Great pre-season skiing in Verbier

We skied a couple of laps on the Lacs Bleu piste to warm up. The light was flat but they’d done a great job with the pistes and the few cms of fresh snow that were still building up made for excellent skiing. I’d been able to sneak in a few ski touring days already this winter but, to be able to open up and rip down the mountain without worrying about the thin pre-season snowpack was a joy.

After a few laps in the Lacs Bowl, we popped over the other side and down the Attelas piste. With the resort only partially open, this formed the centre of the skiable area and we spent a lot of time on and around this piste. Again, the thin layer of fresh snow meant it was full speed ahead.

The weather had apparently put people off and the pistes were fairly quiet, which meant we had plenty of space to play. It was pure fun, the six of us skiing together, in and out of sync, turns of all lengths, following each off rollers and just generally having a blast.

After a few hours of mucking around, we stopped for lunch. Only the self-service restaurant at Attelas was open but, in any case, we'd brought our own lunch so opted for the picnic room at Les Ruinettes. Warm and dry, with a few vending machines, it's ideal for a quick pit stop.

As the afternoon wore on, the weather improved slightly. The light was getting better and the morning's snow had accumulated nicely. In places, it had drifted to about boot deep, enough for a few nice powder turns. Though there were only five slopes open, there was plenty of fun to be had between them. Snow cover was surprisingly good in places.

While I don't dare call this a powder day, we found great snow between the rocks in the Lacs Bowl. It helped having an old pair of skis I didn't much care about, but it was good! Just before we set off down the mountain to call it a day, the clouds cleared fully. Our last run (don't call it!) saw us skiing soft snow off-piste, with a few rays of late afternoon sun shining through the clouds, high fives all around after that one.

Given it's barely past the middle of November, and only a small part of the resort is open. It felt very much like a mid-winter ski day, the snow was good and we weren't limited to skiing on the piste. Verbier is set to open again next weekend, and then open full time from the 2nd of December. There isn't any snow in the forecast for the next week and temperatures are set to rise slightly. However, with what's open already and more snowmaking, Verbier isn't off to a bad start at all.