Nightlife Previews and reviews in Chamonix

School holidays are soooooo exhausting – and I don't even have children! There are just so many things going on at the moment, both on and off the slopes, that I'm completely worn out trying to keep up!

What ever tickles your taste buds Chamonix has it! As your Apres Ski Instructor for this coming winter, I will be bringing you weekly updates on what's hot and where to go to get the best après ski and off-mountain fun during your stay. With so much to chose from and only a few precious days here, you don't want to waste time trawling round town looking for the best live bands or the cosiest corner for a fondue……when I can do that for you!

I snuck off to my old stomping ground of Alpe d'Huez last week to catch up with Vickie, our Skinets reporter down there and to see Albenaza, the awesome acoustic trio that I'd seen in the Jekyll in Cham Sud a couple of weeks previously. Alas, the crowd in the Jekyll that night left a lot to be desired and so, despite playing their socks off, I didn't feel I'd seen them at their best. Last week in Smithy's however, the bar was packed and well up for it as the boys belted out classics from the likes of Jurassic 5 and the Kings of Leon, as well as a number of their own tunes accompanied by some impressive beat-boxing from Aza. (By the way, if you're wondering about the name, the boys are called Al, Ben and Aza ……. see what they've done there...?) Fingers crossed, we may see them back over Chamonix way before the season is over and I'll be sure to keep you posted with dates as soon as I hear. Either way, this is one band to keep an eye out for wherever you are on holiday as they tour around the Alps each season. Alternatively, if you live in the south-west of England you'll probably be able to see them most weekends you lucky things!!

That time of year has rolled around once more... the final closing party at Les Grands Montets. It is the last of the Chamonix ski areas to close and is therefore the official end to the winter season, and what a winter it was!

Well hasn't town been quiet this week, where did everyone go? I think that it's the quiet before the storm and February madness kicks in. Last weekend saw the opening of the new Y Bar. It is on the high street just along from the Pub on your right hand side. Considering the quick change over time the bar looked amazing inside, still a few finishing off bits upstairs but generally very swish with nice leopard print curtains as you walk in! It was very busy on Saturday night with lots of familiar faces appearing to check it out. Some funky tunes made for a great atmosphere and if you're after a fancy cocktail then it's a good place to head, don't forget to check out the awesome decking area out the back. Despite the lack of snow I headed up to Grand Montet first thing Sunday morning and the piste's really are in excellent condition and amazing fun. Flat, hard and fast and the snow canons are doing a great job. After a full day on the hill and having missed the shops we head to Monkey Bar for their €10 Sunday roast. There was a choice of lamb, turkey or beef and they came with all the trimmings, combine that with 2 for 1 beers and it was a great Sunday lunch. Monday night I headed down the Cinema and checked out the new Harry Potter. It made a nice change from the pubs and bars and the film was excellent! It is good practice for your French too as the film is the original and then there are French subtitles. Did you know that wand is ‘baguette magique' in French!! There are quite a few English films showing over the next few weeks, including Black Swan, so head down and check it out. I have been frequenting La Terrasse a lot this week and Tuesday night got quite messy thanks to their ‘Tequila Tuesdays'. Last night ‘The Spokes' provided some great live music, next time you're in make sure you check out the upstairs, it is easy to miss and is a great if you're looking for somewhere a bit more chilled than downstairs. Bored of no snow and in need of some excitement, yesterday we headed to Italy for the day and had a go on their Ski de Fond track. Ski de Fond is cross country skiing you have long narrow skis that are only attached at the toe. There are two types, ‘Classique' where you ski along in two man-made grooves, this is a similar action to the cross-trainer you have in gyms and then there is the ‘Skating' style. You can give it a go in Chamonix as well; there is a track in town near the MBC and one in Argentiere. The equipment is cheap to hire around €12 for the day, head to the Intersport just before MBC. The six nations start again today with a fire cracker of a first match between England and Wales. There are several good bars for watching sport round town, including The Pub, Le Jekyll and Hyde and Le Vert. Tonight I will be heading to the Vagabond where there have just installed two new screens and an HD projector. With the owner being Welsh it'll be a great spot to watch England achieve victory! See you all next week and as always keep your fingers crossed for winter to return!

