Chamonix Snow Report: 28th March 2006

I had planned to go to Le Tour today, but the low cloud didn't bode well for the visibility there, so instead I went up to Grands Montets. Grands Montets' trees lower down make it a good bet on a day like this. I rode the Plan Joran chair up and then the Tabe to take me to the blue run, Coq, which runs alongside the Dream Forest. I was on my own today so didn't venture into the trees, but from the occasional whoop and shout coming from there, it was obvious that a few people had. Whilst the light was flat, the visibility was really not that bad, and the 5 or 6 cm of snow that had fallen was still undisturbed in enough places to the sides of the pistes at 10 am to get some fresh turns. To describe it as powder would be an exaggeration, however, and in this lower section of Grands Montets it was rather wet, creaky and heavy. There didn't seem to be very many people about (no queuing for lifts today) but there were nevertheless lots of tracks in the fresh snow that had fallen on piste, and with more and more traffic the humid snow was getting whipped up into unyielding lumps.

With the snow so wet lower down, I decided to take the visibility gamble and head up higher. The snow at the top of the Bochard was lighter and deeper (about 10 cm according to Compagnie du Mont Blanc's website and I reckon that was about right), and as most people seemed to be heading down the red run I went into Combe de la Pendant on the black run, Chamois. The visibility was worse up there but, again, not impossible, and I literally had the run all to myself until I emerged from the tunnel that passes under the blue run Arolles at the bottom. The snow at the top of Chamois was good but the upper section was a bit mogulled. Lower down on the almost-flat runout before the tunnel the packed-down wet snow was wickedly fast and I got further than I ever have before I ran out of steam and had to take my back foot out and push.

For my final run I opted for a ride up the Herse, followed by the black run Blanchots, then the red Hotel Variant (which this year is taking a slightly different route to normal) and onto the Pierre a Ric. I immediately regretted taking Blanchots: yesterday's partially frozen moguls were concealed, but only to the eye, by a covering of new snow and the flat light. I grunted and grumbled my way down to the where the run joins the Hotel Variant. Here the moguls were less bumps and more termite mounds but at least that meant you could see them. I finished of with a quick blast down a very soggy Pierre a Ric.

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