Chamonix Snow Report: 7th January 2016

The heavy snow early in the week was accompanied by high winds which resulted in a high avalanche risk and on Monday not many lifts were running (Grands Montets closed for the whole day). So on Tuesday rather than battle the powder-hungry crowds in the Chamonix valley we headed out half an hour by car to Les Contamines whose lifts are included on all Mont Blanc Unlimited lift passes for the first time this year.

As soon as we arrived at 8.45am we knew we had made a good decision, finding the car park almost empty and walking straight onto the Montjoie gondola and up to the Signal mid-station. At the top gondola station there was a good 15cm of powder on top of the previously-groomed pistes so a few powder-piste laps of the top gondola warmed us up nicely.

Over at the far looker's-left Buche Croisee chairlift we found the best skiing of the day with at least 30cm of fresh powder everywhere, lots of natural rolls in the terrain to play on and not many others skiing off-piste; just fun, stress-free laps. Even on our last run we were finding untouched snow on the way back to the gondola (downloading on the Monjoie gondola still necessary).

Some weak & shallow windslabs could be seen breaking off in some of the slightly steeper sections so take care and ski smart in the new snow everyone!

This certainly won't be my last visit to Les Contamines; definitely worth a look whether you're after some good pistes of all ability levels, off-piste skiing of a less serious nature compared to most of the Chamonix valley, or some lift-assisted ski touring. MBU season pass holders: be sure to activate your lift pass at Saint Gervais or Megeve first. Weekly MBU holders: check the procedure when you buy your ticket. [Find out how to get there].

With a little more fresh snow overnight and clear skies on Wednesday morning I headed to Le Tour to hopefully again find deep snow and low traffic. Pistes on the front side were in excellent condition first thing and the mellow off-piste slopes skiing well with plenty of untouched snow to find all morning. There is a nasty uphill-gradient queue at the main Autannes chairlift at the moment get ready to feel the burn in your triceps whilst holding your position in line!

I was eagerly watching the information board each lap and the light for the Tete de Balme chairlift on the back side of the mountain lit up green at 11.30am. The liaison piste to the back side of the mountain was in great condition and a fun piste ski for all abilities. However the Tete de Balme piste itself has not yet been prepared and had some avalanche control debris covering its usual path, so it was off-piste access only if you wanted to lap the back side of the mountain.

Avalanche danger is still high and there was plenty of wind-affected snow around, so I played it safe and stuck to the mellower angles. The popular route on the right side of the lower half of the chairlift was skiing just OK, but there are some other excellent areas to find amongst the trees if you know where to look. I think I told myself "Just one more lap" three or four times before finally heading home with tired legs.

Although the avalanche danger is high this week the overall snow depth is definitely catching up to where it should be for this time of year and the only rocks I scraped at Le Tour were on one particularly wind-scoured ridge. Let's hope that things stabilise well after the new incoming snow and we end up with a deep & stable snowpack for a good long, safe ski season.

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NB: Off piste skiing can be 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 off piste training and/or the individual's own back country decision making.