Chamonix Snow Report: 25th March 2007

Grands Montets continues to have some very good snow so long as you're not looking for fresh tracks off piste: that is well and truly tracked out now and is choppy and tough on knees. There have been a few light flurries over the weekend to prevent it all turning to ice and we really haven't seen the sun out in strength all week. The pistes are in great shape and probably in the best condition of the whole season, even the lower run, Pierre a Ric, down to Argentiere.

Today we headed off on a relatively easy backcountry tour from Flegere to Le Buet over the Col des Crochues and Col de Berard. It's the same route that we did a couple of weeks ago and since then there's been more snow so we were hoping it may have improved a little. We set off early and with the clocks going forward we were hoping that the Flegere cable car would be a little less busy than last time, but if anything it was even busier. The queue consisted mainly of ski tourers so I guessed that it wasn't going to be that lonely up there.

As we rode up the Index chairlift I looked down at all the perfectly groomed pistes with no one on them. It occurred to me that it was a little strange that there were more people wanting to walk up the hills than ski down the lovely corduroy. It was feeling cold on the lift with the brisk wind, and as the cloud rolled in from the south-east over Mont-Blanc the sun was gradually blotted out making it feel even cooler. The first snowshoe climb up to the Col des Crochues was over fairly quickly, and we stepped up the last few metres in just boots. At the top it was windy and cold, so we quickly strapped in ready for the next traverse. There were plenty of tracks visible from the col and some going up towards the Glacier Mort, which was apparently very good according to someone we spoke to at the end of the tour. The traverse towards the Col de Berard turned out to be very easy as the snow was still soft and fresh even though there was some hard-packed snow below. As we came around the corner at the end of the traverse ready for the last snowshoe hike to the Col de Berard the wind started to become quite strong, so much so that on the hike up to the Col de Berard the tracks of the people in front were being buried as I watched.

The ride down from the Col de Berard was good, with some shin-deep, very light powder on the upper section. A tad crusty on the sunnier slopes on the skier's left of the valley but easily avoided by sticking to the shadier areas on the skier's right. The valley wasn't tracked out by any means and we managed a few fresh turns here and there just by traversing away from some of the obvious routes, and there were plenty more fresh tracks still to be had. The only slight downer was that the cloud moved in and made the light fairly flat on our descent only to break-up in time for our lunch stop lower down, but I guess you can't have everything.

The run out along the river to Le Buet was reasonably good too and a touch better than a couple of weeks ago as there seemed to be a little fresh snow on some of the lumps of avalanche debris that slowed us down last time. There was plenty of rock hopping in the river to be done and a few comic moments too. The very lowest section of the run out just before we hit the beginner's slope at Le Buet is very thin and unless you don't care about your base or edges it's worth walking that little section, before riding the piste down to the Hotel Le Buet. So, at the bottom, we went for the obligatory beer in the sun before jumping on the train back to Les Praz: mission completed.

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