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Chamonix Snow Report: 26th February 2008

featured in Snow report Author Jim Brady, Updated

I waxed and sharpened my skis last night, and I really appreciated it today. I had been getting mixed reports about the conditions at Flegere/Brevent and as I hadn't been there for a few days, I decided to check them out for myself.

The morning was reasonably bright if a little cloudy. The Flegere car park had plenty of spaces and not much in the way of a queue. We headed right to the top of the system, the Floria drag. The narrow black Floria piste was about 60% hardpack broken by little piles of softer snow that had accumulated here and there, it was just enough to turn on, but I was glad of my newly sharpened edges on the steep sections. The red Crochues piste was a different story especially lower down, it was soft spring snow and the wax I had put on my skis last night was a great help, in keeping them running smoothly in the heavier snow.

Adjacent to the blue, Chavanne Liaison is the small Chavanne café, all the tables are outside so it is only suitable on clement days, but they do have a BBQ on the terrace, which although I haven't yet tried personally looks very tempting.

Elsewhere at Flegere/Brevent the pistes are all looking a little weary, the colour of the snow is slowly changing from crisp white to a light brown, and in places look a little like a bruised banana. There is the odd stone starting to materialize, and for the first time this season, I have to say, we could defiantly do with some fresh snow.

At this time of year, the conditions at Flegere/Brevent change significantly through the day, first thing its frozen hard, softening around 11 am for a couple of hours decent snow, then after lunch becoming a bit too heavy.

Late in the afternoon, just as we reached the top of the black Charles Bozon run at the top of Brevent, the clouds closed in and the light went flat. The run down would have been pleasant enough in good light, especially the top, but with the light gone we scampered down and back over to Flegere and called it a day.

One of the great pluses of Chamonix is the variety of resorts to choose from, and that you can tailor your day to suit the prevailing conditions and your own abilities. Flegere/Brevent is a great place to enjoy the best of the sunshine on cold days, with a range of pistes to suit all skill levels, however today it was not at its best, and we shall be heading to the high north facing slopes of Grands Montets tomorrow for our sport.

I have included on the right a photo of the site where they measure the snow depth at Flegere, its interesting to track the decline in the depths over the last couple of weeks with 3-5 cm disappearing every two or three days.

The avalanche threat level has gone back up to 2, moderate. The forecast continues to fluctuate with showers promised over the next few days. Don't get too excited yet, but a marmot who had gotten it from a squirrel, whispered to me in strictest confidence that a dump is expected around the 6th of March!


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!

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 2

Snow Report
  • 0

  • Total Pistes: 75

  • Alt. Resort: 2000

  • Alt. Summit: 2700

  • Alt. Last Snow: 2700

  • High Temp.: 8

  • Alt. High Temp.: 1050