PA#1: where to go?

  1. Home
  2. Forum
  3. Powderalert
  4. PA#1: where to go?
By meteomorris on 28 November 2019 · 22

Just in SNOWvember it's time for the first PowderAlert of winter '19 -'20. A very active western current will bring snow to the French Alps in the coming days. The sun comes out on Saturday and snow follows again on Sunday. This time for the southwest. In short, a weekend with changing circumstances. Where to go?

In this forecast:

  • The first PowderAlert: why did it take so long?
  • No more alerts on your PowderQuest app?
  • Snow for the French Northern Alps and western Switzerland up to and including Friday
  • No precipitation on Saturday, new storm on Sunday
  • Weekend: where to go?
  • Long-term

The first PowderAlert: why did it take so long?

After an intense SNOWvember you can ask yourself 'why did it take so long to issue a PowderAlert?'. Good question and that has two reasons. First of all the most snow came down in the past two weekends, often resulting in avalanches, floods and closed lifts. Secondly, in November I am cautious about fueling the stoke. Often many areas are closed at the beginning of November, so you have to ride on glaciers and crevasses and freeriding are not the ideal combination. Where there are no glaciers, the snow cover at the start of the season is still very thin and the rocks are not far away. Last but not least there is the risk of avalanches and you have to keep the so-called second snowfall in mind in November and there is no such thing as a tracked out slope just after the opening of an area.

I always hold my horses in November, but now there is a lot of snow in some places in the Alps so a first alert can't hurt. But if you are going this weekend keep in mind:

  • crevasses in glacier areas
  • rocks (and branches) just below the snow cover
  • the fact that only a few slopes are tracked out
  • and watch out for your own stoke that sometimes wants to make blind

Therefore, check your local avalanche forecast and adjust your plans to it.

No more alerts on your PowderQuest app?

Maybe you have already noticed (at least I have seen the dozens of questions I get every day), but perhaps not yet: the PowderQuest app is not working at the moment. Salomon has decided to stop the service and at the moment we have no funding to provide you with our weather data, PowderAlerts and stoke via an app. We had an amazing partnership with Salomon all these years and after so many years they have shifted the priorities. So if your app doesn't work properly then you now know why. We apologize for the inconvenience, we are looking at what we can do, but until then you can always visit wepowder.com for all updates and info.

Snow for the French Northern Alps and western Switzerland up to and including Friday

The Alps have been dealing with a strong western current since Wednesday, which provides a lot of snow mainly in the French Northern Alps and western Switzerland up to and including Friday.

The first snow fell on Wednesday with an average of 15 to 30 cm above 2000 meters in the French Alps and western Switzerland and even more is falling down today and Friday. Which is also necessary, because with all the news about the snowfall from November you would expect that there is already a base here. Well, that's not true. In recent weeks everything has been dominated by southern Staus so that the French Northern Alps didn't get much. Only the areas in the main alpine ridge on the border with Italy (Val d'Isère-Tignes, Bonneval sur Arc, Val Cenis and Valfréjus) got nice amounts of snow .

The first really good storm for the northwestern Alps will kick in until Friday. Above the snow forecast up to and including Friday (check here our forecast page for more details). The nice thing about the map above is that the snowfall is now exactly on the other side of the Alps as we have seen in recent weeks. For comparison, check again the video in this weather forecast.

The current today starts due west, but it continues further to northwest on Friday and then also Austria and especially Vorarlberg will get a lot of snow.

No precipitation on Saturday, new storm on Sunday

The Alps are temporarily confronted with a back of high-pressure on Saturday. Another storm is coming in with snow for the southwest and south of the Alps on Sunday. At the same time, high-pressure is building up over the Black Sea, transporting cold air from the east to the Alps. The interaction between this high-pressure above the Black Sea and an incoming storm from the southwest causes the snowfall on Sunday and Monday.

But the interaction between the two also determines the speed and intensity with which the storm can travel into the Alps. In the latest calculations, the center of gravity of this storm appears to be located in the French Southern Alps and the areas around the Simplon and Gotthard. But things can change in the coming hours.

