Chamonix Snow Report: 1st February 2012

Anyway, at the start of the week I was at Flegere on a very uninspiring day when you opened the curtains. I also broke from habit and actually took the Flegere cable car up from Les Praz, something I never do due to the inevitable hideous queues that often form here. I always prefer to take the Brevent gondola up and head across from there, but on Monday, I was straight on the lift and it just got better once we arrived at mid-station – there was a cloud inversion!! So whilst the valley remained steeped in grey misery, we were scooting around on corduroy in glorious sunshine. What a great start to the week and still hardly a soul around.

Unless you’re still getting to grips with your skis or board, you’ll probably head straight up the 6-man Index chair from this point, where you can access several really nice red and black runs and one blue run as well as numerous off piste descents that are easily visible from the chair. If you’re less experienced, then head right down the green Trappe run or the lovely tree lined blue Evettes piste which is also the way to the liaison lift to the Brevent ski area.

We took the Index up and headed left at the top for the Lachenal red – one of my favourite runs in the valley. It didn’t disappoint – almost totally deserted and still corduroy in places, the views from here with the inversion were just spectacular. Whilst great fun, the corduroy was a still a little bit crunchy in parts which of course, on a board, means you emit that sound that strikes fear into the hearts of novice skiers everywhere. I promise we don’t do it on purpose (well maybe sometimes....); we’re just turning, but it does leave your ears ringing after a while so we went in search of something softer.

Softer was to be found on the other side of the area, off the Floria drag lift, accessed by hanging a right at the top of the Index. From here you will often see people skinning up above the drag to the col du Crochues – a popular ski tour that traverses around the back of the Aiguilles Rouges to the col du Berard and then a fabulous descent through the Berard valley to Le Buet, near Vallorcine. After briefly admiring the tourers' stamina, we popped off down the Floria black run, a piste that is nearly always guaranteed to have lovely soft snow when the rest of the area is a bit crispy. Ducking off skier’s right of the piste, I was also treated to a good foot of powder that, whilst a bit chopped, was still really light and fun to ride. Rejoining the Crochues red run we followed the piste to the bottom of the Trappe chair. Because it’s remained pretty nippy recently, the pistes are still running really smooth and fast and you’d have to be very unlucky to clip any rocks en route.

Early afternoon, the cloud closed in and the light went which was our signal to go home and so we took the ski out back down to the Flegere car park. Whilst graded black, it’s really not a difficult run at all, it’s just that once you’ve committed to it, there’s no turning back until the bottom so don’t necessarily tackle it if your legs are knackered on the last run of the day. Having said that, dropping down it into the trees on Monday and the visibility was immediately much better and the run itself was not the icy, rocky nightmare that I associate the Brevent/Flegere ski outs as being. This is definitely the season to profit on these runs as they so rarely have the snow conditions to remain open and pleasurable to ski!

Tuesday I had to work. I awoke to 10cms of snow in town and then had to watch it dump down all day, eventually depositing around a foot in town. Sometimes I feel very hard done by living out here. I took small solace from a friend who had been at Grands Montets and told me that it had been really good, but visibility was very bad and it certainly wasn’t “epic”. I think he was just trying to make me feel better.... I’ve since spoken to another friend who was on Brevent who had never ridden such fabulous conditions up there. Some people just don’t know when a little white lie might be appropriate.....

No snow forecast for the next few days but my goodness is it about to get cold. The Siberian air is heading our way and we are promised temperatures in the minus 20s by the weekend. I think I might embrace them with a vodka and see if it helps my arm...

Right off to Les Houches now to see how the Kandahar preparations are coming along. Graham Bell and Ed Leigh from Ski Sunday were spotted at the ice hockey last night – might see what other famous faces are lurking around :O)