Sunshine is on the way : 9th January 2012
After days of storms and flat light the lifts are open and sun is forecast

Whilst the majority of the ski area is open at the moment some parts remain closed. Since the big storm before the weekend, which brought in up to 40cm of fresh snow, the Mont Fort lift has not opened and many of the free ride runs have remained shut too. These include Mont Gele and Vallon d’Arbi/ Col des Mines. The Jumbo up to Col des Gentianes, Gentianes to Tortin and the Chassoure to Tortin did all open up too but a lift failure on the Chassoure bubble left many people stranded and in the end each bubble had to be evacuated by helicopter. Also, all cross country and walking routes are currently closed. A level 3 out of 5 risk of avalanche persists as the recent snow came in with very strong winds creating lots of conditions for slab avalanches on all slopes. This level has only just dropped from 4 out of 5 so expect things to still be lively off piste. The weather has also stayed moody with poor visibility and freezing cold temperatures although sunshine is on the way.

On piste the lower tree covered runs that have better visibility have been crowded recently even though the holiday crowds have gone. This is because there is better visibility lower down so the crowds are not so willing to disperse across the entire area that is open. This has caused the lower pistes below Ruinettes, Savoleyres and Bruson to become bumpy (with the new snow) and icy (from the volume of skiers and previous rain fall which froze)

The good news is that sunny weather is on the way. This break had originally been forecast for this last weekend but must have got held up as, sadly, it did not put in an appearance for the weekend crowds.

In town things are still very busy as people enjoy the hospitality of Verbier’s many bars and restaurants and the recent Orthodox Christmas kept the nightclubs busy too.

Roads are a lot better than even yesterday but there is still a lot of slush and ice around and cars are still trying to drive without snow chains and finding it difficult. Pedestrians and drivers need to make sure that they give other cars the chance to slow right down before crossing the flow of traffic as stopping distances are increased significantly in the snow and ice. Also, pedestrians and drivers need to be aware that the conditions limit visibility for drivers so care must be taken when walking around cars and manoeuvring vehicles when pedestrians are around. The recent high winds knocked down a tree in Place Centrale, blocking the roundabout and adding to the difficult driving conditions.

If you want quieter pistes then head over to either Bruson or Savoleyres as the terrain is more relaxed than in the main Verbier sector. Hopefully the sunshine over the coming week should allow everyone chance to spread out and get some mileage on the pistes. With the risk of avalanche dropping slightly and the weather improving over the next week expect the full area to open either tomorrow or over the coming days. Make sure you pay attention to warning signs and closed signs as the snowpack has not had any real chance to settle yet and off piste areas are very dangerous right now.

• Latest Conditions
  Flat light, cold but clearing in coming days
• Depth of snow on lower slopes
  32cm
• Altitude of last snowfall
  +1350m
• Date of last snowfall
  08.02.2012
• Depth of last snowfall
  12cm
• Total number of pistes
  37
• Highest temperature
  -1
• Altitude of lower slopes
  1500m
• Depth of snow on upper slopes
  305cm
• Avalanche risk
  3
• Altitude of upper slopes
  2950m
• Number of pistes open
  32
• Altitude of highest temperature
  1500m

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