Chamonix Snow Report: 13th December 2008

There is snow from top to bottom, even in town and the best of it is at altitude. The notorious Top télécabine at Grands Montets opened today, with half-hour queues, and the best snow I've skied this winter is up there. There's not much base, which meant that we found blue ice whenever we pushed hard into a turn, and the crevasses have moved over summer, so get informed before you head off-piste. The snowbridges we crossed towards the Rognan seemed tough enough; from there down, it was incredibly deep, dry, untracked powder all the way to the Refuge (just above the glacier). We were happy with stability on most aspects, although the avalanche level was 3/5 so care is needed, especially later in the day when southerly slopes have warmed in the sun and become unstable.

The tracked off-piste snow at Le Tour was lovely and soft, perfect for charging through, and the low-angle gullies on the front side were packed with blown snow allowing us to get high up the walls, letting skiers and riders pull off floaty, surfy laybacks.

The pistes in all areas are in great shape...but if you're headed to Grands Montets, let the Pierre A Ric homerun thaw over for the morning until you tackle it (a lot less icy after midday).

Meanwhile I'll leave you with some of the money shots from the last few days at Les Grands Montets and Le Tour; the storm cleared yesterday and the sky broke blue today. Good times.

Tom