|
A
lot of people ask us what the snow will be like. It rains in Corsica in summer sometimes, and it can be
warm in the Alps. However, taken overall, conditions
have been good to very good for most of the time over the last
17 years. The only reliability has been the unpredictable
nature of the conditions. However, since 1998 conditions have
generally been very good except in 2001.
1988-1989
Wet
snow fell in the village on 1
December, more came later and it was cold and icy. By mid December
there was 50 centimetres in the village. However, by New year the
lower slopes were almost bare. It snowed lightly the first week
in January, but then was dry and sunny for 6 weeks ! during
which conditions became poor and led to many cancellations. Strangely,
the week where people cancelled there was a substantial fall of
snow and good conditions in mid Febraury. However, the following
week, the busiest of the season, it rained all week and washed away
all the snow. End February and no snow. Nice for my first season.
However, the next week produced 2 metres of perfect snow and the
rest of the season went off quite well. It snowed a lot in April.
The lifts closed on 16 April at Avoriaz in a blizzard, whilst conditions
were still very good. Strange
season.
1989-1990
A
bitterly cold November ended on 16 December when it warmed up considerably
and we all expected snow. Instead it rained for a week and at Christmas
everywhere was bare except 3 runs in Avoriaz. The situation stayed
terrible in January until 24th when it snowed a little,
enough to open a couple of runs in Les Gets and a couple more in
Avoriaz. No snow cannons didn’t help and the Mayor was sacked in
Les Gets for not understanding the situation, whilst employees were
paid by social security as businesses floundered. The snow did pick
up slightly in February, including one sunny week with good snow
cover and temperatures of 16°C, but again, in the busiest week it
poured with rain again, before snowing at the end. However, this
time the snow was thin, although Avoriaz and the higher resorts
had plenty now. It was also warm in March which led to dreadful
quality snow. It snowed again quite a lot in April, but far too
late to salvage an awful season. Very much a season for the higher
resorts and it would take several years for lower resorts to regain
their popularity.
1990-1991
Heavy
snow in November ! ! Well, half a metre and cold. And
more on 22, 23, 24, 25 which meant lifts could open on 25 November.
A cold spell meant great skiing in early December and a Christmas
assured of snow, at last. This winter, it stayed and snowed regularly
enough to maintain the base and provide for good skiing until April.
1991-1992
The
winter of the Olympic games. Cold and snowy, but not that convincing
in early December, but on the 17th it snowed 2 metres
in 4 days - this was followed by 2 weeks of sun, with ideal snow
cover. Not bad. The winter had mild spells, but also snowy spells,
a warm March, and generally could be termed an ideal winter.
1992-1993
Another
mild winter, snowed in mid-December, but thereafter was mild. Les Gets suffered as in the third week of January
temperatures reached 17°C and it rained non stop for 4 days from
2300 to 2800 metres altitude. No snow left below 1800 métres. It did pick up a little in February and did
enable us to maintain something of a season.
1993-1994
Excellent
early snow in December made for what would look like a perfect season,
but one of the most unpredictable elements of our planet was to
play havoc with emotions leading up to Christmas. Good snow from
12-18 December left us with perfect conditions. From 19-21 December
it rained non stop to 3000 metres and cleared the pistes below 2000
metres. It then snowed for 3 days non stop leaving almost 2 metres
of fresh snow, just in time for the Christmas Saturday. More snow
followed on a regular basis throughout the season. It snowed in
Tignes almost non stop over New Year and high winds prevented people
skiing, and it was cold. This was a time to be at a low resort.
1994-1995
No
snow up to Christmas,. It rained all week in Les Gets to 1800 metres
and looked like being a lousy season. However, on 30 December it
turned to snow, and it snowed, and snowed, with breaks, but regularly
for most of the winter, staying mainly cold except for one week
in January, and exceptional snow conditions. Over 10 metres fell
in Les gets, on a par with Canadian resorts! Overall the best I
had known, right up to end April ! !
1995-1996
A
lousy and wet Christmas was followed by a slightly snowy New Year.
