Chamonix Snow Report: 11th February 2016

Italy was due to receive a little heavier snowfall than the French side of the Mont Blanc Massif with the heaviest snowfall on Tuesday daytime so on Tuesday I got a few local storm laps on Grands Montets while things filled in to make the most of conditions on Wednesday.

On Wednesday we headed through the Mont Blanc Tunnel to Courmayeur for our best day's skiing of the winter so far, it was definitely up there with some of my best ever in Italy too. We arrived at the Val Veny lift for about 9am (be sure to buy your €3 parking ticket at the machine this winter) to find the lift not running yet and a possible two hour wait. Across on the newly-renovated Mont Blanc Skyway lift up to Helbronner there was a fair crowd, so we considered just waiting things out with some coffees, but in the end I'm really glad we did check out the Skyway as we experienced the deepest snow of the winter on two laps from the Pavillon midstation down to the road without much ski traffic to contend with.

It was my first time skiing the lower section of Helbronner so was going on my ski partners' advice for routes, taking a line to skier's-left of the lift line a little away from the main traffic on both laps for untouched knee-deep light powder leading into the main exit gully. It's rare that we ski such deep snow on terrain steep enough to maintain a good speed and so was a real treat with faceshots on nearly every turn! Joining the exit gully led us out towards Entrèves, timing our first lap perfectly for the free shuttle minibus that the Skyway was running back to the lift, but on our second lap the ski & skate back through town on the snow-covered road wasn't much effort.

Be sure to activate your Mont Blanc Unlimited ski pass at the Skyway ticket desk before first (even if it has already been activated for Courmayeur already) and note that the terrain accessed by the lift is all serious off-piste terrain as well as being glaciated on the top section, so full avalanche safety equipment is very important to carry as well as experience and/or the services of a professional guide.

After our second lap we could see that the Val Veny lift was running so we spent the rest of the day just lapping the Val Veny trees on the routes we know and love (all accessed by skiing away from the lift then dropping in to the right), finding some nice new variations too even after five years of skiing this area regularly. Only a few lifts on the front side of the mountain were open plus the Zerotta chairlift but we heard later from friends that the snow was nowhere near as good there so we made a good decision by sticking to Val Veny.

Crowds weren't too bad considering the limited lifts and holiday traffic but with a lot of people just following existing tracks we were skiing mostly untouched snow on every lap. The snow wasn't quite as deep as the higher terrain over on Helbronner but there was still a good 40cm everywhere, so we could ski our lines nice and fast with amazing landings off any drops and pillows in sight.

I was skiing with my small group for the whole day but it was nice to bump into at least one other group of Chamonix friends in the lift after every lap to compare notes on the routes we had been skiing, and everyone looked to be having a fun and relaxed day.

By 4pm our legs were done after one of the longest days on the mountain I've had this winter and definitely one of the most fun.

Hopefully there's more of the same still to come this winter!

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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.