What are the snow conditions in Chamonix Mont Blanc?

What are the conditions like in Chamonix Mont Blanc ski area? I am coming with my family in mid February and would like to have an idea what the conditions are like now so I can prepare. We are just intermediate skiers and have no idea what areas to ski. If any one has an idea that would help. We will have a car and we are staying in Chamonix.

I have skiied the Chamonix valley for the last four years (uk easter holiday period) and have loved every second of it.

I believe the snow is currently good there, the season started late with the first proper snowfall around new years but they have had quite a few ft since then. To be honest mid feb you should go prepared for anyting. Even at easter I have had temperatures well below 0 throughout the day and over 1m of fresh powder in a single night and then 16 degress sunshine 2 days later. It will probably be very cold at least some of the time in feb.

I take it from the fact that you are going with your family during mid-feb you mean the uk half term. If this is the case then be prebpared to do some serious queing.

As you may or may not know Chamonix is made up of 4 main ski areas + the vallee blanche (large off pieste run- better suited for advanced skiiers). the other areas are:

Les grande montets- fantastic area for advanced skiiers, alot of on and off pieste potential. will be extremely busy.

Flegere + Brevent- wide selection of red/blue runs, south facing and closest to chamonix centre.

Le tour- By far the easiest area in chamonix, many "road" like, flat narrow trails, connecting comparitively less steep slopes.

When in chamonix remember the ratings on the runs tend to understate their difficulty. In many resorts a blue in chamonix would be a red and a red a black. This is mainly due to the steepness of the runs.

I would recomend driving up the valley to le tour for the your first day. the slopes are gentle and it will give you a chance to get used to skiing after the summer.

If you feel happy with that, head up the brevent gondola for some nice (but steep) blues and possibly a few reds if you are feeling adventurous.

Brevent and Flegere will probably keep you occupied for the whole week. When I ski with my intermediate level sister, we go there and she finds it quite challenging even just on the blues but towards the end of the week when she was used to the steepness she was able to tackle many of the reds with confidence.

Orig@mi was pretty much spot on with his synopsis of the various ski areas here in Chamonix, however the only thing i would add is don't forget Les Houches. Its similar to Le Tour in terms of difficulty level, but is much closer to Chamonix. Les Houches has both wide open pistes and trails through the forest and there are spectacular 360o views from the top. There are a few challenging pistes, however the majority are not too difficult. And if you go there, look out for the Vieille Luge restaurant, its the best on piste restaurant in the whole of the Chamonix Valley!!

For more info on the different ski areas, including maps, have a look at
http://www.chaletinthemountains.com/ski%20areas.htm
or
http://www.chamonix.com/page.php?page=22&r=ski_areas&ling=en
and for the latest version of the Les Houches' ski map along with details of their swanky new lift go to http://www.ski-leshouches.com/pdf/plan_des_pistes.pdf





PS - by the way Le Tour has recently changed its name to Domaine de Balme

Has their been any new snow? I keep looking at the snow reports and do not see any. If they are making snow which mountains would be the best for man made snow? I am only skiing 4 days with my family and I am concerned that their might not be enough to ski for 4days. What are your thoughts?

I think the snow in general is not too bad at all, especially on the pistes rather than off them. A good way to keep an eye on condition is the Chamonet snow report
http://www.chamonet.com/snow_report.php
which will tell you what's good where - you can also sign up to their Dump Alert to know when the snow does arrive...

fankdaddy wrote:Has their been any new snow?

It's coming... the Snow Forecast for Chamonix over the next week is looking better by the day. Let's hope it holds.

Looks like the snows going to start today. This morning, the pressure in Chamonix is already dropping, temps are already hovering around zero and its already raining in Geneva ... all points to snow today!!

Local weather report is saying
TUESDAY: rain-snow limit dropping towards 700 m - expected snowfall towards 1500 m : 10-15 cm.
WEDNESDAY Changeable - fleeting sunny spells rain-snow limit 1000m

fingers toes and third leg crossed!!

Took a day or so longer than expected to arrive, but its now snowing

BRILLIANT!!!!!!