All winter we were to get by, but never was it really convincing,
frequently overcast and mild. There were 2 snowy weeks with heavy
falls at the beginning of February
which maintained the season and remained its highlight.
1996-1997
Snow
came early this year, and by mid November most of the pistes were
covered in Tignes and also Les Gets. The lifts opened early in November
in Les Gets, but in the week 22-28 November almost two metres fell,
80 centimetres in one night. At the end it became wet before freezing
which resulted in a two metre solid base. Apart from a fall at Christmas
and New Year, and a fall of almost 1 metre the first week
in March, that was it for the winter. Amazingly we were skiing on
November snow at the end of March.
1997-1998
The
‘Houdini winter’. Snow before Christmas but had all melted by the
first weekend of the season, except at Tignes, but snow on the Friday
night left us enough to begin with. Our ski instructor guide informed
me at the beginning of the winter that he had heard of a mild winter
coming. And it was, at the end of the first week the snow was gone.
It arrived again on Saturday, and lasted a week, and the pattern
followed until 25 January when a metre fall more or less stored
up the season. It became very hot in March and the snow melted but
somehow we got away with it.
1998-1999
The
winter that was…… The early snow came, then more, then more, then
still some more. Lifts opened early. A perfect Christmas with perfect
snow. New Year also had very good snow. In January conditions deteriorated
a little (still OK) and we hoped for more snow. On 25 January we
got a good metre and the cover was fine. In early February the forecast
was for a front to pass north of the Alps – it hit the Alps full
on and 2-3 metres fell in a week with heavy avalanches. The season
was secure. The following week showed huge piles of snow everywhere
but was calm. One week later more heavy snow saw an astonishing
level of snow cover. Insurance companies contaced their clients
to advise them that they would not cover over 2 metres of snow on
the rooves, hence the sight of bodies all over the Alps clearing
their snowy rooves. People arrived at their chalets to a wall of
snow 3 metres high and 1 metre wide. The snow continued into March
, still cold, until a two week break eased things up. Then it came
again, and again into April. Snow cover at the end of April was
still up to 2 metres at 1500 metres altitude. In all, 18 metres
had fallen in Les Gets. Even 1995 was totally eclipsed.
1999-2000
Quite
remarkably, the lifts opened early again, this time on 16 November ! !
and the 4th time in a row before Christmas. Plenty of
snow up to Christmas day, but then the end of Millenium hurricane
hit closing lifts and just about everything. When it had passed,
rain had come but also snow to leave a more than ample cover. The
snow wasn’t always perfect in Les Gets but there was plenty of it
and most of the time quite good, plenty of sun and snow, not too
cold. Again the snow persisted until end April, as we now saw seasons
in Les Gets close at around 22 April, helped partly by the snow
cannons. This
represented a considerable change on 15 years before.
2000-2001
Well,
it was good whilst it lasted. Lots of snow in November but temperatures
of 20°C and more in early December put paid to the start of the
season which was only possible thanks to snow canons. Not an inspiring
winter, snow came for New Year, end January, bit in Feb, and lasted
until March when it rained 19 days and in a month that normally
sees 4 days of bad weather, this time was to see 4 days of sun.
Generally a dismal and mild winter. Just about got by thanks to
the base prepared by the snow cannons which provided the feature
of white pistes surrounded by green.
2001-2002
A
bitterly cold November and December (-17°C) was dry until the Friday
before the first Saturday, then it dumped it down. It then dumped
a good part of the week providing for perfect conditions over the
holidays, especially the sunny New Year. January saw very little
and by early Feb conditions were getting poor, if skiable still.
A solid dump for a week in mid-Feb saved the season and kept us
going into April.
2002-2003
One
of the more remarkable seasons. Heavy snowfalls in December, but
high temperatures saw it all melt by Christmas. It then rained over
the holiday period for 2 weeks, almost non stop, particularly hard
over New Year. It was totally unskiable. I discussed with Christian
Berthet how awful it could be, to which he replied how it could
all pick up, a bit like 1994/5. And so it did. As the last hordes
were leaving from the festive season so it snowed, and stayed cold.
