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Chamonix Snow Report: 19th February 2007

featured in Snow report Author Ellie Mahoney, Chamonix Editor Updated

With the holidays in full swing Chamonix is feeling quite busy now. The town is heaving with visitors and so are the buses and car parks. Weather-wise it's been fairly uneventful over the weekend: Friday was clear, sunny and warm, but gradually the cloud has built up and today we saw even some snow falling higher up.

Friday saw the best of the weather with us heading over the Col des Montets to Vallorcine and taking the gondola up to the backside of Le Tour. It's a sneaky little trick to get around the parking congestions that you'll find at Le Tour when it's busy. The Vallorcine side of Le Tour also seemed to be better off for snow than the front. It's a shadier area with most of the slopes having a roughly northerly aspect, and the trees at the back have done a good job of protecting the snow from the recent high winds. It has been a while since we were there last and the snow has improved a great deal since our last visit. The pistes were good and the off piste in the trees was even better. We managed to find some great stashes of untracked powder, days after the last snowfall. Beware of the back bowls though as we noticed one had avalanched massively. These bowls are often dangerous and it is worth hiring a guide if you're unsure about the snow stability and want to venture in there. We spent a few runs just heading skier's right of the Tete de Balme chairlift, always remembering to traverse back so as not to drop below the chairlift and then face the walk back up. There's some great terrain in the trees and a few hidden clearings to find, and the rollers and drops make it great for freeriding.

On Saturday we had a break from the ski lifts and went up to Argentiere to have a go on the ski de fond trails. Saturday was a very warm day so consequently the trails were heavy going, and it almost felt like it was going to rain. We'd waxed up our skis with warm-temperature wax, which made things a little easier, and we had a fun ski around. There was also a sizable crowd of people watching a series of races going on in Argentiere by the Chosalets area. It looked like a local race with juniors from Megeve, Argentiere and Grand Bornand and other local ski areas all racing around at silly speeds; it made me feel even older and less fit than I already do. One lap around the red route at Argentiere was enough for me. Snow cover on the trail was mostly good but there were one or two thin patches to watch out for; I think that the run may even be officially closed but it's actually quite good. However, the red run is hard going with some very steep uphill sections so be forewarned!

Sunday was a fairly grey day, although once the day was almost over the cloud broke up and the sun finally came out, typical! We headed up to Grands Montets, but the flat light up there made for a very challenging day's snowboarding. Within no time I'd taken my first tumble. There were no surprises that the snow park was closed because of the flat light: at times it was almost impossible to see the snow surface, and spotting landings would have been impossible. So, while Bochard had some great snow on it, you couldn't see it, just feel it. The runs from the top of Grands Montets where similarly difficult to see on, and it was snowing lightly up there too, the thin layer of fresh snow not enough to cover the crusty stuff below. Also, the crust was thin enough to randomly break through, thus adding another dimension of difficulty. Lower down Point de Vue it became mogulled, and in the flat light it was very hard work and a little demoralising after the great riding we'd had at Le Tour on Friday. The moguls weren't icy though and were soft enough that they would have been fun in better light, but as it was they were a real struggle. There was some good snow in places off of the piste: it was mostly packed but there was some soft snow where the wind had deposited it.

At the bottom of Point de Vue we took a short cut down towards the Pierre a Ric. It was a fairly misguided choice as although the snow at the top of the short cut was mostly untracked and reasonably easy to ride we quickly entered some very bushy terrain and had to struggle through frozen slush, crud and the face whipping bushes before reaching the Pierre a Ric. We've done this route before, but not this season and we'll be waiting for some more snow before doing it next time as those bushes need to be buried before it's worthwhile. Pierre a Ric is still in good shape, consisting of lots of slushy loose snow on top of a hard icy artificial base. Catch it early in the morning if you want to avoid the slushy bumps and sheets of ice. When it's freshly groomed it's great but late in the afternoon, when everyone is using it to get off the mountain, it can be a little dicey!

Check out what to do around town once the lifts have closed with our all new Apres Ski Report - a weekly round up of what's hot and where to party in Chamonix!

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

Stats

Avalanche Risk
  • Level 2

Snow Report
  • 0

  • Total Pistes: 80

  • Alt. Resort: 2000

  • Alt. Summit: 2800

  • Alt. Last Snow: 3300

  • High Temp.: 10

  • Alt. High Temp.: 1050