Chamonix Snow Report: 15th February 2007

Yesterday started off cloudy and milder than Tuesday. We were riding at Grands Montets again, as we had unfinished business there: on Tuesday the Bochard and top cable car were closed, so there was going to be plenty of untracked powder left to play in. At just before eleven yesterday we were riding up the Bochard gondola planning our descent through Combe de la Pendant. We headed out to the skier's left and although it wasn't totally untracked it was very good. The wind hadn't messed with the snow too much and there was no hint of heaviness. Compared to the last time I went through the bowl a week or so ago it was a 500% improvement. Some thought the snow was better than the day before and it would have been hard to argue otherwise.

We had a run through the dream forest too, but as the day wore on the weather started to close in. The trees offered some shelter but the temperature seemed to rise too, turning what was light powder into humid, heavy porridge at the lower levels of Grands Montets. To top it all by early afternoon it started to rain as high up as 2000m. The high winds also caused the Bochard and top cable car to close. We stuck with it a little longer, riding the heavy off piste accessed by Plan Roujon and Retour Pendant but in the end headed home soaking wet from the rain.

The rain seemed to keep falling all night, as I could hear it on our roof, but by the morning it had stopped and the cloud was clearing. It looked like it was going to be a blue-sky powder day. We headed up to Brevent and were a little surprised by the length of the queue for the lift as it snaked up the hill to the car park. But, first appearances were deceptive and in spite of the queue we were at the top within 30 minutes. Below us was cloud and there was clearly a temperature inversion in full swing as on the mountain it felt very warm, if a bit windy still. Late in the morning the Brevent–Planpraz cable car hadn't opened yet so we made our way over to Flegere. Our first run into the Charlanon bowl had some superb snow on it. We stuck close to the piste but high up on the ridge to the skier's right. It had been loaded up by the wind and was fantastic: soft snow that just lent itself to cranking down some hard powder turns. The rest of the day was going to have to be good to match that.

Flegere seemed to have been even more affected by the wind than Brevent. Aside from some windpacked snow, this also meant that there were some massive cornices, and fun shapes formed in the snow. Flegere had been turned into a natural snowpark: it was so much fun. There was plenty of avalanche debris around too, especially in the Floria area. We could see crown walls all along the ridges of the Aiguilles Rouge. Combe Lachenal remained closed all day because of avalanche risk too; although I did notice people were ignoring the warnings and going in there.

Lower down the snow was less good: it had a rain crust from yesterday on everything below about 2100m, which made for some interesting crashes as edges cut though the crust to the still-soft powder below. The crust softened a little in the afternoon but never completely went away. The pistes below the rain level started off pretty icy too, until the afternoon sun had softened them, and up there this afternoon it was very warm. Unsurprisingly after all the snow we've had recently the pistes are in excellent condition: no rocks, no bare patches just great snow.

Later in the afternoon the cloud in the valley dissipated and we were left with blue skies. Rather than wait for the end-of-day rush to the cable car to download we decided to ignore the closed signs and take Praz piste, which is the run back down the Les Praz. The snow looked about as good as it's going to get anytime soon so why not? For the top three quarters of the run back down it was good enough: it was wet and sticky but perfectly rideable. However, we didn't make it all the way on skis and snowboards, and the very last section had to be walked because it was just too rocky. It was better than taking the cable car down, and walking downhill in the sunshine wasn't exactly unpleasant. By the time I arrived home our thermometer in the garden was reading +10C, and I think it's forecast to be even warmer this weekend so make the most of the snow while it's still here and have fun kids!

Check out what to do around town once the lifts have closed with our all new Apres Ski Report - a weekly round up of what's hot and where to party in Chamonix!

Useful Information
Cross-country skiing is Open
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

We will be keeping this Chamonix snow report updated often during the season, but if you want even more up-to-date news on the ski conditions, why not sign up for our Dump Alert? We'll email you each time it snows enough to significantly change the skiing conditions. It's great to know that the snow is falling in the run-up to your holiday, and it might even allow you to book a last-minute weekend when the snow is particularly good. The service is free, and you can unsubscribe whenever you like.

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