Season Diary - Day 22
Wednesday 12th March 2025 – Flaine, France
Our small group once again gathered once again in the brutalist wonderland of Flaine Forum, the idyllic brutalist/Bauhaus purpose built resort a snowball’s throw from Geneva.
The promised snow had come overnight, and we had a dusting of around an inch on most slopes from 1,600m on upwards. This new snow, however, was sitting on top of a fairly solid layer from the previous few days and so was almost immediately scraped away on steeper slopes.
We were faced with a bigger problem in the shape of the cloud. After being a cloudless, sun-filled couple of days to kick off this week, the cloud moved in today. It waxed and waned over the course of the day, but generally hugged the slopes in a couple of areas.
The first of these was up high, as it came pouring up from the Chamonix Valley and into the Flaine Bowl. It hugged the top of the highest lifts, so we started the day staying low. Using the Tetes de Vers lift to get to half way was a smart choice, and we were able to enjoy the slopes on the lower half of the mountain.
This afternoon was a different story. Heading over towards Le Carroz, we encountered a lump of thick, grey, pea soup fog. This is cloud that had rolled up this little intermediate valley between Flaine and Le Carroz, and camped out at the head. It was impossible to avoid.
So how do you ski through thick fog?
First things first, slow everything down. The light is flat and the snow gets lost in the cloud. You can’t see the type and quality of snow you are about to ski across, so slow down to give yourself more time to react. You also can’t see where the slope ends or if there’s a fork in the road, so this is not the time to be speeding off.
Next, ski together. In dense fog, like we were skiing in today, it was very easy to lose our companions in the fog. When you can only see twenty yards in front, it is really important to ski close with your companions to ensure this doesn’t happen. If you or a friend have a brightly coloured jacket, backpack, helmet or hood, consider placing them in front to more visible when leading a group.
Skiing slowly is key to being able to do this, to return to our first point. If you speed off unexpectedly, boom, you’re off into the fog and your friends can’t see you.
Finally, stick to the side of the piste at all times. Pistes are marked out by a series of poles placed at steady intervals – up to about 100m apart – that are colour coded to the piste you are on. You will also find regular reminders of the piste your on through signs, as well as a “countdown” on these signs so you know how close to the bottom you are.
There is also a really valuable bit of information on these poles. In France, the piste markers on the left hand side of the piste are solid colours; on the right, they are topped off by band of bright orange. Similarly, in Switzerland, right hand piste markers are topped off by a narrow band of orange, left hand markers with a wide band of orange.
By skiing close to the side of the piste, you can work to keep the piste markers in view at all times. This will tell you where you are and give you an aiming point to keep going, knowing you are making progress the right way.
The snow is continuing here overnight, with the cloud hopefully clearing into the morning. Only time will tell, however …
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