 Poster: A snowHead
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
Great day at GMs today... weather bad enough to keep the crowds away, but actually not too bad for skiing. Limited opening but the tree runs were in great condition, and Herse opened giving access to a very snowy Italian bowl and some super-deep fluffiness on the Hotel slopes. Strong winds from 3/4 of the way up herse, and saw a couple of small slabs pop out (with skier assistance) in the rolls & gullies below the Canadian bowl - definitely worth taking it easy if they open up more through the week...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
|
Touchguru, great pics
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
Peter S, Chamonix Meteo,who are the only ones to trust are forecasting snow levels of 1000m friday and 1300m saturday which is fine by me.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
| Skola wrote: |
| Touchguru, great pics |
Thanks Skola
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
been snowing all day today again.....
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Have been so excited watching all the snow build up in Les Houches over the last couple of weeks. However, arriving on Monday, and my phone's weather app is giving temps of 15 degrees from Sat! (and not minus) Now I am worried that all the snow is going to melt!  Can anyone tell me if I should still be ok for skiing in Les Houches next week? Thanks a lot!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
|
|
|
|
|
it is due to warm up significantly over the weekend and possibly monday, but i'd be amazed if all the snow we have melted in that time. off piste wont be much good due to all the rain that will fall up there, but the pistes will be fine 
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
For anyone interested in the current weather conditions in Chamonix, I'm uploading a daily picture (usually in the morning) along with a brief description of the weather.
You can see the pictures and report here: http://www.biarritzairporttransfers.com/Geneva-to-Chamonix.html
I have just built a horizontal platform and placed it in the middle of my garden so starting tomorrow I should be able to measure the amount of snowfall overnight.
|
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
Rain to 2500m, Slush on piste, Soggy crusty avalanche prone mess off piste. Most things didn't fully open today and then started closing before noon when things started sliding.
Snow cover still excellent due to the huge amount of snow on the ground. Hoping for a good freeze followed by fresh snow
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oh no, now I am panicking! Arriving tomorrow morning - do you think the slopes won't be open?! Does that mean Les Houches might be closed?!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
|
Very nice snow up the Aiguille du Midi. Refrozen pistes and slush down low, but almost every piste is open.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
| Chambles wrote: |
For anyone interested in the current weather conditions in Chamonix, I'm uploading a daily picture (usually in the morning) along with a brief description of the weather.
You can see the pictures and report here: http://www.biarritzairporttransfers.com/Geneva-to-Chamonix.html
I have just built a horizontal platform and placed it in the middle of my garden so starting tomorrow I should be able to measure the amount of snowfall overnight. |
Did you and your brother start the Biarritz transfers company? If so, we've met. Small world, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
@Zero-G Yes that is me/us. I have sent you a PM.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
munchimo, why would LHs be closed? 
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
|
There was a post saying that things were closing after noon due to conditions. But maybe I misunderstood as in les houches now and snow has been great - snowed last night so plenty of fresh snow as well!
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
Chambles, PMd back. It's your brother I've met.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
Great day touring out above Vallorcine/Le Couteray.
We opened up the Pointe de la Terrasse east face whilst some French guys faffed about with a short bit of cord to get their girls down the entrance. Great snow all the way down to the plateau.
Saw the Idris Ski's green VW parking up near the Midi so expect some epic steep stories there...
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
OliC, nice, how far up did you go. It would have been satisfying to grab the freshies just before the competition
Maybe we should start a Chamonix occasional picnic club.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Backside of Le Tour in great today.
Some areas scoured by wind but good snow in the Jeux area
Even got some fresh tracks 24hrs after a dump.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
We're off up today. Haven't decided between Brevent/Flegere or Grand Montets yet. It's an argument for the car journey!
I fancy GM, Wifehole is erring towards B/F.
But I'm the driver 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
Mr Piehole, your skis aren't long enough for Grands Montets 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Brevfleg (as nobody calls it) won in the end. Have to sort through approximately a million photos and I'll post some and maybe write a bit more but the executive summary is:
Best skiing day so far this season, by a country mile. One of the best ever. Maybe even top spot, we haven't finished thinking it through yet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
Mr Piehole, oh, lucky, lucky you.
|
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
|
Mr Piehole, why so? We skied Mont Chery and it wasn't completely special.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
under a new name, that's because you were somewhere else.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
Subjective report
It's rare we get a day to ourselves. A certain small person takes care of that. My quite wonderful M-I-L is round at the moment though, and free babysitting is pretty much a victory in itself. Never been to Cham before. It's been on the bucket list since forever but the group we go with had been there before (before we started skiing with them) and it hasn't come round again, and there's always been a slight sensation that it's a place for 'other' people. 'Better' people. Nutcases.
Pulling into the Flegere car park didn't do much to encourage us. Wheel spinning around the completely untreated (hey you're in Chamonix right, you DO have spiked tyres on noob?) car park we did at least get a space not too far from the caisse. Low cloud like fog. "We'll go straight to the cafe", we said. "See if it burns off".
Around us: crampons, carabiners, split-boards, skis that make my snowboard look a bit underfed, serious tanned bearded guys in dynafits, avi airbags.
