Submitted by ChamonixNews on
Lots of sunshine the last few days in Chamonix!
The spring snow conditions have been continuing, with clear sky pretty much all week, and spring skiing in the Chamonix mountains (hard in the mornings and soft/slushy in the afternoons on sunny slopes), and it has been quite warm on most days since my last snow report.
Today was especially warm, but up at the Le Tour ski area there was a cool wind blowing, which was a nice contrast. The ski area still has quite a bit of snow, with patches of ground showing here and there, especially off-piste. This afternoon was classic spring corn skiing. The best time to ski up there was after 12 noon / 1pm, unless you like hardpack conditions! It is still just skiable back down to the village of Le Tour on the red piste, but it gets quite chopped up later in the day there.
The other Chamonix ski areas are still doing ok, especially higher up. Some rocks are starting to stick up here and there, even on some of the ski pistes in the valley, especially at Brévent/Flégère, but coverage is still generally good above 1800m, despite all of the sunshine. For harder snow and more depth of snowpack, the Grands Montets is of course the choice, but some parts of it soften nicely in the afternoon sun this time of the year too.
Monday is supposed to continue sunny and nice, before some unsettled weather heads over us during the week ahead, beginning with thickening clouds, and eventually there are snow showers forecast for later in the week. It will be quite a bit colder by the end of the week, and hopefully there will be some nice fresh snow by next weekend!
