Chamonix Snow Report: 17th March 2009

This morning, the Gore Tex in the jacket earnt it's living up at the Aiguille du Midi. I've been up there to snowboard four or five times a season for the last three years, but this was my first time up as the most experienced rider in a completely autonomous group.

We were well prepared though, having spent the last couple of days practising glacial safety techniques; the knots for roping up, how to set up a z-pulley to get someone out of a crevasse, how to get crampons on and off in a hurry, transceiver searches...that kind of stuff.

The weather looked stable for today, so we went for it and had an excellent time. Conditions on the Vrai Vallée were windblown and sun-crusty, with moguls in the heavier-tracked areas. That said, we managed to find some fresh-ish snow and, most importantly, took a ton of photos to remember the magnificent views of this special occasion.

I was nervous before setting off early this morning. I'd heard so many horror stories of ill-advised and poorly-equipped tourists narrowing escaping death (or not) up there on those hungry, peaceless glaciers. A lot of thought went into today. I'd picked my day of calm, sunny, stable weather. I'd picked my partner - a well-equipped American ski instructor new to the Alps, but familiar with the techniques listed above. We minimised the risks to which we exposed ourselves.

However, if I was riding a route down that was new to me, or I didn't have control over all of these factors, I'd have taken a high-mountain guide. The guide's fee is a small price to pay for an incredible, challenging, mind-expanding and internally fulfilling day out so get in touch with one of the guide agencies in town to work something out for your trip here. It's unmissable up there.

Yesterday we skiied Les Grands Montets and were happy with the chalky and cool snow conditions. The top cable car, which accesses the highest part of the resort, was closed due a mechanical problem, so we were left doing runs off the Bochard and Herse lifts.

If you're heading to Grands do keep an eye on the Lift Status in case the problem with the Top crops up again. Meanwhile, the park is back open and has been reshaped after a couple of days of competition-related closure; the jibs, hits and kickers really are a ton of fun, especially in the sun-softened midday snow.

On Sunday we fully intended to ski the L'ENSA couloir at Brevent. The chute, named (in French) after the national school of skiing & alpinism based here in Chamonix, is off to the left of the Brevent top station when you look up at it from Planpraz. It's steep, 40° to 45° for the first couple of turns, until it opens out into a wide couloir.

What we hadn't counted on was the giant spikey rock sticking out of the snow half way down. Basically, it's a 15m mandatory rappel down to the rock. By this time I was blubbering in my boots - I get vertigo at the best of times - so we bottled it! Instead, we headed back up and round the corner to the Payot area a little further along. Vertically speaking, it's directly above the Gaillands climbing wall. The powder fields and couloirs we tracked in this zone were very soft and the skiers amongst us were struggling with the foot or so of water-saturated, heavy slush. Excellent fun on a snowboard, though...

As the end of the season edges closer, the brown chases the white higher and mountain bike racks begin to outnumber roof bars for skis. For a good while the weather looks like it'll remain stable, save for a stormy fluctuation this weekend. Late March powder turns? Bring them on!

See you out there.

Tom