Can you believe its not only 2024 but also his will be our 17th<\/sup> year operating here in Chatel and our 11th<\/sup> year running as a pure splitboard guiding operation.\u00a0 I’m not sure where that last decade went – well I do but still, it’s gone fast…<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n We know that weather systems & patterns have changed over those 17\u00a0 years, in no small part due to climate breakdown.\u00a0 As a result, you really can\u2019t take anything for granted conditions-wise at resort level anymore in December and early January (or seemingly February, too – more of that to follow).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Every cold front is eventually followed by a warm one and any early season snow that we get is always subject to risk.\u00a0 But now that risk is very much heightened. This time last year the Alps were mostly green below 2000m after they experienced a disastrous, prolonged bout of rain during late December.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n I went on about this in detail in our round up of the 2023 season – you can read about that here<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Many resorts didn\u2019t recover enough from the washout to operate that season.\u00a0 The reality is that the historical December thaw can now be accompanied by insane amounts of rain due to increased heating of the oceans and here we are again in early 2024 ,we are seeing closures of lower resorts in Switzerland and France due to too much rain and a\u00a0lack of snow<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\r\n The snow came in early November 2023 so we made the most of it in the knowledge that it wouldn\u2019t hang around.\u00a0 I was out on November 11th in Chatel for an ascent of the Chesery from the car park in Pre La Joux and rode powder all the way down back to the car.\u00a0 \u00a0 We were right about it not hanging around though and it disappeared at the lower elevations – but we hadn\u2019t anticipated another dump and by December the 6th<\/sup> we were splitting in mid-winter conditions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Here’s a picture of the Mont de Grange in La Chapelle d’Abondance taken in early November 2023 and a snap of Polo making the most of\u00a0 it on Chamonix steeps last December 6th – riding with his mates and Jones team riders Pica Herry and Laurent Bibollet.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n By now we were getting into the swing of things.\u00a0 We\u2019d started to make some splitboard tours of our own in the local area, Chatel had opened its lift system for a powder weekend on the 9th and things were looking generally peachy.\u00a0 However, on December 11th<\/sup> \/ 12th<\/sup> the anticipated warm front came through with rain to altitude.\u00a0 A lot of France was on flood alert \u2013 here in the Haute Savoie we had to contend with an awful lot of rain mixed with snowmelt that threatened not only riverbanks but other infrastructure too.\u00a0 You can see from this video<\/strong><\/a> of our back garden that the general water levels were getting a little worrying.<\/p>\r\n It was looking like history repeating itself.\u00a0 But it didn\u2019t. *Inserts praising hands emoji*<\/strong><\/p>\r\n The snowpack below 2000m had held up, it was nowhere near as bad as the rain in December 2023 and crucially it was followed, almost immediately, by snow.\u00a0 By now the French Alps were recording record amounts of snow above 2500m and the pistes and lower elevation off-piste was starting to recover.<\/p>\r\n By Saturday 16th<\/sup> December we were riding lift accessed powder with some old friends, Polo was helping Pica and Laurent guide the Jones Pro team on their safety days and we finished the year by taking out a father and son for a splitboard\u00a0 introduction experience.\u00a0 Here’s a little look at what we got up to during that early period.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\nNOVEMBER and DECEMBER 2023<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theridersocial.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/image.png\")
<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theridersocial.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/image-1.png\")
<\/p>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n