Dramatic drop in temperature for Meribel

Yesterday the temperature recorded at the top of Méribel was -13C, when the day before it was +2C. This has completely reduced the risk of any snow melting for the foreseeable future, so hip hip hooray. So how are the snow conditions? During the morning after many pistes have been groomed, the conditions are very good - smooth and grippy for the most part. I would also go as far as to say that I think many of them have improved over the last few days due to a combination of things - the reduced amount of people on the mountain means less damage, and the snow cannons have continued to run which has provided a thin layer of softer snow on top.

There's no denying that in the afternoon many of the pistes are soon transformed into hard and icy skiing experiences. However, because the number of skiers has reduced, it is making it less challenging and educational than at the beginning of the week. The official snow depths are quoted as 35cm at resort level, and 135cm at the top. There are currently 38 pistes open out of 64, however I believe this number will grow shortly due to the continued snow-making that will open some more pistes. The avalanche risk has dropped to 1/4.

The New Year festivities have come and gone, and they were a hoot. Because I teach for the ESF (French Ski School), I'm on call for the New Year's Eve torchlight descent and firework display every winter. This time my name was down for the display at La Chaudanne. This meant reporting for duty at the new Legends chairlift at 17:00, in order to head up the mountain in twilight before it turned dark. This is such a cool thing to do, and also to see the new chairlift at its summit all lit up. Then we skied across to the Arpasson mountain restaurant where they kindly provided us with some liquid refreshment before we skied off into the darkness with our torches. It's always a privilege to take part in these events, and was apparently an enjoyable show for the spectators down at La Chaudanne. I have to say that the firework display this year was yet again very impressive. Chapeau Méribel.

I've had an excellent week skiing with Debra, Tim, Amanda, Gilly and John. We've explored the Méribel valley and further afield. The various pistes that we've enjoyed including Geai, Choucas, Bartavelle and the top half of Mauduit. Over in Val Thorens we also explored the brand new red piste called Cimes. The piste starts from the top of the Cime de Caron summit and traverses back across to above the village. This makes the new piste very useful in terms of helping keep a close eye on location with the lift system, especially in relation to heading back to the Méribel valley. It is north-facing as well as at high altitude, which all helps with keeping the snow in good condition.

One member of this week's party, Tim, is a snowboarder. Skiing in a mixed discipline group is a slightly different experience, in particular choosing terrain and lifts. It was important to try to avoid particularly flat gradients, and also be aware of the different line that skiers and snowboarders take. However this wasn't a problem at all, and we enjoyed each others' company in perfect harmony. One subject we spoke about was the appreciation and understanding of the difference between the peripheral vision of skiers and snowboarders. Skiers' peripheral vision is very much based around the forward looking direction, whereas a snowboarder's is more at a 45 degree angle depending on which stance they have. This is important - for example if a skier wants to overtake a snowboarder, it is safer for them to pass on the snowboarder's 'visioned' side, and not their 'blind' side. This awareness could hopefully reduce any confusion as well as potential accidents.

We are coming towards the end of the busy festive period, with the final celebration being the Russian Orthodox Christmas in a few days' time. Then the mountain will become much quieter and has a good chance of recovering over the month of January. The short term weather forecast indicates further sunshine as well as cold temperatures. Caroline returns back to Méribel very soon and will resume control of the snow reports, dump alerts and video reports. Happy New Year everybody.

Read more from our reporter Martin on his website.