Sainte Foy Tarentaise : 17 January 2021
It is a scene worthy of any Christmas card in Sainte Foy this week. A metre of fresh snow has tumbled gently out of the sky, icing the chalet roofs and decorating all the trees in the forest.
Being nestled in the forest is part of Sainte Foy’s charm. The ski station is at 1500m altitude and the surrounding forest goes up to 1800m before giving way to the wild open mountain spaces.
In a normal ski season we would enjoy riding down tree-lined pistes and skiing through the trees after a fresh fall of snow. But this year is different. For a start, there’s hardly anybody here, and those who are here are having to make their own way up the mountain because the lifts are closed. You have to earn your turns!
It’s mainly the locals who are benefitting, and not just the humans. All the creatures of the forest are enjoying having the forest to themselves, and we have met them regularly on our sorties. Majestic deer stand and watch you cautiously from behind a tree, giant hare in their super fluffy winter coats zigzag in front of you along the piste, (they know you won’t catch them wearing snowshoes!), and there is far more birdlife than we have ever noticed before. (Apologies from the photographer; the wildlife is proving a tad camera shy.)
The lift company is continuing to provide us with beautifully groomed pistes. This may be an altruistic gesture for the benefit of the local hare population, and the local ski-touring fraternity. Or it could be a display of a great deal of optimism and belief in the French government that they may reopen the ski lifts some day soon. (The lead picture is photo taken at the top of the Marquise chairlift.)
For all of us trying to make a living in the ski industry, it doesn’t look promising. Jean Castex, the French Prime Minister was due to make an announcement on 07 January. This was put back to 14 January, and then delayed again until 20 January.
He always said that his decision would be based on what the Covid figures were telling him, and my personal opinion is that he is waiting for the effects of New Year to filter through into the figures, and he will then let the statistics cancel the ski season, rather than him cancelling it.
The signs are not looking good though, and the ‘couvre-feu’, curfew which used to start at 8pm, has just been brought forward to 6pm.
So as it stands of today, the domaine skiable is closed. The mountain is like any other area in the French Alps, where you can go there at your own risk. Well, almost. Although the pisteurs are not operating normally, they are still carrying out some basic level avalanche detonation to protect the ski lift infrastructure and the buildings in the Sainte Foy ski station.
WARNING: If anyone is planning an excursion to the mountains, please be aware that there is one massive difference this year. In normal times, the pisteurs would close parts of the domaine skiable until they were sure it was safe. This year, the whole ski area is technically closed, but you can go there at your own risk, but this doesn’t mean that there is no risk.
Yesterday, the pisteurs were worried about the avalanche risk on Morion (just below the top of the Aiguille chairlift). They blasted it several times but it wouldn’t go. Then fifteen minutes after they stopped blasting, it avalanched on its own! Please be careful. (In a normal ski season, the top lift would be kept closed until the danger had been cleared.)
Sainte Foy is renowned for its beautiful scenery and uncrowded pistes, and it has never been more so. For those fortunate enough to be here, the ambience has never been better. While snowshoeing or skinning up the mountain, people stop and chat to each other like they’ve stumbled across an old friend, and it’s never been easier to get a table at Brevettes! (It’s closed, but tables are expectantly perched on the terrace waiting for diners to sit at them).
With less work to do than normal, we expect to be fitter than ever by the end of this season. We will keep you informed of any developments, via this blog, as soon as we hear anything.
Read other articles about Sainte Foy on the Time to Ski blog page
