The whole of the European Alps seem to be bathing beneath an unrelenting sun at the moment. Temperatures have been recorded in the 30° this week with an average around the mid twenties. You don’t need to be a weather expert to know that this is not good for snow.

On Monday despite these temperatures the slopes were hard and unforgiving if you didn’t have good edges. This was a result of fluctuating temperatures melting the snow by late afternoon and freezing them again during the evening. On a couple of evenings early on in the week they were able to produce some fresh artificial snow which eased the suffering somewhat.

Towards the end of the week the temperature seemed to settle down but unfortunately it chose to settle at the wrong end of the thermometer. Today I’ve seen people walking around in shorts and t-shirts as they decided to call it a day just after lunch. Those that persevered may well have done better hiring out water skis.

Wednesday was the best day this week. Conditions were good high up and the snow allowed you to carve out some nice high speed turns, holding the edge well. Lower down, the runs back into town were the inevitable slush which despite soaking your boots and trousers I do find fun to ski through/in.

It isn’t all doom and gloom though. For one the tan has come on leaps and bounds and my head is now beginning to resemble a malteaser. More importantly the forecast for next week is indicating not only a change in temperature but also snow. Monday and Tuesday we should be in for a moderate snow fall as a weather system moves in. The temperature thankfully is going to be colder than this week however it seems set to creep up again Thursday and Friday before dropping again over the weekend.

March can be a funny month and as the old saying goes ‘In like a lamb out like a lion’ has been true so many times before with a barmy start to the month only for us to be digging our way out of snow drifts by the end of it. Lets hope the lions roar drowns out the bleating lambs.