A snowy mountain with a ski slope in front of it

A glass of heineken beer sits on a table next to a plate of food

A group of people are skiing down a snow covered slope in the woods

Chamonix Snow Report: 26th January 2006

featured in Snow report Author Ellie Mahoney, Chamonix Editor Updated 26 May 2016

Today (Thursday) has been very cold indeed. I know most people expect mountains to be cold in the winter but it was exceptional today, even with all the right gear on I just couldn't seem to get rid of the cold in my toes and fingers. I wasn't on my usual patch today in Chamonix, maybe that was the reason, but had instead driven the short drive through the Mont Blanc tunnel to Courmayeur. It's a good place to visit when you need a change from the same runs in Chamonix, especially when the weather doesn't seem to be changing much and the pistes here get a bit samey. If you buy a Chamski lift pass you'll probably have a day ticket for skiing in Courmayeur for free; the only cost is getting there. A return ticket through the tunnel by car is 38 euros, and there are buses that go there too. It's worth making the effort to visit, just for the deserted pistes and the cultural experience of Italy.

The weather started a little cloudy this morning and the forecast promised some light snow flurries later in the day, so I was thankful that the dry spell of the last week was coming to an end. However, I wasn't prepared for what losing the 100% sunshine would mean! It's been a long time since I last visited Courmayeur, so my memory of the slopes was a little hazy, but it's a relatively small resort and with a lift map it was easy to find our way around. One thing that makes Courmayeur so refreshing is the number and quality of mountain restaurants and bars. I stopped for coffee and cakes a couple of times, just to warm up you understand, and the food was superb. The prices are less than Chamonix and the cakes look homemade and less generic than the kinds you find on the mountain in Chamonix.

The snow in Courmayeur doesn't fare so well in comparison to Chamonix and overall there appeared to be less snow. On piste the coverage is good because it seems that all the wide and gentle runs are served by snow cannons. The snow was very icy though because of this, which meant a pretty stressful time for me on my board with blunt old edges. I spent most of the time performing controlled skidded turns, trying against all the odds to get my edges to bite. We had some sun about midday, which started to soften the snow a little on the Plan Checrouit area, which is the sunniest, with a southerly aspect. The more wooded areas above Val Veny were the coldest and iciest, but also the prettiest with the trees and fantastic views of the south side of the Mont Blanc Massif. Things started to improve late in the afternoon when it clouded over and started to snow. The snow was light but fairly constant. It put down only about 1 or 2 centimetres on the ground, which was enough to make it feel a little bit softer under my board. However, it was deceptive enough to mean that if you edged hard the ice would be back with a vengeance causing a close encounter with the hard pack. It didn't seem long before we had to head back to the Val Veny cable car. On the cable car my female friends were accosted by a jovial Italian shouting, ‘bella, bella'. He was later heading back up the hill for a wine tasting session, followed by a torchlight descent. Come on Chamonix, that's the way to go!

Overall it was a good visit but I was glad to return to the valley that I know with its superior terrain and snow.

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