Chamonix Snow Report: 21st December 2014

Sunday morning we headed up fairly early...on the train just before 9am...complete with coffee and croissants! Travelling by train is so much nicer than being crammed in the bus first thing in the morning, that's for sure. And even though we were not early enough for first bins it was a real treat to find that there was absolutely no queue whatsoever at the new gondola...maybe people just don't know yet that you can walk around the corner from the main building and walk straight in to a plush new cabin with leather seats?

We were welcomed in (along the red carpet!) through the Christmas trees and presented with our Santa hats; not quite big enough to over our helmets but I am sure they will come in handy over the next week! With an entire gondola to ourselves we wondered what would be in store for us higher up as there is a definite lack of snow on the hill as you pass over the Grands Montets home run.

After warming up the legs on the short run down from the top of the Plan Joran cable car to the mid station on well groomed pistes with some chalky snow, we walked straight on to the top cable car (another first! No queue!) and enjoyed not only the amazing views from the top but also some great snow, that was a bit churned up in places but soft enough to push through with ease.

A few laps on the Bochard were also really good fun, except for a couple of stretches of moguls and only the occasional icy patch under the surface. It must have been at least 11am before it really felt like it was getting was busy but again we were surprised to find that it wasn't as horrific as we had imagined! We heard similar reports from beginner skiers over in Flegere, who were on their first lessons of the season. Nice snow and decent coverage on all the runs that were open, and I am sure the blue skies helped a lot in making everyone's day a lot of fun.

So despite the lack of slopes that are open I can safely say that it is well worth heading up to enjoy the snow, and with the temperatures dropping again this morning (Monday) the snow cannons are working hard to improve conditions. It looks like we are in for a sunny Christmas week so we can enjoy good company and good views and some fun on the slopes!

Also check out the video link above for the first official Chamonix Snow Report in association with Sony Action Cameras from Seven Twenty Productions.