How good is Verbier Switzerland?

[rungsp]

I'm in for a summit. Will be there frequently this winter....very frequently if my job goes down the shitter in the next month as I now fully expect it to do

But don't tell anybody else that Verbier is actually quite good, and occasionally even has snow. We wouldn't want the Brightsides Blogging Community types to turn up and tell the rest of the world about our secret place.

[Arno]

actually, if it filled up with Scott Dunn type skiers, there would be a lot more room on the slopes and less room in the champagne bars

[Hellfish86]

We can estimate the snowfall in both places using meteoswiss data.

The most nearby station to verbier is Grand St Bernard, so data (1961-1990 serie) from this station situated at 2500m is:
Amount Mean temp
Nov-241mm -4,5ºC
Dec-241mm -6,7ºC
Jan-223mm -7,8ºC
Feb-222mm -7.9ºC
Mar-252mm -6,7ºC
Apr-244mm -4,5ºC

We suppose that 90% falls as snow, total snow amount is 1280,7m per season.!!!! In inches= 502.3

In resort level at 1400m the total amount is only the 40% that falls in higher elevations!!


Now we can estimate the amount of snow in Arlberg with the Säntis station, at 2500m.

Amount Mean temp
Nov-212mm -4,4ºC
Dec-248mm -6,7ºC
Jan-234mm -8,0ºC
Feb-196mm -8,1ºC
Mar-200mm -7.1ºC
Apr-223mm -4,5º7

Now we consider that all falls as snow because in this location the precipitation comes from the north, with lower freezing levels.
Total amount is 13,13m. In inches 515!!!

Something is off here. The conversion seems to make sense but maybe the European version of precipitation measurement is a bit different. As someone who has skied out in the Western United States and in Northern Italy/Austria/Switzerland, the amount of snowfall is nowhere near the same. No way does Verbier get as much annual snowfall as Alta/Snowbird or Mt. Baker.

p.s. This data you used was last collected 20 years ago. I suspect it may be different now.

[Hellfish86]

I still would love to ski there though. Maybe someday

[Snowhead]

Something is off here. The conversion seems to make sense but maybe the European version of precipitation measurement is a bit different. As someone who has skied out in the Western United States and in Northern Italy/Austria/Switzerland, the amount of snowfall is nowhere near the same. No way does Verbier get as much annual snowfall as Alta/Snowbird or Mt. Baker.

p.s. This data you used was last collected 20 years ago. I suspect it may be different now.

Is the same sort of conversion
Grand St Bernard isn't Verbier, we comented this few post above.This data is form Grand St Bernard. And then the snowfalling isn't the same that snowpack, or his quality.

The data are official from meteoswiss, and I suspect that today are the same with variations maybe about +- 5% In the grand St Bernard the anual amount of precipitation is 2400mm in inches of rain is 94inches and in Säntis anuall is 107inches of rain, more than anyplace in Utah or Colorado (Alta gets 53.58 inches = 1400mm/year aprox)




Here in my land in the Pyrenées we have more precipitation than in the Alps, in Aneto glacier at 3000m the anuall snowfalling is 2050mm= 800inches/season.

mmm Only the coast mtn and Alaska of course receive much more rainfall/year.



The driest snow of Utah or Colorado accumulates more thickness with fewer rainfall.

[TDJ]

What I also noticed about the snowfall in Les 4 Vallees is that it can be very local. In March I had my best run of the season in 100cm's of pow under the new attelas 6 while there was only 10cm of freshies around Siviez.

[TDJ]

Yes, that's 3 PAGES of viral marketing for Verbier ! Enough already !

So true.. Lets call televerbier and claim some free liftpasses

Edit: Nice photo of 4 vallees http://www.alpineskimaps.com/swit/verbier/begin.htm Although I think it doesn't do justice to the size of the area..

[verbier61]

nice pic, TDJ! it shows the hidden valley!

[Scottish_Skier]

Printed off A3...
Funnily enough I located the hidden valley on google earth last night

[subtle plague]

data

damn! i heart AK! 7000+mm of precip i mean at some elevation that's 70m of annual snowfall!

now i know how those spines are created. If only one tenth sticks to the steep wall, that's enough.

[Hayduke]

I'm taking 4 months of this Winter and will go where the snow is.

