Chamonix Snow Report: 17th February 2006

We headed up Grands Montets this morning. The avalanche control set the opening back until 10:15 a.m., and we arrived at about 10:30 and queued for around 20 minutes before we heading up on the Plan Joran chair. Once up we could see that things were going to be very different from yesterday. It was still snowing but this morning it was snowing much more heavily, probably the heaviest I've seen this season. People were getting covered in a lot of snow just queuing up to get on the Plan Roujon chair. The wind was much stronger too, causing some serious drifting and making the chairs swing and our faces cold as we rode up.

On the hill we bumped into some Americans that we'd seen on the lift a few days ago. They'd spent the week struggling on the hard pack and ice – their wide Atomic powder ride skis were not really the right tools for the job until today. The fatter and longer the better.

The open bowls we rode yesterday had been covered in a thick layer of fresh light powder, and today it really was powder. The wet heavy snow from yesterday had formed a great base making the snow conditions just about as good as they get. The wind was the only problem though, and combined with the heavy snow visibility at the top of the chairs was pretty poor; once we reached the shelter of the trees, however, things improved. The runs through the trees to the cat track that leads to Plan Roujon chair were fantastic. Dropping the rocks and small cliffs was so much fun, the soft powder created pillow soft landings. However, our runs through the trees were numbered. The increasing wind meant that the Grands Montets area closed early today at about 1:00 p.m. We managed to get three runs in through the trees before things closed down. It was so good that even though the lift was closing we did one more run knowing that we'd have to hike back up to Lognan.

We joined the exodus to Lognan; I've never seen so many skiers and boarders walking uphill at once. There was the option of downloading on the Plan Joran chair but hardly anyone was taking it down, opting instead for the hike and ride down the Pierre a Ric. Some even headed straight down through the trees to the valley, pretty risky with the current very high avalanche danger.

Current conditions at 4:00 p.m. today in Argentiere are that it's still snowing, more lightly now but still continuously. It's -1ºC on our balcony and we have an impressive 150cm of snow in our garden. The snow doesn't look like stopping anytime soon. When it eventually stops snowing and the mountain starts to reopen conditions here are going to epic: good news for anyone heading out on holiday soon. Bring your fat skis and powder boards.

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