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Chamonix Snow Report: 10th February 2009

featured in Snow report Author Tom Wilson-North, Updated

It's not often the valley's lifts close for business, but that's exactly what happened today. Storms have been battering the North-West of France, and here in the East we had fairly substantial wind though last night (9/2). Today we woke up to thick cloud above 1700m, accompanied by high winds. You could see the spindrifts of blown snow curling off the peaks when windows opened up in the cloud layer.

This is going to have a dodgy knock on effect tomorrow (11/2); high winds during snowfall destabilizes the off-piste hugely, so take care if you're planning on hitting anything off-groomed. Nowadays it seems like it's about who can get to the powder first rather than who can ride it the safest...err on the side of caution up there.

We braved the pea soup and high winds to check out the snow in Les Houches today. When Chamonix is closed, the lower and more sheltered sister resort tends to stay open. And best of all, on days like today, the MBU pass is welcome at Les Houches. Having braved the queues at the cash desks to get our Les Houches daypass, we headed up. And soon wished we hadn't! The snow was soggy and sticky, grabbing hold of our bases and challenging gravity's downhill pull. Even in steep sections it was hard to get any decent speed up...and the flats were full of skiers skating and snowboards hopping along or one-footing it.

The snow was inconsistent and varied, evidence of a dropping snowline over the course of the storm (which began last night). At the top, the turns in the fresh stuff were zippy and windbuffed, but worth having. Lower down, the snow had the sticky texture of ice cream that had been left out all night, stuck back in the freezer for a day, then left out in a warm room for half an hour. This was the sticky stuff, especially on groomed sections. We much prefered the water-saturated, rained-on snow on the lower part of the low-anyway mountain, which was as slippery as a soapy ice cube and slushy in feel...almost like corn.

If you prefer getting rained on in town to getting snowed on at altitude, check out our Bad Weather Guide for everything to do in the valley on days like today.

Valentine's Day is this Saturday - if you hadn't forgotten already, guys? - and what better way to express your love for snowsports than by entering the Helly Hansen Winter Ride competition at Brévent-Flégère? The formula for the comptition is simple...the fastest rider down an off-piste slope wins. The course is marked by four or five gates, which you need to pass through, and competitors go one at a time. It is a thoroughly non-intimidating affair, with holidaymakers and have-a-go-heroes turning up on skis, snowboards, monoskis, rental gear, the works. It's easy to do well if you can link a turn or two, and it's very easy to do well if you're a girl at this male-dominated event! Registration is at 8.30am on Saturday 14th Feb in the Flégère car park and the winner gets entered into the international World Freeride Tour event at Brevent on Sunday (gulp).

If you prefer a more traditional wining-and-dining approach to your St Valentine's Day, and you're going to be in Chamonix, here are some ideas for romantic dinners. Munchies on Rue des Moulins is the classic, with Asian-French-Swedish cuisine to get your other half in the mood. Then, I love Atmosphère - down the stairs next to the post office - with incredibly modern French cuisine, fishtanks full of lobsters and a killer fondue. Just watch out if you're the on facing upstream on the covered terrace that overhangs the river...motion sickness victims beware! Finally, you must know of my affinity for Casa Valeria opposite the Casino; their pizzas are fabulous, their pasta incredible and their staff so friendly you may as well be sitting over a candlelit dinner with them. More info in the Restaurant Guide.

See you in the lift line tomorrow!


Tom

PS I normally adjust the pics that go with this column to look better - this time I've left them in their original form to give you an idea of the visibility and conditions today.

Stats

Avalanche Risk
  • Level 3

Snow Report
  • 0

  • Total Pistes: 75

  • Alt. Resort: 1972

  • Alt. Summit: 3233

  • Alt. Last Snow: 3233

  • High Temp.: -2

  • Alt. High Temp.: 1050