Chamonix Snow Report: 15th April 2008
We woke up this morning to find yet more snow falling in the Chamonix valley. Not content with snowing pretty much all of yesterday, the snow continued throughout the day, only easing off later this afternoon. We decided to check out Brevent and Flegere, as the webcam situated at the top of the Index showed a hint of sunshine trying to break through. The Brevent gondola is being upgraded this summer, and will provide new improved 10-person cabins, to take you directly on to the Combe des Vioz piste – a much better design that removes the bottle-neck at the two-man chair. With twice the capacity of the current gondola, the queues to get off the mountain at the end of the day will also be a thing of the past!
As the gondola took us up into the cloud, we resigned ourselves to skiing in white out conditions. And not just a white-out, but that weird half-light, that leaves you slightly disorientated, dizzy, and unable to distinguish up from down. How gratifying, then, to find the snow in such fantastic condition! There are piles of the stuff. The gentle blue pistes at Brevent all had 5-10 cm of fresh powder on them, covering a nicely packed base to provide superb skiing conditions. At the top of the Cornu, it was almost impossible to discern where the piste was, but with a foot of fresh powder to play in, it was a great run down to the Liason cable car.
Over in Flegere, the visibility was slightly better through the trees, but once on the Index lift, little balls of polystyrene snow began to batter us relentlessly. The best snow at Flegere is usually found at the top of the Floria drag lift, so we headed up there despite not being able to see much beyond our boards. The snow at the top was wonderful, light and fluffy – and barely touched. We didn't venture off piste here but you can bet your bottom dollar that the powder would have been thigh deep. The run down to the Trappe chairlift was covered in fresh powder, a foot deep even at the bottom.
With clearer skies forecast for the next couple of days, it's time to get out and enjoy these amazing conditions. Tomorrow looks like it's going to be mostly sunny, all the better to watch the final of the Cham Helly Hanson Winter Ride competition that'll be going on at the Grands Montets.
If you can get yourselves out here before the end of the season, the Compagnie du Mont Blanc are now offering discounted lift passes – a one-day Cham Le Pass will set you back 27€, or if you buy a one-day Mont Blanc Unlimited pass, you will get the 2nd (consecutive) day for only 1€.
Stats
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Level 3
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0
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Total Pistes: 75
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Alt. Resort: 2000
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Alt. Summit: 2700
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Alt. Last Snow: 2700
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High Temp.: 10
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Alt. High Temp.: 1050
