Snow arrives in Verbier : 16th Feb 2012
Only 5cm but it is very welcome

After almost two weeks of sunshine and cold temperatures the weather finally changed on Wednesday. Clouds came rolling in and brought in around 5cm of fresh snow. This new snow is very welcome as the pistes were starting to get a little icy and the off piste was already well tracked.

The risk of avalanche has risen to 3 out of 5 which is surprising as the rate of snowfall has been so low but winds have been strong at times so this will have transported snow and caused much more than 5cm to accumulate on some slopes.

The wind has been coming from the North and temperatures have been around -10 at mid station and as low as -30 higher up the mountain. The freezing level has dropped to around the valley floor and the snow that came in has been settling on the ground. Roads by Wednesday night were very slippery and some cars were struggling to get traction so chains may be needed. Sign up to our dump alerts for more up to date information as conditions change.

Recently pistes have been busier as we slip into the school holidays but it does seem quieter than previous years. Do not forget that although the main areas do get quite busy there are some places that are generally quieter and others that are much busier. Lac de Vaux and La Chaux are two of the biggest choke points in resort these days as huge improvements to the lift infrastructure have got rid of other big choke points. These areas experience queues for a variety of reasons but mainly because they are major junctions in the ski area. Quieter areas, which are off the beaten track, are places like Bruson and Savoleyres. These areas are also great places to take the family, beginners and/or the kids as the terrain is much gentler and the skiers less hardcore.

If you cannot bear the queues at Medran then the new Mayentzet lift is a good idea. You can get to it by taking the magic carpet, Le Rouge pomma and then the tow rope or simply catch the bus to Carrefour and ski across. However, the lift will get busy over the next month as everyone tries to sneak up the mountain the quick way so it may end up quicker the Medran way. I will let you all know how that works out. As usual if you do not want to brave the cat tracks of doom back down to resort at the end of the day then I would recommend either skiing down Le Rouge or finishing the day at Carrefour. Both routes end with a relaxed bus ride back into resort and avoid the icy, narrow and busy cat tracks back to resort. Alternatively you can miss it all out by downloading from mid station and watch the masses fight it out.

The weather over the next few days looks set to be quite mixed with some sunshine and clouds, cold temperatures, mid to strong winds and maybe even some more snow showers.

• Latest Conditions
  light snow, clouds and cold
• Depth of snow on lower slopes
  30cm
• Altitude of last snowfall
  +900m
• Date of last snowfall
  15.02.2012
• Depth of last snowfall
  2-5cm
• Total number of pistes
  37
• Cross country trails open
  1
• Highest temperature
  -9
• Altitude of lower slopes
  1500m
• Depth of snow on upper slopes
  265cm
• Avalanche risk
  3
• Altitude of upper slopes
  3330m
• Number of pistes open
  37
• Altitude of highest temperature
  1500m

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