Nightlife Previews and reviews in Chamonix

Bonjour and bienvenue to the first apres ski report of the winter! Not only are the bars and clubs of Chamonix coming back to life but it is snowing, actually properly snowing!

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!

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.

Happy New Year!

What a great week! We've had fresh snow, bursts of sunshine and a brilliant day at the Boss des Bosses on Wednesday. This annual inter-resort bumps competition is one of my favourite events of the season – guaranteed to draw a big crowd of competitors and supporters from across the Alps. This year was no exception. With the course moving back to its previous location above the restaurant Plan Joran, spectators could get a bird's eye view of the action from the base of the course and the entire length of the Tabé chairlift. As always, skiing legends Glenn and Kimberley Plake were in team Cham and treated the crowd to some spectacular aerial action and a spot of ski ballet. Oddly enough, Mr Plake seemed to be wearing more make up than Mrs Plake this year…..still you get all sorts at the Boss des Bosses! Zermatt had two chickens skiing for them, Meribel has a very brave girl in a teeny tiny kilt (must have stung when she fell!) and Verbier had Iron Mike, resplendent in the brightest day-glo pink one piece and matching beret that Degree 7 could ever have produced. The tunes were pumping out at the base of the course, the BBQ was in full sizzle and I even witnessed a beer or two being consumed! Well done to everyone that took part and I hope that there were no nasty repercussions from some of the bone crunching wipe outs that took place on the big air jump. There was a unified “Oooooohhh!” on more than one occasion from the crowd when the landings didn't quite go to plan, but thankfully (and incredibly), everyone left smiling and in one piece. You can check out some of the action yourself in Mr Trigell's Video Snow Report and we have the full results are posted in the News.

As promised, I've entertained myself this week in and around Chamonix Sud, the area affectionately known locally as “The Ghetto”! However, don't let that put you off; Cham Sud is a great spot to base yourself if you're after cheaper accommodation that's close to the centre (5-10 mins walk), close to the ski buses (2 mins), and slap bang at the base of the Aiguille du Midi. Apart from this, there are also a good number of bars and clubs down there, meaning you should never have to walk more than 3 minutes for a pint and some entertainment. Brilliant!

There's something about this time of year that makes people start panic-partying, as though a sudden halt to the good times is looming on the horizon. I can assure you it's not, Chamonix is officially the town that never stops partying. But don't tell anyone else that, as I'm making the most of all the frenzied end-of-season fun.

Spring? Summer? Winter? Chamonix is playing its usual trick of giving us it all in one day at the moment. On more than one occasion this week we've had fresh snow falling all the way down into town. We've also had a fair bit of torrential rain, and in between we've had bright sunshine, moody clouds, bluebird afternoons and complete white-outs. At least one thing is consistent... the fancy dress parties are still going strong.

The sun continues to shine in Chamonix, lighter evenings are bringing us out of the dark days of winter and making everything feel a lot more like spring is almost here!

La La Land at Le Podium lived up to all the hype and expectations again this weekend and brought with it a whole new appreciation and twist to Latin American Samba Music.

Post-Christmas comedown has started to set in this week and I've been craving quiet nights with a few friends over wild nights with crowds of revellers. There are still plenty of parties and shindigs going on if that is what you fancy but there are also more chilled out nights to be had.

It's what we've all being praying for over the last month and this week it dutifully arrived just in time, bucket loads of the stuff, snow, snow and more snow, falling as I write! When the clouds are full and the lifts are closed what and where should you go? On occasions like this I always find that food and cocktails can hold the answers and luckily for me Chamonix is great at both these things!

It's has been snowing steadily here in Chamonix for most of the week and today shows signs that clear skies are returning our way; however temperatures are set to drop to minus twenty this weekend so curling up in the pub with a hot drink after a very cold day on the mountain is looking likely!

Chamonix knows how to party on any night of the year. Celebrate New Year's Eve with live music, cocktails, fireworks and fun!