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Does size matter?

9th October 2007 Print
Ski journalist Lucy Crisp examines whether height really matters when it comes to choosing a snow-sure resort.

The weather is a fickle beast, but last year's slow start to the ski season was a real headache for many in the snowsport industry. This was because the media hype over the lack of early snow overshadowed that fact that many resorts in Europe and in the Alps actually had quite good snow for much of the season. In fact, some Alpine resorts even had snow to rival the famously snow sure North American resorts. Chris Gill and Dave Watts, the editors of the ski bible, Where to Ski and Snowboard 2008, even boasted that they "had the best powder of our whole season in France, in February, despite a pretty thorough sampling of what Canada had to offer."

Last year's shaky start and unpredictable conditions has led to snow sport enthusiasts booking higher resorts in an effort to find snow-sure resorts. This size matters approach is one of the reasons why high altitude resorts like Val Thorens (which at 2300m is the highest resort in Alps), Val d'Isere (1850m), Tignes (2100m), Breuil-Cervinia (2050m), Keystone, US (2835m), Big White, Canada (1755m) and Saas Fee, Switzerland (1800m) have such impressive international reputations and why they are considered such snow-sure favourites. However, this simplistic view doesn't taken into account other things that effect piste conditions including wind, terrain, slope direction and developments in piste management and snow making.

Indeed, choosing a resort on altitude alone can have drawbacks. Higher resorts can be colder and starker and visibility can be bad. For example, Big White's height can mean that visibility on the mountain can be poor. Across the border, Keystone is about as snow-sure as you can get, backing up its impressive altitude with the world's biggest snowmaking system. However, even though the snow is near guaranteed, visitors may find that altitude sickness stops them from enjoying the wonderful snow.

Chamonix is another big name resort that bucks the high altitude trend. A world-class resort famous the world over for the quality of its skiing and snow-sure high altitude runs, the resort itself is at a lowly 1035m, proving that it isn't resort height that really matters, but the height of the runs. With Chamonix's pistes climbing to 3840m, it's clear just looking at resort height can be very misleading.

Another resort that proves this point well is St Martin de Belleville in the Three Valleys. Often overlooked by its larger and more famous network neighbours Val Thorens, Courchevel and Meribel, the pretty village resort is at the same altitude as Meribel (1400) and has just as easy access to the Three Valley network, which includes some of the highest terrain in Europe.

Other resorts at comparable heights that are renowned for their snow-sure slopes include Ischgl (1400m) and Hintertux (1500m) which are both highly regarded for their reliable snow records.

However, neither Austrian resort has anything like the terrain accessible from St Martin and with unreliable snow, a larger area and fewer crowds can be vital to keep snow cover in good condition. Even a famous resort like Val d'Isere doesn't have the range of Three Valleys and the benefits that such a vast terrain provide.

For example, the last run of the day down Val d'Isere's Solaise is invariably icy, crowded and peppered with moguls. This means most people end up taking the bubble down, even though on paper, there is adequate snow to ski down. As quieter resort on a major network, St Martin is quieter and has less traffic so the runs are much less crowded and suffer from less wear and tear. This means that doing that last run down is usually more enjoyable as the smaller volume of traffic means the snow has taken less of a pounding.

Betony Garner from the Ski Club of Great Britain agrees that taking a size does matter view can lead to problems as altitude alone isn't enough to guarantee the snow.

"The only way to be guaranteed snow is to go to a resort with a glacier, although choosing a resort above 1500m will increase the chance significantly of ensuring snow cover. Another good tip would be to look for resorts with snow making facilities.

"However, although higher altitudes should have more snow, if it is a particularly bad snow season; this is not always the case. Sometimes high altitude resorts suffer as the terrain underneath the snow is different. At high altitude, the snow often falls on rock/trees as opposed to meadow land, so the snow may not stick as well.

"Wind can be a big factor in moving snow around and if it is particularly windy, slopes exposed to the wind can become bare. With regards to slope aspect, this normally will have an impact later on in the season as south facing slopes will lose their snow a lot quicker than north facing aspects."

Ski experts Dave Watts and Chris Gill agree that height is only part of the equation, advocating in Where to Ski and Snowboard 2008 that, "whether a resort is likely to have decent snow on its slopes normally depends on the height, the direction most of the slopes face (north good, south bad), its snow record and how much snowmaking it has."

The underlying terrain also makes a difference to the amount of snow needed. This is because the pistes at high altitude resorts often lie on rocky terrain which need more snow cover to make them skiable than a resort that has pasture land grass as an underlay.

Val Thorens is an excellent example of this. At 2300m, it's the highest resort in the Alps with access to some of the highest parts of any Alpine network. However, despite the assured snow that the altitude and glaciers provide, the height also contributes to a fairly bleak setting and lifts that are susceptible to closure in bad weather.

Investment in infrastructure is also key, with many resorts investing heavily in snowmaking facilities in recent years. Indeed, the Sella Ronda has become renowned for its ability to keeps runs open and in good condition by clever use of artificial snow.

The Three Valleys is another network that has made good use of snowmaking facilities and piste management to ensure that the world's largest ski network remains open. Helen Raemers from the St Martin-based luxury chalet operator The Alpine Club (Thealpineclub.co.uk) explains.

"The Trois Vallées has made a huge investment in their snowmaking equipment. To them it's too important to their reputation not to make sure that world's largest ski area is kept open as much as possible. There are 1920 snowguns across the network, with 405 snow guns in the Les Menuires/St Martin area.

"French pride contributes to the reasons why St Martin de Belleville and the Three Valleys has had so much investment in snowmaking facilities. It also helps that the mayor for the whole of the Belleville valley lives in St Martin and he is determined not to allow St Martin to become obsolete as a result of poor snow to the village. Indeed, it is this snowmaking that is impressively effective at keeping the runs open down to the village even in the last week of the season"

So while it may still be true that size does matter, it seems that it's what you do with it that counts. Just remember these four golden rules and you'll be guaranteed a snowy season.

1) It isn't resort height that counts, but the height of the piste network with the more runs above 2000m, the better.
2) Find out if the resort has invested in good snow making facilities as these can keep runs open even when the snow clouds won't.
3) Think about aspect – south facing slopes will go slushy so north or westerly slopes, especially if they're sheltered from the wind, will keep their snow for longer.
4) Go off the beaten track. High altitude favourites like Val Thorens can be unpleasantly crowded which wears the snow so choosing a smaller, mid-level resort on the same network, like St Martin, can translate to better conditions.

For more info log on to Thealpineclub.co.uk.