A bunch of skis are lined up on a rack including one that says ' salomon ' on it

A snowy valley with mountains in the background

A ski lift is going up a snowy mountain with a banner that says dynastar

A group of skiers are gathered around a dynastar banner

Chamonix Snow Report: 3rd March 2009

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

Well, it's March, and there's only nine weeks until the season's out and the lifts close. 63 days. That means that if you've been up less than fifty times since November, you won't make your 100 days. If you live up here and make it up the hill three or four times a week, it's thirty two days on snow to go. Time to step up; time to go ride that line you've been eyeing all winter. Time to stomp that trick that you told yourself you wanted to learn.

Better still, it's time to throw out that mouldy fleece that's been tarnishing your upper half. The weather's getting warmer; in fact, a little earlier this week it's been raining in town for the first time since November. Such a statistic, owing to a consistently low snow level, is testament to the long, cold snowy winter that's happened this year. On Saturday we rode Les Grands Montets in t-shirts and hoodies, and at one point the temperature at 3000m hit a tropical 13°C. I was expecting the lifties to crack out the Bermuda shorts.

Warm temperatures mean soft snow. And soft snow means good times and sunny afternoons. It's important to remember, however, that the water-saturated Slush Puppee snow freezes overnight, creating brittle and bony conditions at all aspects in the mornings. We found such conditions at Les Houches the other day; I broke out my skis for the third time this year and gave onlookers a laugh for a couple of hours (I snowboard normally). The ice turns to slush fast, around 11.00am when the sun hits it, and over lunch the conditions are fantastic. However, after a couple of hundred skiers have been down a piste, little slushy moguls pile up and the going gets tough...particularly for an amateur skier of average fitness, such as yours' truly. Worse still, the gaps between the moguls get polished off until the sheet 'boilerplate' ice of the snowbase comes through, creating scratchy, noisy patches that defy the bite of all but the sharpest ski edge.

The warm temperatures and high rain line has seen the snow in town slowly give way to the mud and grass that's been patiently waiting below it; after another week or so of warming the walking/biking trails of the Petit Balcon Sud will be snow free. My bike's patiently waiting in its box, where I put it back in November; I'm counting the days until I can get back out on it.

That's not to say that winter is over quite yet. Indeed, some of the best days of skiing and snowboarding are yet to come. March is fantastic; no lift lines, empty restaurants, plenty of parking, goggle marks and open jackets. Best of all, no more waxing; I find that a ton of structure in a base, combined with the occassional top-up of high-temperature summer wax, is plenty to get your glide on right now. Any of the ski shops worth their salt in town - and even the ones that aren't - should be able to help.

Looks like there's a storm on the horizon for the end of the week; with any luck that'll mean some excellent riding at all of the valley's resorts next week. And with the forecast re-lowering of the snowline, we'll get a fresh layer of snow on the ski-outs at Brevent, Flegere, Le Tour and Les Grands Montets, all of which are open, but could do with a blanket to hide the rocks.

See you out there!

Tom