01-May-2011
Category : Alpe d'Huez, Featured
Winter 2010/11 is finally over, and I don’t think I’m the only one who’s glad to see the back of it. Perhaps it was the lack of snow and the almost permanently sunny skies that made the ‘winter’ seem to last for ever.
Looking back at my reports over the season, it probably only snowed a total of ten times. And the sunshine – usually a welcome sight during the dark winter months – became monotonous, taunting us from the centre of clear blue skies devoid of snow-filled clouds.
07-Apr-2011
Category : Alpe d'Huez, Featured, Snowsports
Today I skied in Alpe d’Huez. This week’s warm weather has had a drastic effect on the snow at all altitudes and I’ve been curious about the state of the pistes since lift company SATA reduced the price of daily passes last weekend.
As I was uploading yesterday’s report on the snow conditions in Les 2 Alpes, news reached me that the cold, hard pistes above 2100m had turned soft overnight. Not quite slushy, but wet and soft. Hmmm… was I about to discover the same thing in Alpe d’Huez?
06-Apr-2011
Category : Featured, Les 2 Alpes, Snowsports
The resort is quiet, holiday sales are down and the tour operators are starting to close-up for the summer. Which is great if you’ve already booked as there’s still plenty of skiing in Les 2 Alpes so whatever you do… pack your ski stuff and don’t cancel your holiday!
There’s a lot of chat around town that the snow is finished and the season is over. It’s not true! The chat is coming from seasonnaires who aren’t too impressed with current conditions and that’s partly because it’s warm in resort so everyone is more interested in BBQs and sunbathing than riding. Only the seriously keen – and the tourists – were on the mountain yesterday.
30-Mar-2011
Category : Alpe d'Huez, Featured, Snowsports
I’m struggling with what to write today. I’ve been waiting for the past two days to write this week’s post, hoping for some inspiration, some direction; wondering whether it’s too early to write the eulogy for winter 2010/11.
Last week I wrote about how well-covered the pistes of Alpe d’Huez were. A tour of the Grande Domaine left me pleasantly surprised and keen to make the most of the remaining few weeks of the season. But this week the weather’s become even more unpredictable with snow, sun, rain, sleet and wind every day.
23-Mar-2011
Let’s face facts; it hasn’t snowed much this winter. But despite the clear skies and sunshine it’s been pretty cold for the past few weeks, meaning what snow has fallen should still be in good condition. Yesterday I skied Alpe d’Huez’s Grand Domaine to find out for myself.
I started with the usual warm-up run from the top of the Signal down to Villard Reculas. The Petit Prince piste is a safe bet for good snow so always a gentle start to the day. I found the snow here to be fresh, fast and grippy… who’d know we were suffering a snow drought?
15-Mar-2011
On the pistes today, conditions were a far cry from the balmy winter we’ve experienced so far. In the resort of Alpe d’Huez it’s been warm all day, with temperatures reaching 15ºC but get to the edge of town and you start to feel the wind that’s been blasting across the mountains this week.
It’s been a long time since I last skied, with the half-term crowds and lack of snow not doing much for my lack of enthusiasm. But true to form, my sprained wrist and the doctor’s resulting ban on skiing had me itching to hit the pistes.
12-Feb-2011
Is Alpe d’Huez well-suited to beginners? It’s not something I’d given much thought to until The Best Friend arrived in resort and asked me to show her the slopes.
Her first day in resort clashed with my work timetable so we booked her into a private lesson with an English-speaking instructor at the French ski school, the ESF (Ecole du Ski Français). New to skiing and with just a little experience on real snow (no, the snow dome in Dubai doesn’t count!), she spent her 90 minute lesson with Dom Marquis on the green slopes below 2100m.
04-Jan-2011
The start of 2011 has been filled with sunshine in the mountains of the Oisans region, and low-lying cloud in the valleys. The resorts were incredibly busy over New Year and Christmas but are much quieter now. Tour Operators are adjusting this week from a Sunday changeover to their usual Saturday and it seems that the independent travellers are doing the same thing, with far fewer cars in resort too. And it’s just as well, because we really need fresh snow!
27-Dec-2010
Days off are precious, especially at the start of the season when work feels so much harder because we’ve had a long break. My tendency to take on a new role each season doesn’t help, as I’m getting to grips with a new routine as well as learning a new job (and keeping up with Destination Oisans!). It’s a tiring process but as the year comes to an end my new routine is starting to bed-in and, after a Christmas spent in the office, I made sure that today I hit the snow.
Despite the unabashed commercialism of the central resort, Alpe d’Huez is surrounded by places of remote and timeless calm. Year-round, these are spots of great natural beauty, but I don’t aways notice the visual aesthetic when I return because I’m marvelling at the serenity that fills me as I move away from resort-life and into nature. I feel the weight of modern life slip from my soul; my heart soars, my essence glows, my soul breathes. It’s only when I return to these special spots that I realise how much I’ve been missing, how little space I leave for this kind of wonder in my life.
04-Dec-2010
Opening days don’t come much finer than this! After a sneaky opener last weekend, Alpe d’Huez opened for the season today, and what a day it was…
The sun shone all day, taking most of the chill out of the air and 0ºC in resort felt much warmer than yesterday’s -8ºC. Above 2700m (top of the DMC) it was pretty windy though and felt closer to -10ºC. But cold weather is good for the snow and today the conditions on and off the piste were amazing.
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