Nearly 2m of fresh snow in 2 weeks! : 20th December 2011
Sunshine forecast for the weekend

I woke up this morning (Tuesday) to find that the weather had closed back in again and 10cms of fresh snow had landed on the ground. This weather was in stark contrast to yesterday's, which saw the clouds part and sunshine reappear to provide a perfect powder day. That did not last long and actually I am glad to have some more snow with another 30cms due over the rest of the day.

Recently the lift openings have been all over the place with sectors opening and then closing hours later or the next day. It has been almost impossible to keep up with the changes and, at times, I think the lift company itself has struggled to put out a coherent message. However, I think we can excuse the chaos as it has been a while since Verbier has received nearly 2 metres of fresh snow in less than two weeks!

It is probably easiest to tell you what is not open at the moment as the majority of the area has opened or been open before closing temporarily. The Mont Fort sector and the lifts and runs that connect us to the 4 Vallees are yet to open and their openings are eagerly anticipated. The new Mayentzet is yet to open which is a real shame but I am sure it can not be far off.

For the beginners and parents out there, you will be pleased to know that Moulins and Les Esserts slopes opened up the other day. One thing to note is that the link between Verbier and La Châble will be closed tomorrow, 16:30-17:00 hrs, for maintenance.  

Today I did go up the mountain to film my recent video report and although it was a white out up the top of the mountain, by the time I got below Ruinettes the trees helped to provide a little perspective and I did not need my Jedi mind skills to snowboard anymore. Pistes were quiet today but then everybody put in a tough powder day yesterday in the sun and with more runs and lifts open the sliders were able to spread out.

At the moment the risk of avalanche has stabilised at around 3 out of 5 so there is still quite a high risk. Check out our articles on avalanche safety for more information.

Many of the pre-season rocks will now be covered up but there has been some considerable winds that have brought in the snow and that will take time to settle and some spots will stay unstable for weeks if not months. At the moment all the off piste itineraries are closed and they will be for at least the next couple of days. Normally when they are closed it means that they are threatened by avalanches from above when other off piste sectors may be safe. Obey the signs and do not void your insurance.

Speaking of insurance - check out the following article on getting the right insurance. My two tips are to make sure you have helicopter cover for rescue on and off piste and make sure you get the insurance companies definition of ‘off piste’ as some companies define off piste as anything that is not actually inside the wooden ski poles of a piste. This obviously excludes the patrolled and controlled bits of powder between pistes.

Tomorrow there is another 10cms of snow due but then, after that, the sun is coming out. Great news for anyone heading up for the weekend or starting their Christmas holidays this week.

Although the resort never makes a huge effort for Christmas we do have snow covered trees, log fires and mulled wine in abundance plus you can get reindeer in the supermarket! There are going to be some traditional events going on over the next week. Father Christmas will be at Medran from 4pm on 24th December and then down in Place Centrale on 25th handing out some free vin chaud/ mulled wine. For those of you that will not be in the pub on Christmas Eve (shame on you!) then you will be happy to know that there will be English speaking services at ‘The Little Church’ which is on Chemin du Temple. They will be holding a Christmas midnight communion from 23:30hrs on 24th December and the following day there will be a family service starting at 18:00 hrs. The British Army will be at the big white church with the square steeple and just up from Place Centrale, on 23rd December and they will be holding a Christmas carol service which should start at 18:00 hrs also. More details are available by clicking here or calling +41 (0) 27 771 4701

From all of us at Verbinet (which is me) and the wider Skinets team we would like to wish you all a happy Christmas and hope that Santa is as generous with your presents as he has been so far with our snow!

• Depth of snow on lower slopes
  60cm
• Altitude of last snowfall
  above 1000m
• Depth of last snowfall
  30cm
• Date of last snowfall
  20/12/2011
• Total number of pistes
  34
• Highest temperature
  -3
• Altitude of lower slopes
  1500m
• Depth of snow on upper slopes
  150cm
• Avalanche risk
  3
• Altitude of upper slopes
  3880m
• Number of pistes open
  13
• Altitude of highest temperature
  1500m

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