Chamonix High Mountain Snow Report: 15th December 2015

Grand Montets has been open for a couple of weeks now and although there are a few pistes to choose from, they are starting to get a little bare in places and the rocks are starting to emerge. A short hike from the Bochard gondola gives you access to the Argentiere basin side where there has been some good powder and less rocks than in the main basin. There is a good skin track across to the back side and also a good track further up the north face which gives you great access to the cold north facing powder fields.

In the search for good snow people have been leaving the valley and heading for north facing aspects around mid mountain level. A short drive from Chamonix is Bel Oiseau, located just to the north of the Emosson Dam. A 1,300m climb through the forest and large open bowl gives you access to some great skiing in a range of north facing couloirs. There is good snow cover down to the forest and then you have a short walk back to the car with you skis on your back.

With the Aiguille du Midi scheduled for its reopening on the 19th December, I was keen to see how the conditions were shaping up in the high mountains. Heading through the Mont Blanc tunnel to Italy and taking a ride on the new Skyway Monte Bianco gave us easy access to the glacier and we went for a short ski towards the Cirque Maudit. There are still many big crevasses on the normal route on the Valley Blanche and on the other popular routes; it will take much more snow before guided groups will be able to start making their way down these classic descents.

The Brevent and Flegere ski areas opened last weekend and with most of the slopes being south facing the snow has been more effected by the sun than the snow at Grands Montets. Thin snow cover has meant that the higher lifts such as Brevent, Cornu and Index have not been open, so what little snow there is up high has not been touched by the crowds. On Monday I headed upwards from Plan Praz at Brevent, making my way towards the top station and then along the ridge-line above the pistes. Finding cold, boot top powder was an unexpected reward and made the descent enjoyable. However, there are still lots of rocks to be covered over before you can ski with more confidence.

The weather is very spring like at the moment with cold mornings and feeling very warm on the south facing slopes. This trend is set to continue through the week with strong winds expected up high. Fingers crossed for some more snowfall before Christmas.

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NB: Off piste skiing and mountaineering are dangerous. The opinions expressed in these articles are very much time and condition specific and the content is not intended in any way to be a substitute for hiring a mountain guide, undergoing professional mountaineering training and/or the individual's own back country decision making.