Chamonix Snow Report: 21st February 2011
Yeahhhhhhhh powder!!!!! At last a massive shock surprise stealth snow dump in the middle of last night has lead us to believe that maybe winter might just be possible once more! After heading down the bar for a few beers last night, not totally believing any more weather forecasters, and not expecting any snow at all……. On my way down to the bakery I was very pleasantly surprised to see a good foot of snow on the road! This has been a god send, we have needed this for so long, however it is hard to keep control of your emotions during times like these where you might feel it a good idea to start jumping cliffs, or getting in to bowels which have been quite rocky!
Just because we have had around 30cm up high doesn't mean we can ride the places we think will be cool, as there is still the possibility of touching base, and with no complete idea as to how deep certain areas are, its best to play it cautious for now. Although we have had a really good amount of snow recently, it is weakly bonded, and not enough to cover a lot of the rocks around. Take great care if you are heading in to the back country; not just for avalanches but for rocks and dodgey bits too.
We have lost all rights to a sunny day for the foreseeable future, which doesn't bother many if brought with large amounts of snow! The white out conditions today where mostly combated by the locals, by considering Le Tour which have a good amount of trees to help define the terrain. I headed over to Grand Montets which was cool for the pow but you could feel a lot of the ice death moguls underneath and the visibility was pretty poor, however if you could shut your eyes and imagine a blue sky powder day it was very easy to realise!
It's looking like we have a few more systems coming in over the next week or so and just in time for most of the holiday makers, so let's all manifest and bring in to true and complete existence the reality of a large amount of true and complete snow!
Tomorrow should be a legendary day that we haven't experienced for over two months, where people queue for over an hour to get first bins. The atmosphere is amazing with everyone sharing their flasks of tea, coffee, or soup and so much positive energy fills the line that everyone is guaranteed a good day! If you are about, make sure you get a first lift. Be at Grand Montets before 8am!
Check out our Mountain Guide Listings for contact details of local guiding and activity companies.
Check out what to do around town once the lifts have closed with our Apres Ski Report - a weekly round up of what's hot and where to party in Chamonix!
Stats
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Level 3
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1
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Total Pistes: 75
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Alt. Resort: 1253
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Alt. Summit: 3233
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Alt. Last Snow: 3000
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High Temp.: 1
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Alt. High Temp.: 1050