Not having time constrictions, it seems stupid to plan a trip right now not knowing what conditions will be.

We'll see. Japan is on the list too.

Well keep us updated. I'll try to hook up for some beer and a ski if you make it over this way.

[Snowhead]

damn! i heart AK! 7000+mm of precip i mean at some elevation that's 70m of annual snowfall!

now i know how those spines are created. If only one tenth sticks to the steep wall, that's enough.

Estimated in St Elias Range is 13000mm/year (at 5000m of elevation, 130m per year)

The snowiest place on earth with zones of new zealand and west Patagonia.

[Telski]

When does Mt. Gele reliably open?

I've missed it on 2 trips to Verbier while there was good snow on Stairway ot Heaven, Backside of Mt. Fort, Attelas areas.

Curious

[verbier61]

mt gelè lift has been closed for the past 2 winters because of poor snow coverage. In fact, the ridge at the summit is quickly deteriorated by skiers if snow coverage is not enough. Up to the 2005-2007 winter it was possible to use the lift with a guide in spite of the official closure. Some local guides made their own fortune simply by bringing dudes on the mt gelè lift (say something like 4-5 rides a day...) and that drove other guides and some televerbier staff really crazy... so this last winter the lift was banned also to guides. This prompted addicts like me to use skins to reach the mt gelè summit (some 3030 m) from the col de chassoure (some 200 m below) to enjoy the majestic (and virtually always untouched) bowls and couloirs easily accessible from the summit...
so in sumary, the lift NEVER reliably opens, but a pair of skins will ALWAYS reliably bring you there

[Scottish_Skier]

Bummmer....

However *if* it snows enough then they *might* open Mt Gele ?

It really is an insane lift - but a very cool one. Have only skied it the once - back in 2003, when we drove over to verb for the day (from chamonix). Think it was actually our first run - and we certainly didn't have a guide with us. Then the cable car shut in the afternoon.

Am I right in saying mt Gele closed for 5 or 6 years in the 1990's ?
However I thought it had reopened in recent years - obviously not.

Still - I guess it means the snow will be fresh for those that skin up

[verbier61]

yes, it was open to anyone (for a total of some 20-30 days) in the 2003 winter... The lift was a bit renovated during the '90 (I guess the orginal lift was made in mid'70, much before the mont fort one), but just a bit of cosmetic.... in any case, it has never been opened for more than 30-40 days in a winter

[TDJ]

I heard it was closed after the family of an American woman unsuccessfully sued televerbier because she died after a fall on the mt Gelé.

Enclosed a nice pic of the 45min hike from col de Chassoure to the mt Gele Ridge..

[verbier61]

really nice pic TDJ!! televerbier has been sued many times lately (for instance, a german died on the backside of mt fort the last march and the family sued them) but I guess there's no chance to get a single nickel.... the lift stations have so many labels declining any responsability for what the skiers do after gettin out from the lifts...

[TDJ]

really nice pic TDJ!! televerbier has been sued many times lately (for instance, a german died on the backside of mt fort the last march and the family sued them) but I guess there's no chance to get a single nickel.... the lift stations have so many labels declining any responsability for what the skiers do after gettin out from the lifts...

I heard the story from a pisteur about a woman that fell down a long way on the backside(from the ridge behind the station). He told me that, when they got to her, her face was unrecognizable .

But I’m glad it's not possible to sue a company that easy. Nofi to our fellow American maggots but we don't want the American liability situation over here.

[TDJ]

Already posted this a while ago.. Once again for the topicstarter:

Verbier: The Alps’ Freeride Paradise
by Chris Davenport
Freeskier Magazine

My first trip to Verbier began a long love affair with one of the planets greatest Freeride arenas. In March of 1998, our Matchstick Productions film crew raced up the winding access road wild-eyed at the massive peaks, and intent on scoring some epic ski footage for the upcoming release of Sick Sense. None of us, Dean, Wendy, Murray, Scott, or myself had ever been to Verbier before, but rumors of vast terrain, great snow, and unspoiled lines had been spilling over to Chamonix for years, and we were keen on being the first American ski film crew to score the goods. We had no guides, and no idea where we were going, yet in four days we came back with what is one of my all time favorite Euro film segments. Finding incredible terrain in Verbier is easy, and there is more of it than you could ski in a season, which is exactly why my wife, Jesse, and I left

Aspen and headed to Verbier for the winter of 2000.

