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Chamonix Snow Report: 17th February 2009

featured in Snow report Author Tom Wilson-North, Updated

The flakes have started falling again as I switched my computer on to write this piece; like an American diner, free refills are everywhere...although it's powder, rather than root beer, that is flowing liberally up here this year.

The World Freeride Tour has been in town this weekend, with lots of people in brightly-coloured jackets, bulky backpacks and enormous skis hanging out on the slopes. The snow has been great and the weather has been fine; the only poo in the sandpit have been the liftlines, bigger than usual thanks to the influx of French lowlanders and city dwellers who have come up here for their school holidays. Things will have settled down by the end of the week, hopefully.

We escaped the crowds the other day and headed off-piste at La Flégère, the sister resort to Brevent that's accessed via the cablecar out at Les Praz. Friday was a powder frenzy up there, so we had to get creative to find the untouched lines in the tracked-out, above-tree-line terrain. Though there were sections of powder under the Index chairlift that hadn't been cut up, we hopped on the Floria lift to access some seriously grown-up riding. The Floria lift itself is quite a gentle button lift, which drags you slowly uphill instead of yanking free and accellerating away uphill with your dignity. There's a dog-leg left in the lift just before the arrival point, but it's really nothing to worry about. Anyway; the red Floria run winds down the base of a ravine to access the Le Trappe chair. But there's way better stuff up there. As you head down the piste, look to your right; a network of gullies intertwine, tumble and cascade down to the piste. There are some great turns to be had, and since there are so many junctions and options, it's a great place to find powder a few days after a storm. Take care as there are a couple of fairly big cliffs lurking in that area - that's why it's best to take a high-mountain guide with you if you're headed that way.

This morning the weather had closed in early, but with a day off and inspired by the Freeride Tour craziness we'd seen at the weekend, we headed up to ride more off-piste at Le Tour. Our targets were the notorious back bowls, off the Tete de Balme chair; regular readers & riders know about their sketchy cliffdrops and avalanche-prone aspect. Just as we got into the bowls today, the weather closed in; high wind sprung out of nowhere and stormclouds turned the gently, cruisy, tree-free freeride terrain into a whiteout. I was lucky to know the way out! After a couple of laps in equally-terrible conditions, we called it a day and headed back down to where we'd parked, next to the gondola, at Vallorcine. Next time I go up I'll take some better pics and talk about the lines in more detail.

The storm that's just rolled in has freezing levels down to a very-low 700m - that means that snow should be good on all aspects at all elevations. Cold storm systems like this one bring the best kind of snow - light and dry - so tomorrow is going to be good, especially up at the top of Les Grands Montets. The flakes that are falling are small, but they're coming down at quite a rate - an hour after starting this piece, there's already an inch on the railings outside my house.

See you in the lineup!


Tom

Stats

Avalanche Risk
  • Level 3

Snow Report
  • 0

  • Total Pistes: 75

  • Alt. Resort: 1972

  • Alt. Summit: 3233

  • Alt. Last Snow: 2800

  • High Temp.: -1

  • Alt. High Temp.: 1050