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Chamonix Snow Report: 30th January 2007

featured in Snow report Author Ellie Mahoney, Chamonix Editor Updated

The weather conditions have become fairly predictable over the last few days: we've had mild, sunny afternoons and some very cold clear nights. Often in the morning it's been colder in the town than on the sunny slopes of Flegere and Brevent. With the weather like this it's been a safe bet to head up to Brevent and Flegere in the mornings, as the slopes there soften the fastest, but by mid afternoon they can become too soft and slushy. Head over to Grands Montets in the afternoon as the slopes are sheltered from the sun and higher, so they are mostly good in the afternoon. Temperatures have been slowly rising since last week and the really cold weather does seem to have passed through now; this afternoon it was warm enough for things to start thawing in town. There was plenty of dripping water and the icicles hanging in front of our window finally fell off in the afternoon warmth. The snow in our garden is getting thin too, and our drive is starting to clear again, so the snow is definitely melting low down here; the runs down to the valley from Brevent and Flegere aren't open as there isn't much snow at all on the south-facing side of the valley.

We've also been doing some cross-country skiing on the ski de fond trails; the snow is just about deep enough to ski on but it is starting to suffer in the afternoon warmth with stones and mud showing through in a few places, but in general the trails down in Chamonix are mostly in a good state. They were pretty busy yesterday, mainly with groups of children; I guess it won't be long before the school holidays start.

Today and yesterday we rode at Brevent and Flegere, which was pretty good early in the morning. There's nothing like some freshly groomed piste in the morning, and the Bozon piste was great first thing; even the steep mogulled section wasn't as icy as expected and it was fun to get some tight turns in on it. Elsewhere at Brevent conditions were good but much softer than the Bozon. Vioz has very good snow cover now and has no bare patches to worry about: its wide slopes and large rollers are great to carve on at the moment. The new Cornu chairlift continues to be working well and I've yet to see a queue for it. The snow on the Cornu piste is fairly firm at the top but a little too soft lower down, in the afternoons, and there are some irritating stones to avoid on the cat track section near the bottom. The Charlanon bowl is shadier and has some really hard snow on the piste. I saw a few people losing edges on the hard stuff today. It's just about possible to ride well if you feed your edges in gradually, any sudden movements on it though and you'll be losing it.

On the Flegere side especially near the Liaison cablecar the snow is only just hanging in there: its beige colour and mixture of stones and vegetable matter make it resemble a fruit-cake mix. It really catches the sun on this corner of the mountain so it is the worst-affected area. Elsewhere at Flegere the snow is in much better shape: the higher you go the better it gets, with the snow off of the top of the Floria button lift being the best on offer. If you don't like draglifts it's worth getting over your phobia for it: the black run Floria is really good at the moment. Ski tourers use the top of the Floria lift as the setting off point for the Col des Crochues, and again today we saw a few people heading over into the Berard Valley, which lies beyond.

The Index was good today: no queues to speak of and there was very good snow most of the way down; it was just a little thin in a few places but nothing much to worry about. Even the cat tracks were jumpable as the snow softened up; nothing like jumping into powder but still good enough.

The sunny mild weather is making it feel like spring and the snow conditions are definitely returning to a spring pattern of freeze/thaw. It's not quite spring slush in the afternoons, but it is getting warmer so remember to put on plenty of sunscreen and leave off with the thermals. I even saw a guy skiing with nothing on top today: it's good for getting a tan, but it's going to be painful if you fall!

Check out what to do around town once the lifts have closed with our all new Apres Ski Report - a weekly round up of what's hot and where to party in Chamonix!

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

Stats

Avalanche Risk
  • Level 2

Snow Report
  • 0

  • Total Pistes: 80

  • Alt. Resort: 2000

  • Alt. Summit: 2800

  • Alt. Last Snow: 1900

  • High Temp.: 3

  • Alt. High Temp.: 1050