© Grand Montets
2nd December 2017, partial opening of Chamonix ski area
Ski this weekend at Grands Montets and Les Houches
After a fairly snowy November, rife with rumours of pre-season weekend skiing in Chamonix, Grand Montets and Les Houches have finally announced a partial opening for the 2nd and 3rd of December.
At Grands Montets, they’ll be opening Plan Joran, Lognan, Bochard, Marmottons, Tabé lifts. Open pistes are the Bochard, Marmottons, Coqs and Route Liaison plan Joran. This means most of the front side of the mountain will be accessible with minimal effort. No doubt intrepid locals will be putting in skin tracks to access the higher parts of the mountain. But, this early in the season, the snow bridges covering the crevasses on the glaciated terrain higher up the mountain will be thin or even non-existent. Snow cover is likely to be thin off the piste, so ski carefully.
In Les Houches, it the Coupe du Monde and Maisonneuve lifts will be opening. The Kandahar piste will be skiable to the bottom from the top of the Maison Neuve lift. Like everywhere else, and especially at these lower elevations, off-piste skiing will be limited. However, the grass underneath the thin layer of snow is likely to be somewhat more forgiving than the rocks at Grands Montets.
Snow is to continue falling for the rest of the week before clearing up and allowing the sun to come out over the weekend. It will be bitterly cold out on the slopes, so prepare accordingly. Though this marks the start of the winter season, lifts will not be open full time until later in the season, you can check when you’re favourite area is due to open here.