We unloaded our piste-oriented knackered rusty old skis with some trepidation therefore, and I donned my daft red bobble hat. "Is this the place for us?" we asked ourselves as we slid effortlessly into our 'comfort fit' boots. The cable car ascended its first 100 metres or so and like magic we burst through the cloud. It was just low-lying valley crap. Perfect blue above. Things were looking up.
And it turns out: yes it is the place for us mere mortals. It is. Because all of the aforementioned people go nowhere near the pistes. So although we queued nearly 40 minutes for the cable car, everything was seriously deserted.
MY GOD, WEBSTER. The views. With my apologies to my ex love the Matterhorn, sorry babe you don't do it for me quite so much any more. Mont Blanc's a fairly anonymous looking hill really, quite easy to find yourself saying 'is it that one?' but the Mont Blanc massif as a whole is just mental spectacular. So sorry, dear Matterhorn. You're just a pig in a dress.
It was just one of those days where you have a skull full of brain fireworks, and something tosses a fag end into it. Kaboom. Stirring piste skiing, the most awesome views, and we really went for it, hard. Still buzzing now.
Objective report
N.B. Some subjective content may remain.
Pistes on Brevent/Flegere in superb condition. South facing aspect led me to believe it would be typical freeze-thaw in the current weather - but the bulletproof morning ice side of things didn't materialize. Lovely, grippy, even slightly soft on our first run (10:15 or so). Dazzling blue skies let the sun take its toll a bit as the day wore on (not to mention a curious increase in people numbers - with the 'crowds' not really appearing until about 2pm), but it was never 'crowded' in any real sense. Lots of space for big turns, lots of loose snow to kick up, only the vaguest little scratch here and there to remind you that there might be some ice under the top layer. That top layer by the way, it's loose. A few times I triggered those nice little micro-avalanches, where about a large snowman's worth detaches and falls away in a pleasing way.
Pic Janvier's mogulled option was just testing enough to be fun without being too scary. 'Where do I go next' rather than 'what the hell am I doing here'. The groomed part was immaculate - grippy and perfect for hooning enormous GS turns down it.
Lachenal - my new favourite piste ever? Maybe. Steeper than a red has any right to be really, it's not so much borderline black as - in fact - a black with the wrong marker poles at the side of it. Perfectly grippy snow to give the confidence to really open up the throttle with no real fear of hitting anything too unexpected, and views to make a grown man weep*.
Avoid Praz - avoid! All 4 of our skis now need minor repairs I think. Not enough snow, and they shouldn't have this open. Download on the cable car.
A real surprise was the green area down towards the Trappe lift. I'd take a first dayer or a little kid here no bother. What a place.
We only popped over the Brevent compared to Flegere where we spent the most part of the day, but everything in superb nick on that side too. Views from the top of the Brevent cable car won't be forgotten in a hurry (shame the run down is a bit pedestrian).
I think we skied the majority of the pistes on the hill, and every single one, right through the day, was a joy. All that recent snow has set this area up perfectly despite modest altitude and southerly aspect.
We didn't go off piste. There might be a by-law against such behaviour in Cham, but sorry. We didn't.
* I didn't actually weep.
Fig 1: Mont Blanc has got his hat on, hip hip hip hooray. Mont Blanc has got his hat on and we're coming out to play.
Fig 2: Typical gloomy January weather.
Fig 3: Bozon (I think!). Deserted.
Fig 4: Arrival at the Brevent-Flegere Liaison cable car. So much hill, so little time.
Fig 5: Snow in excellent condition, everywhere!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
Gorgeous!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
Mr Piehole, see you next week!  I have a soft spot for Brévent, I think it's the view and the trees.
Next time, start off on the Brévent side (no queuing to get up the mountain) and just take the Liaison straight over to Flégère if that's where you prefer to ski. The queue for the Flégère cable car is a pain.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
Be aware that I shall be verifying your report tomorrow.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
| Zero-G wrote: |
| Mr Piehole, see you next week! |
I.. dont think so. Will you?
under a new name time travel?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
| Mr Piehole wrote: |
| Zero-G wrote: |
| Mr Piehole, see you next week! |
I.. dont think so. Will you? |
What, you're not so enamoured that you'll be back next week? Pffft, part-timer...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
Zero-G, I wish. Season pass elsewhere and living on a brutally tight budget precludes it
Went back today in fact, but not to ski. Just a cafe panoramique and a trip to the Mer De Glace for M-I-L.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
It was Spring conditions up there today, I was skiing in minimal clothing and thin Polartec gloves. While I'm loving the warmth and blue skies, I wouldn't mind a good snow storm. We haven't had a proper snowfall in a couple of weeks, at least not at the altitudes I've been skiing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For us mere mortals who ski lower down the mountain, things have been getting sketchy without any recent snowfall. So today's light snowfall is certainly welcome even though the vis was questionable at times.
Oh, and I spotted this fine specimen today. Who needs a helmet when you can have fur and horns!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Snow settling as far down as Bonneville at 14h30 today.
Will be good to have things freshened up.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
|
under a new name, did you perform that verification we talked about?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
wow...just.....wow!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
