Alpine skiing
Add news
News

Off-piste snow report, N French Alps, 31st Jan 2020

0 10

Snowfall on and off in the Northern French Alps next week!

We needed more snow and we got it! Winter returned with a vengeance last Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing plenty of fresh snow accompanied by wild north-westerly winds.

Read our blog on the snowpack before the storm and the weak layer

Thursday was a glorious blue sky powder morning with very variable snow depths due to the wind. But there was plenty of powder to go around. The wind had come from the NW, so we found the most snow on SW, S, SE, E, and NE slopes

First tracks in Grand Vallon 30th Jan 2020,
Photo: Chris Howe, Skiers Vincent Giraud and John Eales

Temperatures are due to rise a little, making the rain/snow limit around 2000 m or so. Higher altitudes will be reaping the rewards, while it could sometimes be raining below 2000 m. However, there’s a very good chance that skiing could be excellent at various points over the next week!

Violent north-westerly winds (gusts up 180 km/hr recorded at around 3500 m above Le Fornet) have blown the snow all over the place, making it difficult to say how much fresh snow has actually fallen. Needless to say, that following these high winds and large quantities of fresh snow, the avalanche risk has risen to a considerable 3/5, or even a high 4/5. Check out what the avalanche danger ratings mean.

Wild storms above Val d’Isere. Wayne Watson photo

Some of the best skiing we’ve had recently has been in the trees, where visibility has been better and the snow has been less affected by the ravages of the wind.

Recent history of the snowpack

Off-piste snow depths have increased, although the surface is very windblown, especially at high altitude. In some exposed areas the snow has been blown off completely. In wind-exposed areas above 2500 m, the snow surface is very irregular and hardened.

Off-Piste Depths, Haute Tarentaise 29 Jan 2020 c/o Meteo France

Preventative avalanche blasting to secure the pistes on Wednesday morning revealed a high amount of snowpack instability, with several distance-triggered avalanches occurring.

There is also a weak layer in the snowpack that we spoke about in our previous blog. click here

What is the current avalanche risk in the Northern French Alps/Savoie?

At the time of writing (Thurs 30th Jan) the avalanche risk has gone down from a high 4/5 to a considerable 3/5. However, for us, the risk is a ‘very high 3 bordering on 4’ possibly for the next few days if it continues to snow. We believe there’s going to be a high danger of triggering avalanches, especially when visibility improves, along with the lure of skiing fresh powder.

Following other people’s tracks is a particularly easy trap to fall into. Don’t do it unless you know that where they are leading you is safe.

What does this mean for off-piste skiers and snowboarders?

There is going to be fantastic skiing for the next week, especially when the sun comes out.

Be wary of the weak layer if you are on slopes that were not heavily skied before. Henry’s Avalanche Talk heard some whumphing on Thursday which is a sign of a weak layer collapsing

Be cautious about sunny slopes warming up and the risk of spontaneous avalanches. This is particularly an issue below 2300m.

Where is most at risk at the moment?

Steep slopes with fresh snow on them and terrain traps beneath them are going to be particularly at risk. The best advice for the next week is to stick with slopes under 30 degrees. And if you do go steeper, make sure there are no terrain traps below you (cliffs, bowls, barriers, trees etc.)

How does the forecast look for the coming week?

Above-average temperatures with a mix of cloud, sun, snow and rain below 2000m, before the temperature drops to normal on Wednesday and this is followed by a dry sunny period

FRIDAY JANUARY 31
Increasingly sunny in very high mountains; a little less cold in the afternoon.
The numerous clouds gradually drop below 2500-3000 m and partially dissipate; they still give rare showers in the morning, especially over western Savoy; they charge the sky a little more at the end of the day.
Maximum temperatures 12 ° C at 1000 m, 8 ° C at 2000 m, 1 ° C at 3000 m.

Partly starry night, barely colder.
Clouds remain more or less numerous at the start of the night below 2500-3000 m, with rare showers over western Savoy, then dissipate more frankly.

It snows above 2300 then 2000 m.

Isotherm 0 ° C: 2400-2600 m, then 2700 m at the end of the night.
Isothermal -10 ° C: 4300-4600 m.

