Chamonix Snow Report: 26th January 2016

OK, no-one comes to Chamonix to ski park and no-one living here has it high on their priority list but I see it as an easy option for days when it hasn't snowed in a while if I'm not feeling like going touring or piste skiing. There was a decent park in Les Houches in winter 08/09 but following a bad snow year in 09/10 when no large features could be built the main sponsor dropped their funding and there was a smaller park on the shaded slopes of Grands Montets for a few years after that. Last winter there wasn't much of a park at all (just a boardercross track which I hear is still present this year), but HO5 have been promising a top notch park in Le Tour this winter which partially opened last week.

I got up to Le Tour mid-morning and took a long piste lap round to the back side of the mountain first to get the feel of my new (second-hand) park skis, finding excellent soft pistes with the odd firm patch. From the top of the Tete de Balme chairlift over to the front side you can traverse hard left off piste to reach the top of the park so a park run could be a nice finish to a day of skiing off the back side of the mountain during your return the Le Tour car park.

I was going for quick laps of the park today and settled into it after a few runs. Currently there are 4 red kickers on the left side (6-7m from takeoffs to start of landings) and 6 blue kickers on the right (2-5m from takeoffs to start of landings) then at the bottom, a choice of either a short up-box and long up/down box or two blue kickers. Not a bad little layout to start with anyway. Personally I'd like to see the landings be made a lot steeper for less impact and the takeoffs steepen slightly but mellow angles make them less intimidating for everyone and one of the park crew told me that a bigger black kicker line will be coming soon.

It's a nice sunny spot on Le Tour looking down the Chamonix Valley and with the drag lift right beside the park you can make laps in about 6 minutes if you're not hanging around; much better than some parks which are serviced by long chairlifts.

So have a look at the Summit Park the next time you're skiing at Le Tour and have a go. The blue kickers aren't intimidating at all but are a little inconsistent in size (ie. more speed required for some than others) so take it easy and you're sure to find a few to suit your ability level.

A few general tips for the park:

• Get your general ski/snowboard skills up to scratch first; controlling your speed into, and out, of features is important
• Check out the features by riding around them all on your first lap; often you can't tell how big they are from the top
• If you're not making the distance on a jump and landing on the downslope then stick to smaller kickers until you're comfortable to hit the bigger ones with more speed
• If you're unsure of the speed required, especially on your first run, then watch others drop in or even ask to follow behind someone who is confident of not falling
• Continuous runs are best to maintain your speed; if you stop between features move to the side and look uphill before restarting
• If you fall, move out of landing areas quickly
• Never walk back up a landing to retrieve anything after a crash; walk around then down so that others can see you and signal that it's not safe to jump by showing crossed arms above your head
• It's common for a bit of a queue to form at the top of the park; wait your turn but if everyone is just chatting or not looking keen to go right away, announce "Dropping" and go yourself
• Falling on your head hurts less when you're wearing a helmet

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