Chamonix Activity Report: 2nd October 2007
Boy, are we glad to see the sunshine again! Last week was really not pleasant to put it mildly, with the cloud sunk right down on the town for the majority of the week, accompanied by cold temperatures and wet weather. Whilst this resulted in a fairly inactive few days on our part, the plus side was that we had significant snowfall higher up which is getting us all excited for the winter. Actually on Wednesday/Thursday, the snow line crept briefly down to about 1300m on the Brevent side, where a light dusting on the trees was definitely visible through the occasional gap in the cloud. It didn't last at that level but it's still hanging around at about 2000m below the Midi, on the shadier north side of the valley.
The snow did not make pleasant conditions for the Aiguilles Rouges trail runners on Sunday, and in fact the organisers had to make last minute changes to the route due to too much snow on some of the summits. Instead of climbing up and over Brevent, competitors were re-directed from the Col des Montets, up les Posettes (above Le Tour) before descending to the finish in Vallorcine. In doing so, they added another 600m of altitude gain to the already thigh busting 3400m of the original course! Having opted against cheering them off at 5am from Servoz, I popped along to watch some of them finish at lunch time in Vallorcine and the extra climb didn't seem to have taken much of a toll at all. First place went to Vincent Delebarre in 6hrs, 21 mins & 41 secs, who took the lead on the descent down Col Cornu and maintained it over trail regular, Dawa Sherpa and Christophe Jacquerod (SWI) (2nd and 3rd respectively). In the women's race, it was France all the way with seasoned trail runner, Sylvie Negro, claiming the women's title in 8hrs, 22 mins & 35 secs, and France overall taking 4 of the first five places in the women's category. A full list of results can be found here. With over 400 entrants in this first edition of the Aiguilles Rouges trail run, the organisers must have been delighted with the turn out and support for the runners and we're sure it will become a regular feature on the Cham summer events calendar from now on.
After the race, I took the opportunity to check out the snow cover elsewhere in the valley, and can let you know that Grands Montets has got a distinct white hat on it at the moment, certainly to below the top station of Le Herse Chair. Due to its sunnier aspect, Le Tour only has the faintest smattering on its highest points, and the same can now be said for Brevent/Flegere, with the sun and warmer temperatures of the last couple of days melting most of the snow that fell last week. The weather forecast over the next few days is a bit mixed with sunny spells predicted up to and including the weekend but interspersed with showers that will fall as snow above 3000m.
Many of you have been asking us about the residents' rates for ski passes this coming winter – still no news just yet, but you can be sure that as soon as we hear we'll be shouting it from the rooftops! In the mean time, something that may be of interest to any residents and home owners in the valley is a meeting to be hosted by the Mairie on Friday, October 12th to clarify tax information for foreign residents. A grey area for many, the meeting will be conducted in English and will cover topics such as: property owner tax, building/buying/selling taxes, tax on income earned in and/or outside of France, and local taxes. The meeting will be held at 2.30pm at the Majestic with snacks and treats served afterwards.
If you would rather poke hot needles in your eyes than go to a taxation meeting then there are still plenty bars and restaurants open around town to keep you entertained, and if you're a rugby fan, then several places are showing live World Cup matches on the big screen (Vagabond, Le Vert, Le Pub), so no need to miss out when you're here. Whilst the tourist crowds have pretty much dispersed until winter, now is still a great time to get out and about on foot or on your mountain bike and explore the trails up and down the valley before the snow descends on us good and proper.
- 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
