A group of people are skiing in front of a building that says les grands montets

The sun is shining brightly on a snowy mountain

People skiing down a snow covered slope with a snow cannon blowing snow

Chamonix Snow Report: 9th December 2005

featured in Snow report Author Ellie Mahoney, Chamonix Editor Updated 26 May 2016

Conditions have just got better and better this week with intermittent snow falls (some pretty heavy) continuing over the last couple of days. Today brought the sunshine out in full, but still not the crowds, and 20cm of fresh, super fluffy new snow greeted us at 2000m. Still minimal lifts and pistes open but what is available is in super fast condition and groomed a treat, giving the early season skiers and boarders a good fast circuit to get those winter legs back.

The off-piste is still an ill advised choice until the base forms and there is currently a level 3 avalanche risk. Anyone who has been up the Grand Montets in the summer time will have a good idea of the extent of the rock coverage up there - pretty much everywhere! The rock hitting incident we reported on Tuesday resulted in more than a chunk out of a board…….unfortunately a chunk out of a person. We'd like to wish our regular snow reporters a full and speedy recovery and I'm sure they will be back with their unabridged version of the snow report very soon.

The Brevent gondola has been running this week between Chamonix and Plan Praz, but for pedestrians only as they continue to prepare the area for opening on Dec 17th. However, we'll be keeping an eye on this one as it has been known to open unannounced quite suddenly. You'll be the first to know! The remaining areas, including the Aiguille du Midi cable car are also scheduled for a December 17th opening.

Weather over the weekend is forecast to be blue sky and sunshine but with a cold north easterly wind that should keep the snow nice and crisp. Resist the temptation of the off-piste for a little while longer – after all, we've got the whole season to play on it!

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