La Plagne Snow Report: 15th December 2015

The people at the lift pass office - mad busy though they were - had passes ready and waiting for us when we got there at 8.30am, the lifts opened on the dot of 9am and first tracks were had by me on my newly waxed and serviced snowboard.

I began my season with a trip up the Grande Rochette and a cruisy run down the blue to Bellecote on an empty, beautifully groomed piste and my day just got better from there. Blue sky and sunshine was the order of the day and everywhere I went people were revelling in the excitement of being back out on the mountain after a long summer off. Resort is woefully under populated right now which worked in our favour giving us quiet pistes and empty chair lifts all day long. I used this to my advantage hitting up every chair that was open and every run I could, zooming around from 1800 to Plagne Centre to Bellecote up the Arpette, Becoin and Roche de Mio stopping only when my leg muscles were screaming and could take no more. Then it was back down the mountain for my first après ski beer of the season and many a discussion about the highlights of the day.

The week has continued in this excellent manner. Snow conditions were obviously at their best on Saturday morning but are in no way lacking now. We are certainly not at the snow depth we’d wish for and there are areas of thin coverage with grass and rock poking through, but what we have got is being well maintained and this is helped by the fact the there is nobody out there. Seriously nobody.

It seems that after the excitement of opening day and the weekend almost all the people in La Plagne have stopped heading out, I have no idea why, as the mountain is beautiful, more runs and lifts are opening each day and the snow is better now than it was for the majority of last season. I’m not complaining though because for the last two days I’ve had my own private mountain, I’ve stood at the top of peaks and struggled to spot another skier anywhere in view, I’ve done entire runs without meeting another person and pistes that are groomed in the morning retain their cords late into the afternoon, it has been, in a word, freaking awesome!

I cannot stress enough to anyone who’s around the importance of getting out there this week, the mountain will not be this quiet again until maybe April, but certainly not next week when the Christmas crowds arrive in their droves. We are sadly still not due any snow except for a feeble 1cm predicted for Wednesday and unless that 1cm grows considerably into a large dump, the snow now is the best it’s going to be and once those festive crowds hit it, it will be scraped away and moguled up before you know it. So if you’re sitting in your chalet waiting for a foot of powder to fall, stop it and get going while the going's good!

Speaking of powder, there is some around for those heading off piste to find it, if you are one of those people, once again, please just be careful. There are tracks showing up everywhere off piste implying that the conditions are great but in reality it can be a very thin layer of snow covering a mess of boulders and tree roots. Look after yourself and your equipment and try to stay on marked trails, the season is long and more snow will come, I promise.

On another health and safety note, if you’re heading out for the first time in months then for the love of all things snowy, make sure that you stretch first. I did not take my own advice and after a full day’s riding on Saturday I could barely move when I woke up on Sunday and alas my accommodation does not come with a hot tub to relieve the pain. So stretch! Or if you’re not yet out here and you have a holiday booked get started on a pre-ski exercise plan now, trust me your muscles will thank you for it! [Read more in our Ski Fitness section]. 

For now we are a mere four days into winter 2015/16 but I’m going out on a limb and saying it is a success. Keep wishing for snow because we always always want more but don’t miss out on what we’ve got now, get out there and enjoy it!