Chamonix Snow Report: 30th January 2008

So may I begin by apologising for the gloomier than usual photos, believe me it was far worse than it looks. We arrived for our lesson at Le Tour mid day, and the car park was emptying! Riding up on the gondola the home run was thinly populated by skiers and boarders mainly going sideways and making a great deal of scraping noise in the process. Having arrived at the Charamillion a bit early we carried on to the top for a warm up run.

The visibility at the top was near zero, when you found one piste marker there was no sign of another indeed it was hard to work out, which direction was up. One thing to note is that the piste marker poles on the skier's right of the piste, are marked with orange paint for about 15cm at the top, this can be useful to know in a white out. The snow up here was hard but not quite hard pack as there was still a bit of grip to be had. We slowly made our way down to Charamillion; the funny thing was as soon as we set off we acquired a huge snake of skiers and boarders, hoping to follow someone down.

Back at Charamillion our instructor decided that the home run which I normally really like, had the best of the light, and she was right. Unfortunately the same could not be said of the snow. While it could not be properly described as ice, it was not far off; I could not even get the point of my ski stick to penetrate the surface! After we had lapped the home run several times we decided to have a look over the Vallorcine side.

From the top of the Tete de Balme chair there is a long, easy angled traverse, passing two drag lifts around to the north side of the mountain. As we got lower both the quality of the light and the snow got considerably better. The snow here appeared not to have been subject to the same freeze-thaw-freeze cycle that had turned the bottom of the west facing side of the mountain to icy hard pack.

An alternative to skiing or boarding on days such as this and indeed an activity in its own right, is snow shoeing or raquettes as it is known in French. This is great fun and the equipment can be hired cheaply at many of the sports shops in the valley. It is also possible to engage a Guide or Accompagnateur and go on an organised walk.

An excellent guide book to snowshoeing in the area, written by Hilary Sharpe is available.

www.trekkinginthealps.com/books.htm

It is as far as I know the only one available in English. Unfortunately on the final run of the day we came upon a party, snowshoeing down the piste, which is not a good idea, and getting into a bit of trouble.

Anyway- so what, is, the good news?
As we packed our stuff into the car it started to snow lightly, the first for 8 days, and while for tomorrow (Thursday) the forecast is fine, more snow and colder temperatures are expected on Friday and into the weekend.

The avalanche threat level according to Meteo France is 2, moderate, and 1 low, below 2500m.

Check out what to do around town once the lifts have closed with our latest 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