Chamonix Snow Report: 6th April 2006

So, up we headed to Grands Montets. We weren't particularly early, we left that to some of our more enthusiastic housemates who caught the 3rd cable car up to the very top. Their reward was untracked powder in the sun, worth the early alarm I think. My attempt was altogether less organised: pulling out my camera to take some photos as we emerged from the cloud at the top of the Tabe chair I realised that I'd left the battery in its charger. I made a dash down the Marmottons blue run in the zero visibility. The snow felt good but I couldn't see it, the visibility was that bad. Then onto Pierre a Ric – it's unusual to be on this run so early in the morning. The previous day's melted snow and slush had been groomed when wet, and overnight it had frozen hard; on top were about 5–10cm of new snow which made it much more forgiving than it would have otherwise have been.

Take two and I was back up on the hill this time with functioning camera. The cloud layer was still there at midday, the forecast predicted it would disappear but it didn't shift all day. Riding up the Bochard gondola we soon popped out above the cloud into the strong spring sun. The mountains always look fabulous on days like these as only the highest peaks form islands floating in the sea of cloud. It felt warm up there today, and I had certainly overdone the layers. It felt colder in the cloudy valley than high up on the sunny slopes above.

The snow was still fairly light and powdery high on the Bochard and Herse but heavier at the level of Lognan. There were about 20–30cm of new snow at the top and maybe 10cm of fresh at Lognan, but there were deeper stashes where it had drifted. The snow in Combe de la Pendant was great: we went right down the middle just skier's right of the black run where it was tracked but not too tracked even at midday. We had toyed with the idea of taking the top cable car up but the 45-minute queue wasn't inviting, and there were no queues on the Bochard or Herse so we stuck with them as we were still having fun with the off piste there. From the top of the Herse we looked up to the face below the top cable car: it wasn't very tracked at all and the turns the people coming down there were getting looked amazing. I was starting to regret not taking the top ticket. But by now my legs were tired and home was beckoning.

By the afternoon when we headed down, the warm weather had softened Pierre a Ric up nicely, with the morning's icy slush melted to soft again: much more to my liking I have to say as even though it was heavy it was much easier to hold an edge on. At 7:00 this evening as I write this report the sky is still mostly grey but the blue sky above is fighting through. Here's hoping tomorrow will be the 90% sunshine day forecast.

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