A Whale has visited and winter returns to Meribel

After a period of lovely warm weather winter has returned to Meribel. Following a night where over 20cm fell it has been snowing all day today even at Les Allues level and below. I can't give an eyewitness account of the conditions on piste as today has been one of admin, cooking and watching the tiny patches of blue sky struggle against the low cloud and mist. Temperatures have fallen and look set to remain at a wintery level for at least the next 5 days.

A friend recently told me of the shark alarm being sounded at Dee Why beach in the Northern Beaches area of  Sydney. We don't have such a dramatic warning system here of a change in the weather and as in many places even weather forecasts seem to vary. We do however have a peaceful, subtle warning of snow arriving in the form of a Whale which when sighted is much more welcome than a Shark on Dee Why Beach. The place to keep an eye on is Mt Blanc, when a cloud shaped like a Whale appears on the top of Mt Blanc but you can still see the top of the mountain above the cloud snow is on the way.

Baleine de Neige on Mt Blanc

The example above snapped earlier this season is not the most perfect Baleine de Neige but it did bring a decent snowfall the next day. At their very best these clouds really do look like a Whale sitting across the mountain peak, I will try and get a better example later in the season. 

As we are expecting more snow over the next 5 days I will report back later this week on the conditions underfoot particularly from the lower, tree lined runs which provide improved visibility if the cloud remains low.