Chamonix Snow Report: 7th February 2008

The resort of Courmayeur is arranged in two areas, the sunny open valley above Plan Checrouit and the shady Val Veny. The best way to enjoy Courmayeur is to follow the sun. In the morning make your way immediately from the top of the Entreves cable car to the Checrouit area via the Zerotta chair. There are lots of wide and relatively easy red runs to enjoy here. They are all in great condition at the moment, soft grippy snow, on a firm base.

By the time you have exhausted the available runs and yourself, you should be ready for the real reason so many make the trip through the tunnel, lunch. I am reluctant to make recommendations as I have yet to be disappointed anywhere and there are so many high quality eating establishments to choose from, plus finding your own special place is all part of the fun. When I first visited Courmayeur the lifts used to close for lunch, alas that is no longer the case, but that is no excuse for rushing and giving your self indigestion.

By the time you have finished eating the sun should have spilled into the delightful Val Veny. The runs here are quire different, narrower and with a wider variety of standards. The piste gradings here tend to be a bit softer than Chamonix, however particularly in the Val Veny, the narrow runs can quickly become swept of the surface snow, uncovering the hard pack below, which makes then considerably more difficult. This was the case today on some of the Val Veny pistes.

No trip to Courmayeur is complete without a look around the town. The pedestrianised main street is full of high class retail opportunities, which we managed to resist despite several shops having sales on. There are a couple of popular bars at the top end of town, one of which supplies an impressive table full of free snacks.

On occasions the tunnel can get very congested so it is best avoided at weekends and holidays. You can check traffic conditions on their web site which also includes a live feed from the traffic cameras.

As we drove back towards the tunnel, the sun was setting behind the mighty Peuterey ridge the longest on Mont Blanc. The photo on the right is of- les Dames Anglaise a feature of the ridge which is supposed to look like Queen Victoria?

The avalanche risk is posted as 3 considerable, and the forecast is for sunny weather until after the weekend at least.

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

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