Chamonix Snow Report: 1st May 2005

With clear blue skies and a forecast high of 27ºc in town it was a fantastic day to finish the season up at Brevent. T-shirts for skiing and boarding or even going topless (for the more macho skiers) was the order of the day. It felt pretty weird walking up to the gondola in this hot weather wearing boots, and carrying a board, whilst the hikers were all out in shorts and t-shirts.

Up on the mountain, parapenters were outnumbering skiers and provided us with plenty to look at while we rode up on the Altitude 2000 chairlift. Today must have been perfect conditions as they soared high above us on the thermals. Unsurprisingly, the snow was very slushy up there, even at 10:30 in the morning. I have my doubts as to whether it froze overnight at all. Still, it was good snow for just messing about on, although my board was suffering from a lack of wax so wasn't sliding too easily. The snow's melted a great deal in the last week with lots of new brown patches on Vioz; yesterday's snow at Grands Montets was far better. The Stade piste was still open too, and had better snow than Vioz although it too had brown patches starting to show. The better snow was on the Charles Bozon, but because the snow has slid, the mogulled section has now gone and is covered with rocks. The rest of Bozon was in great shape and has a bit more life left in it.

Overall it's been a great end to the season at Brevent with April's dumps of snow helping it stay in good condition right to the end. The snow reports will continue from Grands Montets where, as of today, there are some lift closures leaving just the two main cable cars running, the Bochard gondola and the Marmottons chair.

Useful Links
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.

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