English Weather, News, and Events - January 08, 2025

WEATHER

At 7 am it was nice walking to work, kicking up light fluffy snow,
but it has warmed up since changing to Definitely Damp in town,
while continuing so snow properly on our mountain.
Wind may blow at 80 km/ h this morning, calmer this afternoon.

At 10.30 the temperature is

• +2° in the Village.
• -2° on Bellevarde.
• -4° on Pisaillas.
  

The maximum temperature at 2000 metres will be +4°

ROADS

There are no problems expected on the roads
For careful drivers, with cars fully equipped for snow.

Click here for current winter tyre rules.

SKI REPORT

For most up-to-date information please click here.

There has been at least 10 centimetres of snow since you went to bed.
Most pistes were groomed overnight but the snow then landed on many pistes that had
already been prepared.
Powder on a smooth base is Pure Joy to most skiers,
but more of a challenge for beginners.
Take it carefully !
Maybe get the lift down at the end of the day when your legs are tired and snow chopped up.

The British Army are racing on the Raye
Go and cheer them on !

We know how tempting the Santons and the L will seem
but they have been closed by experts - pisteurs who normally love to see you having fun.
Who think very carefully before limiting your pistes.

The avalanche risk today is 3 out of 5.
It is a considerable, not a ‘medium’ risk.
We have wind + warmth + moisture
Forming compact slabs, on top of  a fragile base.

Think carefully before skiing off piste.
Do you know the current snow conditions ?
Are all of your team fully equipped
AND have they trained this season ?

Walkers
Avalanches can affect our walking paths, particularly at Pont St Charles and Les Sources.
If the paths are closed do not nip under the ropes.
The track people ski down from Bellevarde towards les Coves, above les Sources walking path
is affectionately known as "the Avalanche Path". For a very good reason….
A French gentleman is probably still counting his lucky stars……
Just a couple of years ago, while walking with his family in Les Sources
a huge avalanche buried him for a very long time……

Thanks again to our amazing Rescue services.
Miracles are nice, but in an emergency, calling the pisteurs is more reliable !
Their telephone number is on the back of your lift pass.
Why not put it into your phone ? Along with the +33 code for France.

LOCAL NEWS

We are very proud of le Fornet’s new Vallon Bubble lift so thought we should share their 'story'.
You may not have noticed, but the lift it has replaced
was “State of the Art” when it joined its
slightly older la Daille sibling in 1983.
Before that, to get to the Pisaillas glacier,
you had to take 2 long, uncomfortable draglifts.
20 minutes in the bubble was speedy.
And a cosy bubble, rather than clunky,  slow, cold chairlifts was a rare treat.

41 years later, it was feeling its age and we are all more impatient…..
We are also more conscious of both the environment and inclusivity.
Not only have we gone from 27 to 17 pylons, the National park has regained 40 hectares.
For wild windy weather, when the old bubble couldn’t cope,
the new bubbles can hold their own against wind we would be OK skiing in.
Our disabled friends can now easily use the new gondola
to enjoy skiing on the glacier
and almost twice as many people can be moved  per hour
in cabins that take 10 instead of 6, with a journey time of only 7.
All for a cool 25 million euros………
Val definitely continues to invest in our lifts.

In the mountains, where there is an up,  there is also a down….
In life there is always a balance, compromises are key.
Many will be sad to hear that the 2 draglifts will be removed this summer.
Even though they moved 300,000 skiers each winter.
There are at least two reasons.
1. it is better for our environment to just have the bubble
2. They are also very old, and soon won’t conform with up-to-date regulations.

Our lift company set an ambitious, tight, schedule of only 8 months
to dismantle the old cable car, replace the pylons
and have the new bubble running before Christmas.
Planning included using local companies used to Miserable Mountain Weather and
prefabricating units where possible.
Good teamwork and leadership focused on the final goal….
Problems and solutions rather than a blame game if things didn’t go to plan.
Challenges included terrible weather ……
more snow in the Spring than there has been in recent years,
and only one  fine weather day each week in September and October.
Bravo to all who helped it open on 20th December,
the day before the Xmas holidays started.

Plans continue….and are not yet finalised…..for the building greeting skiers at the Col.
The room on the first floor will probably be an area where you can enjoy a picnic,
as well as the spectacular 180 degree view.
It won’t be a restaurant, and will be different to the Lounge at the top of the Solaise bubble.
Work on this will start in Spring 2026, and be completed within 7 months

So what happened to the old bubbles?
All 99 of them were sold, with proceeds going to local societies.
3 have stayed here at the

• Primary school
• Teams that look after our pistes
• Sports club
  

The rest have gone far and wide, even to England !