Verbier Snow Report
16th April 2012

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Snow Report for Verbier »Events Calendar for Verbier »The Environment & Verbier »

At the moment it is still snowing down to resort and the snow is settling. Up the mountain the new snow is not having a huge effect until you get up to Mont Gele and Mont Fort but due to the really bad visibility all week it has been very difficult to go off piste. In fact, at times, it has been very difficult to see for more than 10 metres due to the mist, low clouds and poor visibility. Behind the curtain of winter, spring still tries to keep a toe hold in April and this can be seen in the warm temperatures and high freezing level that has accompanied this recent unsettled weather. This has meant that below Col des Gentianes most of the snow is sticky and heavy and below Ruinettes the pistes continue to degrade even as the wet snow/ slush falls. At times it can be very humid and then a cold wind whips up, to keep you guessing. The new snow is very welcome but really all we want is sunshine and clear skies for the last couple of weeks of the season.

The risk of avalanche has stayed at 2 out of 5 but the difference in stability between Saturday and Sunday was marked. On Saturday a 10cm thick heavy and wet layer of snow sat on top of an icy base and was quite stable but by Sunday this same layer slipped out on all slopes we tried between Attelas and Ruinettes. The slides were small (we were on small slopes and did not try any bigger slopes), loose wet slides and they stopped us pushing onto bigger and more exposed slopes. I have not had the opportunity to check out higher off piste areas as the visibility is so bad but there has been an accumulation of 20cm of fresh snow over the last week which is going to provide some great conditions if the weather eventually clears. Currently Vallon d’Arbi and Mont Gele remain closed and the Bruson sector is now closed. So are all the runs in and around town with the exception of the cat track back to Medran, which has not got long left before it is a mud track again. Other runs in town that are now closed are the two nursery slopes, Le Rouge and the Planard cat track.

Although visibility remains poor we have been rewarded with some patches of sunshine from time to time and that has allowed us to enjoy the new snow and on piste the lack of skiers has helped to keep the pistes quite smooth.

Over the weekend the poor weather did cause some disruption to the busy events schedule and the XSpeed ski competition, the SnowStar tour and the cow fighting all had to battle with the weather to continue running. The speed skiing competition starts today up on Mont Fort but the bad viz will again make this a tough competition and a poor spectator sport, as you will not be able to see anything.

The weather is set to break but then comes straight back in again for the rest of the week, although there is the possibly of sunshine over the weekend, and hopefully a sunny end to the season. Fingers crossed, as it would be a huge disappointment to have more snow over the last couple of weeks of the season than the preceding couple of months of the season when we really wanted it. Also the snow and flat light is getting in the way of biking, football, climbing and BBQ time. So come on weather, it is sunshine time now!

Conditions at time of reporting:

• Date of last snowfall
  16.04.2012
• Depth of last snowfall
  10cm
• Total number of pistes
  37
• Cross country trails open
  1
• Highest temperature
  -1
• Altitude of lower slopes
  1500m
• Depth of snow on upper slopes
  290cm
• Avalanche risk
  2
• Altitude of upper slopes
  3330m
• Number of pistes open
  21
• Altitude of highest temperature
  1500m
• Altitude of last snowfall
  +1500m
• Depth of snow on lower slopes
  8cm

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