WEATHER
We are in for another sunny day with clear blue skies.
But wrap up well as it is chilly.
Neck warmers and something to protect your face are always welcome when you are on a chairlift and would otherwise get full face of cold wind.
There will be a light breeze, with northly gusts of 20-30 km/hour.
Temperatures at 09.30 are :
-10° in the centre of the village
zero on Solaise,
-5° on Pisaillas.
Maximum temperature at 2000 metres will be -1°.
ROAD
No major problems are expected apart from some slow traffic as holidaymakers arrive and leave.
SKI REPORT
We are truly spoilt as we can enjoy another great day on carefully prepared slopes.
All our lifts are open, and that is a LOT of lifts !
At Le Fornet
Everything will open except the Tunnel piste.
The Foret and Signal pistes have not been groomed.
On the Pisaillas area.
Everything is open.
Do not attempt The Gorge du Malpasset as you will not be able to get through EVEN if you had a lovely ski there years ago !
You would need a very expensive Helicopter rescue to get home for dinner.
While on subject of rescues, if you do need help at any point, please phone the number on the back of your lift pass.
Many people have been phoning for help on the ‘normal’ Emergency phone numbers but this results in quite a delay before the correct information eventually reaches our Ski Patrollers in Val d’Isėre.
Do check that you have insurance that covers the type of skiing that you are doing.
If you are injured, and rescued anywhere outside of the marked slopes, even a couple of metres, that is ‘off-piste’ and your insurers may gleefully explain that they won’t be paying as you did not pay for ‘off-piste’ insurance.
On Solaise
The Stade Legettaz is reserved for training.
The Cugnai, 3000, Marmottons and S have not been groomed.
The bottom of the Marmottons is closed.
On Bellevarde
The Raye will be closed for training for a small part of the day.
The Epaule du Charvet, Borsat, G and Lanches have not been groomed.
The two touring tracks are open.
The Touring track up Solaise is always trickier as the machines cannot groom it.
Remember – NOBODY is allowed to ski down these tracks
Tignes will also be sunny today and has pistes ALMOST as wonderful as Val d’Isėre. (no bias shown by RadioVal !)
It can be accessed via the Tommeuses or Borsat chairlifts.
The last lifts back are at 16.30 but don’t panic if you miss these as the last shuttle bus leaves Tignes 1800 at 18.30.
The avalanche risk today is 2 out of 5.
There are still plenty of potentially dangerous plaques so be very careful.
Only ski off piste with people that you know and whose off-piste skills you TRUST.
If in doubt, stay on our well-marked pistes until you can ski off-piste with one of our many experienced mountain guides.
At the end of the day the lower slopes can be trickier, so consider gracefully bowing out while you are ahead and getting a lift down.
Cross Country skiers can enjoy the tracks in
- The Manchet Valley
- La Daille
- Lac d’Ouillette
Our beautiful walking paths are all open except for les Branges.
LOCAL NEWS
SATURDAY STATS FIX
The good traffic news is that even though this is a change-over day, no particular problems are expected.
21,000 vehicles are coming up the mountain, while 18,000 head homewards.
The busiest times for those heading downhill will be at the end of the morning, and for those heading from Albertville uphill towards Moutiers, from 09.00 to 10.00 and from 16.00 to 17.00.
This relaxed traffic report however doesn’t reflect the true numbers of guests arriving this weekend.
Presumably the vehicles include a lot of coaches, and cars packed with passengers !
After the relative calm of the last 6 days, we are in for another busy week with 82,320 overnight stays, or an occupation rate of 74,1%.
This is nearly 10,000 overnight stays more than last week, and 20,000 more than the third week of January 2023.
At yesterdays important Council Meeting, the first of 2024, 16 out of the 19 elected officials were at present.
The most important issue was the budget of 33 820 652 euros, which is 5% less than the last preliminary budget.
Looking at the expenses : due to a rise in salaries, there was an increase of 5% in the wage bill.
Therefore Veronique Pesenti Gros, the financial officer, announced that no further appointments could be made during this fiscal year.
An increase in revenue of 550,000 euros came from the tax on second homes but there was a reduction of 700,000 euros in property transfer tax.
The opposition voted against this budget.
Other significant points included :
A hotel will be built at the site of the current main bus station.
The plans proposed by the Club des Sports, Vie Val d’Is and Radio Val were agreed, as was the preliminary budget for the “La Régie des pistes” (who are responsible for securing the ski area, grooming the pistes, making artificial snow, marking the pistes, avalanche prevention, rescue)
Mayor, Patrick Martin, proposed a way forward in regards to trying to get Val d’isėre included in the bid by the French Alps to host the 2030 Winter Olympics.
All this and more is included in the complete report of the meeting published yesterday evening on our website.
Downhill Racing.
A roller coaster of emotions for the French squad yesterday at Wengen.
To their joy, Cyprien Sarrazin came first. He is clearly in great form this season. He was 5/10 faster than Marco Odermatt, and it was his first victory in the Super G, and his second pole podium this season following his success in the Downhill in Bormio at the end of December.
Huge disappointment after Alexis Pinturault fell and required a helicopter assisted evacuation.
He ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee.
Sadly this means that his season is finished.
We wish him a quick and uneventful recovery.
Clearly a bittersweet victory for Cyprien Sarrazin, who you can hear talking on our website.
There will be another downhill in Wengen today.
The World Cup Ladies Super G in Austria was won by Cornelia Huetter.
Congratulations to Laura Gauche, from Tignes who came 19th and was the highest ranked French lady.
Their downhill is today, starting at 10.45.
Finally Happy Birthday Stuart Bonham - we hope that you enjoyed your cake !
- A few Messages from our Partners
Restaurant l'Alpin has changed its address and phone number.
This charming and authentic, restaurant is now very close to both the centre and the Old Village.
Please phone +33 7 87 97 22 11 to reserve your table.
Come and spend a pleasant evening at the Restaurant le Névé of the Hotel Mont Blanc,
beginning with a delicious cocktail by the fireplace!
The ‘Evening at 2512 metres’ is taking place again today at la Plage de l’Ouillette restaurant on the top of Solaise.
From 19.00, come and enjoy a unique experience.
Please phone to reserve.
Don’t forget to get the Solaise Express bubble lift by 20.00.
The red shuttle bus (‘le train rouge’) runs between La Daille and Le Fornet, via the roundabout adjacent to the nursery slopes (‘Rond-point des pistes’) every 6 minutes from 07.00 to 20.00 and then every 20 minutes until 02.00.
The blue shuttle bus (‘le train bleu’) travels between the Rond-point des pistes and Legettaz every 15 minutes from 08.30 to 23.20.
The yellow shuttle bus (‘le train jaune’) takes you to the Manchet valley via the main street and the rue de la Balme every 20 minutes from 08.30 to 23.20.
The shuttle bus between Val d’Isère and Tignes does 6 round trips a day.
- Leaving La Daille at 07.55, 08.35 and 10.50 in the morning and 16.25, 17.25 and 18.20 pm in the afternoon.
- Leaving Tignes 1800 at 8.05, 8.45 and 11.00, in the morning and 16.35, 17.35 and 18.30 in the afternoon.
The Swimming Pool and Sports Centre is open from 10.00 to 21.00.
The Ice-skating rink is open from 10.00 to 20.00.
The Tourist Office is open from 08.30 to 19.30.
The Reservation centre (in the basement of the Tourist Office) is open from 08.30 to 19.00.
The Post Office is open from 09.00 to 12.00.
