Chamonix Snow Report: 17th November 2008

One of the great things about Cham (and let's be honest, the list is pretty long!) is that you can drive 20 minutes in one direction and be in Switzerland, and 20 minutes in the other and be in Italy, which makes a whole host of other resorts very easily accessible. We're reaping the benefits of this more and more with the inclusion of Courmayeur on the Mont Blanc Unlimited pass last year, and that coverage being extended to unlimited Verbier as well for this coming season. At a 2 hour drive, Cervinia is not exactly a quick hop from Chamonix, but if you are ever here with a car and fancy a change of scene for the day, it's well worth the trip.

We set off early, leaving Chamonix under a low blanket of cloud and emerged from the Mont Blanc tunnel into the blazing sunshine of the Aosta Valley. The complete contrast in weather conditions between the French and Italian sides of Mont Blanc never ceases to amaze me. In just 11 short kilometres you can go from white out to blue bird, hard pack to powder, something which is worth remembering for the winter. We've got webcams on both sides of Mont Blanc, so keep an eye on them and you can be sure to find the conditions that best suit your mood. Whilst we've had some Fohn conditions blowing through the valley recently, Italy has been getting snow storms; and friends who went to Cervinia last week when the resort first opened up, were treated to some of the best powder conditions the winter can offer! It works both ways of course, and we certainly get our own fair share of snowfall when the Italians are skiting around on icy pistes!

Arriving in resort, it was clear that word of the great conditions had spread, and we took a little time to find a parking space. However, it was only once we were in the lift pass queue that the true volume of early season skiers became apparent. Now normally, buying a lift pass is a fairly straight forward affair; a short wait of course, “day pass please”, hand over the money (€34) and off you go. Not in Cervinia. It would appear that every potential skier has to first pass some sort of initiative test before any money can be exchanged. We waited 50 minutes – yes, FIFTY minutes – in a queue of ten people, before it was our turn to be served (and there were 7 or 8 other such queues), by which time it was only really worth getting a 4 hour pass (€30). Still, first day of the season and all – 4 hours would probably do.

Once on the slopes though, the frustration of the queue was forgotten as we excitedly strapped on our boards for that magical first time of the season. Hopping onto the Plan Maison 4-man express we were rapidly whisked upwards over some enticing looking pistes. At 2050m, Cervinia is high and the snow conditions reflected that, already boasting snow depths of 130cm at Plan Maison (2555m) and a whopping 195cm at Plateau Rosa (3480m) – in mid-November?! The area also links with Valtournenche further down the valley and Zermatt in Switzerland, offering a network of 57 lifts (many of them state of the art) and 350kms of piste. Click here for the Skirama piste Map.

Under the imposing stare of the Matterhorn I nearly came a cropper getting off the chair….as is fairly customary of my first lift of every season…but then we were off. The pistes were every bit as good as they looked – smooth and fast, with that squeaky, grippy snow that lets your edges bite right in. It felt like only last week that we'd been sliding round on the Grands Montets, not 6 months ago and despite the volume of people on and around the slopes, lift queues were pretty much non-existent and there was plenty of space to get our winter legs back together. After a couple of warm up runs, we headed up to Theodulpass (3301m) which is where the Cervinia area links over to Zermatt. From the top, we could see for miles and miles, with not a single cloud to be seen in the sky. One of the nice things about living at the base of the highest mountain in Europe is that you can see home from pretty much anywhere in the Alps and Mont Blanc was easily picked out on the horizon from our lofty vantage point (see photos).

With such perfect conditions on piste, we felt it would be rude not to at least dip a toe into the off piste, especially after the rave reports we'd heard from the previous weekend. Although the area had had more snow storms during the week, at the top of the pass, the wind had whipped the snow from some areas, exposing a few rocky sections. Although the off piste was pretty much all tracked out, we still found some nice little powder stashes here and there in between pistes on the way back down to Plan Maison. However, at times, the snow had a crust on it that caught our unbalanced legs out and there were one or two snow eating moments throughout the afternoon!

As anticipated, 4 hours proved to be just enough for our first day on the hill and it was with rosy cheeks and nicely burning legs that we headed back to car. The drive home was beautiful in the evening sunshine and we arrived at the tunnel just as night was falling. After the 15 minute drive underneath Mont Blanc, we emerged at the French side into a wall of cloud and fog that had seemingly hung around all day. Hard to believe when you look at our photos!

Well now it's official, my winter has begun and it shouldn't be too much longer before we'll be sliding round the slopes of Chamonix. Word on the street is that Grands Montets will be partially opening next Saturday, 22nd, for weekend skiing only until December when the area will open up full time for the season. That's still TBC but we'll keep you posted. Tom, our regular reporter, was also out & about on his board this weekend too, so be sure to check back again later in the week for his report.