Is it possible to have too much snow?
Saturday January 7, 2012 - Email this article to a friend

It is a question many people are asking out here in The Alps. There has been travel chaos, lifts closed and limited skiing. And still it keeps on coming. PlanetSKI reports from the snow covered Alps.

"We are sorry you cannot disembark the aircraft. There is no room in the terminal at the moment because of all the passengers inside."

So said one of the stewards just after out plane had touched down at Chambery airport. 

The people inside the small and rather cramped terminal building could not leave as their coaches had not arrived to pick them up.

The vehicles had been stuck up the mountain after heavy snow closed many roads and a huge avalanche blocked a main road near Aime in France.

Outside the plane it was pouring with rain but up in the mountains it was thick, heavy snow.

Almost one metre of it.

On the tarmac

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the terminal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The traffic was at a complete standstill for hours on ends and none of us went anywhere," said Richard Scott who runs Snowstar Transfers that operates from Tignes and Val d'Isere. Many coach drivers went over their allocated driving hours and so, by law, could not continue working.

I was having a four-day ski break with my 12-year old son, Max. Time was therefore in short supply.

In the end our coach journey from Chambery to Tignes took over six hours. It should have taken two and a half.

We though were among the lucky ones as other journeys from Geneva airport to Tignes took ten hours and some people never even made it and had to spend the night in a hotel.

It must have been a nightmare for the tour operators and transfer companies across The Alps.

There was nothing for us to do though except sit back and let the hours roll by and dream of the powder snow to come.

The only problem though was the next day the ski shop was full to bursting point as no-one arriving had managed to sort their equipment on arrival the day before. We had all arrived in the resort too late.

It took another hour to get our skis and boots but the staff in the shop did their best and, unlike some of the holidaymakers, even managed to keep their sense of humour.

Once we did get out though it was worth every minute with deep fresh snow everywhere. Tignes has had some of the highest levels of snow anywhere in The Alps; well over three metres and touching on four according to some locals. 

Ask them about the chaos with the constant clearing of snow from roads, roofs and the slopes then it is another matter. Many just want to see some sun.

We got it on Day Three though. A clear, blue sky, powder day.

It made it all worthwhile.

Powder smiles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tracks of delight

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It proved to be temporary and the next day it was a total white out again with many lifts closed.

We never made it to the top of the resort or over to the main part of Val d'Isere.

The winds, that gusted to over 100 km/hour forced the lift that links Val d'Isere and Tignes to shut leaving many people stranded in the wrong resort. 

A free bus service was provided though.

Connection closed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The wind was biting cold, but as long as you had the right gear with you it was quite possible to stay warm.  One man we saw at the top of the aeroski lift didn't even have a hat and his ears were a waxy white colour as frost-nip set in.

He didn't look like he was enjoying himself.

The snow made the resort stunningly beautiful and there is nothing quite like looking out of the window, preferably a bar with a beer in hand, seeing snow tumbling out of the night sky.

We were staying in The Riders Lodge, a new concept in skiing and snowboarding from Crystal, that is aimed at keen skiers on a budget and who have a youthful attitude.

Even some of the hardcore bemoaned the continuing snowfall.

Not least because with an avalanche risk of 4 or 5 it was too dangerous to venture far off piste.

High avalanche risk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our departure day the road out of Tignes was closed by an avalanche and when we eventually left the journey took over four hours as it snowed all the way from Tignes to Albertville. 

Our driver said it was some of the worst road conditions he could remember.

There were abandoned cars, fallen trees brought down by the weight of snow and as fast as the snowploughs could clear the snow it was back again.

It was hard to believe that a few weeks ago people were seriously worried about the lack of snow.

Now some people in The Alps simply want it to stop.

And me?

I had the most fantastic time with Max and if it takes massive disruption and hours of waiting in the chalet watching the snow and willing the lifts to open then so be it.

It was worth everything for those few hours in the trees above La Daille and the off piste near the Aiguille Piercee. It is after all the mountains and bad weather happens.

I am not so sure I would have the same view though if I was a driver.

Chain time

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abandoned vehicles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slow progress

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here is a video of the drive down the mountain from Tignes to Bourg. It won't win any awards for cinematography but it gves an idea of what it is like.

So what do you think? 

Is it possible to have too much snow?

Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comment box below.

It does lead to this.......

For the spirit of the mountains

Is it possible to have too much snow?

PlanetSKI reserves the right to edit any comments. In most cases a selection of your comments will be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below.

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Your comments:

I think the biggest problem hasn't been the amount of snow but the amount of wind that we've had with it.

In ten years of working in the mountains I've never seen wind close so many lifts so often and I also can't remember seeing so much snow, and the effect it's had on the avalanche risk is huge.

So at the moment I'm sitting in my flat, drinking tea and waiting for the lifts to open so I can head up with my clients. The massive winds last night in Verbier have left the avalanche risk so high it's all shut. Again...

Guy Ordway, Verbier


Sitting in Tignes at the moment I think the answer is yes!
Ben Simpson, Tignes


Sun just coming out here and it sure is looking very beautiful. Not looking forward to our drive down the mountain in the middle of the night though :/
Carol Wattel, La Rosiere


if there is so much snow that it makes it impossible to get to the skiing grounds or the lifts are unable to operate, then definitely yes
Kevin Finlayson, Scotland


Never!
Skipress,


NO!
Christine Drake, London


Too much snow!!
went to obertauern austria over easter 2008 and it snowed from the moment we arrived to when we left.
yes, you can have too much of a good thing, but it's all about timing, the following week they had unbroken sunshine for the whole week!! what you have to remember is that we are talking about the alps here and the unpredictability of mountain weather. only a few weeks ago we were all sh....g ourselves looking at webcams in the alps and no sign of snow, but now look at them, after this current spell of bad weather passes, i'm sure we will see more settled weather and enjoy a megga ski season, happy days!!
alec roberts, bangor


YES ... definitely YES...Snow its never enough...
Konstantinos, Thessaloniki GR

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