Absolute Alps Holidays Ski Blog

It’s been a few weeks now since I’ve had time to update the blog, it’s always a busy time at the start of the season as the first guests arrive. The huge snowfalls we kept having at the end of November and start of December finally gave way to blue skies and sunshine for the last couple of weeks, but the clear skies allowed the temperature to drop very low. Last weekend we had temperatures in resort as low as -16°C first thing in the morning.

The snow conditions have been excellent for the last couple of weeks, it starting to get a little firm in places with the low temperatures. The blue skies have clouded over today and its snowing again, its forecast to be enough to give the pistes a softer feel.

Christmas week was definitely busier than last year, and now we’re into New Year its as busy as it gets in resort and out on the slopes. There are a few queues for the lifts this week, but with the whole ‘Portes du Soleil’ open it not too bad and even the worse queues are less than 10 minutes.

We still have a few weeks left available in March, so contact us soon to discuss your trip.

Last weekend saw fantastic skiing conditions, with snow so deep off-piste that it was only possible to ski the steepest parts of the mountain. Going off-piste anywhere that was not steep enough to be a black, meant sinking up to your waist in powder and having to shuffle back towards the piste.

Chatel is currently reporting snow depths of 180 cms at the top, with over 60cms of fresh snow forecast to fall in the next couple of days.

This weekend sees the full opening of all resorts in the ‘Portes du Soleil’, 600 kms of fresh corduroy !

The sun came out last weekend to give superb first couple of days skiing of the 2008/09 season. Lots of people grabbed the opportunity to enjoy the snowfalls we’ve had over the previous few weeks, the pistes were is great condition and the off-piste had a foot of soft powder to play in.

Temperatures have dropped again now, its snowing again today with more forecast throughout the week. Looks set to refresh the pistes for next weekend.

It’s probably not a surprise to anyone in the UK that we’ve just had a huge fall of snow in the French Alps. The several centimetres of snow that fell around the UK were produced by the cold Arctic winds sweeping down across Europe, the same storms have dropped over 50cms of snow around the chalet and nearly 150cms at the top of the slopes. With temperatures keeping well below zero, down to -20°C at night, the snow certainly going to be sticking around and staying in great condition.

Chatel and most of the other resorts in the Portes du Soleil are planning to open their lifts this coming weekend, one week earlier than planned

Anyone planning to drive to the French Alps this winter needs to be aware of the new French requirement to have a high-vis jacket and warning triangle in their vehicle. The jacket must be available to wear as you exit the vehicle in the case of a breakdown, hence storing it in the boot under all your luggage is not acceptable.

This new law came into force on the 1st October 2008, with on the spot fines of between €90 and €135 for non compliance. Not what you need at the start of your holiday.

The forecasters got it pretty spot on with the snow forecast.

We woke this morning to find about 15cms of fresh snow around the chalet, plus the skies have cleared and the sun is shining.

Always great to see the mountains with a fresh coating of snow, and it’s all the more impressive when there was none 24 hours earlier.

The last month has been a riot of colour with the trees producing a stunning Autumnal display as they have dropped their leaves. Most of the leaves have now fallen, which is good timing as we’re due for a pre-winter cold spell. We’ve up to 50cm of snow forecast at the top of the mountain for the rest of this week, which will be 2 snow falls in the last 2 months. Got to be a good sign.

Preparations are now well under way for the winter, the street illuminations in and  around Chatel have been going up for the last couple of weeks. All the snow cannons around the resort have been running today in a pre-season dry run, or more of a wet run as it wasn’t too cold.

I’ve been doing a little research on snow predictions for the coming ski season, here’s my summary.

Last years snowy winter in the European Alps which was followed by great conditions 6 months later for the Southern Hemisphere ski resorts was generally attributed to a La Nina pattern in the Pacific combined with the Sun being at the solar minimum in its 11 year cycle.

The La Nina conditions which started June 2007, produced a remarkably cold and snowy 2007 winter in South America and a relatively quiet 2007 hurricane season. It was also blamed for the drought last summer in New Zealand and the floods in Britain too.

During late summer 2008, this La Nina pattern has finally more or less ended. Global models suggest an undeniable lull in the trend towards warming that may persist for a few more years, probably linked with the solar minimum.

Another important factor for Europe is the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) prediction. The cooler, drier winter northern Europe experienced in winter 2007/8 was when the observed index was +1.6.

The predicted winter NAO index for 2008/9 is weakly positive at +0.1. However, the prediction is consistent with the coming winter being likely to be less mild than last winter, when above-average temperatures were widespread.

So far this year in Europe we’ve had a few early snow falls in August, September & October. Just last weekend in Chatel we woke to find about 5cms of snow had fallen over the village. Also I’ve noticed quite a few spiders sneaking into the chalet recently !

So what does all this mean ?  Well it seems explaining previous weather conditions with a little hindsight is pretty accurate !

But the general consensus is for coming winter to be cold one again, and last year that produced great snow and ski conditions. At the moment it seems that the predictions are giving positive signs, I’ll keep checking back as more predictions come in and let’s hope the spiders know what they’re talking about.

Well the first thing you’ll notice when travelling to Chatel next ski season, although possibly the least exciting change, is that Thonon now has a new bypass. This should cut at least 10 minutes from the Geneva transfer time, making for about 75-80 mins drive from the airport to arriving in the chalet.

We are excited to announce that both chalets will have qualified and experienced chefs cooking in them next season, this should ensure we continue providing our guests with a gastronomic treat each evening !

The ‘Crosets 2’ ski lift, which goes from Les Crosets towards the Champery cable car has been upgraded this summer. Out with the old travelator style 4 seater and in with a new shiny high speed 6 seater.

I’ve had a fairly eventful summer here in Chatel, a new addition to the family arrived in July a healthy little boy called Xavier. He has obviously kept us pretty occupied since his arrival.

Before the new baby I did manage a fair amount of mountain biking. Exploring the ‘Portes du Soleil’ while its green and bushy is a lot of fun although its certainly not quite as soft when you fall, as my achy shoulder testifies.

But with the new term starting at school its getting to be the time to think about winter holidays. After last years great snow conditions bookings are already fairly strong for the coming season, with many people having booked earlier this year soon after returning from their last ski holiday.

So its time to get organised and make an that enquiry. Check here for our Pricing & Enquiry Form.