Chamonix Snow Report: 6th January 2006

The weather is changing at the moment. The cold Bise wind has switched around and we now have a Foehn wind: a mild southerly wind that's notorious for eating away at the snow. We've had cold night-time temperatures of around -10ºC but now it's forecast to only just dip below freezing. Luckily there is a serious amount of snow on the ground for this time of year so I'm not too concerned about the snow disappearing overnight.

The snow at Grands Montets today was generally very good; although it's been four days now since the last snowfall so it's pretty hard finding any untracked snow within the ski area. It's not impossible though, as I noticed a few boarders and skiers getting a few fresh turns, but they were much less risk averse to the possibility of catching rocks than I am. The upper section of the Bochard piste is looking more and more like its normal self: the snow cannons are gone and it's almost back to the normal route down the mountain. The snow itself on Bochard was mostly very good: firm but not too icy, all except for the steep section below the orange safety net, which is almost always icy.

Combe de la Pendant looked like it had been well and truly tracked out and yet the black piste, Chamois, which runs through its upper sector is still to open; hopefully it won't be long now. The lower part of the bowl had been hit hard by the Foehn wind. The snow on Arolles had been whisked away leaving a parched, icy piste. In places where the wind had deposited the snow there were some fun powdery drifts but the icy sub-layer was never far away. Remuaz is now open and has gained the title of ‘darkest black mogul run of doom' awarded by myself, only try it if you really, really like moguls and don't mind people sitting on the Retour Pendant chair watching you ride them.

Coqs is back in good form, no brown snow but still a little icy in places. Marmottons is in superb shape as always, not at all icy but firm and well groomed. Combes from the top of the Herse chair is in much-improved condition as the piste bashers seem to have made it closer to the top, thus resulting in a much-reduced bumpy section. The snowfalls of last weekend seem to have done away with all the rocks too, so no more slaloming around the hazard poles. Again I managed to find a few powdery turns between the lower cat track of Combes and Pierre a Ric; the cold has kept the snow light and powdery. The final run down to Argentiere on the Pierre a Ric was more icy one than of late and I tried to avoid the ice by sticking to the sides of the piste where the loose snow tends to be pushed.

Useful Information
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.

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