Alpe d'Huez Snow Report: 1st March 2012

Snowfall in Alpe D’Huez this February left something to be desired, but after the amazing snowfall of December and January we have had a solid base to play on. A bitterly cold snap followed during the start of February and, as a result, the warmer than average temperatures we have experienced in the last week or so have been quite welcome - wall to wall sunshine in typical Alpe D’Huez fashion and a chance to work on your goggle tan. With the extensive early season base, the pistes have been holding up fairly well but one side effect of the temperatures being above average for the time of year is that the snow becomes chopped up and very heavy by about lunch time. A nice cushion when you take a tumble but also a slower surface to ride on which isn’t always desirable. Suddenly, I had a plan…

For the first time this season I decided to try one of the resorts alternative après-ski options - night skiing. Open Tuesdays and Thursday from 18:30 to 20:30, the Signal slalom piste is over 950m long with a drop of 250m offering a significant amount of floodlit terrain. For those who live on the other side of town, the Eclose piste and chairlift run on the same days and times. This is a shorter, less steep option, suitable for families and beginners. Finishing my daytime skiing at 17:00 I decided the easiest way to pass the time was to relax with a beer before heading back up the hill, so I stopped at Sphere bar. The guys at Sphere boast about their recent addition, 'the largest flat screen TV in Alpe D’Huez'. After ordering our beers it took some effort to drag ourselves away from the snowboard movie on display to take our seats outside in the sun. An hour later the sky turned a beautiful pink/red - my signal to get moving.

I arrived at the foot of the slope in the last light of the day and what a sight it was already. Two massive lines of flood lights do a great job of lighting up the slalom piste and the surrounding area. Thankfully, due to the hot weather we have been experiencing, the night time temperature was around -5°C and therefore the bitter cold I had been anticipating was nowhere to be found. My first draglift up the hill was an interesting experience, the lights which illuminate the piste cast a bright glow over half of the town below, and as I arrived at the top I looked across to Villard Reculas and the mountains beyond to admire the last moments of the warm glow of the sunset.

I was pleasantly surprised by the conditions on my first run – I expected an icy slalom piste, only comfortable for those with long skis with sharp edges, but found a firm surface with a light layer on snow on top. This was great and I had no trouble carving long gentle turns down the slope on my park board with its severely blunted edges. The best snow conditions of the day! Sadly, the chairlift does not operate at night so another spin up the drag lift and the inside of my leading leg was starting to feel the burn (as a recently converted snowboarder, moments like these are when I miss skiing the most!)

Now it was truly dark. A formation of white lights could be seen all over the mountain – the piste groomers busy at work preparing for tomorrow. Early in the season I remarked to a friend that they didn’t seem to piste much in Alpe D’Huez but, let me tell you, since the warm snap we have had they have been out in force every night on almost every piste preparing and prolonging the lifetime of the snow. My confidence was slowly increasing on this fast yet forgiving piste. It’s used for slalom race practise by day so is always kept in tip top condition. I picked up a lot of speed and narrowly avoided a tumble, a few moments later a man flew past me sliding down the piste - head first! A warning to all – after a long day on the slopes your body will be tired and although that beer or two may give you a second wind the piste will not forgive a caught edge…

After witnessing that fall (the man was ok in the end) I decided to take one more run at a leisurely pace before calling it a day. Boarding back towards the mid station of the bucket lift in the dark felt strange and a few people glanced with curiosity at the sight of a man snowboarding through town at 8pm!