Chamonix Snow Report: 20th March 2009

Any snow that was left on the valley's pine trees has long since tumbled off to melt away on the warm ground, even up as high in the valley as Montroc. The salt, snowploughs and snowchains of February are all but a distant memory, the birds are flapping around my garden carrying twigs, flies are buzzing about again and the stream opposite my house has started to trickle once more.

Fortuinately, there's a lot of snow left up in the mountains that has still to melt to fill that stream. This is good news for the snow addicts among us, those for whom the season never really ends; those who start to think about skiing again days after hanging up their gear for the last time that year!

The excellent snow fall over this winter has built up a great base of snow, which means that there's a long time yet before it becomes unskiable. The top of Courmayeur, where we rode yesterday, is still brilliantly midwinterish...we even found some nice pockets of windblown powder tucked away under the Youla lift.

If you're in Chamonix right now, or are coming over the next week or two, pencil in a trip through the Mont Blanc Tunnel to Courmayeur; it's an excellent little resort, with brilliant pistes and great food, excellent tree skiing and world-class coffee.

The snow in Courmayeur seems a lot cooler and less slushy than over here in Chamonix...which is unusual, considering how Courmayeur always seems drenched in sunshine everytime we make the trip over.

Back to this side of the valley and although there is a lot of snow up there, it's only the quality of the stuff on top that really counts. And the quality fluctuates over the course of the day. By 11.00am, the south-facing areas of Brévent and La Flégère are burned out, frazzled in the sun, the snow turns to the consistency of microwaved Gino Ginelli ice cream, with the small rock choc-chips to match.

These sorts of conditions, very slushy and wet, are a great deal of fun on a snowboard whilst fairly hard work on skis...and a great workout on the thighs of riders of both disciplines.

The way to avoid the gloop is to head high, or at least to the more shaded easterly aspects. The backside of Le Tour is pretty good right now and although the home run is a bit of a pain, there's always the fast Vallorcine gondola to take you back down to valley level.

Alternatively, head to Les Grands Montets, which ticks the altitude and aspect boxes, to provide some brilliant turns even into late afternoon. The snow park is in excellent condition and the burnss and tabletops of the skier/boardercross track make for an excellent way back to Plan Joran without dealing with the mandatory straightline back to Lognan.

Tonight we're headed to a little resaurant down in Les Houches called Les Vieilles Luges for dinner. The farmhouse, which is cosy and bustling, only seats thirty-five people, all of whom have to mission up through the woods to get there. It's only a half-hour walk and hopefully my slush-hardened thighs will be more than up to the challenge. I'm currently starving myself in anticipation of the feast that's going to be laid on...will check in with pictures over the weekend.

See you out there

Tom