Friday & below for more info on this). This could ..read more

A dry and sunny start to the week predicted for the N French Alps & surrounding areas. Snowfall expected towards the end of the week, hopefully down to lower altitudes!  It’s a similar story to the last two weeks, with predictions of big snowfalls again being pushed back to the end of the week. Again, different weather forecasts are showing different stories, so time will tell! If any significant fresh snowfall (20 cm or so) does happen though, this will make for a very worrying period of snow instability at higher altitudes, especially on the colder N’ish facing slopes (see below ..read more