Happy New Year from Chamonet.com: 4th January 2012

New Year's Eve was yet another snowy day in Chamonix with huge flakes of the white stuff coating the town in a beautiful layer that sparkled under the Christmas lights. Beautiful as it may be, it does make getting around quite difficult so a tip when packing for Chamonix is to leave the high heels behind; New Year's Eve or not, big boots and warm coats are the ticket.

Our night out started with a stroll through town, taking in the atmosphere and popping in for the odd drink en route. The bars were quietening down from the apres-ski session but the restaurants were full to bursting as sensible folks lined their stomachs in preparation for the night ahead.

We got to Chamonix Sud for about 10pm, by which time people were starting to get into the party spirit. None of the three bars that make up the unholy trinity that is Cham Sud were charging entry, so we did as many people seemed to be doing and meandered back and forth between each of them. We headed first to South Bar where Birds With Swords were playing a great set of mostly rock/ indie covers, with their usual laid-back style. One of the few bars that had embraced the party spirit with a theme, the upstairs bar was Heaven with angelic bar staff whereas downstairs was Hell with demons serving flaming shots. Over at Munster, Juggernaut of Rock were setting the scene with heavier rock classics and a great deal of fancy guitar work that got everyone dancing on the bar - top marks to the staff who managed to keep the drinks flowing despite having a multitude of stomping feet all over their workspace! Monkey Bar was having a great night too, with live music from Morgane & Travers until midnight, followed by banging beats from DJs Delf and SickNote until the wee hours. The festive spirit of peace and love to all was cast aside for a massive snowball battle between the 3 bars in the middle of the square.

With midnight nearly upon us we headed over to the centre of Chamonix for the usual New Year's Eve mayhem. The central square was as packed as I've ever seen it and on the stroke of midnight it was a frenzy of cheering, hugging, shrieking and kissing total strangers of various nationalities. The air was thick with smoke from fireworks and there was an artillery of champagne corks being fired into the sky.

Once we managed to extricate ourselves from the throng there was only one place to head - Winter Sessions at the Podium. From there on in the night is a bit of a blur if truth be told, but rest assured that we had a great night and if my throbbing feet the next morning are anything to go by then we certainly danced our way into 2012.

I would like to say that I am now detoxing and giving myself a much needed break, but then who would write these reports? So, it is once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more...

This evening I highly recommend heading over to the Jekyll to catch Daisy B in action, a lady with a great voice who was a big hit on the Chamonix apres circuit last winter. The splendid thing about the Jekyll is that you can get there a bit early and have something hearty to eat before hitting the vino. The food there is great for winter nights; I am vegetarian and love their curry, whereas my carnivorous friends rave about the pie dinners.

Sports fans should head to the ice rink on Friday night to see the Chamonix Chamois play the Rouen Dragons in the Magnus League. I can't pretend to understand any of the intricacies of ice hockey but it is an exciting game to watch (especially when a fight breaks out, which is often) and the rink has a bar at one end where you can get food and drinks. If that isn't enough excitement for one night then take your match ticket to Le Tof after midnight, where you can swap it for a free drink.

Right, I'm off to have a little wander round Chamonix now to find out what else is coming up in this party-fest town, no rest for the wicked! Keep an eye on our What's On Calendar for all the latest events.