Stepping out of the tram at the top of Mont Fort, Verbier’s highest summit, you feel as though you stand at the geographical center of skiing in the Alps. To the West is Mont Blanc, looming dauntingly over Chamonix and Courmayer. To the East, the Matterhorn, and the massive Monte Rosa, standing tall over Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Alagna, and Greysonney. To the North lies Les Diablerets, and Crans- Montana, and to the South, the spectacular Grand Combin, and the sick off-piste resort of Super St-Bernard. Verbier is not intimidated by it’s all-star cast of neighbors, simply because it has the snow, the steeps, and the village to back up it’s position as the Freeride jewel in the crown of the Alps. If you are lucky enough to have a car in your possession, all of these resorts and more are reachable in only one to two hours’ drive.

Verbier is so vast, in fact, that in seven trips there, I still have yet to ski many of the sectors connected by this huge lift system. During the winter of 2000, however, we were fortunate enough to become intimately familiar with the sick terrain off of Mt. Gele, a zone striped by huge couloirs and bowls, and often closed by avalanche hazard. We fell in love with Vallon D’Arbi, a long, off-piste descent that leads into an enchanted forest of pillow drops and steep trees. We gained the respect of a few locals who went out of there way to show us the "Secret Valley", a zone to the North East of Vallon D’Arbi that requires a short ski tour to reach, but is larger and steeper than the front side of Jackson Hole. No description would be near complete without discussing the famous Bec des Rosses, site of the yearly Red Bull Xtreme snowboard contest, and one of the most bad ass freeskiing descents near any ski area I’ve ever visited. This face will humble and scare you, so take a local, and take your time. In March, during a particularly ferocious storm, we drove across the valley to Champex-Lac, a small resort on the same lift pass that without a doubt has the steepest, longest, and most intense tree skiing I have ever experience. That same week, while much of Verbier’s upper mountains were buried, we drove up to Super St. Bernard (again, same lift pass), and spent a glorious day ski touring this resorts endless, high alpine terrain.

For me, those early days in Verbier always came to an end at the Pub Mont Fort. If I was ever to open a bar myself, I would model it on this après ski legend, and more specifically, the hard core patrons who stack their fat skis outside, and tell priceless narratives of their exploits on the mountain over endless pints and shots. And speaking of nostalgia, go dig up that old VHS of Sick Sense, get yourself a plane ticket, and fire up some Verbier stoke this winter!



By Chris Davenport

source: http://www.steepskiing.com/words.html

[Mulletizer]

I heard Verbier's a great place for picking up hot chicks in the telecabine.

[gamma]

Ah yes, ITS SO TRUE!!! nothing better than the FARM for hot russian girls!!!!!

so whens the summit?

[Telski]

yes, it was open to anyone (for a total of some 20-30 days) in the 2003 winter... The lift was a bit renovated during the '90 (I guess the orginal lift was made in mid'70, much before the mont fort one), but just a bit of cosmetic.... in any case, it has never been opened for more than 30-40 days in a winter

Is there a lift that runs less frequently in the Alps then?

The Valluga 2 at St. Anton has all the guide restrictions, but it's open.

So Gele is mostly saved for the Free Ride competition and those who climb? That takes a bunch of lift-served fun off the mountain experience.

[hemas]

so whens the summit?

Late Jan, or late Feb/early March would be my suggestion... prefereably the latter, as the snow is most likely better at that time (wasn't too hot 2 years ago in Jan).

[TDJ]

Is there a lift that runs less frequently in the Alps then?

The Valluga 2 at St. Anton has all the guide restrictions, but it's open.

So Gele is mostly saved for the Free Ride competition and those who climb? That takes a bunch of lift-served fun off the mountain experience.

As far as i Know there's no freeride competition on the mt Gele anymore. The verbier extreme is on the Bec des Rosses.
I wish they put in a mandatory beacon check before the mt gele lift so not every gaper on ski's can just go up. Offcourse it's not foolproof but there's still enough warnings that it's all at your own risk.

Anyway.. there's plenty of other nice lift served possibility's in 4 vallees.