Despite the sunshine in town, it is still pretty cold in the Chamonix valley and mountains this week, which is great, as it lets us keep hold of the wonderful snow that we have been given so far.
There has been no significant snowfall for almost a fiull week now, but we have great snow conditions in the resorts, and some powder in the backcountry if you work for it. Today I went to ski at Le Brevent, which had its head in the clouds. Le Tour seemed like the sunniest place to be today, up at the head of the valley. The Brevent pistes were great - smooth and fast. It was a bit icy, but with some silk on top, and it was actually snowing flurries up in the clouds. The descent to the valley is still open, with lots of snowpack, but there are a fair amount of stones and rocks to dodge, due to the nature of the mountainside through which it passes.
Yesterday, however, was a slightly different picture - there was a sea of clouds below about 2300m, so it was a great day to be up high, and go on a ski tour above the Vallee Blanche. We found some good snow, and could really feel the power of the glaciers and the mountains. Although the avalanche level is low right now, there are still dangers, so go find a guide and they will show you around. I passed at least 2 people on the Vallee Blanche yesterday without any self-rescue gear, which is not a good idea - if you go into a crevasse without a harness, there is no way to get out! The guides around here are very good and are worth talking to.
There may still be some significant snowfall in the forecast, or just some more flurries, but we are in a high pressure system for a few more days, bringing us reasonably stable weather, especially at altitude.
