© Giles Towler
© Giles Towler
© Giles Towler
Winter makes its return to Morzine
Fresh snow on the slopes and more on the way
It has been another busy week in Morzine and Les Gets. It’s the final week of the half term period and this week it has been the turn of the Dutch, Belgians and Parisians to hit the slopes. It has possibly been the busiest week since New Year, but things look set to get a lot quieter from this weekend onwards.
The forecast had suggested that there would be a lot of fresh snow this past week and, whilst there has been some, it has not quite lived up to the billing. Part of the problem was that the temperatures have remained reasonably warm, meaning that there was heavy rainfall in Morzine itself. The freezing level was generally at about 1100m to 1200m however, so anywhere above town there was usually some fresh snow to be found. There was some snowfall at the start of the week, and then on Thursday a further 10cm fell. Some slopes had been starting to look slightly brown, so any fresh snowfall is very welcome.
At the moment it looks set to snow for most of next week, starting on Saturday evening, with over 30cm expected on Sunday, and 20cm on Monday. At the moment it looks as though Tuesday morning could offer potentially the best chance of sunshine, with stormy weather for the rest of the week. The temperatures look set to continue dropping and get back to minus figures during this period. However, there might be some rainfall in Morzine to begin with. Anyone arriving in town should not worry too much if they are greeted by rain though, as it will be snowing heavily just a little bit further up the mountain.
For the past week there have been some large queues. The rule for has been to head up around lunch time to avoid the worst of the crowds, but even that does not seem to have provided much respite over the last few days, with this week’s holidaymakers seemingly happy to ski all day. The worst areas for crowds have been the Proclou lift on Super Morzine, with queues up to an hour, and the Tour chairlift in Avoriaz. These are two of the main access points for the skiing in Avoriaz, so it is understandable that they become something of a bottleneck. This then leads to the plateau from the top of the Tour to the top of Proclou becoming very congested as people meet up there. As soon as skiers drop a bit further down onto the pistes, however, the crowd thins out.
The snow has generally been good, despite a few bare patches. It has continued to be slushy, with more slushy moguls forming throughout the week. Mt Chery has remained a popular area for locals to head to in order to avoid the worst of the crowds. Whilst the nursery slopes on the Pleney side are always very busy at this time of year, there are still plenty of quieter areas. As well as Mt Chery, the Ranfolly bowl is usually a bit quieter, and Nyon and Chamossiere are usually a safe bet to avoid the crowds.
There is still around six weeks left of the season, and so this fresh snow will be a welcome relief to locals and anyone planning to come out in the next month and a half. Conditions have been god since the start of the year, but the slopes are now reaching a point where fresh snow is needed, so hopefully it will arrive right on schedule this coming week.
