It’s the end of the ski season in France with most resorts that haven’t already closed doing so this weekend although a dozen or so will stay open for one ore two more weeks: Chamonix, Val d’Isere, La Clusaz and les Arcs are among the resorts aiming to go another week whilst Tignes and Val Thorens will be open until the first week of May.
The weather? Mostly sunny and warm! In fact up at 1800m+ where most of the still-open areas are it’s still dropping below freezing overnight with great spring skiing in the sunshine from mid-morning to early afternoon.
This time of year most people are happy with sunshine and not the cloud and cold that more snow brings, especially as ski areas have remarkable snow bases still thanks to all the early season snow.
The ski touring season is also in full swing but the warm weather means the avalanche danger is pretty high, partly because of all that winter snow, so it’s essential to be very wary and take expert guidance before setting out.
https://www.facebook.com/ChamonixMontBlanc/videos/1747297861994031/
Prior to the sunshine, one of the biggest snowfalls reported in April was posted by Isola 2000, north of Nice in the Southern French Alps, which reported 95cm (over 3 feet) of snow in 72 hours.
https://www.facebook.com/Isola2000/videos/1764534453606840/
La Rosiere demonstrates the difference between snow cover this spring and last spring.
