Powder day in Les Houches

Waking up this morning to a blanket of white snow was a reminder of what an alpine winter really should be like. The high winds of the last few days have dropped and although it has eased off a little, snowflakes have been falling all day even down in the valley.

When clouds are low and snow is still falling, there is only really one place to head - Les Houches. It’s relatively low altitude and abundance of trees means that it is sheltered from bad weather and offers some visibility when everywhere else is in a windblown white-out.

Despite its reputation for being an “easy” family-friendly ski area, Les Houches is actually great on a powder day thanks to all its hidden pockets of powder that are largely untouched by kids and beginner skiers. Les Houches is also relatively safe compared to other regions in the valley, with its gentle gradients and lots of trees it is very unlikely to avalanche.

Despite being pretty busy, there were still plenty of fresh lines to be had all day long. On-piste was smooth as velvet, while off-piste was light, fluffy and so much fun! There are still a few slushy patches towards the bottom but if temperatures stay low, another dump of snow should sort that out.

The pisteurs had most kindly left some of the runs ungroomed, making it super easy to find powder without even going off-piste. There were plenty more fresh tracks to be had amongst the trees and in between the pistes.

The weather forecast is predicting more of the same for tomorrow, with the sun coming back out again towards the end of the week, so maybe we'll get a bluebird powder day on Friday? Bring it on!

Keep up to date with the latest snow conditions by following the Chamonix Snow Report and by signing up for our Dump Alerts.