Hello and welcome to our blog about what's going on at Isola 2000, including snow conditions and late availability of our ski chalet. If you are interested in renting our chalet do check out www.chaletisola.com for more information.
Snow is continuing to fall at Isola 2000 in a week which has seen the road closed due to avalanche risk and as much as 1m snow forecast for this weekend.
Isola 2000 is looking really fantastic at the moment, the panoramic webcam has had its orientation changed slightly which means that there is no close up of the Chalets du Mercantour but there is a good view of the resort which looks lovely as the sun sets and the lights are switched on.
So to the snow report:
at 1800m altitude = 78cm snow
at 2600m altitude = 155cm snow
As the resort doesn't open properly until this Saturday (6th December) we don't have a definite list of which pistes will be open but there is provisional information on the Isola 2000 website. Click here to go to the webpage.
Isola 2000 opened its pistes on Saturday for the 2008/2009 ski season. There is a news report on France 3, click on the link below to view it (opens in Windows Media Player):
A report from Isola 2000 (from 20th November 2008) about the snow conditions and its candidature for the Nice 2018 Winter Olympics. Click here to view the video (opens in Windows Media Player), or copy and paste this link into the address bar:
A news report of the amazing snow conditions at Isola 2000 can be found by clicking here (opens in Windows Media Player). It has details of the ski lift and piste preparations and a bit of promotion for the Nice 2018 Winter Olympic Games which Isola would host part of if Nice were chosen.
It has just been announced on the Isola 2000 website that some of the slopes will be open for the weekend 29th & 30th November. The station will then close until it officially opens for the whole of the winter season on 6th December.
There will be a 30% reduction on lift passes on the 29th & 30th November, so wax those skis and get ready to hit the slopes!
The panoramic webcam at Isola 2000 has now been switched back on. Its quite amazing how much snow has fallen already and the season hasn't even started yet.
Click on the titles of the images below to go to updated views from the webcams:
The beginning of November / end of October saw about 40cm of fresh snow fall at Isola 2000. We were lucky enough to be there at the time to take advantage of the fantastic conditions. A peaceful walk on snow shoes around the Roubines ski lift area was perfect for taking in the bright blue sky and the still autumnal trees, and a more energetic climb up to the Col de la Lombarde was well worth the effort. Have a look at the photos below:
View of the Front de Neige from the chalet
View down the little road towards the Front de Neige
Frozen water reservoir View towards Tete Merciere from the Col de la Lombarde
The chalet is available for rental throughout the year, so if you fancy a peaceful getaway take a look at www.chaletisola.com and drop us an email.
Yes, we can confirm that a substantial amount of snow has fallen at Isola 2000! Heavy snow fell mainly on Thursday leading to an accumulation of about 45cm making it necessary to use snow chains on the way up to the resort for a time on Friday. Take a look at the Isola 2000 webcam by clicking here.
Exciting news - the weather forecast sites are predicting snowfalls for Isola 2000 next week.
Here is a screen grab taken from Metcheck.com which shows that freezing levels are falling and rain (blue line on the graph) will turn to snow (black line on the graph) near the end of next week.
Snow-Forecast.com predicts snowfall on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, see image below:
So keep your fingers crossed that the forecasts are correct and we'll keep checking the webcams for any signs of snow.
We noticed yesterday a cloud of what looks like snow coming from one of the snow canons on the webcam at Isola or it could be dust!. Hopefully it will be cold enough for real snow soon.
We like to keep an eye on the local webcams and were surprised to see what looks like snow / heavy frost around the Santuario Sant'Anna di Vinadio this morning. Have a look at the image below and see what you think:
It could just be rain but it would be nice to think it was the first dusting of snow!
PS. The Santuario Sant'Anna di Vinadio is on the Italian side of the Col de la Lombarde, you may have seen it in winter from the top of the Lombarde chairlift.
On Tuesday 22nd July 2008 the Tour de France passed through Isola 2000 via the Col de la Lombarde on its way from Cuneo in Italy to Jausiers in France. We were lucky enough to watch this incredible event from the Col de la Lombarde. After about a one hour walk from the chalet we reached the summit which was already very busy with spectators and race organisers. We walked a little way down the Italian side of the Col so that we would have a good view of the cyclists as they wound their way up the mountainside. Photo below shows the view from our picnic site:
The first sign of the caravan arriving was a red and white polka dot Champion van coming up the road, they were handing out polka dot t-shirts which were extremely popular and attracted a large group of people who were almost mobbing the people handing out the t-shirts. After a little while the main bulk of the caravan passed by throwing out all sorts of goodies such as Haribo sweets, Champion hats, PMU big green foam hands, Cochonou sausages - the list goes on ...
The time between the caravan ending and the cyclists arriving gave us ample opportunity to don our new hats, t-shirts and wristbands ready to cheer on the riders. The first to come through was Stefan Schumacher of Gerolsteiner, he went past really fast considering he was going uphill!
Photo below shows Stefan Schumacher:
Not too far behind Schumacher was a Credit Agricole rider (I think) then a couple of small groups of riders before the peloton arrived. We saw the yellow jersey of Frank Schleck pass by and then the British rider David Millar in a group off the back of the peloton.
As the riders passed over the Col on their way down through Isola 2000 the spectators packed up all their freebies and made their way back down both the Italian and French sides of the Col. It really was an unforgettable day and if you do ever get the chance to watch a stage of the Tour de France do take it - you won’t regret it!
Here are some more photos of the riders passing under the banner marking the top of the climb, we've tried to identify them but if you know any different do let us know:
Above: unknown
Below: Pieter Weening
Above: Fabian Wegmann
Below from left to right: Inaki Isasi, unknown, Trent Lowe
We also have some video footage of the stage which we will try to upload soon.
Hello and welcome to the first posting on our new blog from chaletisola.com.
The idea of this blog is to update you with the latest info and goings on that we hear about from the lovely ski resort of Isola 2000 in France. For example when the first snow of the season falls, when the resort opens, what exciting events are on and hopefully much more.
For those of you who haven't visited our website yet (www.chaletisola.com) you may not be aware that we rent out a beautiful ski chalet that sleeps up to 8 people and is located above the main ski area in Isola 2000. If you are interested or require more information about the chalet do check out the website where you will find photos and pricing for our ski chalet.
We're now well into the summer season at Isola 2000 and without doubt the most exciting event so far has been the Tour de France passing through the resort on its way to the Col de la Bonnette and Jausiers on 22nd July 2008. We will be publishing a post devoted to the Tour de France at Isola 2000 and the Col de la Lombarde very soon - including photos.
No queues and loads of snow!
If you have been up to Isola 2000 please feel free to add a comment to the blog to let us know what the conditions are like.
