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Chamonix Snow Report: 22nd March 2007

featured in Snow report Author Ellie Mahoney, Chamonix Editor Updated

Mid-week in Chamonix has been cold, really cold. So much so that the snow cannons have been running again at Grands Montets and Le Tour. Last night saw temperatures drop down to -9ºC in the town and barely make it above freezing during the day. There have been a few snow flurries and some light snow up on the mountains today and yesterday, but it hasn't amounted to much – just a little dusting.

Yesterday we headed over to Vallorcine early in the morning in the hope of finding some leftover powder from the big snowfall at the beginning of the week. Once up the Vallorcine gondola it was like being in a winter wonderland, just like in the holiday brochures: the trees were white with a thick covering of snow, it was cold and crisp, and the Esserts piste was groomed to perfection with a silky corduroy finish. But that wasn't why we were there; powder was what we were looking for.

We headed out skier's right of the Tete de Balme chairlift and into the trees. The snow wasn't bad: it was light enough, reasonably deep, and not too tracked out. Normally I'd have been delighted with it but after Tuesday's bonanza it was hard not to feel a little disappointed. So we went in search of better and we found it on the Le Tour side in the Combe de la Vormaine. Initially it looked a little thin in places with bushes and rocks blown bare by the wind but between the ridges in the chutes there was some great snow. It wasn't that light, and became heavier as the day went on, but it was good enough for us to find fresh tracks and feel like it was worth the long run out to the Vormaine nursery slopes. In fact it was good enough for 3 laps on different chutes.

We finished the day with the short hike to the Aiguillettes des Posettes and a route down to Vallorcine cutting into the Posettes couloir about halfway down. The snow at the top was stunningly good and totally untracked. It was deep enough not to feel anything below and had been kept cold and light by the northerly aspect of the slope, definitely the best snow of the day. The payback came further down once in the couloir: the snow was thin, and there were bushes, shredded trees, stumps, and general avalanche debris everywhere. Route finding is tricky on this route, and avalanche risk is considerable so use a guide if you're not sure; there are some massive cliffs to fall off if you make a mistake.

Today we headed up to Grands Montets and managed a couple of excellent runs of off the top. Both times we came down the front face of the Grands Montets around the large crown wall caused by the massive avalanche a few weeks ago. It's only when you are close to it that the 4m crown wall has its full impact. We'd heard the snow was good at Grands Montets yesterday so we expected it to be fully tracked out. Fortunately, it wasn't that bad at all; we were picking over other people's leftovers for sure but there were some fairly large untracked sections still up for grabs. The snow had kept in good condition, with a hint of wind crust at the very top, just below the lift station. We headed skier's right of the Pylones piste cutting close to the cliff where the powder was lightly tracked and just about perfect. The light was a little flat at times but improved after midday with the sun coming out and lifting temperatures from the morning's truly toe-numbing coldness. Our second run from the top saw us heading skier's left and riding a wide, open, barely tracked section just below the rognon on the Glacier de la Pendant. It was a little sun softened and about the best powder of the day with just a few lumps of frozen avalanche debris to watch out for and keep things interesting.

The slopes are pretty quiet at the moment and we do seem to have finally said goodbye to the holiday crowds, so lift queues are short. I heard from the barman at our favourite pub that he did 8 runs off the top ticket on Wednesday it was so quiet. He described it in actions as well as words: swoosh, swoosh, step, step, step, beep, swoosh, swoosh, step, step, step, beep, swoosh, swoosh, step, step, step, beep… You get the idea.


Check out what to do around town once the lifts have closed with our all new 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: 2800

  • Alt. Last Snow: 2000

  • High Temp.: -2

  • Alt. High Temp.: 1050