The sun has finally returned to Morzine after another week of stormy weather.
Following heavy snowfall at the start of last week the mountain was once again shut due to the extreme weather.
The avalanche risk went up to five out of five meaning that any off piste riding was not advisable.
At the start of this week the snowfall had turned to rainfall which affected the snow significantly. The freezing level rose to two and a half thousand metres at some points, with heavy rain falling throughout Monday as most of the mountain was shut for the day (only the Nyon/Pleney side was open, with the rest of the mountain opening on Tuesday. Fornet was the last area to reopen)
There has been some light snowfall – approximately ten centimetres has fallen in the last few days, and conditions are still generally good. The heavy snowfall from December means that the pistes are still holding up well. The snow canons were also used extensively at the start of the season to ensure that there is a god supply of snow to move around and keep the pistes covered.
Conditions can be icy in the morning but due to the warm temperatures – it has been as high as thirteen degrees in Lindarets during the week now that the sun has come out – it is often slushy by the afternoon. Some of the busier pistes, such as those around Lindarets, are becoming chopped up with moguls building up.
Considering the storms that have hit Morzine since the start of the season it has been a welcome change to have a bit of sunshine over the past few days, and it looks as though the weekend will be sunny (with some snow/rain due on Friday) and heavy snowfall forecast for the middle of next week. There is still a good base of snow on the mountain – almost three and a half metres at the higher altitudes and two metres on the lower slopes.
Despite the recent rainfall and the accompanying high winds conditions are still better than they were for much of the past two winters, and with February just around the corner with all the crowds that it brings it will be a relieve to anyone planning to come out to know that there is still plenty of snow around and the entire Portes Du Soleil is open.