This winter has been exceptional for the amount of snow.? Last night it snowed heavily again and according to the ski patroller at Champagny le -Haut approx 80cm had fallen.? Unsurprisingly with this substantial fall and a rise in temperature forecast most of the ski de fond pistes were closed.
We did a few circuits on the limited pistes open before going for a wee stroll.? Every now and again there was a roaring sound as another avalanche thundered over the cliffs on the south-facing slopes.? The avalanches ran out of steam when they hit the flat ground at the valley bottom.? Most of them appeared to be “full depth” i.e. the snow had slid on the underlying ground, in this case grassy slopes, and the snow was relatively damp so none of them went airborne as would a dry powder snow avalanche.
The small hamlets at Champagny were well plastered with at least a metre of snow on the roofs.
