Well it's all over now at Les Houches although skiing and ski-touring continue in the Chamonix valley for a week or two yet. Below is the report I posted on Friday the 20th of April. The next day was not as good with only slightly dodgy Spring-snow off-piste, but the closing-day on Sunday was absolutely superb with sunshine and deep powder after a cold night brought 30cm of fresh snow. A fantastic end to the season here, so read the report below and plan your next visit. Enjoy the summer:
Two more days of skiing at Les Houches. In fact Sunday is the last day the lifts will run anywhere in the Chamonix valley except for Les Grands Montets (Argentiere) which will remain fully operational until the 2nd of May and finally close on the 8th. Plus uplift to the top of the Index lift will keep going for the benefit of ski tourers until the 29th of April.
By now you might expect Les Houches to have very limited skiing but you would be wrong. Although only a skeleton lift network is operating, and you now have to use a short rope tow to travel from the Bellevue side of the resort to the Prarion side, this morning saw some fabulous skiing. In spite of the apparent overcast and fog the pistes were good this morning.
As by now hardly anyone will be reading these reports I will reveal my 'secret' off-piste area (one of them anyway). The area between the Grands-Bois piste and the Bellevue piste offers open tree-skiing followed by a flat section and then a steeper section through a denser area of forest. This slope is the least exposed to the sun in the resort. It stays cold and usually has the best snow and the trees help too. This morning the powder here was as deep as it has ever been this year and almost as light. Fabulous powder skiing with watery sunlight making the visibility first class. It was magical today and fewer than a handful of people were skiing it. Another cold night with some snow and sunny periods tomorrow suggest that it could be another great morning in this hidden gem. Sunday should be the same!
When the powder gets heavy ride the Bellevue cable car or the Prarion gondolas back to the village.
Remember that there are 9 mountain restaurants on the slopes of Les Houches, three of which are arguably the very best in the whole Chamonix valley. So, if your skiing involves eating, this is a good place to be, though the I have to admit that virtually every establishment is now closed. But the Kitch Inn at the bottom of the Bellevue cable car is still lively (you could have a full English breakfast here before riding the lift right up to my 'secret' powder area) and the Hôtel du Prarion will be open with its big terrace facing Mont Blanc. It may be sunny in the afternoon so you could unwind here with a beer and a wonderful view before riding down in the Prarion gondola which is only a couple of hundred metres away.
