WEATHER
Still sunny and warm.
Clouds are heading in from the North this evening
bringing a few decorative snowflakes,
we are not talking powder on the piste.
At 9.50 the temperature is
-6° in the Village.
+1° on Bellevarde.
-2° on Pisaillas.
The maximum temperature at 2000 metres will be +4°
ROADS
No problems are expected on our roads today.
SKI REPORT
For the most up-to-date information please click here
Here are the highlights of the ski report.
As our head pisteur said, a super day to be skiing in Val.
Sunny, nearly all of our many and varied pistes were groomed and all but 3 lifts are open.
QUICKEST to mention the few closures :
ON BELLEVARDE
Only top part of the Santons is closed.
There is a worrying slab.
We are wondering when it will go.
Don’t be there when it does ………..
Epaule du Charvet has not been groomed but you can avoid the blackest part
by crossing into the bottom of the Santons.
The Loyes chairlift is not open.
ON SOLAISE
Just the 3000 piste and draglift are closed.
The Marmottons is not groomed.
IN LE FORNET
The lower part of the Signal
Variante du Col
Iserane
Tunnel are closed.
The Col opened today.
The Foret is never groomed.
ON PISAILLAS
The Cascade
Montets
Aigulille Pers
Are closed.
The L, the Santons and Combe du Geant are great runs
but they are closed when there is a very high risk of
an avalanche burying you.
Please don’t irritate our ski patrollers by skiing under the ropes.
These normally charming experts may be grumpy if they have to
Risk their lives rescuing you.
The Village chairlift is still under repair but we are hoping it will be ready by the end of today.
In the meantime you can use the draglifts and
the Rogoney chairlift is opening earlier than usual, and you can use it without buying a lift pass.
The avalanche risk today is globally 3 out of 5.
This is a considerable risk.
Some slopes would be classified at 4 out of 5, as we have had snow and wind on a fragile base.
NEVER Ski off piste unless all of your group have
A beep, probe and shovel.
None of us know how well we would react in an emergency,
but hope our actions would be automatic and appropriate.
Practice makes perfect, have you practised this winter ?
Suspect the skills of any of your team ?
Stay on our marked pistes
Let’s not forget the 2 skiers who sadly died in a big avalanche on Sunday.
None of their group had beeps.
Check that your insurance specifically covers off piste rescue.
Sunday was a difficult day for our rescue teams.
For Cross country skiers
There are tracks for you to enjoy
In the Manchet valley and Lac Ouillette.
Walkers
All our paths are open, except for les Branges.
A good day for you to take the lifts up to
top of Solaise and Le Fornet.
Even go on our brand new Vallon bubble.
Fancy ski touring ?
The Brinzei track from the bottom of La Daille is groomed.
The Ecureuil on Solaise is described as more
“Technical” and is never groomed.
LOCAL NEWS
At the beginning of the winter we all enjoyed the 69th Criterium,
With the FIS World Cup races on the Face.
Last weekend, Val hosted, for the 9th time
“The News Cup”
An international event where instead of
watching, analysing, criticizing and reporting,
the journalists themselves are the participants.
The stars of the event.
Started by journalists from the major French TV channel, TF1,
the theme varies according to location
and could be cultural or sporty.
So Val’s skiing challenge is different to what happened
in Lapland and Morocco
Many local businesses, including the 5 star Hotel
The Barmes de l'Ours
and the French Ski School
help make this event such a success.
27 journalists, from all over the world,
including five famous French
(Bernard De La Villardière, Julien Arnaud, Gilles Bouleau, David Pujadas, Olivier Truchot.
) met here on Friday.
Obviously excellent journalists with refined tastes
as they all spoke with enthusiasm of the length, breath and variety of the pistes in Val,
and even in Tignes.
A quote “The Worlds Best Ski resort”.
We can’t argue with that, and will certainly invite such experts back.
We wisely arranged for it to snow before their arrival, followed by sunshine
to flatter their tracks and boost their egos.
Some enjoyed the steep black runs,
whilst others preferred zipping fast
when on a wide and empty piste.
The off piste was raved about, especially the easy access
by the sensible, or lazy, who don’t like to walk.
And onto the Aprės ….
Our hotels, bars and restaurants were clearly appreciated,
along with Val’s friendly and sporty ambiance.
Not many towns have so many fit looking people.
Saturday was The Race.
On the perfectly prepared Bonnevie Slalom.
Good humour thinly disguised the
deadly serious competitive spirit.
Everyone wanted to be top of that podium.
But an important part of the weekend was networking.
Reconnecting with colleagues they rarely see.
Sharing their experiences of the mad, often bad world
outside of Val d’isėre
but also fond memories of Val ski days of old.
The joy of Skiing wearing 2 left boots….
Challenging Gerrard Mattis in a parallel slalom,
When by a fluke, Gerrard won….
17.30
Why not go to our comfy cinema where
“No other land” is being shown in English.
This is a film about the Palestinian Israeli conflict.
It was made in collaboration between Norway and Palestine
and has already won prizes for best documentary.
17.45
Painting on the Snow
Why not release your creative soul, your artistic beast,
and paint on the snow on our Savonette nursery slope!
It is free. You must be over 4 years old, and children must bring a parent.
Don’t panic - the paints are all biodegradable.
18.00
Classicaval.
The second concert of this years Classicaval Is taking place in our Baroque village church.
The instrument of the day – Trumpet.
You can buy tickets online, in the Tourist office or at the door from 17.30.
19.30
Special evening at the Swimming Pool and Sports Centre.
Where for the price of an entry to the swimming pool
you can use the Wellness Centres :
Saunas
Jacuzzi and
Hammam for free.
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.
OPENING TIMES
The Swimming Pool and Sports Centre is open from 07.30 to 22.00.
The Tourist Office is open from 08.30 to 19.30.
The Multimedia Library is open from 10.00 to 12.00 and 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 09.00 to 12.00 and from 15.00 to 19.00.
The Reservation Centre (On the Lower Ground Floor of the Tourist Office) is open from 08.30 to 19.00.