Weekend: where to go?

A first alert to get warmed up. But a thin snow cover in large parts of the French Northern Alps, many closed areas and the high temperature after the southern dump of last weekend means that the choices are limited. The place to be this weekend is:

  • Val d'Isère-Tignes, solid base and lots of snow in the coming days, some sun on Saturday, and treeruns in Val d'Isère on Sunday.

Good options are:

  • Montgenèvre, solid base, a bit of snow on Thursday, wind on Friday, sun on Saturday, snowfall again on Sunday
  • Puy Saint Vincent, solid base, some snow on Thursday, wind on Friday, sun on Saturday, snowfall again on Sunday

The disadvantage of the options above is that the snow for Sunday only really falls during the day, so that it is really nice to ride powder only by the end of the afternoon.

You can also go high for dry snow in:

  • Matterhorn Ski Paradise solid base, nice weather on Saturday, snowfall on Sunday
  • Monte Rosa solid base, nice weather on Saturday, snowfall on Sunday
  • St. Moritz, solid base, nice weather on Saturday, snowfall on Sunday

The above areas get less snow, but there is already a thick snow pack. But as said, the place to be is really Val d'Isère-Tignes this coming weekend.

New: wePowder Guide The Alps

It is as if King Winter has been waiting for us. For the last two years, Arjen and I, along with a team of designers, editors and not to mention all our friends in the Alps, have worked endlessly on the ultimate freeride guide book: wePowder Guide the Alps. The last two months in particular were intense, working on that last bits. The presses will be running soon and the aim is to ensure that if you order now you'll receive your guide before Christmas. You can read all about our new book here. The guide is available in a limited edition and only the guides from the pre-order (€ 40,00 instead of € 45,00) are exclusively numbered. Order it now and make sure that you don't miss out!

Stay stoked, Morris

Comments

  • davidemaligno
    Advanced
    davidemaligno op 28 November 2019 · 17:08
    Hey Morris, first of all thanks for all the work you put in this!
    Was thinking of heading to Andermatt this Saturday, the base seems to be alright with quite a bit of snow having spilled over from the south, and considering it’s mostly north facing I think the wind didn’t do too much damage. What do you think? Right now it looks like the models aren’t too sure of how deep the snow will push on Friday, I think your forecast is a little optimistic (30+cm), some other ones only give it around 10-15cm
  • meteomorris
    Expert
    meteomorris op 28 November 2019 · 17:41
    @davidemaligno that's right. Our algorithm is off the track since a few days. We are currently busy with optimizing the algorithm. Having that said: the conditions at Andermatt are quit good for the season higher up. The wet snow of last weekend has lost some of its moisture so conditions have improved. Andermatt won't have the best conditions of the complete Alps this weekend but for a late november conditions are amazing.
    May the powder be with you.
  • Kingbolo
    Expert
    Kingbolo op 28 November 2019 · 21:00
    What about Courmayeur (Hellbroner) on satursday ? According to the forecast it should have some fresh pow on friday and sun satursday. Just to be cautious with the glacier...
    Why be normal ?
  • kade122
    kade122 op 28 November 2019 · 22:11
    Hi Morris,

    We are planning a quick trip on the 7 - 8th December. Flying into Zurich. It looks like the Alps are in for some warmer weather and clear skies over these dates. Do you have any recommendations? Do you think Scuol would have decent conditions and base for its season opening on the 7th? Any advice is greatly appreciated.

    Regards,
    Kade
  • davidemaligno
    Advanced
    davidemaligno op 28 November 2019 · 23:27
    @davidemaligno that's right. Our algorithm is off the track since a few days. We are currently busy with optimizing the algorithm. Having that said: the conditions at Andermatt are quit good for the season higher up. The wet snow of last weekend has lost some of its moisture so conditions have improved. Andermatt won't have the best conditions of the complete Alps this weekend but for a late november conditions are amazing.meteomorris op 28 Nov 2019 17:41

    Thank you! I'll be travelling by train from Zurich so Andermatt is the only reasonable option (can't complain though)
  • powpownow
    powpownow op 29 November 2019 · 08:59
    Hi Morris,

    Any feeling about ValThorens for saturday ?
    You got any bad report from locals compared to Val d'Isere ?

