Chamonix Snow Report: 28th December 2005

I took the cable car up to Lognan at Grands Montets, and just as on Boxing Day there were no queues. The grim, grey weather may have had something to do with that as Chamonix town is apparently heaving right now. I guess it is days like today when only the most dedicated skiers or boarders are out on the mountain – oh, and the English too. The weather up there was pretty grey, but visibility wasn't too bad as the sun was continually trying to break through the cloud. It was snowing constantly all afternoon, although it was fairly light. It must only have put down a few centimetres at most, but it did at least have the effect of softening the icy patches a little.

The top of Bochard is still looking menacing with the rocks on the middle of the piste, but the snow cannons are slowly and steadily covering them. It shouldn't be long before the top of the run will look like normal, that is, without the diversions and warning poles.
The rest of Bochard was hard to ride – the ice, incredibly sticky snow, and flat light all conspiring to make sure I spent a good proportion of the run on my backside. I thought I'd used a cold temperature wax on my board but it felt like I'd applied treacle to it. I'm going to have to track down some colder wax! There was no-one riding up the Herse chair so I headed up to see why. A stupid move; I had my suspicions but I had to see for myself. The top of the Combes red run is probably more mogulled than the last time I rode it about a week or so ago. It's a hybrid mogul and slalom course with yellow and black poles to avoid. The moguls had grown in number and size since my last visit, and there are now more poles. I'm not sure if there are more rocks or if the pisteurs are just being more thorough in their marking, either way it looks pretty intimidating when you look down the run. Once past the moguls and poles the run wasn't too bad at all; it had its share of icy patches but it also had some softer fresh snow at the edges, which was fun to play in.

Arolles, a blue run that heads into the lower part of the Combe de la Pendant, is open now, so I checked it out. The snow was pretty good with not a mogul in sight and no rocks either. The off piste sections between the switchbacks look like they really need a little more snow, but generally it was good. The same can't be said for Coqs, the blue run from the top of the Plan Roujon chair, whose middle and steepest section has turned a very brown shade of white; it looks like the groomers have been scraping it a little thinly.

As appears to be the case every time I go to Grands Montets, Pierre a Ric turns out to be the best piste. Today it looked to have more fresh snow on it than any of the other runs, and the hard, icy base seems to finally be getting a little softer thanks to the fresh on top. There were still a few snow cannons topping things up on it, but it really didn't seem necessary to me. The improved visibility offered by the trees on this lower run was also welcome after a hard afternoon's riding in flat light.

According to my smug housemates Le Tour and Vallorcine had better conditions, with some great pockets of fresh powder on the backside in the trees with them staying up until the lifts shut at 5. I'm not jealous.

Useful Information
Cross-country skiing is Closed
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