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Fresh snow in Verbier to start 2018

A nice top-up of fluffy snow on top of the pistes

featured in Snow report Author Barnaby Bos, Verbier Reporter Updated

After a week of high temperatures and sunny days, the clouds have finally gathered and blessed us with nearly a foot of snow. This means that the resort is now back to being in great condition, and, although it’s very busy with the New Year’s holidaymakers, the skiing is fantastic.

I spent yesterday exploring around Savoleyres again, somehow being lucky enough to find the only clear visibility for miles around. The lift queues, as expected, are longer at this time of year, with around a 20-minute wait at the bottom of the Sav bubble lift, and I’d say a similar waiting time at the Medran.

Fresh snow in Verbier to start 2018

First of all, we headed down the front side of Savoleyres, hitting the off-piste to the side of the red La Tournelle piste. The snow was very fresh, light and easy to make turns in, despite being a bit chopped up already. The beginnings of moguls were starting to show but these actually provided some fun little lips and kickers to bounce off.

Fresh snow in Verbier to start 2018

Next, we headed through the trees around the blue Taillay piste. It was hard to find areas of untouched powder, but there were hidden pockets dotted about, and the snow was still very soft and enjoyable off-piste. On the sections where we found ourselves on piste, we were greeted with perfectly groomed, soft, grippy snow. Before this snowfall, the pistes were becoming a little hard and icy, so this is a very welcome addition of snow.

Fresh snow in Verbier to start 2018

We also made our way down through the trees and onwards into La Tzoumaz. As the runs neared the village, they became quite bumpy due to the high volume of traffic. This meant that a blue run felt more like a chopped up red, so perhaps beginner skiers would prefer to stay up higher in Savoleyres if they’re after better-groomed runs.

Fresh snow in Verbier to start 2018

After our adventures around the backside of the Savoleyres, we decided to head home following an off-piste route down towards Les Esserts. As we descended into the clouds, the visibility quickly diminished and I couldn’t see any more than 15 metres ahead of me. This meant that we had to take it very slowly and stick close together. On the plus side, the snow was the most untracked we’d found all day, with some amazing sections of deep powder. Eventually, the visibility improved, just as we found ourselves in the trees above Les Esserts. The snow through the trees was incredible, and again very untracked. There were a few nice small drops which provided us with some fun into a soft, powdery landing.

Overall, it was a great day. The large amounts of snow meant that 3 hours was plenty enough to tire us out and make us feel like we’d had a full day.

Fresh snow in Verbier to start 2018

The current snow forecast is very exciting, with potentially another 40cm of snow coming tonight, and then a large storm front coming in on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday could bring an accumulation of another 3 feet. It’s likely that a little less will come than that but no doubt there will be plenty. This will mean that, as the new year's crowds disperse, the resort could be quiet and in incredible condition.

The avalanche risk is at level 3 currently but I’m predicting it will rise to level 4 on Sunday when the temperatures get higher and the sun hits the slopes.

I’m very excited about the month ahead, with the resort quietening down following a very busy two week holiday period, we should be in for some fun.

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Location

Map of the surrounding area