Alpe d'Huez Snow Report: 31st January 2010

Late on Saturday afternoon the Poutran lift that connects Oz en Oisans to Alpe d'Huez broke down. Rather than organise buses to take the 250 stranded skiers and snowboarders back to resort, it was decided that we'd take the Alpette lift to 2050m and would be ferried home by piste-basher. We were trying to keep warm when a friendly pisteur told us that nearby restaurant La Grange was open and serving complimentary drinks to those who weren't in a hurry to return to resort.

We spent the next two hours in the restaurant eating homemade toffee and walnut pie, while the vin chaud and hot chocolate flowed freely. Eventually it was our turn to leave on the piste-basher and we clambered aboard with eight others, riding through the dark back to resort. The return journey took us along the cross-country trail and lasted about 30 minutes. By the time we arrived in Alpe d'Huez we were covered in snow and our eylashes had frozen together, but we were so excited by the journey that it was all worthwhile!

This morning – a little jaded from last night's events – and cautious of the super-low temperatures, I set off towards Auris. I took the Alpauris and Fontfroide drag-lift to the top of theSignal de l'Homme at 2176m. Keen to explore some of the less popular runs, I started with Fontfroide and l'Escapade. As it winds under the Auris Express chairlift, l'Escapade is deceptively narrow and the snow on the left was a little bare. However, if you can keep your turns tight enough, the snow on the right was grippy and fast. Lower down the snow was a little softer but by no means heavy, making it feel more secure when edging.

I took the Sures chairlift and rode the Corniche path to the beginners area where there are some short, gentle Green runs that are great for building confidence. They're also tucked into the trees and the view from this area is stunning. The runs are served by a couple of drag-lifts, again designed for practice and building confidence. The snow on the runs Crocus and Marmottes was well-groomed and consistently good. The return piste to the resort of Auris was slightly more challenging as it's a little narrow in places but this remains by far the best area in Auris for beginners.

Fancying something a little more challenging, I rode to the top of Sures once again, in search of Black piste La Fuma. I've never actually skied this piste before but love the final descent into the hamlet of La Rosay and the return through the trees on the rickety two-man chairlift, Maronne. The turn for La Fuma is just before the top of the Maronne chairlift and is marked by a sign saying it's open but that it's a piste très difficile... so not your average Black!

The gentle access path is deceptive, although it's not been groomed at all and this did prepare me for a potentially bumpy ride. What I didn't quite expect was a vertical mogul field. The first descent has a gradient of around 30° and the bumps were medium-sized and not very even. Once you're through the first section though, you're in for a shock.

The piste simply drops away below you and the moguls are over a metre high when you stand below them, a combination of gradient and their sheer size. Added to this, you'll need to negotiate branches protruding from beneath the snow, oh and the odd icy patch where there aren't actually any moguls to catch you if you fall. So, this piste is not for the feint-hearted and certainly not for those who are nervous about Black runs. I'm a skier and hopeless on a snowboard so can't say for definite, but I'd hazard a guess that this piste would be hell for anyone on a snowboard.

That said, once you get over the gradient – this is surely the steepest piste in Alpe d'Huez a – the size of the moguls, it's a pretty cool run. The moguls are evenly spaced so it's not too hard to get a rhythm. The snow between the moguls was a little bare but you could still get good grip. The piste isn't actually too long either and it does help to be able to see the Red at the bottom if you need to talk yourself down turn by turn. I actually loved La Fuma and was tempted to head back for a second shot but had to head home and didn't fancy getting stranded again!

The weather here in Alpe d'Huez is sunny and cold, with winds continuing to buffet the top of the mountain, pushing temperatures down to -28°C. This bitter snap is set to continue until Wednesday, when temperatures will rise to the relatively warm -11°C. We're expecting clouds and a few snow showers early next week with no significant snow falls until Thursday. That said, we had 20cm on Friday night so there's plenty of snow both on and off the piste.

Vickie will be reporting on the snow conditions in Alpe d'Huez on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, throughout the season.

Check out what to do around town once the lifts have closed with our Apres Ski Report - a weekly round up of what's hot and where to party in Alpe d'Huez!