Chamonix Snow Report: 1st January 2006

Yesterday Le Tour was our choice, as the opening of the Autannes chair gave access to plenty of the powder if you knew where you were going in the poor visibility. The sun toyed with us through the day, with the sky breaking out into near perfect blue only to be covered by cloud and fog minutes later. I've never seen the weather change so quickly. In the fleeting sunny spells it was possible to see the tracts of unridden powder and the hoards heading for them. The pistes have improved massively; gone are the thin, brown patches that were starting to cause some concern.

Today, we braved hangovers and early low cloud to take on the powder at Les Grands Montets. We woke up pretty quickly when the cloud started to lift and we could see all the fresh snow. There's been plenty of snowfall at Grands Montets, so lots of the rocks have been buried and the off piste is now a viable option for those who are interested in keeping some ptex on their bases. The first off piste snow to be tested was the area in between Arolles and Remuaz at the bottom of the Combe de la Pendant. It was pretty tracked by the time we got to it, although with some intrepid bush wacking it was possible to get a few turns in some untracked snow. It was deep enough for me not to hit anything hard below but it was a little wet and heavy – no problem on a board but I noticed quite a few skiers looking for lost skis in the powder.

In the search for some really fresh snow we headed into the Dream Forest located in the triangle between the Plan Roujon and Retour-Pendant chairlifts. As always it came up with the goods and lived up to its name. We found plenty of untracked lines, with rock drops aplenty. There's nothing like bouncing down the pillow lines and swerving around the trees and bushes. The day finished with a trip up the Herse chair; no Bochard open today so it was busier than it's been all season – I had to wait at least a minute to get on it! As we rode up, a boarder set off a small slab avalanche below the top of the chair. It was nothing too serious and he rode away unharmed, but it's a reminder that the snow pack is unstable and that if you venture off piste you would be well advised to carry a transceiver, shovel, probe, and above all know how to use them. Combes has transformed now: no longer the pincushion of hazard poles. It's still bumpy but the moguls are soft enough to bounce off and the ice seems to be buried for the time being. It was also a much busier piste than it has been, so I took a little shortcut down to Pierre a Ric from the Combes piste. Fewer people and some fairly untracked snow did the job. Without a doubt, the snow is now the best so far all season, and with more snow showers forecast over the next few days, it's only going to get better.

Useful Information
Cross-country skiing is Closed
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