Chamonix Activity Report: 23rd August 2005
Rain; apparently it's not normal to have quite so much during August, particularly when the rest of Europe is suffering from lack of it. Pac-a-mac, kagoole, rain poncho; call it what you will, this weekend everyone was sporting one. Despite the lack of a mountainous view, life & holidays go on as usual in Chamonix – it takes more than some drizzle to put a dampener on activities here!
Hiking is still going strong despite the rain (although you might want a waterproof cover for your map) and as the lift systems are in operation all year, so is mountain biking. Unless you're training for bad weather conditions, rock climbing at Les Gaillands is not a likely event – instead use the indoor climbing walls in Chamonix or Les Houches. For activities such as white water rafting or bodyboarding it makes no difference – you'll get wet anyway! Other indoor activities can be found in town such as ice-skating, swimming, ice-hockey matches, tennis (all at the sports centre – Centre Sportif Richard Bozon), ten-pin bowling and the Casino.
A rainy day may be a good excuse to take in a bit of culture. The Alpine Museum (Musee Alpin) in the centre of town gives you a history on the Chamonix valley, its geology and some of its famous mountain guides & explorers. It also houses a changing exhibition on the first floor – currently showing engravings by artist Francois Ravanel. The entrance ticket of €4 (€3 with a Cart d'Hote and less again for children under 18) also gives you entrance to the L'Espace Tairraz – currently showing the impressive Gay Couttet photographic collection – and vice versa, although you only have 8 days in which to use it. Both open daily from 2pm – 7pm. There are also a number of galleries, hotel foyers and the even the entrance to the library (biblioteque) exhibiting original works by local artists.
Sometimes a rainy day can make you just want to stay indoors and get cosy & warm. If your apartment comes with a TV & DVD player you can hire a movie from one of the two rental kiosks in town (one next to the BP garage on Avenue Ravanel le Rouge and the other up by the station on Avenue Michel Croz). They look a bit like cash point machines & similarly you insert your credit card, make your selection on screen & wait for the movie to pop out of the slot. Easy. If the big screen is more your thing then visit the Vox Cinema (sneakily tucked in-between an Italian restaurant and the Mona Lisa Galleries in the courtyard Cour du Bartavel on Rue du Docteur Paccard) tickets cost €7 – look out for the Version Originale or Version Anglais if you want to watch it in English. Failing all that, you could find one of the Salons du The (tea rooms), order up a hot chocolate and a tasty cake and watch the world go by.
Thankfully, the weather reports indicate that things will brighten up toward the end of the week. We're keeping our fingers crossed that it does as this weekend is the North Face Ultra Trial tour of Mont Blanc - good luck to everyone participating.
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
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
