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15 March
2009
THE JOYS OF SPRING SKIING
Snow reports
have been becoming a little monotonous this year. Looking below at
what’s been written so far it’s just been snow, snow and more snow! For
sure this remarkable season has continued with more snow, but suddenly
temperatures significantly increased. By the end of February/beginning
March it was almost too warm for ski jackets! That normally doesn’t
happen until end of March.
But as we moved
into March the temperatures, became a bit more erratic with some much
welcomed cold breaking up the higher temperatures. Result is that we
have a nice spread between snowstorms and sunny days.
Now March is
always good time to ski, but here is always that trade-off between the
quiet slopes with lovely sunny blue skies and pistes suffering from the
warmth and becoming wet and heavy be the afternoon. Normally this is a
perfectly acceptable trade-off, but add to that a nice occasional supply
of fresh powder, and skiers out on the mountain this month are as happy
as pigs in poop!
Chamonix Snow
Report
current depths : 180cm on lower slopes (2000m) and 325cm on the upper
slopes (2800m)
19 February
2009
NICE CONDITIONS FOR HALF TERM
With a fair
amount of fresh snow falling since the last report, conditions have just
gotten better and better. The snow has been good and thick right down
to the valley floor, so upper and lower pistes as well as trails back to
the valley have all benefited. Bottom line is that its great conditions
for the busy half term period.
Chamonix Snow
Report
current depths : 160cm on lower slopes (2000m) and 290cm on the upper
slopes (2800m)
Monday, 26 January 2009
BIGGEST SNOW FALL IN YEARS
Well the last post was entitled "Let It
Snow" ... and it did .... and there was lots of it. This report in the
UKs Daily Telegraph sums it up quite well with their headline
Biggest
snowfall in years delights skiers in Alpine resorts.
Chamonix Snow Report
current depths : 151cm on
lower slopes (2000m) and 255cm on the upper slopes (2800m).
Friday, 23 January 2009
LET IT SNOW!
The general conditions from the last
report have continued. There has been a lack of fresh snow, but the cold
temperatures and the healthy snow depths have kept the skiing conditions
good. The south facing ski areas and the ski areas with good sun
exposure have fared better than the north facing areas, which have
tended to get a bit too icy.
This week that pattern broke! Snow
started falling in style on Mon and Tues this week. Thurs was a great
day to be on the mountain as the weather cleared and the blue skies
reappreared. Today the snow has returned and the forcast for the weekend
is for over a metre of fresh snow fall (as per the meteo.chamonix.com
forecast, exptected snowfall towards 1500 - 1800 m: fri 30-50 cm, fri
night 5-15 cm, sat: 40-50 cm).
Thats alot! Oh yeah!!!!
Chamonix Snow Report
current depths :
135cm on lower slopes (2000m) and 230cm
on the upper slopes (2800m).
Thursday, 8th Jan 2009
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
Well, Xmas and NY have come and gone.
Snow conditions were excellent. Pistes were in great shape, the snow has
been kept really chilled by the cold temperatures (to give you an idea,
temperatures in Les Houches village - where we are located - have been
as cold as -14oC and sometimes reaching as high as a balmy -5oC !!!).
The benefit of the cold weather is that the pistes have remained in a
pretty good skiing condition despite the fact that (apart for a few snow
flurries), there has been no fresh snow fall for a while.
Chamonix Snow Report
current depths : pretty
much the same as the past report: 85cm on lower slopes (2000m) and 160cm
on the upper slopes (2800m).
Sunday, 21st December 2008
1ST CLASS CONDITIONS FOR XMAS/NY
Since the last report, it’s snowed some
more … and then some more … and even some on top of that!
Xmas week is upon us, the whole of the
Chamonix valley from Les Houches to Vallorcine is in full swing and most
importantly the snow is in great condition. The early snow and the low
temperatures we’ve seen so far during December have contributed to a
fabulous base. The pistes are well covered and firm, yet the regular
falling of fresh snow has meant that the surface has stayed soft with no
ice. So everyone can carve like there were on a ski video (well, at
least that’s how it feels in my head anyway)!
Bottom line is that it’s looking like 1st
class conditions for the upcoming Xmas/NY weeks. If you’re lucky enough
to be out here, then enjoy. If not, have a wonderful Xmas break and all
the best for 2009. Next update will not be till the New Year.
Chamonix Snow Report
current depths : 86cm on
lower slopes (2000m) and 160cm on the upper slopes (2800m). (Just to put
it in perspective, these kind of depths are not usually seen till the
back end of January)
This photo was taken at Les Houches on
its opening weekend on 13/14 December
Friday, 28th November 2008
THE SEASON HAS BEGUN
Here in the Chamonix Valley, normally
well balanced and composed adults are giggling like children. Since the
end of the summer we have seen snow in the bottom of the valley a couple
of times. This snow has come and then melted, but since last week, we’ve
had between 20-30cm of depth lying around on the ground.
Why the child-like giggles this last
week? This is a lot of snow, its very early in the season, it has that
permanent winter-wonderland feel about it, like it’s not going to melt
this time, and, most importantly, the Grands Montets ski area announced
it was opening this weekend!
The ski-season has most definitely
begun!!
Chamonix Snow Report
current depths : 65cm on lower
slopes (2000m) and 95cm on the upper slopes (2800m). |
