Chamonix snow report

Got back from a few days in Chamonix on 19 Dec.
Not a lot of snow. They had a good fall in early November, but nothing of any significance since then.
When we were there there were very few areas open, the best being Argentiere, Grande Montets, but even there there were only about 6 runs open, but at least there were Reds & Blacks to give some challenge, although by the end of the day boredom was starting to set in.
The prices on the Mountain were nothing short of robbery though, with a large beer costing 10 euros!!!
Nice town, but because of the greed of the local economy I for one shall not be going back. Apre there is virtually non existent probably because it is out of reach price wise for most people.
I don't think they have had any more snow since we were there and non in the short term forecast either, so if you are going, stock up on your drinks in the supermarkets where the cost is only slightly more than here at home.
Just shows, even money can't buy snow!

Yes heard they are struggling for snow although Courmayeur is reporting great conditions and 20min hop away.

Would be interested to know where you went out to find town so expensive? There are so many choices that you can match any budget.

Am not surprised you found quiet most seasonaires won't arrive until this week to start work.


Apres ski in Chamonix largely centres around chamber neuf, although lots of other places to have 1 or 2 beers. If you want to party best wait until +10:30 as before then people are eating so bars are quiet.

Anywa not good you don't seem to of enjoyed, although timing is very early!

We were staying in Pointe Isabelle, which is across the road from McDonalds. We looked at lots of bars and restaurants along the 'main drag' and the cheapest beer we could find in town was 6 euros.
Restaurants were charging 15 euros for burger and chips. The chips were not even home made, they were frozen. A better meal could be had in McDonalds for about 5 euros.
Compare this to our usual ski resort choice where a beer is 3.50 euro, a pizza 7 euro, and most of the lifts have heated seats and bubbles and the ski area pass is cheaper and covers a much larger, linked area and I think many would see why Chamonix would not be on our return list.
Like I said though, pretty town and the view from the top of Mont Blanc was unrivaled, but I can afford 2 hols somewhere else for the price of 1 in Chamonix, so it's a case of 'been there, got the T shirt' but wont be going back thanks.

It is an interesting perspective, have had a flat there for best part of 10 years and have always thought of it as reasonable.

Croissant and coffee from a bakery like all of France is 1/3-1/4the price of Starbucks etc. in UK.

Admittedly I never eat on the slopes although can be occasionally tempted to eat at the bottom on Vallorcine, Balme or Grand Montets. The food on the mountains is almost exclusively bad and expensive. Late lunches in town are also a great option, 2 courses will be around 15 euro. Is a decent 2 course pub lunch on UK less then 12 GBP?

Beers for apres ski: lot of places have happy hr or buy a pitcher which would make prices close to UK. Overall though 5-6 euro is about right for a beer.

Evening meals you can go from burger and chips in Baluga from 5euro upto Michelin Star. There are however many good restaurants in Chamonix which I would consider far better value than in the U.K. Prices will be much like lunch.

Remember Chamonix has 10,000+ permanent residents, which means if you find where the locals are then prices are some of the best in the Alps.

Next person going to Chamonix please reach out.

Wish I had known to contact you before we went, maybe we would have found better value.
To be honest, it was a short break, we would not normally book a ski hol in Dec, but it was a gift for the wife for a special birthday. We fly from Newcastle so are very limited as to where we can go unless we book a package via Crystal.
I note your comments and agree there are maybe better value places if you have the time to search them out, but being a short break, we did not have that luxury.
However, what does puzzle me is why the drinks are so expensive in the bars, when they are so cheap in the supermarkets? I think the conclusion is easy to jump to.
Anyway, like I said, lovely place, just not good value in my opinion, but that is not to say that others would not like it.
Also, given the choice, I would rather have 2 hols than 1 and at those prices it would have to be just the one.

DougR, I haven't skied Chamonix so no first hand knowledge. However, I see where Ranchero is coming from. I think most ski resorts have a wide range of costs and, if they wish, establishments can generally get away with high prices (due to the captive market principle)

However, they also have to cater for seasonnaires and locals so better prices can always be found. For example, Val d'Isere has a reputation for high prices but it's possible to buy an espresso for a euro in the restaurant near the centrally placed Marmotte chairlift. In other mountain cafes, you may pay up to 3 euros.

I've been to Chamonix many times - I've not found it to be anymore expensive than other parts of France. Perhaps I'm not going to the right places . Any recommendations to eat/drink with kids in Chamonix always welcome - we really like the strip in Chamonix Sud and in particular Boccalatte as it's very family friendly, reasonable price compared to UK but generally nicer food. Beer seems to be generally expensive in France, I stick to wine which is much cheaper than your average glass in a U.K. Pub. We tried Austria last year, lift prices were the same (and some more expensive) as France but the killer for us was everyone smoked and so many eateries were full of people smoking. Only if they were large enough establishments did they have to provide a non smoking area. This made it very hard to find places to take kids to eat. Really put us off Austria in the winter. It's fine in the summer when you can sit outside.

Happy New Year first of all. If I might post a question to all you Chamonix skiers. I will be skiing there for the first time with a good group of friends with a Pennsylvania, USA Ski Club in early March, 2017. We all work at a local ski mountain and are strong skiers. Question?? do you recommend and have any suggestions on hiring a guide to ski vallee-blanche??? Or any other recommendations for our first time to Chamonix.
Thanking you in advance. Gary