off-piste

Fri 06 Mar 2020 - 11:35

Henry's Avalanche Talk

More unsettled weather before settling down a bit from Tuesday in the Northern French Alps !

It’s been an epic week of off-piste skiing, with arguably the best snow conditions of the whole season! Following some resort level rain on Thursday, we just had another night of fresh snowfall so we wake on Friday with avalanche danger rating 4 again.

There are a variety of off-piste conditions at the moment. We currently have some great powder snow conditions, light and fluffy in places (especially the colder high north’ish facing slopes), in others densified by the wind, but very skiable.

With more fresh snowfall due next week, at least above 1800 m or so, we’re hoping for more great off-piste skiing conditions, at least some days, next week.

After any substantial fresh snowfall we’ll, as always, be choosing low slope angles, <30° (the steepest part of a red run) to start with, and keeping a wary eye out for any signs of recent avalanche activity.

Sadly (but predictably) sunny days after fresh snowfall this week have seen a ‘powder frenzy’ with the off-piste being rapidly tracked out with little/no regard for safety.

There have been many skier-triggered avalanches/slides this week, most of them thankfully without serious consequences. There was, however, a serious avalanche accident in the Chardonnet couloir, Tignes on Tuesday. This was a sunny day following 20 cm or so of fresh snowfall. Two off-piste skiers were caught by an avalanche that they triggered on a second lap of the same route they’d taken 20 minutes previously. One of them was flown to hospital in an unconscious state after being buried for 10 minutes. Link to report (in French).

The week ahead promises to be very similar, and will be another tricky one as far as avalanche danger goes. Temperatures will be yo-yoing again, with significant snowfall expected (sometimes rain) accompanied by wind.

Photo Wayne Watson