Chamonix Activity Report: 11th October 2005

The entire collection is on long-term exhibition at the town's smart gallery Espace Tairraz, which is over the pedestrian bridge behind the church and Maison de Montagne. It is a surprisingly stylish and modern building, (as opposed to the ugly concrete monstrosities the town planners normally appear to favour) and is easily accessible on foot or by car, as the St Michel underground car park is directly beneath it. The gallery is open daily from 2pm – 7pm and costs €4 to get in (cheaper with your Carte d'Hote). The ticket then allows you free entry to the Alpine Museum (Musee Alpin) if you visit within 8 days. This works vice versa if you buy entry to the museum (again €4)

The exhibition is packed with photos taken by key members of the Gay-Couttet family and has a reportage quality, which makes a nice change from the typical staid portraits usually associated with the era. It captures everyday activities of the family, as well as alpinists adventuring across the peaks of the valley (some incredible vantage points were found for these shots), the town going about its business and some great shots of early free-riders enjoying fresh tracks (good to know some things never change!). There are also shots of the first winter Olympics that were held in Chamonix in 1928, showing the opening ceremony, speed skating, hockey matches and my personal favourite: the ski jump, complete with man in suit and bow tie

Examples of the cameras and photography equipment used are dotted around the exhibition along with some interactive displays (to keep the kids amused?) and a couple of well-produced ‘real life' situation displays – walking out of the exhibition via a darkroom is a nice touch, and almost like a visit to Santa's Grotto – but without the tacky present

Espace Tairraz also houses an impressive collection of crystals found in the area (crystal hunting was once a lucrative career here) and provides some very descriptive explanations and diagrams of how various types of semi-precious stones are formed in different types of environments. It's a bit like stepping into a giant geographical textbook – and a French one at that!

The gallery has a small selection of related books in the foyer but lacks the usual gift-shop or coffee area. However, if you wanted to pick up a few postcards of the Gay-Couttet photography just pop into any of the newsagents or tourist shops in town as they are readily available and make a novel souvenir of your trip

Useful Information
Cross-country skiing is Closed
Piste Maps for Chamonix (pdf format), Les Houches (jpg format), Cross-country skiing (pdf format), and Mountain-bike trails (pdf format)
Current status for opening of Pistes & Lifts
Chamonix Webcam Index

We will be keeping this Chamonix snow report updated often during the season, but if you want even more up-to-date news on the ski conditions, why not sign up for our Dump Alert? We'll email you each time it snows enough to significantly change the skiing conditions. It's great to know that the snow is falling in the run-up to your holiday, and it might even allow you to book a last-minute weekend when the snow is particularly good. The service is free, and you can unsubscribe whenever you like.

Useful Links
Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research
French Avalanche Research Institute
Meteo France - Mountain weather and avalanche conditions bulletins (in French)
Henry's Avalanche Talk - popular avalanche training sessions based in French Alps as well as translation of current avalanche conditions
PisteHors.com - Backcountry Skiing and Snowboarding News in English for the French Alps. Excellent coverage of avalanche safety and advice

Additional snow and weather information provided, with thanks, by meteo.chamonix.com and the Tourist Office