Chamonix Mountain Report: 18th February 2013

Everybody keeps banging on about how great a winter it has been and they are right so if you haven’t been skiing yet, get on a plane or a train soon.

We have had some truly great skiing over the past couple of weeks, both in the high and low mountains. Big snowstorms have rolled in providing opportunities for some of the best tree skiing of the season. Once the storms passed through, the high mountains were definitely the goal...

The classic high mountain off piste descents in and around Chamonix such as the Vallee Blanche and the Pas de Chevre are currently in great condition. I hadn’t skied the Vallee Blanche for a few weeks but was amazed how well filled in it currently is when I was up there last week. The current conditions are the best I have seen for 20 years.

There were so many tracks heading down the Petit Envers it looked like the classic descent so we headed right of the Gros Rognan and got fresh untracked snow all the way. The snout of the glacier is getting a bit scraped but it is still ok and there is a good boot track up to the buvette.

Recent weather patterns have seen spells of high pressure between snowfalls allowing for some ski touring of late. Most of the classic tours in the Aiguilles Rouges are in really good condition - a Chamonix resident of 20 seasons told me she thought the traverse on Le Crochue Berard was as good as she has ever seen it : NB remember, conditions do change.

The cold temps have kept the low altitude snow good as well. I have been out exploring in the Chablais - a short drive from Chamonix where you get a great day's touring. It's tough to beat a tour where you just get out of the car and start skinning - no need for lifts or long walks in. If you don’t fancy skinning from the road, then the tours around Les Contamines are a great option with a couple of lifts to gain height, then an hour or 2 hours skinning depending on what you fancy.

We are heading into the holiday season now with lifts getting noticeably busier, so if you want to ski untracked snow be prepared to get out of bed and on the first lift.

Looking at the week ahead, the weather forecast suggests there'll be a bit of high pressure for the first half of the week so get up high and enjoy the fantastic views that Chamonix has to offer. It looks like conditions will be great for ski touring in the Aiguilles Rouges and in the Argentiere basins off the Midi.

Thursday looks like a change in the weather with some snow showers leading into new storm cycle next weekend so a pretty good week ahead.

The recent avalanche on Brevent serves as a good remind that just because the sun is out, we can’t switch off our avalanche radar so read the avalanche bulletin and keep your eyes open.

I’m off to Armenia for some exploratory ski mountaineering which should be a great adventure.

Enjoy the snow.

Bruce Goodlad
The Mountain Adventure Company

Bruce is sponsored by Haglofs and Dynafit

NB: Off piste skiing and mountaineering are dangerous. The opinions expressed in these articles are very much time and condition specific and the content is not intended in any way to be a substitute for hiring a mountain guide, undergoing professional mountaineering training and/or the individual's own backcountry decision making.