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26 APRIL 2008
For anyone interested in a last slide of
the season, Chamonix has announced extensions to its closing dates. La
Flegere ski area has just extended its closing date for another week til
4 May. Plus Les Grands Montets is scheduled to close on 11 May this
year.
Snow depths are still pretty good. The
tourist office reports them as 230cm for the base of La Flegere (1895m),
200cm at the base of the Grands Monetes (2000m) and a whopping 475cm on
the upper slopes (2800m).
15 APRIL 2008
I really don’t know what to say, except
for as the season draw to a close, the snow is getting deeper …
especially on the upper slopes. Unbelievable!!!
Current snow depths are reported as:
220cm on lower slopes (2000m) and 480cm on the upper slopes (2800m)
26 MARCH 2008
Huge snow fall since the last report has
created some of the best skiing conditions of the season for the Easter
weekend. The snow on piste is fantastic everywhere, lightly packed fresh
snow on the pistes is an absolute pleasure to ski on. Regular snow fall
has kept the off piste refreshed and prevented it getting too tracked
out.
To get an idea of how much snow has
fallen, just compare the current snow depths to the ones from the last
entry below.
Current snow depths are reported as:
230cm on lower slopes (2000m) and 420cm on the upper slopes (2800m)
15 MARCH 2008
The last report finished with a promise
to do a snow dance .... and I am pleased to say it worked.
We've had quite a bit of snow recently,
which has given a very welcome boost to the slopes. Having said
that, the temperatures have been higher than is normal for this time of
year so, whilst its been bucketing down with snow up on the ski areas
(which generally start at about 1900m +/-), our chalet's rainwater
reclamation system, ahem, has been overflowing!! (altitude of just over
1000m).
Typically the rain/snow limit has been
varying between 1300m to 1800m and the result is the valley floor is
looking far greener than it should but the snow on the ski areas it
looking pretty good. Just compare the current snow depths with
those in the last couple of entries. Its all looking good for
easter!
Current reports: 160cm on lower slopes (2000m) and 250cm on the
upper slopes (2800m)
25 FEBRUARY 2008
The beautiful sunny days mentioned in the
last entry have continued for most of February. The nights have
generally been (very) cold, which have turned into crisp mornings and
then getting quite warm throughout the day. Result is the snow on the
pistes has been hard packed, especially in the morning with the south
facing slopes getting much softer in the afternoon, although the snow
can become quite heavy on warm days.
In the last couple of weeks, new snow has
been few and far between with no more than the occasional couple of
centimetres here and there. Sure, the lower slopes are feeling the pinch
(although snow cannon systems have been put to good use during the cold
nights), but the considerable base that fell in early in the season,
plus the decent snow fall we have seen since, means that the slopes are
holding up remarkably well.
Needless to say we are all doing our snow
dances round the fire each evening!!
Current snow depths are Snow depths are
reported as 120cm on lower slopes (2000m) and 208cm on the
upper slopes (2800m)
9 FEBRUARY 2008
After some fresh snow during the week,
the clouds cleared and the sun came out. The weather stayed cold
and clear all weekend, which meant the snow was in great condition
backed by wonderful views of the mountains looking at their best.
Seems the local forecast is for more of the same over the coming days,
so all is set up for a good week.
Here are a couple of photos taken today
that describe the conditions way better than I ever could!
Snow depths are currently reported as
120cm on lower slopes (2000m) and 220cm on the upper slopes (2800m).
12 JANUARY 2008
Sorry it’s been a while since the last
post … xmas / ny is always a busy time in this business!
After the huge dumps of snow reported in
the last post, temperatures stayed (very) low meaning the great
pre-season conditions continued into the xmas / ny period and the piste
conditions held up really well until after new year. And what's more,
the snowy white conditions remained in the valley floor through out the
holidays, so the whole valley looked wonderful.
The first weekend in Jan saw some very
welcome fresh snow fall. Temperatures warmed up to above freezing at the
bottom of the valley, meaning conditions stayed good on the main ski
areas, but some of the return ski runs to the valley floor got a bit icy
and suffered a little with snow cover.
Then, just as the pistes were getting a
little hard, more snow started falling last night and continued
throughout today. About 15cm fell at the valley floor (1000m) and approx
20-30cm up on the ski areas (2000m).
Current reported snow depths are 105cm on
lower slopes (2000m) and 175cm on the upper slopes (2800m).
15 DECEMBER 07
In the last post I wrote "and more snow
is forecast for the coming week" and, boy, did it snow this week!!!
The whole valley is looking like a proper winter wonderland, which is
excellent news for xmas / ny holidays. And the snow depths on the
pistes are very respectable for this time of year, 120cm on lower slopes
(2000m) and 180cm on the upper slopes (2800m).
8 DECEMBER 07
During this last week, we have seen a lot
of precipitation (meaning rain in the valley floor and snow on the ski
areas) and then last night, the temperature dipped those vital few
degrees and we woke up this morning to about 25cm of fresh snow on the
valley floor. And more snow is forecast for the coming week. All good news for the upcoming season and the
Grands Montets
which opens on a daily basis as of today.
Current reported snow depths are 80cm on
lower slopes (2000m) and 90cm on the upper slopes (2800m).
25 NOVEMBER 07
THE SEASON HAS BEGUN!!!!!
The Grands
Montets ski area opened for the weekend and we were sliding on the
white stuff. So, it’s official!!! The 2007/08 winter season has
most definitely begun.
14 NOVEMBER 07
FIRST SNOW!
The Chamonix snow ploughs were out on the
streets for the first time this season!! There was a little snow
in the base of the valley late last week, but last night it started
falling in style and didn't really stop for 24hrs. The first proper dump
of the new season!! About 50cm of snow fell over night in base of
the valley, and the forecast is for temperatures to get colder, so it
should stick around for a while.
More importantly, all the ski areas are
now covered, and not just the higher slopes.
It all bodes well for a
good season!!
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