Chamonix Snow Report: 3rd January 2009

featured in Snow report Author Tom Wilson-North, Updated 24 October 2014

Happy New Year! It's been an awesome start to 2009 up here; we were in the town square at midnight for the annual celebration/riot/firework throwing extravaganza, and on the stroke of midnight, just like last year, snowflakes started to fall.

After missing out on a 1st January ski due to a coincidental 24-hour New Year flu, we headed to Le Tour yesterday to find some of the fresh snow that had fallen on the first. There was plenty out there, all the better for the blue skies, and the only thing that tainted an excellent day out on the hill was the amount of people, causing long lift lines all over the resort. In fact, we pulled an old trick and ran laps of the Charamillon gondola for most of the day. It's a good thing to do on busy days at Le Tour; a fast lift, walk-on gondolas, decent snow and plenty of vertical drop.

True to form at Le Tour, I found myself playing St Bernard again, having found a crumpled skier at the side of the piste. She'd fallen and hit her head, so we put cross-skis up, supported her spinal column and called patrol. Having the emergency number in my phone got someone down a whole lot faster - 04 50 54 04 73. And never one to miss a sales opportunity, I made sure she had the details of the shop I work in to come and buy a helmet.

Off to Courmayeur today and up the Midi tomorrow. Happy days!

Tom

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