Les Arcs Snow Report: 18th February 2013

It’s sunny again in the Paradiski and there are certainly a lot of people who’re enjoying the conditions. Fully into the half-term holidays now and although it’s undoubtedly busy in resort, it’s not too bad perhaps, not too many queues if you avoid those key lifts at peak times.

The sun has been blazing for a couple of days now and provided those weekend skiers with some superb conditions. If the Funiculaire car park in Bourg-Saint-Maurice was anything to go by, there was no for anyone else on the mountain! Today first thing this morning, there was the usual ski school rush but by 10am the masses had spread around resort a bit more and by that time too, the sun was starting to warm more of the mountain. It was cold until then, I clocked -6° in the valley! Once the sun was there and the fingers started to thaw, conditions were perfect!

We have really had heaps of snow in the last month and now, as there are a lot of people on the slopes, we are reaping the benefits. That said, with a good few days of sun expected, it’s going to be pretty icy in a day or two. Certainly in the busier areas of the resort, the thoroughfares that people use to get back to the busier lifts like Arc1800 around the Vagere, worn patches of hard pack are already starting to pop through. The higher you go the better though and there is definitely some excellent skiing to be had in Les Arcs. Much of the off-piste is dead now although for sure, if you hiked far and high enough, you would find some but certainly all that is accessible has been rinsed. It’s piste and park time for the foreseeable future.

The Apocalypse Snow Park is now in full swing with a line of black, red and green jumps side by side with a rail and box area, an airbag that’s free for all who want to practise going upside down and round and round in safety, and a small wall ride on the way out which is perfectly set up for a photo opportunity with Mt. Blanc dominating the backdrop! The park in Les Arcs is a good one for sure and now serviced by its T-bar lift that goes by the same name, it’s a popular attraction on a sunny day. Another fun place to head now is the Boardercross tracks just below the top of the Transarc bubble next to the Tuffes red run. Last time I went up there was on a ‘not sure whether i’m pointing upwards or downwards’ day and it was not fun or fast like it’s meant to be. Today though, it was fast and fun and still relatively flat so it is definitely recommended. The Rodéo Park from up at the top of the Transarc lift is also recommended now that the weather is clearer. It is marked on the piste map as an orange ‘piste’ that runs down to the bottom of the Arcabulle lift so you can leave your ski gear in the hut at the top and just get the lift back up with your sledge and collect it if you make it down in one piece...