Chamonix Activity Report: 11th September 2005

Similar to its role in the Ultra-Trail a few weeks ago, Chamonix was host to the 3rd annual Classic Car Tour of Mont Blanc which meant we had all manner of beautifully polished & treasured vehicles parading around town. The stipulation for entrants is that their car is over 25 years old, the oldest this year being a 1937 Matford V8 Alsace

The tour is clearly less taxing than the Ultra-Trail version and the itinerary includes stops for lunch, coffee and cheese tasting along route. The cars cover around 430kms taking in the stunning scenery of the Aosta Valley, the Valais, the Col des Aravis, the Col des Saisies, le Cormet de Roseland, le Petit and Grand St Bernard, La Forclaz, and the Col de Montets – although the weather was not especially great for taking in panoramic views today, the sunny week we have just enjoyed turned to a misty drizzle

Late Saturday afternoon saw the cars gather in Place Balmat for registration and of course for car enthusiasts to indulge in a bit of voyeurism. The official start time for the tour was 6.30am Sunday morning with an estimated return to Chamonix centre for 5pm the same day. Despite the drizzle there was quite a good crowd to welcome the cars across the finish line and a small award ceremony to follow. Amongst some of the cars touring this year were vehicles ranging from Porsches to Landrovers, with plenty of Renault Alpine, Alfa Romeo, MG and Triumph etc in between

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