    Thx
    *message edited by powpownow op 29 Nov 2019 09:00 (3% bewerkt)
  • wlf
    wlf op 29 November 2019 · 14:04
    Looking at the webcams Val Thorens has far less cover than Val D’Isere. VT was quite bare a few days ago.
  • meteomorris
    Expert
    meteomorris op 29 November 2019 · 14:48
    @powpownow I would skip Valtho. Not enough base. Check my earlier reports: https://wepowder.com/en/forum/topic/271152 and https://wepowder.com/en/forum/topic/271016
    May the powder be with you.
  • meteomorris
    Expert
    meteomorris op 29 November 2019 · 14:49
    @davidemaligno heavy snow at the moment at Andermatt. Wake up early and make sure to catch the first lift up 😉
    May the powder be with you.
  • arslonga
    Advanced
    arslonga op 29 November 2019 · 21:27
    stairway to heaven (i,e, the Mt.Blanc stair to Toula) is closed. so the 2000m d- from punta Helboronner to Entrees can be ridden only through steep and "not for everyone" couloirs. only the braves.... 😃
    non rompete il c**** al cavaliere nero....
  • arslonga
    Advanced
    arslonga op 29 November 2019 · 21:28
    but from 4th dec an hidden, easy ride paradise will be open.... 😉

    non rompete il c**** al cavaliere nero....
  • forget
    forget op 30 November 2019 · 19:45
    IMO this time of the year is not for freeride yet it is to get your stuff sorted and in shape and do some warm up on the slopes. Zermatt definitely is a good option and will be there tuesday
  • arslonga
    Advanced
    arslonga op 2 December 2019 · 20:14
    forget, are you sure? 😃
    non rompete il c**** al cavaliere nero....
  • arslonga
    Advanced
    arslonga op 2 December 2019 · 20:14
    forget, are you sure? 😃 [70f90f139af290ddc1d8d5882c18d8de_img-e7738.jpg]
    non rompete il c**** al cavaliere nero....
  • forget
    Beginner
    forget op 2 December 2019 · 20:20
    lol yes you are right I changed my mind and will be carrying my big days gear tomorrow
  • forget
    Beginner
    forget op 3 December 2019 · 19:19
  • forget
    Beginner
    forget op 3 December 2019 · 19:19
    [1978bda1d68f08c8ff4a7e9a2e20efd9_img-20191203-112139-397.jpg]
  • forget
    Beginner
    forget op 3 December 2019 · 19:19
    amount of snow illustrated
  • Trabateo
    Advanced
    Trabateo op 12 December 2019 · 19:26
    Livigno + Santa Caterina 1, 2 and 3 december...

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B5k0zbzlCqx/
    One step at a time, one breath at a time. So if you don't survive the bullet closest to your forehead, you don't have to worry about the one after ...
  • Trabateo
    Advanced
    Trabateo op 12 December 2019 · 20:35
    One step at a time, one breath at a time. So if you don't survive the bullet closest to your forehead, you don't have to worry about the one after ...
  • forget
    Beginner
    forget op 12 December 2019 · 20:42
    Sunday and Monday will be epic
  • Trabateo
    Advanced
    Trabateo op 12 December 2019 · 21:57

    *message edited by Trabateo op 12 Dec 2019 21:58 (100% bewerkt)
    One step at a time, one breath at a time. So if you don't survive the bullet closest to your forehead, you don't have to worry about the one after ...

Reply

You need to be logged in to post a comment in this topic. Login or create an account.

Upgrade to wepowder Pro

  • Extended 14 day forecast
  • Slope angle and exposition terrain layers
  • Inspirational freeride routes
wePowder Pro