Chamonix Snow Report: 6th April 2005

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at La Vormaine nursery slopes up at Le Tour, as some friends of ours are here on holiday and just starting boarding. The pistes there are great for first timers as they're gentle and sunny. There are also superb views of the Le Tour glacier giving it a real mountain feel. Snow cover was reasonable considering the relatively low altitude, but it was a bit thin in places with grassy patches showing through in quite a few spots. The snow itself was wet and slushy, so forgiving for those inevitable falls.

Today we were at Brevent-Flegere. The black run from the very top of Brevent, Charles Bozon, was in very good shape at midday: firm on the upper section and a little softer lower down but without being slushy. Some of the steeper, moguled sections are easily avoided by zigzagging down on the cat track. Vioz was only a little slushy at midday but became more so through the afternoon. Snow cover was a little thin in places but there are still some large areas well covered. It's a fun, easy run with a quite few opportunities for jumping on the way down. Blanchot had better snow than Vioz, being a little shadier so less slushy, however we only rode it once as we preferred the jumps on Vioz. Charlanon from the top of the Cornu chair was deserted and in very good shape; the altitude and shadier aspect help to keep it colder. The steepness of this run is technically demanding but the snow today was just about right for getting the edges of my board to bite in, making it easy to ride well.

Our mistake was to catch the Liaison and head to Flegere, where conditions have deteriorated substantially since our last visit. At the top of the Floria and Index the snow is still in superb condition but the further down you go the worse it gets. Lower down, a lot of runs, like Floria, have been re-routed to avoid the sections with very patchy or no snow, and the Chavanne chair has closed for the rest of the season. Trappe, the green run right at the bottom, seems to have escaped the worst of the meltdown and is still in good shape. However, the area just above the bottom of the Index chair is in poor condition, with stones all over the place and the snow brown. Evettes back to the Liaison cablecar is even worse. Without fresh snow soon I can't believe these runs will be open for many more days.

Which brings me onto the weather forecast. We're predicted heavy snow for Chamonix in the next couple of days.

Useful Links
Cross-country skiing is Closed
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.

Additional snow and weather information provided, with thanks, by meteo.chamonix.com and the Tourist Office