The past week has given the Espace Killy over a metre of snow which has given some fantastic powder all over the mountain. There is also another metre or more of snow in the week long forecast which is going to continue give us fresh tracks all week!
All this fresh snow has created an extremely dangerous snowpack, as the fresh snow has sat on a weak layer of snow with a buried surface hoar hiding within the North facing slopes and a melt-freeze layer buried beneath all the fresh snow within the South facing slopes.
This extremely dangerous snowpack has sadly already taken the lives of two skiers in the Espace Killy, both of them were skiing in Val d’Isere. These two skiers could not resist the temptation of skiing untracked snow so soon after a big dump of snow, they were sadly not wearing the recommended equipment of a Transceiver, Shovel and Probe whilst travelling off-piste.
Please make sure you are adequately equipped what travelling off-piste and most importantly, have the knowledge of how to use this equipment effectively and select the terrain you’re descending based on the current avalanche danger rating – which will stay high for the rest of the week.
The Espace Killy off-piste has given some fantastic thigh deep snow after the recent storms. I have been sticking to many of the tree runs around La Dialle, Fornet and ‘Super S’ which all have an more than adequate snow base to run these lines.
Temperatures increased quite suddenly yesterday whilst in the Fornet trees which let to very water saturated snow underfoot, this snow was extremely heavy and slow to move on. However, purchase propecia there doesn’t look to be another spike in the forecast so that looks to be the worst of it over!
If you do not know where to travel to find the best and safest snow, then please consider hiring a local guide or instructor who will have the knowledge and experience to select the best routes to descend based on your ability and the current snow conditions.
The pistes around the Espace Killy have been set up absolutely perfectly in the morning with the early risers sampling some freshly groomed soft snow. Later in the day, the pistes are becoming quite bumped out with all the soft snow being thrown about, get down into the lower pistes such as Les Boisses, Les Breviere & La Dialle where the trees will give you a little more contrast in this flat light and allow you to see the bumps.
The forecast for the rest of the week looks to be much of the same, with fresh snow falling Friday, Saturday and Sunday so expect flat light and lots more fresh. The avalanche warning will remain high (4/5) with the addition of more fresh snow on the weak layer below. Please be patient in the morning whilst waiting for the Pisteurs to blast the dangerous slopes before getting the lifts open.
Heliskiing conditions have taken a sharp turn for the better with all this fresh snow, book onto a Heliski trip departing from Tignes this week with Val Heliski and enjoy the peace of mind whilst our guides select the best slopes for your group based on the current avalanche forecast.
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