It then snowed again in January, still staying cold. It snowed well
into February and was cold until 19 February when the snap stopped
and was gradually replaced by a very hot March. The result was a
season with either sun or snow (after 3 January), and the long cold
spell, allied with the snow canons, had provided an extraordinary
base which was to last well into April. In all, only just over 4
metres of snow had fallen, but the cold had maintained perfect conditions
for as long a period as anyone can remember, especially accompanied
by lots of sun ! You just had to feel sorry for those who came
for Christmas and New Year, whilst the higher resorts would have
been very bitter.
2003-2004
The
remarkable record breaking heat of the summer of 2003 continued
on through the autumn with above normal temperatures, and hardly
any rain sparking fears of a water shortage for the snow cannons.
A cold week at the end of October saw the parking blocked for a
couple of days, and there were other sporadic falls that enable
Avoriaz to open early, but most melted away in an Indian summer
that endured right up to Christmas week.
The pistes opened on 20 December in
a small part, whilst no one skied the next day as torential rain
battered the area to 1800 metres before turning to snow in blizzard
conditions and -10°C. Bitter cold then preserved near perfect
pistes for a week.
Maginficent Christmas! New year is a very cold and snowy week,
very little sun, and Janaury starts well before 3 days of very
heavy rain around 10 January (filled the lakes up nicely for the
snow cannons though....). This is then followed by weeks of snow
and cold temperatures and almost perfect conditions. However,
the sunny weeks of the previous season are only to be repeated
for a couple of weeks in February as the snow continues falling,
albeit much lighter, right into April, when it starts to get heavier
and colder. More snow in May!!! No one complained about the snow
conditions, this time not enough sun!! No pleasing some people.
2004-2005
Dry conditions are always
worrying, and it didn't seem too cold prior to Christmas. In early
December it was possible to fire up the snow cannons, even get
a piste ready, but nothing to inspire confidence. but who needs
confidence? 17 December and no snow and little forecast. 18 december
- 30 centimetres, 19 December - 20 centimetres, 20 December -
50 centimetres. The season began thus with 70 centimetres packed
down on the pistes, perfect!! Further falls before New Year meant
a superb festivities period and the snow stayed fine until late
January. Whilst many resorts began to suffer, Les Gets continued
to have over 90% of the ski area open, before substantial falls
and very low temperatures all but meant the season was assured.
By mid February more heavy falls followed by more bitter and freezing
temperatures led to many clients claiming their finest ski holiday
ever. The lift company issued a number of warnings to protect
children properly in the cold, typical warnings that you would
expect in Tignes or Val Thorens, but not Les Gets. These warnings
were still around into March when on 5 March temperatures of -22°C
were recorded. Eventually the cold weather eased around mid March,
leaving its place to radiant sunshine with impeccable snow cover.
Easter was once again a top ski period in Les Gets, albeit with
somewhat dull weather - it actually got better as April progressed.
2005-2006
For the first time in 5
years the snow came very early. After a mild and dry autumn the
hard cold hit mid November prompting the resort to fire up the
snow cannons depsite the lack of water available - snow is critical
after all in ski resorts........They need not have bothered. Consistent
snow began falling at the end of November leading to opening the
ski lifts for the first two weekends in December, and heavy snow
in the middle of the month followed by very cold termperatures
gave fantastic conditions for the festival period. Snow continued
to fall throughout the winter, despite a quite period at the beginning
of February, and temperatures of -12) or less for over two months
ensured it didn't melt. When further cosnsitent and heavy falls
came late February and well into March, the site of people scrambling
onto rooves in order to reduce the weight of snow became commonplace.
There were some warmer periods allowing for snow to melt, but
inevitably succeeded by cold snaps and temperatures of -14°C
in mid March! However, eventually the sun came out again, amidst
perfect skiing conditions, giving an exceptional winter. The walls
of snow were very high, the depth on the piste consitent all winter.
Les Gets has a snow record to match anywhere.
|
