Chamonix Snow Report: 17th May 2007
It's May. It's interseason. There are only three words to describe Chamonix this week – cold, wet & miserable! The rain hasn't really let up at all in the past few days and the snow line has crept back down to about 1500m which somewhat thwarted any ideas of early season rambles up on the higher trails. There must be some pretty great snow up on Grands Montets and the Aiguille du Midi at the moment which is kind of typical as the ski area closed for the season last Tuesday (8th) - our end of season dump arrived too late this year! Since then the Montenvers train and the Midi cable car remain the only lifts open as they don't close at all between the winter and summer seasons. A word of caution if you're tempted to do one last trip down the Vallée Blanche; the fixed rope down the arête was removed at the start of May and due to the high temperatures of recent weeks, the crevasses were widening and the snow bridges were getting weaker, rendering the route considerably more technical than normal. Together with the increasingly rocky moraine at the bottom it is really only to be attempted by experienced mountaineers or in the company of a guide.
So although it's been a wet one, we haven't let the rain dampen our spirits too much and, having visitors this week, we've even managed a foray along some of the lower hiking trails. The Petit Balcon walks on both sides of the valley are clear (and deserted!) and the forest offers sufficient shelter to avoid the completely drowned rat look. We came across one of the trail maintenance teams hard at work clearing fallen debris in order to get the network of valley trails prepared in time for the summer visitors'. The lifts start to open again in Les Houches from June 9th and you can find full details of all the summer opening dates here and on our home page. It's also possible to walk the Sentiers des Gardes on the south side of the valley (about 500m above the valley floor) and the route to the Cascade du Dard is also clear, so if you are coming over in the next week or so, there are still a good number of trails to explore and get those walking legs back in gear. Planards Leisure Park with its tree top adventure trail, summer toboggan run and trampolines is also open now and is a great place to visit for all the family.
This time of year also typically brings a flurry of building works and there are construction teams dotted all over the place at the moment, digging, drilling and knocking things down. You might have already noticed on the Place Balmat webcam that the centre of town is all dug up as they remove the next section of cobbles and replace them with large flagstones. One surprising demolition job is the BP Garage at the bottom end of town, which was selling petrol one day and then the tanks were ripped out and it's becoming apartments the next! We'll keep you posted on how that progresses but you can still buy petrol at Garage Betty on the outskirts of town (by the dechetterie) or at the Total garage and Super U in Les Houches.
Many of the bar and restaurant owners use the lull in May as a chance to grab a well earned break and so the choice of eateries and nocturnal entertainment is somewhat diminished at the moment. Having said that, L'Impossible, La Caleche, Bistrot des Sports and Bartavel are just some of the restaurants still open for business and Chambre 9, MBC and Bar'd Up are good choices for a cheeky drink or two until around 1am. If you're not ready to call it a night by then Le Tof in Cham Sud is the only real late night option and they will generally keep you entertained until 4am!
We were very pleased to discover that Chambre 9 opened its kitchen last weekend, and they have their delicious lunch and dinner menu up and running for the whole summer. We nipped in there last night and polished off starters of tuna tartar and gaspacho followed by sesame tuna with a mango salsa and Thai prawn curry, leaving just enough room for a crème brulée (with two spoons) to finish off. Always a happy moment when Chambre start serving food again…..
With friends to entertain this week, we've made a concerted effort to get out and about and do stuff (although having a good selection of Desperate Housewives and The OC has taken the pressure off when the heavens truly opened!) One place we did visit that is absolutely fabulous whatever the weather, is Lavey Les Bains in Switzerland (about 15 minutes past Martigny towards Lausanne). There are thermal baths there that at 36 degrees, are the hottest in Switzerland. The complex has 3 pools (one indoor and 2 outdoor), whirlpools, pressure jets, water cascades, underwater massage loungers and a circular underwater current pool that we just could not get enough of! Then in addition to this 1000m2 outdoor pool area, there is also a sauna, steam room, Turkish bath and relaxation room making it a thoroughly chilled out experience. It makes no difference what the weather is doing here; you can't help but relax and enjoy, and in fact it is almost better to go here on a cooler day as the water temperature is so warm. It's open daily from 9am until 9pm (10pm Friday/Saturday) and you can buy a 3 hour ticket for CHF 24 (€16). Well worth a visit.
Stats
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Level 1
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0
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Total Pistes: 75
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0
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0
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Alt. Last Snow: 2500
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High Temp.: 10
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Alt. High Temp.: 1050
