Meribel Snow Report: 2nd December 2015

I know that this report is about the snow in the 3 Valleys and technically speaking, writing about another area maybe poor form, but I found myself skiing in Tignes today with a great friend and ESF instructor, Martin Hemsley. As you will probably be aware Méribel and Courchevel open this coming weekend (5th December), so this did provide a useful insight into what we might expect over here.

It was incredible. Quiet pistes - even late in the day we were skiing on freshly groomed snow with mostly excellent snow on piste and glorious sunshine. Some of the off piste areas were too dangerous, with a large amount of visible rocks, so that was a shame, but… what a first day of skiing for me and although my legs are aching I feel thoroughly exhilarated.

Over here, in our valleys, we are a little lower in elevation but this should not detract from a superb start to the 2015 season. Courchevel Valley seems to be promising 16 lifts open this weekend, with Méribel planning on opening 10 and of course VT being higher has been open for a week already with 28. If you are in these resorts, make EVERY effort to get on the hill this weekend. If you’re at home and contemplating a last minute deal, I would urge you to get searching online. I know there are some magic “premier niege" offers.

Next week in the 3 Valleys, Val Thorens will be playing host to various University groups. This always adds a fun element to the mountain, with extreme challenges and often extraordinary fancy dress. We look forward to welcoming them - and hope they leave some beer for the rest of us!

The weather for the coming week in both Méribel and Courchevel will range from - 4 to 8 degrees with a freezing level around 2,200 - 2,500 metres. A snow depth at 1,450m of around 40cm is enough for now, but let's keep our fingers crossed for some more in the coming weeks.

Hope to see you out on the mountain soon and don’t forget to follow us on our Facebook pages, Merinet and Courchnet.