Chamonix Snow Report: 2nd April 2006

It's my first day out in a week and a half. My plan was to head up to Le Tour, first to La Vormaine's green runs to see how my sprained ankle is recovering and then maybe up higher on the mountain if it was feeling ok. Vormaine is probably the best area in Chamonix if you're a complete beginner as the area is wide, gentle and the pistes are fairly long by beginners' standards. There are three draglifts, but this morning the longest one wasn't running. The snow was superb. We arrived at about 10:00 and the snow was softening up nicely, without turning to slush. As the morning wore on it softened a little more but was still good. Considering that we're into April now the snow conditions are exceptional, and the cover is good with no patches of grass or mud showing at all. I imagine by mid afternoon with the sun on the slopes here that the snow gets very slushy, so it's best to be here in the morning now spring is in full swing.

A few runs later and I felt ready to head higher up Le Tour. I had decided to stay on piste and not get too carried away on my first day back, but I failed miserably: the snow to the side of the pistes at the top of the Autannes chair was just too good to resist. It wasn't very deep, only 10cm or so, but it was fresh and made for smooth riding and a big grin on my face. Lower down it became a little rain crusty but nothing too hard. The pistes are looking in fantastic shape: Ecuries was soft but not slushy, smooth and bump free. We did the run again for the fresh snow between the Ecuries and Stade pistes. It was a little tracked but still fun.

I headed around the back to the Tete de Balme chair; there were fresh lines visible all over. Some from the top of the Tete de Balme back down the front side and some off of the Aiguillette des Posettes; today I left them alone but it did look good as the snow started to soften up by midday. The Esserts piste is still in top condition, sometime late in the season the lower section can get patchy, but not yet as the cover is holding out well. Cloud started to roll in during early afternoon and on the Tete de Balme chair it felt cold in the wind that was picking up. I decided to call it a day and head home. Caisets, the run from Charamillon down to Le Tour, was pretty soft but not quite the sunny slushfest that it can be in spring. All the snow cannons are gone now so we're relying solely on what we have for the rest of the season. The cover was good but, worryingly, there were a few muddy patches beginning to appear on the snow. The clouds thickened up quite a bit this afternoon, and I've heard it was snowing up at Grands Montets. We've more snow forecast too.

By my housemates' standards the snow today was nothing special compared to the masses of powder that they've ridden over the last week. But by my standards, someone who's been stuck indoors for a week and a half, I have to say that the snow was excellent today, especially the few inches of fresh stuff. The stick of truth in our garden is still reading 120cm of snow depth, that's in Argentiere at 1250m in April, not bad in my book.

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