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Chamonix Snow Report: 21st March 2005

featured in Snow report Author Ellie Mahoney, Chamonix Editor Updated

The Chamonix spring heatwave continues, +2ºc at our house this morning and +15ºc this evening as I type this report, with a maximum in the low 20s. Today it was slightly less sunny than the past few days and some high cloud drifting around made it hazy. We've been watching the snow melt at an alarming rate down here in the town; we now have 25cm left in our garden, which at the current rate of melting will last another 2 or 3 days. Lots of the shops in town are putting mountain bikes out in their displays. Sure sign that the season's starting to reach its end.

We haven't been to Le Tour for some time so we headed up there today. The car park was looking pretty empty, a promising sign, however we soon realised that this was because the Le Tour-Charamillon gondola had broken down. Instead, we turned around and headed up to Vallorcine to use the new gondola. There was no queue for the lift, so we went straight up. The pistes were empty, obviously the lull before the Easter storm when it'll most likely get very busy again. Esserts is getting a bit worn in places and looking thin. The snow was pretty soft and slushy. Some sun exposed areas felt like glue on the bases of our boards, but as soon as you hit a shady area things were back to normal speed. There wasn't much queuing for the Tete de Balme chair today at any of the times we used it, which is how we like it. The backside of Le Tour seemed to have the better snow, mainly because it's sheltered from the effects of the sun. The red run Belle Place, has for most of the season been bullet-proof ice, but now it's come into its own. The ice has softened a little, and the base is still firm; it was just about the best piste at Le Tour today. Lower down it gets a little more slushy, with a few worn patches. There's even a short cut with a few moguls if you like that sort of thing.

All of the runs at the front of le Tour are very slushy. The top of both Bechat and Bechat-Esserts is looking pretty patchy, although they improve further down where there's better coverage. Aiguillette is holding up reasonably well; the snow is wet and heavy, but doesn't have too many worn patches. Probably the worst affected piste is Solonges, which seems to catch direct sun all day and so is the most worn. It's rideable but very slushy and you need to keep an eye out for the patches of grass that are starting to show through. Ecuries is one of the busiest pistes at Le Tour, but given the high traffic it's not faring too badly. There are some bare patches on it, but a few yellow and black poles mark out the thin sections so they're easily avoided. The queues at the Autannes chair were almost non-existent, and the shortest I've seen them since January. We headed back down to Vallorcine on the gondola as Foret Verte has now closed because of lack of snow lower down.

Useful Links
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.

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: 80

  • Alt. Resort: 2000

  • Alt. Summit: 3000

  • Alt. Last Snow: 1042

  • High Temp.: 21

  • Alt. High Temp.: 1042