English Weather, News, and Events - March 22, 2025

Weather:

Today is looking a little bit mixed, with a clear and sunny morning but cloud cover creeping in around midday and remaining overcast all afternoon.
The Foehn and Lombard winds blow lightly at times, prevailing from the southeast with gusts picking up as the day goes on, increasing to around 60kmh this evening.
Temperatures are set to reach a maximum of a mild 6 degrees in town, and -5 degrees on the peaks. The freezing point sits at a high 2400m today so the snow may feel slushy.
Temperatures at 09:00hrs:  -3 degrees on Bellevarde, -6 on the Pisaillas glacier and 3 degrees in town.

Roads

This morning, the road surfaces were clear.


Regarding road traffic forecasts, circulation will be disrupted today from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. for arrivals, while the road network in the departure direction will be impacted from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tomorrow, traffic will be smooth for arrivals, but difficulties are expected between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. For this weekend, 59,000 vehicles are expected on the roads heading up, and 69,000 heading down.

// Tribute to Jean-Charles Boraso
Last night, over 150 people paid tribute to Jean-Charles Boraso during a torch-lit descent on the Face of Bellevarde. Upon arrival at the snow front, his loved ones were applauded by a hundred people. The initials of Jean-Charles with a heart were also projected onto the Face.

/// Avalanche Drill
Yesterday morning, the ski patrollers of Val d'Isère and the PGHM (High Mountain Gendarmerie) trained during an avalanche exercise in the Manchet area. Two scenarios were created with two distinct avalanches that were not visible to each other, separated by approximately 150 meters. The first scenario involved a group of five skiers with avalanche beacons (DVA) being swept away by an avalanche, while the second scenario was an avalanche that buried four hikers in snowshoes, who were not equipped with avalanche beacons. A full-scale exercise mobilized about forty people, including four volunteers who played the role of victims in the first avalanche, ski patrollers, the PGHM from Bourg-Saint-Maurice, a doctor from the Médival medical center, ski instructors, and volunteers. The training was carried out under real conditions with the goal of improving coordination between the various teams, as explained by Cédric Bonnevie, Director of the Ski Slope Administration.
Cédric's statement (1 min 17): The first few minutes are crucial when rescuers arrive at the avalanche site. The Ski Slope Administration reminds the importance of being equipped with an avalanche beacon, whether you are skiing or walking, to ensure you can be found as quickly as possible.

/// Minou Memorial
61 racers from Val d'Isère, Tignes, Megève, Le Grand Bornand, Val Thorens, and Les Arcs participated in the Minou Memorial Giant Slalom on the Raye slope. This memorial is a race between ski resorts in memory of colleagues who have passed. In the women’s veteran category, Julie Legon claimed victory, followed by Fanélie Voiteque and Lydie Lavredrine. In the senior women’s category, Béatrice Crooks took first place, followed by Clémence Magrez and Garence. Among the men, in the Veteran 1 category, Baptiste Da Silva stood on the top podium, followed by Greg Bonnevie and Jonathan Rougier. In the Veteran 2 category, Stephen Voiteque was the leader, followed by Patrick Gaide and Guillaume Rey. For the senior men, Hugo Jaillet was the winner, followed by Aloïs Dupuy and Lilan Dunand. Finally, Val d'Isère was the winning team of the event, followed by Tignes and Val Thorens. The awards ceremony was held at La Daille, followed by a party at a bar.

/// Loyes Chairlift Closure
The Loyes Express chairlift will be exceptionally closed today due to an internal exercise for Val d'Isère Telephériques staff. Trainings will be held on evacuation procedures to ensure that as many people as possible are trained to comply with regulations. In the event of a malfunction, the STVI has 3 hours and 30 minutes to evacuate all passengers and bring them to a safe location.

/// Visitor Numbers
For the third week of March, the occupancy rate at the resort will be 70.8%, or 75,700 overnight stays. This is a decrease compared to the previous winter due to British school holidays falling during this period. Visitor numbers will be lower at the end of March since there are fewer European school holidays. March will end quietly, but April looks promising as, according to the tourist observatory, visitor numbers are expected to be strong, surpassing those of the previous year.

/// Road Traffic
Regarding road traffic forecasts, circulation will be disrupted today from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. for arrivals, while the road network in the departure direction will be impacted from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tomorrow, traffic will be smooth for arrivals, but difficulties are expected between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. For this weekend, 59,000 vehicles are expected on the roads heading up, and 69,000 heading down.

/// Spring of Poets Festival
Last night, the Spring of Poets Festival concluded beautifully at the Splendid Cinema with around a hundred attendees. The sound postcards created during workshops were presented to the public. The children from the after-school program and seven adults paid tribute to Val d'Isère and the love for the village. Artists Fish Le Rouge and Monkeywink also demonstrated how to make a video montage and revealed a film made at the Municipal Technical Center. This film, which is over twenty minutes long and still in progress, highlights the men and women behind the scenes who work daily in the resort. The poetic portraits of some of the volunteers are featured. It was a beautiful adventure for participants during this emotional and poetic moment. The event continued with live slam poetry postcards and concluded with a concert by the artists involved. This marked the final edition of the Spring of Poets Festival.