Could this be the best season build up in years? It’s only the first week of December and early snow records are being broken. Tuesday this week we were treated to another 12cm of the fluffy white stuff. The conditions are looking amazing and alongside the huge amounts of snowfall, we’ve been treated to a good dose of sunshine too. On Sunday we enjoyed a wonderful sunny day and if you were lucky enough to be in the area, Les Grands Montets opened last weekend.
So now we have a good snow depth accumulating on a really solid base, due to the colder temperatures. During the next few days we are forecast to receive around another 5cm of snow. You can expect light south westerly winds and temperatures ranging from 0°C to -3°C. Up until the weekend the freezing level remains low at around 1000 - 1500 metres, however it is looking to become milder from Sunday with precipitation forecast and the freezing level rising up to around 2600 metres. But that’s still a few days away and could all change.
Although the snow coverage is looking good, be aware that as this is early season and the off-piste areas will not have been skied much yet, so not well compacted and there is likely to be thin coverage in many places. In general the avalanche risk is marked as considerable at ⅗.
This weekend (9 December) it is planned that Flegere will open, but do check the tourist office website for confirmation before heading up there. The Chamonix resorts all officially open on 16 December.
