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Chamonix Snow Report: 1st February 2005

featured in Snow report Author Ellie Mahoney, Chamonix Editor Updated

Yesterday was a sunny blue-sky day so I was surprised when this morning we woke to fresh snowfall yet again in Chamonix. Our car had about 10-15cm of snow on it, the stick in the garden was up to 70cm, and large fluffy flakes were falling out of the sky. The wind seemed to have stayed away too, and it felt much less cold than of late.

We had arranged to meet some friends in Flegere so we made our way across there from Brevent. There was about 25cm of fresh snow up at Brevent; it was the light fluffy stuff that doesn't offer any resistance, the only problem being that you could feel the hard snow underneath if you turned too sharply. By the time we'd got to Flegere it was almost midday and the visibility had closed in, making it pretty hard work telling which way was up. This is a problem in Flegere as if you go off piste and aren't sure where you're going you could quite easily find yourself on top of a cliff with no way out except walking back up. Because of the visibility we took a run down the green Trappe run, just until things cleared a bit. This run's perfect for beginners once they've started to get the hang of things and want to get a taste of being higher up in the mountains.

Things didn't clear much so we thought we'd try going up to the top of Index to see if it was clear higher up. Visibility wasn't too bad so we headed for Combe Lachenal red run. The snow there was the same light soft stuff, but the 25cm wasn't enough to cover the moguls on the lower section properly, which meant a bumpy but soft ride down for part of the way. By the time we got to the bottom the sun was starting to break through the cloud here and there giving the snow some better definition.

The sunny spells gradually became longer and we were able to try some off piste from the Index. The trick was to find sections where the wind had blown the snow just deep enough that your board didn't make contact with the hard stuff below, and when you did this it was fantastic riding. It wasn't bottomless powder but instead a very welcome top up.

Some of the runs from the Chavanne were the best of the day, mainly because they were least tracked and the visibility was best. When the sun came out, it felt extremely warm. The sunny spells were fleeting and once or twice left us standing around in the cloud waiting for the next clear spell. Traversing from the top of Chavanne to the skier's right we dropped in on the slope below from various points along the Liason Chavanne/Flegere cat track. The slope here isn't very steep but it is steep enough to allow for some fairly large turns in the fresh powder. There was a fair bit of avalanche debris on the skier's right of this slope so watch out for those lumps.

Today it was generally pretty quiet in Flegere and it looks like we're due some more snow showers tomorrow so it should stay good for a few days yet.

Useful Links
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.

Additional snow and weather information provided, with thanks, by meteo.chamonix.com and the Tourist Office

Stats

Avalanche Risk
  • Level 4

Snow Report
  • 0

  • Total Pistes: 80

  • Alt. Resort: 2000

  • Alt. Summit: 3000

  • Alt. Last Snow: 1042

  • High Temp.: -1

  • Alt. High Temp.: 1042