Chamonix Snow Report: 13th November 2007
It's been snowing this weekend! Properly snowing! As predicted, Friday dawned a damp and cloudy day but instead of drops of rain it was flakes of snow that were falling from the sky. Smallish flakes continued to fall on and off throughout the day, settling in a blanket over the higher areas of the valley. Cars coming down from Argentiere and Le Tour were all sporting a good couple of inches on their roofs. Whilst there wasn't much that night, on Saturday morning the flakes were much bigger and falling faster, settling on the ground as far down as Sallanches (alt: ~600m). This was the case for most of the Alps over the weekend, as all the major resorts transformed into their snowy winter guises. Today, whilst the streets of Chamonix are clear, the snow line is visibly hovering around the height of the Petit Balcon walks (about 200m above the town) and it looks like more snow is coming our way on tonight/tomorrow when the rain snow limit is meant to drop to 400m.
At Lac Blanc (2330m), Chamonix-Weather.com has measured a snow depth of 5cms which is great news when you consider this time last year, we were still out hiking at that altitude. According to the Compagnie du Mont Blanc there are 20cms now at 2700m and artificial snow preparations have begun in earnest on the Grands Montets this week. But when the first snow falls like this, there is only one place to go and see just how much has really come down – the Aiguille du Midi - and that's exactly where we headed on Sunday, sneaking in one last trip before it closed for it's annual maintenance that evening. Despite the thick swathe of cloud covering the mountains down to about 1500m, normally absolutely pointless weather to consider going up the Midi; when we stepped onto the cable car at 1.30pm, the cloud had miraculously burnt off leaving the most spectacular of autumnal days. Whilst the blue sky and sunshine were perfect Midi conditions, the information board at the bottom revealed a different story with a temperature of -10, 70-80km/h winds and 20-30cms of fresh snow! Fortunately we were well prepared with our full on winter jackets, hats and gloves as we hopped onto the lift with what must have been one of the last groups of Japanese tourists of the season.
At the mid-station, apart from the occasional animal track, it didn't appear that anyone else had been up there, even though the Grand Balcon Nord still looked passable. Once at the very top the wind was fairly buffeting the cabin around as it docked into its permanently frozen station. On crossing the wooden bridge that links the two main viewing areas, a quick poke of the head over the side revealed the full strength of the wind; a sensation a bit like skydiving but with your feet still firmly on the ground. Not an area to hang around in such weather, we headed straight out the back to the Mont Blanc Terrasse, usually one of the quieter viewpoints but definitely one of the most spectacular. This is the platform that the Cosmiques Arête leads up to and in slightly more clement conditions, there is usually a steady stream of climbers clambering over the railings. On Sunday though, there wasn't a soul out, with the wind absolutely whipping up the right hand side of the arête and causing large drifts of fresh snow to gather on the lee side. There didn't appear to be much action at all in any of the usual areas, with the fierce wind and freezing temperatures keeping the alpinists safely indoors.
Now that interseason is fully on us and the weather has been that unpredictable mixture fairly typical for November, I've been less enticed to get out and about as much as usual. However, I've been making the most of these more relaxing weekends by catching up on my reading and have come across a couple of Chamonix related corkers in recent days that you might be tempted to delve into and immerse yourself in some pre-winter Chamonix life.
Many of you will already be familiar with Jonathan Trigell, our video snow reporter last winter, who is also proving to be a dab hand at putting pen to paper. His second book “Cham” was released last month and I have just managed to get my hands on a copy. As the title suggests, it is based in and around Chamonix and focuses on the lives of a number of seasonal workers throughout the winter. For anyone who has done a season themselves or spent any length of time in the mountains you will find no end of familiar references to seasonal life from the stereotypical drunken ski bums to powder riding in the legendary backcountry terrain that Chamonix is so famous for. On reading the acknowledgements in the front, I realised that it wasn't just the tales of daily life that seemed so familiar; there are also quite a few recognisable names that I'm sure provided the inspiration for a number of the key characters! The great thing about this tale is that it isn't purely focussed on the hedonistic side of seasonnaire life; the central theme concentrates on much darker events taking place in this idyllic mountain setting.
I'm also now engrossed in “Life and Limb” by Jamie Andrew, his incredible true story of climbing the North Face of Les Droites (4000m) which towers above the Argentiere Glacier along with L'Aiguille Verte, L'Aiguille du Triolet and Les Courtes. The book documents his survival and rescue after five nights trapped out on the peak. During his ordeal, he not only witnessed the death of his friend beside him on the mountain, he also had to come to terms with losing all of his limbs to frostbite. I'm not spoiling the story here, this is all written on the back, but if you've enjoyed any of Joe Simpson's novels then I'm sure you'll find this one as equally un-put-downable. I wasn't familiar with Les Droits myself but when we were up the Midi at the weekend, I could see exactly where the nightmare had taken place and found it hard to believe that anyone could have survived what he went through.
When I have been out and about in town in the last week, there are still plenty familiar faces around in the usual interseason haunts; Chambre 9, Le Vagabond, Casa Valerio, No Escape, MBC – so if you do find yourself heading up the valley then you don't need to worry about going hungry or being at a loose end. If you're in search of more intellectual stimulation, then INSTED, the local language school, has still got some spaces left on its December courses. Starting November 26th until December 21st they are running a 4 week intensive French course aimed at brushing up your skills before the season starts, as well as intermediate and advanced courses every Monday evening from 6pm – 8pm. Contact the school directly for more details.
Well, with a snow storm predicted for this evening, I'm off back to the sofa with my book! Til next week :O)
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
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
Stats
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Level 1
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0
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0
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0
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Alt. Summit: 2700
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Alt. Last Snow: 3500
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High Temp.: 7
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Alt. High Temp.: 1050
