News has just come in that the first slopes will be opening this weekend in Verbier. The Lac des Vaux will be open from the 26th of Novemeber onwards and will be open from 9.15 to 16.15.
After the recent warm spell which knocked the early season openings on the head, the snow canons have been hard at work in Lac de Vaux. There has been no frsh snow in Verbier since my last report and temperatures have been very warm with a freezing level up to and above 3000 metres.
The good news is that although the ski conditions are not great the beautiful autumn conditions have provided great weather to enjoy the host of other activities in the mountains such as walking, biking and parapenting. Last weekend I walked up to around 4000 metres and climbed a peak called Combin Corbassiere (see map). We spent the first afternoon walking to the Panossiere cabin from Cabin Brunet. The second day we set off at daybreak and did not get back to the cabin until nightfall. We spent the day crossing glaciers and crevasses and climbing ice, rock and snow. The weather was perfect for mountaineering with clear blue skies, mild gentle winds and lots of sunshine.
At least the pubs and clubs of Verbier are starting to open to provide some pleasure for the returning masses. T-Bar, Pub Mont Fort and Coup d'Etat are all open at the moment and there is a restaurant list at the tourist office to provide information on opening times and dates. Places such as Verbier's newest club, Public and Le Rouge will be open this weekend so I will post another report just before the weekend to keep you all posted on the latest developments.
Up the mountain the new high speed lift up to Ruinettes is nearly complete and there is also a tunnel getting put in at the bottom of the piste at Medran. The tunnel will allow skiers to go across the road and ski right back to the bottom of the lift which will certainly help to cut down the amount of accidents and slips as people try to take off their skis and walk to the lift area across the slippery car park.
Sadly the weather looks as if it will remain warm, sunny and clear over the next few days but hopefully a late start will signal a strong season of snowfalls.
