Chamonix Snow Report: 25th February 2007

Powder days are back as fresh snow has fallen over the weekend in Chamonix. The snow line is just above the level of the town: it's been fluctuating between around 1500 and 1000 metres all weekend and the temperatures have hovered just above zero keeping things wet and slushy down here in town. Higher up on the ski areas it's been a different story with very high winds, cold temperatures and heavy snow falling. Consequently, the avalanche risk is very high so take care if you venture off piste.

It began raining late on Friday night and was just starting to turn to snow by 9:00 in the morning down in the town, so in spite of the pretty miserable weather we headed up to Brevent mainly to get out of the house. It was worth it: our first run down the Bozon piste and off to the sides showed that the overnight rain in town had translated into 20cm of powder up there. It really was powder too, and that was part of the downside: it was so light that it didn't take much to catch the old crusty crud below. So it was a case of gentle turns with minimal edging, and searching for the more wind-loaded slopes where the snow was that little bit deeper.

It was snowing up there for most of the afternoon making visibility a little tricky but the wind was by far the toughest element to the weather especially on the flat section below the Altitude 2000 lift, which is normally easy but with the wind blowing in the opposite direction it meant pushing yourself downhill! As it brightened up later in the afternoon the wind dropped a little and visibility improved, and as the numbers of skiers and snowboarders increased it approached almost busy. It had been practically deserted earlier in the day so our work was done and we headed down, safe in the knowledge that Sunday was going to be even better with the additional snow forecast overnight.

The avalanche bombing started early this morning and woke me up; excited, I couldn't go back to sleep for thinking that if the lifts were all open, today would be a good one. I'd toyed with the idea of going to Le Tour but in a blizzard the frontside of Le Tour can be one of the worst places to be; also the back chair at Le Tour didn't look like it would open and only that lift serves the sheltered runs in the trees. Not many lifts were open at Grands Montets so Flegere was the choice; the liaison was closed from Brevent so we went up from Les Praz. The Index chairlift was open and from there we would be able to get to some superb terrain. It was snowing heavily at Flegere and the wind was very strong: at the top of the Index the snow was falling horizontally. There had been a lot of snow overnight and during the morning, but it's hard to say how much had fallen as the wind had shifted it around to the extent that there were a few icy sections on top of the more exposed ridges, with other areas sporting massive cornices and looking very wind-loaded.

We stuck close to the pistes, for reasons of visibility and because some sections towards the Chavannes lift had been closed off because of avalanche risk; we considered dropping into some slopes that I knew would be good but after spotting that one had slid we decided not to. Still we found some superb powder and cut first tracks down large sections of Flegere including a completely untracked gully just a few metres from the piste. It was a great run: with a cornice down the left side it was filled with bottomless powder, and each frontside turn resulted in a curtain of powder to ride through. My riding partner exclaimed that it was one of the best powder runs he'd ever had: it was that good today! If the sun had been out and you could see what you were doing it would be hard to find anything better anywhere. As it was it was very, very good but you had to be comfortable riding in the howling wind with very little visibility. The off piste section under the Evettes chair offered better visibility but at the cost off fresh tracks. The snow was still good and even the chopped up leftovers that we rode were light and fun to play in. The Trappe chairlift was running and offered more shelter from the weather and less steep slopes for those getting their first taste of powder.

It has stopped snowing early this evening as I type but there's more snow forecast tonight and tomorrow, and then another storm is set for later in the week. Chamonix appears to finally be living up to its powder reputation: it took a while but it's worth the wait.

Check out what to do around town once the lifts have closed with our all new Apres Ski Report - a weekly round up of what's hot and where to party in Chamonix!

Useful Information
Cross-country skiing is Open
Piste Maps for Chamonix (pdf format), Les Houches (jpg format), Cross-country skiing (pdf format), and Mountain-bike trails (pdf format)
Current status for opening of Pistes & Lifts
Chamonix Webcam Index

We will be keeping this Chamonix snow report updated often during the season, but if you want even more up-to-date news on the ski conditions, why not sign up for our Dump Alert? We'll email you each time it snows enough to significantly change the skiing conditions. It's great to know that the snow is falling in the run-up to your holiday, and it might even allow you to book a last-minute weekend when the snow is particularly good. The service is free, and you can unsubscribe whenever you like.

Useful Links
Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research
French Avalanche Research Institute
Meteo France - Mountain weather and avalanche conditions bulletins (in French)
Henry's Avalanche Talk - popular avalanche training sessions based in French Alps as well as translation of current avalanche conditions
PisteHors.com - Backcountry Skiing and Snowboarding News in English for the French Alps. Excellent coverage of avalanche safety and advice

Additional snow and weather information provided, with thanks, by meteo.chamonix.com and the Tourist Office