WEATHER
After yesterday's clouds we can all enjoy sunshine, and mostly, clear skies today. However wrap up well as our sun is not hot…
Temperatures at 9.30 are
- -5° in the Centre of the Village.
- -5° on Solaise.
- -8° on Pisaillas.
The maximum temperature will be -8° at 2000 metres.
There will be a gentle South Easterly breeze of 7-12 km/h this morning
with an even more gentle southerly breeze this afternoon
with occasional gusts of up to 40 km/h.
ROADS
No problems are expected today.
SKI REPORT
We are in for a fab day on the pistes with nearly everything in our vast playground open.
At Le Fornet
Everything will open except the Tunnel piste.
The Foret piste which takes you down through the trees from the Cable car to the village has not been groomed.
On the Pisaillas area
Everything is open.
On Solaise
The Piste L opened for the first time yesterday.
It is very definitely a RED run and a bit of a challenge at the moment, particularly as some areas are very narrow.
The 3000, Marmottons and Rhone Alps have not been groomed.
This would be a great day to enjoy the Leissier chair, affectionately know as the ‘Up and Over’ which links Le Fornet and Solaise.
The views will be spectacular.
On Bellevarde
The only closure is the Stade Olympique – the area of the Face below the Belvarde Express Chairlift
where the FIS slalom races are taking place.
It is definitely worth stopping to watch if you are in the area as the racers are of an extremely high standard.
The Epaule du Charvet has not been groomed.
The two touring tracks up from village level are open.
- The Brinzei at la Daille was groomed yesterday.
- The track up from Solaise is always trickier, or ‘more technical’ as the pros say, as the machines cannot groom it.
- Only walk up these tracks.
- DO NOT ski down.
Tignes can be accessed via the Tommeuses or Borsat chairlifts.
The avalanche risk today is three out of five.
The sun gives you beautiful views but doesn’t make conditions safer off piste.
Be very careful as there are plenty of plaques.
Avalanches recently caught several people, including professional skiers, all on three out of five days.
Only ski off-piste with people that you know regularly practice beep searches, quickly and successfully.
If in doubt, stay on our well-marked pistes, until you have arranged to ski off-piste with one Val d’Isėre’s many talented mountain guides.
Please control your speed,
particularly when approaching junctions.
Take care when crossing the bottom of the slopes
to avoid frightening beginners or pedestrians.
Or colliding with a sledge.
The lower slopes can be tricky at the end of the day,
so if your legs are already SCREAMING.
Why risk spoiling a lovely day
get a lift down !
Cross Country skiers can enjoy skiing on the tracks in
- The Manchet Valley
- La Daille
- Lac d'Ouillette
Our beautiful walking paths are all open.
LOCAL NEWS
As expected, great fun was had at the cross country relay race last night.
Fifteen teams, each of two skiers, of a wide range of abilities competed.
We saw complete beginners, wisely wearing helmets, to complete fitness freaks, experts on those skinny skis !
There was the usual array of falls, luckily none were serious, but also stunning displays of agility on the moguls and banked sides of the specially prepared track.
The piste was surrounded by a big crowd of spectators, many of the usual suspects who have come back yet again to encourage the stragglers and applaud the very best.
Greg and Gaetan, or team ‘Piou Piou’ won, by completing an impressive twenty seven circuits in the twenty minutes.
"Yellow & Grey" were second.
On the other end of the results board, the team of holidaymakers ‘Archie’ managed ten circuits which was a hugely impressive effort for their first time on cross country skis.
BRAVO.
You can see photos on our website.
Today is the second day of the FIS races on the Stade Olympique.
The Face de Bellevarde took no prisoners during yesterdays Slalom – 75 started and only 23 finished.
There was no room for either error or even hesitation.
Frances Guerlain Fave from Courchavel won.
Val d'isères Club de Sports was represented by Augustin Berthet who came a very respectable tenth.
The slalom race today has 64 competitors and will start at 09.30.
This evening there will be a Tour of the Fornet, narrated by an actor, a tour guide and a local resident.
They will recount the history and tell you about life in this, the highest village of the Haute Tarentaise.
Limited places, so please register at the Tourist Office
Meet at 18.45 at the bus stop at le Fornet.
There was a Medal Ceremony yesterday evening in the Blizzard.
Unusually this was in English.
Geoffrey Garfoot was awarded a silver medal in recognition of the 36 years he has been returning regularly to Val d’Isère.
The medal was expertely attached by his sponsor, Paul Niwano ! Well done Paul !
Today is the World Cup Downhill in Wengen, starting at 12.30.
France’s Cyprien Sarrazin had the fastest time in the second training session, and Nils Allegre fourth.
So we hope to see at least one Tricolour on the podium tody.
Though a Union Jack would also look pretty !
The speediest women in the world are racing at Altenmarkt Zauchensee.
17.45 – 19.15
Airboard.
A fun and free experience on the Savonette nursery slope.
Adjust your weight on this bodyboard to FLY across the snow.
Or at least feel like you are flying –
actual flying would be too dangerous for our lawyers to stomach !
And the boring but essential “small print”:
You must
- bring (AND wear) a helmet
- be more than 9 years old
- remember that parents need to accompany their children.
18.00
Mass is celebrated in the Church.
18.45
Fascinating tour of the Fornet.
An actor, a tour guide and a local resident will recount the history
and share insights into the life in this, the highest village of the Haute Tarentaise.
Places are limited so please register at the Tourist Office.
Don’t forget that the meeting place is at the bus stop in Le Fornet.
20.30
The original version (i.e. in English) of Wonka is being shown at in the Cinema in Maison de Val.
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’) every 6 minutes from 07.00 to 20.00 and then every 20 minutes until 02.00.
The blue shuttle bus (‘le train bleu’) travels between the Rond-point des pistes and Legettaz every 15 minutes from 08.30 to 23.20.
The yellow shuttle bus (‘le train jaune’) takes you to the Manchet valley via the main street and the rue de la Balme every 20 minutes from 08.30 to 23.20.
The shuttle bus between Val d’Isère and Tignes does 6 round trips a day.
- Leaving La Daille at 07.55, 08.35 and 10.50 in the morning and 16.25, 17.25 and 18.20 pm in the afternoon.
- Leaving Tignes 1800 at 8.05, 8.45 and 11.00, in the morning and 16.35, 17.35 and 18.30 in the afternoon.
The Swimming Pool and Sports Centre is open from 10.00 to 21.00.
The Ice-Skating Rink is open from 10.00 to 20.00.
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 18.00
The Association for Employees in Val d’Isère (Vie Val Dis) is open from 15.00 to 18.00.
The Reservation Centre (On the Lower Ground Floor of the Tourist Office) is open from 08.30 to 19.00.
The Post Office is open from 09.00 to 12.30 and from 14.00 to 17.30.
