Conditions Good but Limited for Cross-Country Skiing in Chamonix

Starting from behind the sports centre, the pistes normally stretch all the way to Les Bois and include a challenging hilly area called "La Norvege".

At the moment though, only a small section of piste is open. The track veers off a few hundred metres after you enter the Bois de Bouchet forest, bringing you round in a small loop via the parapente landing field back to the start. Flat and only about 1.5km long, the trail is nice for beginners and I was happy just to do a few laps for the exercise.

The snow cannons have been going full pelt overnight and the coverage on the open part of the track is actually very good; conditions are firm and grippy with no grass/rocks showing through and no icy patches - much better than expected, actually!

The snow cannons are spraying out a fine mist until about midday, so for the best conditions I would say to head down there about 1pm - after they've stopped but before the sun has had chance to soften the tracks. Of course, you can ski while they're switched on but I don't like getting a face full of cold mist every time I pass under them, they fog your sunnies up and make your hair frizzy!

The added bonus is that the day pass has been reduced from 11€ to 5.50€ until conditions allow them to open more of the trails. This is being reviewed on a daily basis, so pop into the chalet beside the car park to ask.

If you don't have your own cross-country kit and want to give it a try the easiest places to hire from are Intersport right opposite the ice rink or Ravanel in the Galeria Alpina. They both know their stuff and are easy walking distance from the start of the tracks.