The lifts may have closed and the tourists gone home but Chamonix is far from being a ghost town. With a strong community of year-round residents, there has to be somewhere to keep us all fed and watered in between holiday seasons!

This week I have mostly been drinking... vin chaud. I can't help myself when there is snow in the air; the desire to gaze into the flames of a crackling log fire, cradling a spicy mulled wine and wearing a "Christmas jumper" is just too much to resist. Now, I may be biased (it being my local and all) but, in my opinion, the only place to do this properly is in the Vagabond. A short stroll from the centre of Chamonix, in the direction of Les Gaillands, it is one of the oldest buildings in Chamonix and one of the very few bars with a proper fireplace. Throw in the fact that the drinks are priced at the more favourable end of the scale and you have a number of very good reasons to give it a whirl.

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all had a good one and overindulged appropriately. Even better if you were fortunate enough to be out here for it; Chamonix is a really idyllic place to spend the Christmas period and we certainly had a very white one this year. However, I realised that we've spent so much time raving on about how great the snow conditions have been, that we have completely neglected to tell you about all the fun stuff that happens off the slopes – the apres ski scene! As we did last year, we'll be updating this report every week to bring you an at-a-glance round up of the resort's event programme, to keep you entertained once the lifts have closed.

I seem to have no sooner posted one apres ski report when another week has sped by and I'm wracking my brains to remember what happened in the last 7 days! I know one thing for certain; I lied last week when I said the Balboas gigs in the Savoy bar in Argentiere would be a bit calmer than Chambre 9….. Whilst the bar itself is about half the size of C9, I wasn't the only person commenting that we'd never seen the place so full. Every square inch of space was being danced on and to the outsider, if you could see anything at all through the steamy, condensed up windows; it was row after row of bouncing backsides as people clambered onto every available surface to dance to those Balboa classics. And the crowd pleasers were all there! I've mentioned in previous reports that there are certain songs that No Limits in Chambre will never play (Snow Patrol, White Stripes, Rage etc) as these have traditionally always been Balboas songs. Well, I have to say I had a bit of a lump in my throat when Stefan struck the opening chords of “Chasing Cars” and the whole bar erupted into song. Much as I love No Limits who are an absolutely awesome après band, I've realised these last couple of weeks just how much I've missed the Balboas since they left Cham. Especially as it's been so hot and steamy in the Savoy this week that the band have felt the need to take their tops off which is always a bonus on a night out….. ;O)

It's the final week of the season and, as usual, the winter will be going out with a bang this weekend with loads of events and parties in store.

After months of partying hard and making the most of the night life in Chamonix I decided to take a small break this week and take a look at what else is on offer off piste. I have to be honest, as much as I love socialising, it was quite liberating this week to not be constantly tainted with a hangover and fully enjoy the mountain in more ways than I knew possible.

It took long enough but the snow finally arrived in Chamonix this week, which of course meant that there was a lot of celebrating to do!

As half term descended upon Chamonix the crowds have not only been rushing to the slopes but also to the bars and have been welcomed with open arms with a host of events and special nights!

Hurray, finally some snow has arrived at last! Thanks to all those who did a little snow dance last week, it paid off. Let's keep our fingers crossed that it keeps coming.

The Nissan Outdoor Games was great! Hopefully some of you were out here to watch the events that went on last weekend, but it was a very entertaining few days courtesy of some very talented sportsmen & women and their film crews. The aerial show that took place last Saturday on Grands Montets drew a big crowd, and we weren't disappointed by the paragliding, speed riding, BASE jumping display that went on overhead. The BASE jumpers in their flying suits were particularly incredible; 5 of them plummeting out of a helicopter from around 3000m and reaching speeds in excess of 160 kmh! The crowd on the terrace at Lognan was open-mouthed as they zipped above our heads, and then had fingers in mouths as we were all wondering just how low they would go before pulling their chutes. About 500m above the valley floor it seemed! My attempts to photograph them resulted in shot after shot of empty blue sky so I've included one taken by someone slightly more competent in the photography department than me….