Chamonix Snow Report: 23rd April 2006

It's been the last weekend that Brevent, Flegere and Le Tour are open but today we opted for another visit to the Vallee Blanche. Sunny weekend days are usually best avoided as they, not surprisingly, tend to draw the crowds; however, today was a special occasion – a Chamonet team outing! We had arranged for a guide and we met him at the lift station in Cham Sud at around 9.15. The car park was pretty full even by then (for anyone who is accustomed to parking out on the road for free – the cycle lane there has now been blocked off by bollards), and the lift station was already teeming with people. There is a number system in operation, and you can book your lift up in advance by phone for a fee of 2 euros and this is highly recommended if you want to avoid an unpredictable and possibly long wait on a busy day. We finally made our way to the arête at around 11.15. Some of us had crampons (which make the walk down very easy) and the rest were roped together by the guide. The arête can be intimidating for anyone unaccustomed to high-mountain skiing, and a rope can make the walk down feel much safer.

Once at the bottom we embarked on the classic route with a view to arriving at the Requin refuge just past the Geant icefalls for a lunch reservation. After an initial steep, mogulled (but mercifully short) section after the arête, the run down to the top of the icefalls was very pleasant – brilliant sunshine and whilst it was already tracked out by the time we arrived some fresh snow had fallen overnight and conditions were very good. The classic route was pretty busy, but we could see that there were also plenty of people hiking other routes – to the Helbronner lift station on the Italian side, for example, and also onto the Toula glacier. Once round the Gros Rognon (otherwise known to us as ‘the big rock') staying on the right side of the glacier we crossed back skier's left and traversed to the top of the icefalls, which are so filled in with snow this season that the route down resembles a rather wide piste – there are even some moguls at this point! We stayed left with a view to traversing high under the seracs just past the end of the Vrai Vallee Blanche (a steeper, shorter route from the Midi, which joins the classic route at this point) to get to the refuge for lunch, but wet-snow avalanches large enough to knock you off your feet were coming down every few minutes onto the traverse, which is a tricky one for snowboarders anyway not least because it is uphill at the end, so we decided to abort the mission and head down to the area below the icefalls, known as the Salle à Manger, for an impromptu picnic.

It really was very hot up there today and from our lunch vantage point skier's right of the Geant glacier (under the Periades) we saw numerous wet-snow slides on the other side, i.e. from the face skier's left of the Vallee Blanche. Given the sunny conditions, we didn't have high hopes for the long flat run out that awaited us – it can be tricky for snowboarders to keep moving here at the best of times and as the snow was quite slushy by lunchtime today we were fully expecting to have to take our back feet out and push. In the end, the snow was surprisingly fast on the beaten track and we all made it down with minimum effort. At this time of year, the best way down, unless you want a long long walk out to Les Planards, is via the gondola and the Montenvers train. At 3ish this afternoon the queue for the gondola was the longest I have ever seen it but we eventually made it down to town for around 4pm, at which point we had a self-congratulatory beer! You have to on days like these: it's the law.

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