Skip to main content
SeeChamonix

Chamonix Snow Report: 21st January 2008

featured in Snow report Author Jim Brady, Updated

Sunday has started to become a busy day in the valley. By the middle of the afternoon the Le Tour car park was totally packed, I was having a lazy day but had gone up to check out the beginners area here.

The Vormaine nursery area above the car park, sports three quite long slow
drags, one of which is easy angled all the way up. The area is South-West facing and enjoys full sun for most of the day. The altitude (1462m) at Le Tour also ensures a reliable snow cover for a large part of the season. The area devoted to beginners here is large and unless you stray very far to skiers right, self contained, so you don't have lots of faster experienced skiers mixing it up with beginners. There is a pleasant little Buvett (café) at the bottom where you can sit outside and have a drink and snack. The snow here at the moment is in good condition being regularly groomed and softened in the sun. The cost of a day ticket is 12.80 Euro for adults and 10.80- 9 Euro for children, plus there are various half day and family tickets available. The lifts serve 3 distinct easy green/blue runs and they are all open.

Monday started bright and early, I was on the first lift up to Flegere, and it was delightful. Every square metre of piste had been groomed overnight and with the exception of the two black pistes it was corduroy all the way in full sun. The pistes were almost totally empty for at least two hours, there were far more boarders and skiers heading up to do the Crochues- Berard traverse than were on the piste. I felt a bit miffed not to be joining them but I had the Race Tigers on and intended to spend the day high speed cruising on the piste and it was a perfect day for it, bright sunshine plus dead flat grippy snow, and above all quiet.

Within the first two hours I had skied everything at Flegere only the Combe Lachenal was at all hard as the sun had yet to go to work softening it, and the remote feeling red Crochues piste was wonderful. I headed over to Brevent and the story was the same. The black Bozon and the red Cornu were in superb condition as indeed was everything else.

I was meeting up with a friend for lunch and stopped at the restaurant at the top of the gondola, we had that signature dish of Savoy, Tartiflette. Apparently it is not that old a recipe, and rumor has it that it was “invented” in the 1980s to boost the Reblochon cheese trade; well I am doing my bit.

The weather forecast is for snow tonight and tomorrow (Tuesday) up to 20cm.

The Avalanche threat level remains at 3, considerable. Given the number of avalanche accidents elsewhere in the Alps it is worth considering exactly what this means to the off piste rider or skier. When the threat is 5, the decision is straightforward stay at home, similarly when its 4, stay on the piste. However 3, is when most accidents occur as it's posted for a high number of days and the threat remains considerable.

Apart from the obvious precautions of wearing/carrying, and knowing how to use, the holy trinity of transceiver, shovel, and probe, it's worth further inquiries as to where the potentially dangerous areas are. This information is available for the asking at the Security des Pistes posts dotted around the slopes. Also Meteo France issues detailed avalanche information daily at

www.meteofrance.com/FR/montagne/bulNeige.jsp?LIEUID=DEPT74
In French.

The critical information being the aspects, altitude, and steepness of the terrain at risk. Many of the Guides listed elsewhere on this site run avalanche awareness sessions, and mountain safety days, for not much more than a good night out.

Check out what to do around town once the lifts have closed with our latest Apres Ski Report - a weekly round up of what's hot and where to party in Chamonix!

Useful Information
Cross-country skiing is Open
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

Stats

Avalanche Risk
  • Level 3

Snow Report
  • 0

  • Total Pistes: 75

  • Alt. Resort: 2000

  • Alt. Summit: 2700

  • Alt. Last Snow: 2700

  • High Temp.: 4

  • Alt. High Temp.: 1050