As the snowshoeing season comes to a close & the snow retreats upwards and onwards it's time to reflect on this seasons snowshoeing here in the French Alps.
A good season? Well we have had it all... The season started with bang! After a long & dry Autumn the Chamonix Valley was snowless until the last minute. Mid December saw a massive amount of snow which continued right through January. Record snowfall overnight brought the valley to a standstill one Saturday morning as we tried to clear 1 meter of fresh snow from the valley floor.
February brought another wintery facet with temperatures as low as -23 and the lowest Chamonix had seen for many years. The cold spell continued through February barely rising above -15 for 3 weeks.
And then a rapid rise from the dearest of winter to temperatures to +19 rising 40 degrees in two weeks for the start of March. It felt more like summer than spring!
4 weeks of high temperatures, sun & clear blue skies stripped the valley of snow and made skiing a knee breaking experience.
And what now, well just when you were getting used to the warm & dry conditions we have been given a stark reminder that its not over yet with more snow and rain at valley level.
The unsettled weather is set to continue for the time being so in the meantime we will wait for the next chapter of life in the valley.
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