© Alison Shayler
2nd weekend of skiing at Grands Montets
Another November weekend of partial opening at GM ski area
After a week of the foehn wind blowing warm through the valley and bringing temperatures back up to mild autumnal levels, I honestly didn't have high hopes for the condition of the pistes as I headed to the Grands Montets on Sunday morning. However, I thought it was worth a look, even if just to enjoy the views from up there in the beautiful sunshine.
The Plan Joran bubble was open as well as the Lognan cable car, so getting up high was nice and quick and comfortable. The first little run from the top of this to the bottom of the Bochard didn't bode particularly well; the piste was very hard packed and it was a struggle to get an edge in as our legs warmed up.
However, a trip up the Bochard took us to much better conditions and smoothly groomed, soft, grippy snow. The first half of the run was great fun; there weren't even too many people about, so you could really enjoy it. The lower you got though, the harder packed the pistes became, with some sections feeling best suited to the race teams who were up there training!
All in all, it still feels like there is an excellent base now on the upper slopes [150cm at the top of Grands Montets], with a really good snow covering and brilliant conditions on piste. The sun doesn't reach the North facing Grands Montets ski area until the afternoon at the moment, so the lower slopes stay quite solid for most of the day. The cold temperatures up there bode well for this base sticking around though, which is great news for the rest of the season.
Take a look at the weather and snow forecasts for the week ahead.
