Today is another cloudy day in Chamonix, with a few hazy sunny spells, and some light snowfall and fog in the mountains. Despite this, it was pretty pleasant skiing up at the Grands Montets, with mild temperatures, and forgiving snow.
There was some light fog on the descent from the Bochard lift, and the piste was nice - a bit icy, but still grippy if you ski slowly, and pretty smooth. Lower down, there was some nice soft spring corn snow on the Pierre-a-ric piste, with plenty enough snow all the way down. The snow park is also looking great, although it is easier if the definition of light is better.
The Grands Montets celebrates its 50th anniversary tomorrow, with live music and festivities, which should be fun times. Otherwise, the other ski areas in the valley are all great right now, and there is a chance of a sunny day on Sunday in the mountains.
This winter has been full of powder days, and several cloudy non-powder days, with almost no space in between them to ski regular sunny days. We have been quite spoilt for snow, but that means forfeiting the super clear Alpine winter weather that we get most years. We also haven't had much stable weather or snow conditions for some of the more committing ski mountaineering that tends to take place around the Chamonix mountains at this time of year. It just shows how different every winter can be, as this time last year, the skiing was practically over...
Right now, after 4 months of deep snowpack in town, the snow has nearly gone from the valley, apart from a few patches in fields, and the ski-outs from the Grands Montets and Le Tour, which remain well covered. At 2000m altitude and above there are tons of snow everywhere, and that is where most of the Chamonix skiing is. We still have over another month of lift-accessed skiing to go.