Wind at 2500 m (especially in the West): WNW to SW during the day, SW to South at night, 10-20 km / h.
Wind at 3600 m: NW then WSW during the day 30-40 then 10-20 km / h, WSW then WNW at night 10-20 then 30-40 km / h.
The locally strong gusts in the morning on the edge of the Piedmont and Italian slope, diminish in the morning, then resume a little at night.
At 1500-2000 m on the Pre-Alps, the wind from SW to South remains weak, also in the plain.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 1
A bit of sun; barely colder in the afternoon.
The morning greyness and cloudy residue above, especially over western Savoy, dissipate.
Very high cloudy periods become denser in the early morning, then lower and thicker, and the sky becomes cloudy in the late morning or mid-day.
Very weak showers approach the foothills in the middle of the day, then extend to massifs and interior valleys in the afternoon, becoming more generalized in western Savoy in the afternoon.

A little starry night, a little less cold.
The numerous clouds thicken a little at the start of the night, and the light precipitation affects the high mountain, hardly reaching the Haute Maurienne; they become scarce at the end of the night, while the clouds dissipate partially, under cloudy passages catching the high mountains.

It snows above 1700-2000 m (less than 5 cm in Haute Maurienne, locally up to 15 cm elsewhere above 2200-2400 m)

Isotherm 0 ° C: 2700 then 2200 m during the day, 2100 then 2300 m at night.

Wind at 3000 m: WSW to WNW then NW during the day 20-30 then 40-60 km / h, NW to WNW at night 40-70 then 50-80 km / h.
Wind at 4200 m: West then NW during the day 20-30 then 80-90 then 60-80 km / h, NW at night 60-80 then 80-90 km / h.
Strong gusts in the afternoon and at night in the lee of the high ridges of the South and SE Vanoise, as well as on the edge of Piedmont and Italian slope.
At 1500-2000 m on the Pre-Alps, the moderate wind, rarely strong enough, from SW then WNW during the day, weakens at night.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 2
Snowy day: Not much sun; a little colder in the afternoon.
A few clearings early in the morning, then the sky will cover. Weak generalized precipitation begins at the end of the morning, intensifies in the afternoon and especially at the end of the day, then weakens at the beginning of the night; they become scarce at the end of the night, while the clouds dissipate partially.

It snows above 1900-2100 then 2200-2500 m;
above 2500-2700 m, we expect 30-50 cm, locally 20 or 60 cm.

Isotherm 0 ° C: 2300 then 2600 m during the day, 2500-2600 m at night.

Wind at 3000 m: NW to WNW, 50-80 then 80-90 km / h during the day, 50-80 km / h at night.
Wind at 4200 m: NW to WNW, 80-90 then 90-110 km / h during the day, 90-120 km / h at night.
Strong gusts descend downwind of the high mountains.
At 1500-2000 m on the Pre-Alps, moderate to strong WNW to SW wind.

MONDAY 3:
The strong wind of WNW turns west and accelerates further. A Few residual showers early in the morning, then the cloudiness widens. The sky charges again in the night.
Isotherm 0 ° C around 1900 m (at least).

TUESDAY 4:
Snowy day and colder again: The strong wind from West to NW turns to NW then North, generating strong winds at least in very high mountains.
Many clouds and marked precipitation; gusts of wind sometimes descend to the plains and low valleys.
Isothermal 0 ° C down around 500 m (at least).
Snow can descend to the plain.

WEDNESDAY 5:
Thunderstorms, some snow showers, and more gusts of Bise.
Isotherm 0 ° C around 600 m; the snow barely rises.

THURSDAY 5:
The fast north current turns to the NNE and becomes more moderate.
A partial cloud sea persists, locally over 3000 m in the morning, up to over 1500 m in the evening, or even lower at night, with rare drops or flakes still possible in the morning.
Isotherm 0 ° C rising around 900 m on the Prealps side, 1700 m in interior mass.

FRIDAY 7 and SATURDAY FEBRUARY 8
The current from NNE then North becomes weak then takes a West trend.
More or less sunny, cloudy periods.
Isotherm 0 ° C rising around 2200 m (at least).

Tip of the week

In the words of Alain Duclos, Avalanche Expert, sticking to low-angled slopes with wide skis is not a bad option this week.

There is a hidden demon under the snowpack in form of a weak layer read our post

The post Off-piste snow report, N French Alps, 31st Jan 2020 appeared first on HAT.

Загрузка...

Comments

Комментарии для сайта Cackle
Загрузка...

More news:

Professional Ski Instructors of America Rocky Mountain Division

Read on Sportsweek.org:

Avax.news
Oann.com (One America News Network)
Avax.news
Oann.com (One America News Network)

Other sports

Sponsored