A snowboarder rides down a snowy slope with mountains in the background

A group of people skiing down a snow covered slope

Skiers on a snowy slope with a mountain in the background

A snowy slope with trees on the side of it

People skiing down a snowy slope with mountains in the background

Chamonix Snow Report: 3rd April 2007

featured in Snow report Author Kevin Knox, Updated 26 May 2016

The week has begun warm and sticky as maximum temperatures have risen into the double digits. This afternoon as I type it's +11ºC at our house. It's not been all non-stop sunshine though, as, predictably enough, the cumulous cloud seems to build up in the afternoon with a few showers of snow or rain falling depending on whether you are in the valley or up on the mountain. Today we had the strange experience of sitting outside the restaurant at Lognan (Grands Montets) in the warm weather with the odd flake of snow blowing by

I headed up to Grands Montets today a little late in the day: I arrived at noon in the hope of avoiding yesterday's frozen slush. I'd say that I timed it a tad too late as any hard stuff was well and truly transformed into soft spring snow and slush when I arrived at the top of Plan Joran. The sun was out and felt strong but when I looked across the valley to Brevent and Flegere there was some fairly dark and threatening cloud hanging over the pistes there. I'd definitely made the right choice of ski area today.

My first mission was to check out the snowpark, which has been out of bounds over the weekend because of a snowboarding competition going on there. The park was in great shape with the snow softened up nicely by midday, making it all the more forgiving for those sketchy landings when you try out new tricks. It was quite busy in the park today with a few kids being dragged through by parents and then being left to fend for themselves when they got stuck on the jumps, thus causing a hazard both for themselves and others. After just a few laps of the park the snow became very sticky on the track back to the Tabe chairlift: at times I almost came to a standstill it was that bad.

Elsewhere at Grands Montets the snow was much less sticky. The Bochard even managed a little iciness at the very top, as did the Herse. Apart from that it was good snow, lightly softened on the top with a firm base, just the way we like it. Snow cover is still exceptionally good with scarcely a rock or bare patch in sight. From about the level of the Croix de Lognan things start to slush up, and around the restaurant at Lognan there are some puddles to trudge through.

The weather deteriorated through the day, and by 3:30pm it was snowing at the top of Bochard and the light had turned very flat, making the bumps of loose snow difficult to see, and spotting landings in the snowpark became a gamble. It was enough to make me call it a day and the same went for the hundreds of other skiers and snowboarders heading down the Pierre a Ric at the same time as me. The Pierre a Ric has now fully taken on its spring garb of slushy moguls, and I'm starting to wonder if the end is now in sight if the warm weather keeps up its destructive work: the snowpack is looking pretty thin towards the bottom end of the Ric and I noticed a few dark patches appearing further up. Having said that, I really revel in slushy moguls, which are so much fun to push around and bounce off. Enough doom and gloom, the Ric looks like it'll last beyond Easter weekend at least and possibly longer. You never know, we may have a few top-ups this month to keep it alive for the closing party. In fact as I finish typing the report it has just started raining in Chamonix, so with a little bit of luck, there should be some fresh snow for tomorrow.

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