When there is too much snow to ski
Often with Spring skiing, people talk of a lack of snow and share concerns about icy mornings and slushy afternoons on the slopes. Whilst this is largely our experience, sometimes you get an Easter egg.
We have just returned from a 2 week ski trip exploring two resorts. I write this as I’m scoffing Easter chocolates for breakfast and amusing at the sudden Spring growth in the garden. We left when bare branches proliferated with muddy patches on the lawn but have come back to all shades of green and a mini jungle, still feeling the ache in our legs from 11 ski days and a sense of contentment.
Our first week was spent in a lovely ski town in the French Alps with 3 mountains to explore, gorgeous sunshine and cousins and Grandparents to share it with. We nervously slid down icy green runs in the morning, then speedily covered vast distances midday until our legs burned from bumpy slush late afternoon, stopping off at the mountain restaurants for refreshments and sunbathing when needed. Of course freshly powdered runs would be ideal but there is something about Spring skiing that lifts the soul and feels like home. The warmer weather and clear skies allow for younger children to explore and enjoy without the worry of getting cold or lost and being so overdressed that they can hardly move. Just remember the suncream.
Easter was late this year so our favourite little ski resort was closed for the second week of our kids’ school holidays. This was also the first week of our teacher friends’ school holidays who were set to join us for another week of skiing. We needed a higher resort and opted for Val Cenis. The location was just an hour from our previous location, had good train and bus links from Chambery airport and most importantly was open for our second week.
We arrived a day before our friends and took the opportunity to explore as much of the mountain as we could and ascertain difficulty and appropriate runs that our guests would enjoy on their first day. The weather was clear and bright and we enjoyed views across into Italy. Whilst we enjoyed the resort, we noted the open runs were mostly very steep compared to perhaps others we had done of similar gradings. The snow was great though, not icy at all so we enjoyed these. A less experienced skier thinking the blue run is just one step up from the resorts open green runs may not be so positive about the experience. Lower on the mountain was Europe’s longest green run I believe. It is basically a pisted mountain road so very uniform. This is useful for nervous skiers who haven’t been for a while but the lack of diversity in the run may bore more adventurous skiers. Our kids enjoyed making jumps and playing games like tag on the way down. There was another green run open with a very comfy chair lift as well.
It was evident that the warm weather was doing the resort no favours as the ski runs quickly disappeared. By day 2, the higher runs were still fantastic but all lower runs involved skilfully dodging muddy puddles, deep pits, fallen skiers in the slush and v-shaped runs where the middle had been carved out and snow thrown to the sides. This was the scene when our friends arrived on their first day. Their second day got even more interesting as the weather changed and the views disappeared. The landscape turned into a white picture lacking definition and no views. The first lift up froze your cheeks, buffs were pulled high and all air vents were zipped up. For a couple of days, we could barely see the edge of the run or each other. The kids were told to stay close. The dreams of sitting on the balcony in the evening soaking up the sun with a drink evaporated.
Returning back to the apartment with all our clothes soaked with rain, we felt a little dejected. Then everything changed. We woke to severe weather warning of deep snow with the news that all the slopes were closed, not just at our resort but all the other smaller ones around. We looked up options for the following day to visit Val Thorens. We had a car and worked out a bus route for our friends. It seemed completely plausible until that evening. The children felt tired and were content to play games, swim and explore a nearby fort and 90m high waterfall that morning. It had been snowing all day high up but by about 6pm, the snow line reached our chalet. We watched as the rain turned to sleet then snow and came so thick and fast that it began to settle. Exciting! We immediately went out to play on sledges and built an igloo that the kids complained we wouldn’t let them in, in case it collapsed (it wasn’t very sturdy).
When we woke in the morning, it had been snowing heavily for 12 hours. Our car was covered, the steps were covered, everything was covered. In 20+ years of skiing, I had never seen anything like it. The chatter turned into talk about if the slopes might open. We chatted to a chair lift operator who explained that time was needed to piste the slopes but the huge dumping of snow had put the whole area on an extreme avalanche warning. The roads were under 100cm+ of snow, our car was so buried, it would take hours to get out. The decision was made that Val Thorens was no longer on the agenda, and thankfully so, as we later heard there was a severe avalanche there that same day. We heard canons up on the mountain setting off avalanches at our resort.
The children and bigger children were excited about this astronomical snow dumping and eager to play. Although some were disappointed by not being able to ski, the opportunity to jump into fresh soft powdery pillows was too much to keep the frowns for long. We giggled trying to wade through waist deep snow on the footpaths, sliding down the snowy steps and swimming in snow. We built a giant snowman and then pushed it into the river. We watched the river form slush and carry icebergs downstream. We built a snow fort and had a snowball war. We made a sledging luge route with high fluffy sides. We rolled around for fun on the snowy road. We also repeatedly pulled the kids out of tunnels they were building under the snow, like the marmots they had spotted the previous week. Smile muscles hurt as we fell asleep that night, exhausted.
On our final day we were rewarded with open ski runs and a small gondola and chair lift to the lowest runs. One had not been open previously and this was enough to start with as the resort furiously worked to piste and open other runs. The kids repeatedly skied off piste into waist deep powder covering their legs and eventually forcing them to come to a halt. By lunchtime, the larger gondola had opened to include a range of green, blue, red and black runs on the lower slopes. The higher ones remained closed due to the high avalanche risk. The sun was shining and the fresh powder was like heaven. It was worth the wait and made the most excellent final day.
We could have been miserable about the ice or slush during the first week but instead we enjoyed the sun and perfecting skills on a range of conditions. Soft slush is great for practicing jumps and tricks. We could have been upset by the poor weather and visibility during the second week but changed how and where we skied, opting for the more enclosed wooded areas and not worrying about drying our kit on heaters overnight. We could definitely have been cross about the cancelling of ski days but instead we viewed it as a recovery day for our tired legs and an opportunity to explore the area. When the deep snow came, it was an opportunity to experience something new – unlimited soft snow! Our philosophy is everyday is a gift, by viewing the experience with a glass half full attitude, look at the fun we had and the memories we created. Easter skiing is unpredictable, but sometimes you get an Easter egg or two.
Finding Family Adventures 
Leave a comment