stuboy

First rain, then sleet, now more or less snow here in Burnham south Bucks (just west of Slough). Very wet snow though, not sure if it's actually helping the lying snow to melt here to be honest. But at least I can see some lumpy snow falling during the day for a change!

Brilliant and interesting thread this, thanks JACKONE(and thanks for including Sauze d'Oulx!).

I'm off to Sauze d'Oulx in Italy on 10th Jan so it'd be great if you could keep us informed of the weather over there please! It's the earliest in the year I've been snowboarding before so I'm hoping for some lovely snow, fingers crossed!!

I'm in Newquay from this Friday until Sunday, and judging by the recent weather and my very basic understanding of the up and coming models I tend to agree with you regarding the South West this weekend. Looks like it could be a rain dodging weekend. Although to be honest rain during a surfing lesson isn't really a big issue! It is an issue when camping though.......

Just had a big thunderstorm here in Burnham. Very heavy rain, and now the sun is coming out. I'm watching the storm out of my window head south and have seen a few bolts of lightning. I quite like storms I think!

Sunny and only a few small clouds here, currently 20.2c

Hello all. Well got back from Val Thorens yesterday (after a very long journey on the Snow Train!) and conditions generally throughout the whole week were average. The snow melt in the town of Val Thorens was quite considerable over the course of the week. Pictures of the buildings when I first arrived showed very thick coverings on all roofs. However when I left on Saturday about 2/3 of this snow had melted. Pistes became very slushy at lower levels too. However except the last day of boarding (Friday) the weather was fine and sunny and I even managed to get sunburn! The great base of snow over the winter meant that despite the melt skiing/snowboarding was still manageable. Friday and Saturday saw higher winds, lift closures and snow at high levels and even in the resort briefly. However in typical fashion it was time to go home then! All in all a very enjoyable holiday, it's just a shame we went in early April and not Feb or Jan! So lesson learnt I hope and I think it's either Canada or Austria next season!

Well coming up to just over 10 days until I head over to Val Thorens, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a couple of big snow dumps before then!! I think at the moment things look ok, although I do get worried when I see the words 'spring like' in the weather reports!

Yes I have heard Val Thorens has had very windy conditions this winter, thus blowing away much of the snow that has fallen. I am now in the 3 to 4 week period before my trip there where I keep everything crossed hoping decent conditions last into early April!

Cheers carinthian, I keep hearing that the height of Val Thorens is it's main saving grace, so hopefully with all the snow they've had not only will it be good in April but hopefully the other resorts lower down will be too! Last March I went to Kaprun for a week and when I arrived there was snow down to the resort. However by the end of the week a quick thaw had set in and the best snow was only found at the very top of the lower runs and up on the glacier. The powder on the glacier was amazing though best I've seen ever I think!

Hi all I'm new to these forums and this is my first post so please be kind! I'm off to Val Thorens at the beginning of April (around Easter to be precise) and I'm a tad worried about going so late in the season, i.e snow cover will be poor. However what with the current snow conditions this winter so far (and I look every day!) and the altitude of this resort should I not be worried? I've never been to Val Thorens before so I'm not completely sure how long the snow sticks up there, so if anyone has more info or an opinion I'd be more than interested to read it! Thanks!