Skiers on a ski lift with a sign that says ' salomon ' on it

A group of people skiing down a snowy slope

A person skiing down a snow covered slope with trees in the background

A person skiing down a snowy slope with trees in the background

A person skiing through a snowy forest with trees covered in snow

Chamonix Snow Report: 25th March 2008

featured in Snow report Author Jim Brady, Updated 24 October 2014

Chamonix Meteo was spot on with the forecast today. The day started snowy and overcast, then cleared up nicely in the afternoon, and became quite sunny late on. A couple of booms first thing let us know there was no particular rush to get on the mountain today. A look at the Compagnie du Montblanc web site also confirmed the phased opening of the ski areas. So after a slow start we decided to go to Flegere/ Brevent as all the lifts seemed to be open by mid morning, except the Brevent cable car and the Floria drag.

We parked at Brevent and both the car park and lift were quiet, so we were soon heading up in the gondola. It felt a bit grim coming out of the lift station with a bit of snow still in the air, and reduced visibility. The snow however was as good as it gets, at least in Europe. The pistes were blanketed in soft powder and the off piste was soft and light and about two feet deep, more in places. The tech in the ski shop where I had some emergency repairs done at lunch time, told me he had found powder deeper than a metre at Le Tour that morning.

The afternoon developed into a beautiful day weather wise, to go with the perfect snow. It was not quite the normal free for all, off piste as most riders and skiers I guess were mindful of the avalanche risk, but there was still plenty to go for. I don't know exactly what defines a powder day, but today would qualify on the whoopeeees and yeeeehaas alone. Even at the end of today there were still lines to be had, and as the lift systems fully open over the next couple of days a whole lot of untracked real estate will become available.

I did witness a child fall off the Trappe chair today but it was right at the bottom and the lifties were on the ball and stopped the chair quickly enough for the kid to be lifted back on to rejoin his somewhat distressed and maybe slightly guilty looking mum.

The avalanche risk remained at 4, high today, and quite a few runs were kept closed for that reason, including the Combe Lachenal. Meteo France are forecasting that this will drop tomorrow to 3, considerable, but for those venturing off piste, care is still needed and temptation will be strong. Specific mention was made of cornices between 2000m and 2500m being unstable some of which have become very large in the strong winds. Plates up to a metre in thickness have also formed and due the different wind directions over the past few days the at risk aspects are difficult to predict.

The forecast is for the next couple of days is for a slight shower risk but with about 50% sunshine and while still remaining quite cold, it will to start to get milder and the wind, moderate.

Check out what to do around town once the lifts have closed with our latest Apres Ski Report - a weekly round up of what's hot and where to party in Chamonix!