Half-term, full sunshine in Chamonix

An early start for the first lift at Brévent on Saturday gave us an hour of traversing the Brévent - Flégère ski area on well-groomed pistes with no other skiers to get in the way of arcing out the turns. After 10:00, things started to get busier but we'd headed off touring into the Aiguille Rouge by then, where north-east facing snow was still light and soft, and the south-facing slopes were well on their way to transforming to spring snow. The exit from the Buet Valley is in good condition, with the lower section resembling a fine, if narrow, boardercross trail, and complete all the way to the bar by the road.

After another early start for more touring, Sunday afternoon brought us to the Grands Montets. Pistes were quieter than expected, if not exactly empty, and there wasn't much of a wait for any of the lifts. Already being on touring skis it seemed a shame not to put them to use, so we headed up from the Bochard lift and over the Col Rachasses. We were far from the only people doing this, it almost seemed like more people were touring up than skiing down the pistes, but there's plenty of space once over the col and, if you have a good eye for spotting snow texture, you could follow good snow down to the Argentière basin. With a less practiced eye for snow conditions, you'll find a mix of wind-affected snow and sun crust, but just because it's the school holidays doesn't mean you can't learn and you'll get better for the next lap.

If you're looking for untouched powder just now, then you're going to need to cast your net fairly wide. It is there, though. On Monday, with an early start and a lot of skinning, we were able to ski perfect untouched snow on north-facing slopes. On aspects between northeast and north to northwest-facing, and between about 1900m and 2900m altitude where the snow's not been exposed to too much wind, then you'll still find 10 to 20cm of settled, velvety powder. That list of prerequisites does rule out a lot of tours and most routes near the lifts that tick those boxes have been fairly heavily skied but, for the more keen ski tourers, the holy grail of fresh tracks is out there still...

Earning your turns is great but so is letting all that lift infrastructure do the hard work and enjoying the overnight toils of the piste grooming staff. Tearing about the pistes of Brévent and Flégère this morning, it was hard not to have a smile on your face. Blue skies, stunning vistas and even waiting in short queues is much, much easier to get to the top of the hill than walking up under your own leg power. The slopes and lift queues were a bit busier in Brévent than at Flégère but nowhere was too bad in the morning.

Still, you can limit that wait with a bit of lateral thinking during the school holidays. If you can avoid the peak 09:00 to 10:30 period by starting your day a little earlier or a bit later, you'll miss the worst of the queues at the bottleneck lifts from the valley floor. Similarly, time your lunch to be not at the same time as everyone else's. That way you get more peace and quiet to enjoy your food and quieter slopes whilst everyone fights over the tartiflette. Perhaps the best time for quiet lifts is the end of the day. It's surprising just how quickly the slopes empty after 15:00, and there are still 90 minutes of skiing to be had. This technique doesn't work quite so well at the south facing Brévent and Flégère ski areas where the snow will be quite soft but enjoying the late afternoon light on increasingly tranquil slopes at Grands Montets or Le Tour is a great way to end the ski day.

What does the weather have in store for the next week, then? Well, if you like the current weather, lucky you because things aren't really going to change for the next week or so. All the forecast models are suggesting a continuation of the settled high pressure with sunshine and light winds. About as good as it gets for half term holidays!

NB: Exploring beyond the ski resort boundaries is an amazing experience for anyone who's physically fit and has mastered the pistes well enough. There are, however, risks associated with venturing outside the safety of the marked/patrolled ski area, including awareness of your actions on those below you on the slopes. Mountain guides are professionally qualified and have extensive knowledge of the local terrain to provide you with the safest and most enjoyable possible experience in the mountains; as a visitor here we highly recommend you hiring one. Many ski schools also provide instruction in off-piste skiing, avalanche safety and mountaineering techniques. Make your time in the mountains unforgettable for the right reasons, ski safe!

Off-piste skiing and mountaineering are dangerous. The opinions expressed in these articles are very much time and condition-specific and the content is not intended in any way to be a substitute for hiring a mountain guide, undergoing professional mountaineering training and/or the individual's own backcountry decision making.