Big couloirs, Face shots and Zero visibility

After a week of very warm and very sunny weather, the snow and the winter are back with a vengeance.

Since late in the day last Sunday, seemingly never-ending intermittent snowfall has re-covered our stomping ground. Wednesday was probably the highlight of the week due to the least amount of cloud cover and the best visibility of the week, but every day was worth getting out the big skis for.

Last Sunday was the final day of a great week of ski touring and we finished it off with a big one. Former Chocolate Freerider, Charlie Connell, inspired us to the top of the Couloir de la Dent Jaune shown below. The couloir is a 700m (2300ft) vertical descent onto the apron which is visible at the botom of the photo.


Monday morning was the start of one of our Women's Camps. Normally we would get into the week with some theory, but this week was a bit different. The girls were itching to get after some of the fresh snow so, led by our lead-guide John Falkiner, the group headed off for the backside which had a wind accumulated 30-40cm of blower. The next two days followed suit with great conditions and great skiing. The week ended with more snow and cold weather which bodes well for the upcoming Oneil Xtreme.

This weekend's event should be spectacular given the plentiful conditions. The comp will be broadcast live on our website so be sure to check it out.

Verbier off-piste report

High winds kept the Mont-Fort tram closed today but the temperatures, 3 degrees at 2000m, were moderate. With a high pressure system settled in over the Alps, the conditions probably will remain stable throughout the week.

Snow conditions are variable, but pockets of untouched pow remain. The southern aspects are turning into spring corn by late afternoon, while the nothern, higher aspects are firm and fast. The avalanche risk dropped to 2 out of 5 today so everything is relatively stable. That said, the 'North Face' of the Mont-Fort slid today so caution is still advised.

Verbier Off-Piste Report

Things just keep getting funkier. Heavy snow, heavy rain, even heavier winds have combined for some great skiing up high, some treacherous mid-mountain carton, and fast low-level concrete.

Yesterday morning, the hordes broke through to the backside where conditions seemed most likely to be favorable, and sure enough the high alpine delivered some very rewarding compressed pow turns. Once we made it off the first pitch the conditions gradually got worse until we made it to the traverse around the lake which was very hard and quick.

Our second run was off the east aspect of the Greppon Blanc towards Leteygeon. The snow wasn't perfect, but for the most part it was load bearing and kind of soft on top.

On our way back around coming up the chair towards Tortin, 2 Air-Glaciers helis flew over head up towards the dam. Rumour has it 3 people got caught in a slide on the backside in the afternoon as the day got warmer. Apparently there were no injuries.

That's all for now. Forecast for the rest week is a bit mixed with snow and sun making appearances. Temperatures are dropping.

Verbier off-piste report

Snow has finally arrived in Verbier but warm temperatures kept the snowline high. It rained up to about 2000m from Wednesday to Saturday. It cleared up yesterday and the skiing was fast due to high winds that left the snow well compressed. In some areas like the Col des Mouches all the snow that fell slid to ground. Again high temps created unstable conditions and in the afternoon more areas slid, for example, the Attelas couloirs and other aspects in Tortin-Col des Mouches domain.
It has started snowing again so it looks like we will be getting more powder skiing. Right now it is about 3-4 degrees so the snow is not sticking down here but it is definitely snowing up high.
The winter was late this year but it looks like we might be getting back on track.
Keep your tips up!