WEATHER
Lovely to wake up to 23 cm of village snow
and up to 35 on Bellevarde.
It has stopped snowing, and the sky is clearing....
Powder on the Pistes, and sunshine.
Not a bad finale to the Christmas holidays.
The pisteurs were up very early protecting our pistes.
Don’t take stupid risks, just because it is your last day.
Val is staying where it is….
You can come back !
The North wind won’t be very strong, but you will notice its chill factor.
We still have a temperature
At 10.15 it is
-4° in the Village
-16° on the Pisaillas
-11° on Bellevarde
The maximum temperature at 2000 metres will be -3°
ROADS
Careful on the snow covered roads today.
There are no problems on the roads at the moment
Is your car properly equipped ?
As it is a Friday, at the end of the school holidays….
The traffic on the roads of the Savoie may be busy this evening.
And tomorrow……heading downhill.........
MAJOR changeover day …..
If you can avoid leaving………Stay !
If you can’t -
Pack snacks, drinks
Entertainment for your children
And patience. Plenty of it.
Drive carefully.
Arrive safely.
SKI REPORT
A PIDA morning.
For the most up to date information click here.
A few highlights follow.
Most slopes were groomed last night, but the groomers started early and the snow continued to fall,
EVEN onto pistes already prepared.
Powder on a smooth base is pure joy for most skiers,
but a challenge for beginners.
Go slowly and carefully, enjoy the experience.
With all the enthusiastic turning, the snow may get quite chopped up.
If your legs are tired, take a lift down.
The PIDA, our avalanche prevention plan,
Protecting us from avalanche prone slopes
started early and delayed the opening of our lifts.
Things are changing fast, so keep an eye on the app or
piste noticeboards when you are out.
We know how tempting the Santons will seem
But remember that it is a gulley and there is a ton of fresh unstable snow…..
The pisteurs are not being rotten spoil sports….
It is closed for a very good reason.
Do not ski under the ropes
The L is another tempting gulley which will probably be closed all day.
Power to the pisteurs if they manage to safely open it.
The avalanche risk today is 3 out of 5.
This is a very significant risk.
Don’t go off piste unless with a mountain professional,
and everyone in your group can
use their beep, flick out their probe, click together their shovel
and dig
Quickly ….
There have already been many natural avalanches this morning.
Not huge, but easily triggered and some went a long way.
If any of your team have even a mini doubt,
don't risk ignoring their gut feeling.
Live to ski another day
Walkers - please don't go to the Pont st Charles as the risk of an avalanche there is high.
LOCAL NEWS
There is a PIDA this morning which caused a short but necessary delay opening the lifts.
This is an avalanche triggering intervention plan –
securing avalanche prone slopes which could potentially affect
our pistes, ski lifts, village, humans and dogs.
Skiers must not walk up, even on touring skis with skins on,
until the PIDA is finished and the lifts have begun to open.
If you have dreams of
Posing on a podium ….
Prize Skis in hand
Grinning at the crowds…….
Today could be YOUR chance.
The Dynastar Trophy is a parallel slalom on the Savonette nursery slope this evening.
Open only to holidaymakers.
Free to enter, but there is a limited number of places
so head to the sports club to register ASAP.
2 married couples received medals last night in recognition of their loyalty to Val d’Isère.
Marie-Luce Stephan won silver after returning regularly for 30 years.
She loves our village spirit, the friendliness of even the real locals (avalins) let alone our seasonal workers.
She is busy passing her passion onto her grandchildren.
Her husband, François Stephan, won gold, beating his wife by 20 years.
He was bred to love Val.
His great grandfather came in the
1940's, and the first of many fun family holidays was when he was just 8.
His parents later wisely bought a studio here.
Good choice of parents !
Our local councillor, Dominique Maire sponsored both Jocelyne and Charles Canetti,
pinning big gold medals onto their chests.
Jocelyne arrived in 1971, skiing in all weathers, and became the
pinball wizard of our downtown bars.
She has successfully passed on her love of all things Val.
Her family have invested in property !
A cunning way for her to both enjoy a White Christmas,
and bond with her grandchildren !
Like many since, her husband Charles first came to Val as a student, 54 years ago……
Believing the snow may be whiter in other resorts, he and his wife tried many,
before finally understanding that you can’t beat Val d’Isère.
Off piste he loves Val's classless society, united by our love of skiing.
And the Après ski…….
As for his free lift pass, once he reached 75
………….doesn’t get much better than that !
17.45
Dynastar Trophy:
This race is open to all holidaymakers who want to discover the pleasures of competing
in alpine skiing, on a parallel slalom on the Savonnette slope.
3 categories: children, women and men.
The winners of each category will receive a Dynastar prize.
There is a pair of skis to be won in the draw for the men's and women's competitions.
Free to enter but there are only
32 places for men and children and
16 places for women,
and there are a lot more competitive spirits than that here on holiday at the moment,
so if you want to experience the thrill of racing,
don’t hang around – get to the Club de Sports to register ASAP.
You need to collect your race number by 17.30
Free local Buses
The red shuttle bus (‘le train rouge’) runs between La Daille and Le Fornet, via the roundabout adjacent to the nursery slopes (‘Rond-point des pistes’)
It leaves la Daille every 10 minutes from 07.00 to 19.50 and then every 20 minutes until 02.10.
The night bus leaves Le Fornet at 20.10 then every 20 minutes until 2.30.
The blue shuttle bus (‘le train bleu’) travels between the Rond-point des pistes and Legettaz every 15 minutes from 08.30 to 23.00.
The yellow shuttle bus (‘le train jaune’) takes you to the Manchet valley via the main street and the rue de la Balme and Rond Point des pistes every 20 minutes from 08.30 to 23.20.
The Purple shuttle bus between Val d’Isère and Tignes : leaves the new bus station at La Daille at
07.55 8.35 10.50 16.25 17.25 18.20.
On request it will stop at La Reculaz and Villaret du Nial.
It leaves Tignes 1800 at 08.05 8.45 11.00 16.35 17.35 and 18.30.
The Swimming Pool and Sports Centre is open from 10.00 to 21.00.
The Tourist Office is open from 08.30 to 19.30.
The Multimedia Library is open from 14.00 to 18.00.
The Town Hall (La Mairie) is open from 9.00 to 12.00 and from 14.00 to 17.00.
The Association for Employees in Val d’Isère (Vie Val Dis) is open from 09.00 to 13.00 and 14.00 to 16.00.
The Reservation Centre (On the Lower Ground Floor of the Tourist Office) is open from 08.30 to 19.00.
