Skiing across borders in Chamonix & Courmayeur

As ever, though, with a bit of thinking there's good skiing to be found. Over the weekend savvy skiers were heading to the sunny south-west facing slopes of Brevent and Flegere where the temperatures were highest and the pistes softened off nicely. With a forecast of Foehn wind (a warm dry wind that can cause rapid snow loss) for Monday in Chamonix, we headed through the Mont Blanc tunnel to Courmayeur to see if it was bringing snow to the Italian slopes.

Courmayeur is included in the multi-day Mont Blanc Unlimited ski pass and makes for a great day trip no matter the weather. A public bus, best booked in advance, runs every day through to Courmayeur at 15€ for a return ticket, and anyone with their own transport can use their lift pass at the Mont Blanc tunnel ticket counters to receive a 14.50€ tunnel pass.

We left France in dry and windy conditions and arrived in Italy to heavy sleet at car park altitude which turned to heavy snow above 1600m. Even there, though, the snow was quite humid and sticky, so steeper pistes were better going than easier runs where keeping your speed was more challenging.

Courmayeur is a great place for tree skiing, quite handy with the avalanche risk keeping us away from the open slopes. The heavier snow lower down meant we stayed as high as possible. The highest two lifts, Youla and Arp, were closed, so choices were a little limited. However, with hardly any other folks on the hill skiing, it wasn't too difficult to find untouched and not too heavy snow through the trees near the Bertolini and Gabba chairlifts, which are also conveniently close to the Col Checrouit cafes to dry out over a cappuccino.

The huge amounts of snow over the last week have resulted in some huge avalanches, one of which has completely blocked the road that off-piste skiers use as a return route to the Val Veny cablecar parking, so be aware if you plan on heading that way.

With the snow falling heavily all day we'd intended to return to Courmayeur for more and lighter snow on Tuesday. As has been the theme so far this year, though, the weather had other plans and over 60cm of new snow overnight meant Courmayeur had a very delayed opening and, even once open, could only run a limited number of lifts.

Instead, we took a gamble on the Tete du Balme chairlift opening and headed to Le Tour. The front face of Le Tour was giving reasonable skiing when the clouds lifted enough to let you see where you were going, but the combination of often flat light, wind-packed snow and pistes being cut up made for frustrating skiing at times. The opening time for Tete du Balme kept getting pushed later and later but, at around 12:30, it finally opened and laps on creamy smooth snow through the trees near the lift line were an instant panacea to the poor visibility on the front of the ski area.

The back of Le Tour has several notorious avalanche terrain traps but everyone was being quite cautious in their line choice and the lack of crowds seemed to be helping everyone there have a great time. Even better, with so few riders lapping the lift it meant that, even by the time last lift ran at 16:00, you were still skiing long sections of untouched snow which we weren't expecting after the start to the day!

For the rest of the week, things seem to be getting colder, though probably not much snowier. The pistes around Chamonix should be in better condition as the worst of the icy sections are groomed out, although off-piste areas will remain complicated for a while yet. The weather models are hinting at two possible future snowfalls later into January, with some suggesting a return to low temperatures and heavy snow, whilst others suggest more settled weather but again not as warm as the last week.

Have fun out there and make the most of the quiet slopes!

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 hire one. Many ski schools, and also mountain guides, provide instruction in off-piste skiing, avalanche safety and mountaineering techniques. Make your time in the mountains unforgettable for the right reasons, ski safe!