Chamonix Snow Report: 24th December 2012

I’ve been up and down the valley quite a bit these last few days and driving up through Argentiere and Montroc is was like passing through Wonderland – there is so much snow on the roofs and at the roadside.  In Argentiere there was a man with a shovel whom I assumed was clearing a bit more of a path to his house.  It was only when coming back down the valley a couple of hours later and spotting the front grill of an English car in the 10 foot mound of snow that I realised the poor man was actually digging out his car!  Honestly 2 hours digging and he’d only exposed the front grill!  I’d be resigned to taking the bus for the rest of the season or looking to buy a new car.....

The temperature has also risen somewhat since last week and we’ve had a bit of a Fohn wind blowing through the valley and high winds at altitude. Last weekend also saw the remainder of the valley ski areas open up their turnstiles for the winter.  Brevent/Flegere is now open but only partially – after all the snow that has fallen, combined with big temperature fluctuations and wind, the avalanche risk is so significant that the likes of the Cornu, the Liaison cable car and the Floria drag lift have remained closed as they give easy access to such large areas of off piste.  The risks are a little too great at the moment for these lifts to open up safely.

It was great to be back at Le Tour on Sunday even though this would not be my first choice for a slide on a Sunday morning as the world and his wife are usually up there.  Its gentle blues and reds are always a popular choice for the first day back on skis and ski school classes descend in their masses, but yesterday there was none of that.  No problem parking, no lift queues; everyone must have been at Grands Montets.  Up top there was great coverage everywhere although the snow was noticeably quite sticky in places as a result of the higher temperatures.  It was also really windy, but not the bitter biting wind that often whips up that end of the valley. 

As Bruce mentioned in the last report, the current weather conditions have kind of put the kaibosh on the powder but everything is all packing down nicely into a good base that will hopefully see us through to the end of season.  That’s one thing we can thank the Christmas hoards for that descended on us at the weekend; they will be doing their bit to ensure that we have a great base to enjoy the January powder dumps when it’s all nice and quiet again on the slopes!

I have to say, despite the crowds, it’s feeling lovely and Christmassy in town right now.  There are fairy lights and Christmas trees and garlands at every turn and Santa popped by yesterday to see the kids in the Tourist Office square before heading off on his rounds.  It is a very magical place to spend the festive period.  I must apologise for a distinct lack of photographs to accompany this report thought – been having a bit of camera trouble this week, so I thought it was definitely worth a quiet word in Santa’s ear when he was in town to let him know that there is a certain digital camera that I’ve got my eye on.....  Fingers crossed he took the hint, after all, I have been VERY good this year ;O)

Merry Christmas everyone and I hope you get some lovely surprises in the morning – even you naughty ones!