Submitted by ChamonixNews on
This week it has been almost 100% sunny in Chamonix: clear blue sky, stunning views, and hardpacked snow, with some spring snow conditions throughout the day on sunny slopes. The ski areas in the Chamonix valley are holding the snow well. It is a bit complex in the backcountry, but for lift-riding this winter is great, especially since we didn't have any ski lifts running last winter!
The last snowfall was almost 2 weeks ago, and there is more high pressure, light winds and sunshine in the forecast for the next few days, but historically there have been some good snowfalls in March, so we might get some more exciting wild weather at some point. For the moment, enjoy the sun, with plenty of snow above 1800m and on the pistes.
Today we made the most of some super sunny conditions with very little wind, and went on a ski-tour adventure to the Bérard valley behind Flégère. As is standard for a Saturday in March there were quite a few people with the same idea, but after a while people spread out: there is a lot of space out there in the backcountry. The snow back there was mainly hardpacked, reasonably smooth, and with some soft snow here and there. It is just possible to ski out to Le Buet village at the moment, but some parts of the lower valley exit track have not so much snow on. It isn't the easiest that it has ever been! Meanwhile up in the higher valley, it is quite "interesting" in some places where the strong winds last week have exposed the December rain-ice (especially on some higher steeper ground with exposure, where it is quite sketchy in some places - I was glad of an ice-axe at one point during the descent).
The Flégère ski area was looking pretty good this morning on our way up towards the ridge. It has stayed pretty cold since the last snowfall, which is great for the sunny side ski areas of the Chamonix valley.
