Chamonix Activity Report: 24th August 2007

The morning I left was just after the second evening of celebrations for the Fete des Guides, a live music concert from Riké, Ridan and Max Romeo which seemed to go down a storm. As with the previous evening, it was dry and clear and more than 3000 people gathered to dance the night away under the stars. I'm glad we had good weather for the Fete des Guides for once as it's a great event (and for a very good cause) and it's been rained off for the last two years. As I headed past Les Gaillands on the way to the airport the following morning, I got an idea on just how good the night had been when I spotted this guy sleeping off the party in the bus stop. Clearly a bit of forward planning on his part, he had a sleeping bag, pillow and a nice cold beer within reach for when he woke up!

So although it's been beautiful since I got back, I hear it was a bit hit and miss for the remainder of last week with the snow line creeping down to 2000m on more than one occasion. In the morning there is now a definite nip in the air that makes you think twice about wearing flip flops on the bike to work, but with temperatures in the afternoon still reaching a very pleasant mid twenties, it's worth braving that early morning chill. It looks like we're in for a great weekend with 100% sunshine forecast for Saturday and Sunday and continuing on until mid week when we're expecting a few thundery showers to head our way.

It's especially good news that the weather is set to be fine for the next few days as this weekend is the 5th edition of the North Face Ultra Trail. This incredibly gruelling race for the über fit and slightly crazy begins and ends in Chamonix each year and follows the route of the Tour de Mont Blanc. This year around 2200 competitors are expected to take part in the 163km course that takes in nearly 9000m of altitude change. The main event sets off from the Tourist Office Square at 6.30pm this evening and heads in the direction of Les Houches from where the real challenging terrain begins. A shorter version of the race begins in Courmayeur at 10pm where another 1500 competitors run the 86kms back to Cham. In town at the moment, one feels a bit inappropriately dressed unless clad in lycra and supping from a Camelback. There is an equipment check at 3.30pm this afternoon where each competitor has the contents of their rucksack checked to ensure they have the essentials – water, head torch, first aid kit, whistle, etc. For more serious ailments, there are medical teams posted around the course and sport masseurs to rub those aching, cramping legs. Spectators can keep track of the runners' progress on the big screen that's set up at the start line. The leaders of the Courmayeur race usually arrive in town fairly early Saturday morning (from 8am) and the Ultra Trailers start arriving from around 4pm. If you're here then be sure to support them when they arrive back; some look as if they've just been for a quick jog around the park but others are absolutely in pieces. There is obviously a great camaraderie built up during the race as you see many people hobbling in being helped along by fellow runners, some of whom are well into their 60's. For a route that takes your average person 9-10 days to walk, the upper time limit for the ultra trail is 45 hours and the current record is 21 hours 6 minutes.

We'll bring you more updates and photos of the race next week.

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