Snow finally starts to fall in the Pyrenees and the Alps.

Posted on January 3, 2016 by bill

La neige tant attendue commence à tomber dans les Pyrénées et les Alpes

par Rédaction de France Info samedi 2 janvier 2016 21:48

De la neige dans les Pyrénées, dans la station de La Mongie Tourmalet © Maxppp

Ces flocons-là sont les bienvenus, même s’ils arrivent tard. Quelques centimètres de neige sont tombés samedi après-midi dans les Pyrénées et dans les Alpes. Des chutes de neige sont encore prévues dimanche.

These snow-flakes are welcome, even if they’ve arrived late. Several centimetres of snow fell on Saturday afternoon in the Pyrenees and the Alps. More snow falls are expected on Sunday.

Les vacanciers l’ont patiemment attendue mais c’est finalement à la toute fin des congés de Noël qu’elle est tombée. La neige a recouvert les Pyrénées samedi après-midi. C’était le cas notamment dans la station du Tourmalet-La Mongie, où plusieurs centimètres de poudreuse ont été relevés.

Holiday makers patiently waited but finally at the at the end of the Christmas holidays it fell. Snow covered the Pyrenees on Saturday afternoon. This was the case notably on the Tourmalet-La Mongie ski station, where many powdery centimeters were revealed. 

Les professionnels retrouvent le sourire. All smiles now again.

En plus de ces chutes, de la neige artificielle est en train d’être produite. Jusqu’à présent, seuls 65% des pistes étaient ouverts. Mais avec ces précipitations, c’est tout un secteur qui va pouvoir enfin démarrer la saison d’hiver : magasins, loueurs de skis, restaurateurs et hôteliers. De quoi s’occuper de la clientèle de proximité, qui arrive de Toulouse ou Bordeaux. Dans les Alpes, la petite station des Aillons-Margériaz, à 1.500 mètres d’altitude, seulement 22% du domaine était ouvert cette semaine. Le directeur du domaine skiable, Jacques Comparat est donc ravi de pouvoir enfin commencer cette saison.

As well as the falls, artificial snow is being produced. Up to now only 65% of the slopes were opened. But with the latest snow precipitations, the whole sector can launch the winter season: shops, ski rental, restaurants, and hotels. Near-by clients who arrive from Bordeaux and Toulouse will be busy. In the Alps, the small ski station of Aillons-Margeriaz, at 1,500 metres altitude, only 22% of the station was open this week. The manager of the ski domaine, Jacques Comparat is delighted to be able to at last start this season.

About bill

Worked in the technical / engineering area as a Science Laboratory Technician and as an Aeronautics Engineer. The artistic side involves writing under the nom de plume of Billy Olsenn, his recently written play 'A Case of Wine' was staged by the players group Straight Make-Up at the 2012 Birr one act drama festival. It's next staging was in the one act circuit is in Cavan, at Maudebawn on Sat 10 Nov 2012. Then it was performed in the Bray, Co.Wicklow at the very popular one act festival in January 2013. Next play is FEAR. A dark tale about revenge on the cruel death of two pensioners by young thugs. Neighbours hatch a devious and dangerous plan to exact old-style revenge. Bill is a member of the Drama League of Ireland and his plays have been critically vetted and certified as original pieces of work by the DLI. Another literary project is that of commemoration of an aircraft crash on Djouce mountain in Wicklow in 1946. Bill wrote articles for the 50th, 60th and most recently the 70th anniversary, (12 Aug 2016) all were published in the Wicklow Times and ensured the survivors of the crash, all French Girl Guides, were not forgotten. Articles reproduced on this website. But mostly this site gives a more general European and specific French slant on popular and not so popular articles of French news, translated to English by the author. Each article is translated on a paragraph by paragraph basis so easy to read in either language and even possible to improve either language by comparison of the short English and French paragraphs. Amusez vous bien. The author is currently writing an easy to read technical aviation book centered around the Fokker 50. Another interest is that dealt with in another of Bill's websites www.realnamara.net, a Statue of the mother of God, Mary. It was erected in 1972 in Dublin, at the end of the Bull Wall near Clontarf, and my grandfather William Nelson, was the main instigator of that project. I give talks on the history of the statue and my grandfather's adventurous and dangerous life at sea. Technical assistance with each website is by J O'N.
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