Chamonix Snow Report: 28th February 2006

The past two days have seen me continue my McNab freeride week. Yesterday morning we headed up to Flegere. The weather wasn't looking too promising – it was cloudy in the valley – but it wasn't long before the lifts had taken us up above the cloud. The first climb was to the Col des Crochues; there had been plenty of people going up in previous days so we dispensed with snowshoes and headed up just in boots but used our poles. The boot pack was easy enough and about 30-40 minutes later we were at the top and strapping on our boards ready to traverse to the start of the climb to the Glacier Mort. The traverse was a little tricky where the melted slush had frozen hard but we all made it round. The second climb was in full sun, and I hiked in just short sleeves with plenty of sunscreen on. It took us about 1hr 15mins to get to the top of the second climb to the Glacier Mort, and crampons on the last section really made things feel a lot safer as you don't want to slip from up there! At the top we could see our reward for all the hard work going up: there were only a few tracks heading down into the Berard Valley and the snow looked great. We didn't hang around long at the top, mainly because the cold wind didn't make it an ideal lunch spot. Neil guided us down, traversing to get through a few tight rocky spots before we entered a wide couloir. The snow was light and powdery, a little tracked already but not enough to spoil things, and it was fun to head up the couloir's banks and pull some powdery turns. Lower down it opened out and we could head anywhere. There were a few wind lips to slash and rollers to bounce over. The final run down to Le Buet is in good shape now; there are only a couple of flat or uphill sections where we had to take off our snowboards and walk.

The weather this morning was looking pretty grim, low cloud and light snow, neither one thing nor the other. So we headed over to Courmayeur where the weather can be very different to here. This morning it was much brighter over there, although it did start to snow lightly later in the afternoon. We took two different routes today, both from the top of the Arp cable car (a very ancient and very small cable car which is a true test of your faith in engineering). Our first run took us from the top all the way down to Dolonne in Courmayeur. The top section involved a bit of traversing and then a hike along a ridge to get to an untracked couloir. The pitch was perfect and so was the powder. The couloir opened out into a wide gentle bowl, which was more tracked but still the snow was good. As we lost height and headed down into the trees the snow started to get a little more mixed, crusty in places but still powdery in the more shaded areas. The terrain was great for freeriding, with little bumps and banks to play on. The further down we went the crustier it became off piste. The trail back to Dolonne was a bumpy one through the trees, with a long heelside traverse for me.

To my mind the best powder of the day was on our second run, down to Val Veny from the top of the Arp. We had to traverse and head over a col, then traverse some more to get to the powder. But when we got there it was the best kind: deep and light. If the light had been better I would have been able to really let rip. The open powder field lead down to a fairly steep gully, which had seen a fair amount of traffic, but still there was some fresh snow on its banks and a rock band halfway down to drop. Then we had a long run out to Val Veny with its hairpin turns and bridge to cross followed by a very, very long flat section. Neil was on skis today and helped me out with a few pushes on the flat – so that's what skiers are for!

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