Snowshoes on Mt. Blanc this time of year?

by **jmh5331** » Wed May 05, 2010 3:27 am

Hey everyone,

A couple friends and I are planning to climb the Arete des Cosmiques and a route on the Triangle May 13th and 14th. We were hoping we wouldn't have to lug our snowshoes from the States; can anyone let us know if the trails to the bases of each climb would be packed out enough to travel without snowshoes? We're staying at the Refuge des Cosmiques the night of the 12th and 13th. Thanks!

by **Tom Fralich** » Wed May 05, 2010 7:17 pm

Should be fine. Those routes are heavily traveled at all times of the year. If there's a track and no fresh snow, you'll be able to walk very easily. Even if there is fresh snow and you can't identify the previous track, the approach distances are so small, it won't matter. You could wade through waist-deep snow if you had to and it honestly wouldn't be that bad.

by **WouterB** » Wed May 05, 2010 10:46 pm

I'll quote a message I got today from a friend who lives at the foot of Mont Blanc:

Mont Blanc - the past three weeks until last weekend were especially warm, now in the past few days there has been half a meter of fresh snow at 3000meters and plenty more above. I wouldn't set foot on Mont Blanc in the next couple of weeks, the current forecast is for more precipitation so it is likely that all the main routes on Mont Blanc will be very late coming into condition this year. Ski ascents may be a good possibility in a couple of weeks if the avalanche risk falls.

by **jmh5331** » Thu May 06, 2010 1:34 am

Thanks for that info, is there a good website we can use to monitor current conditions? I've found www.chamonix-meteo.com already, but obviously it doesn't give condition reports like that.

by **phlipdascrip** » Thu May 06, 2010 2:48 am

http://www.ohm-chamonix.com/fiche.php?id=00&ling=En
You can always call them too, they should be able to give you good info.

I don't know about France but Switzerland has a top notch avalanche bulletin:
http://www.slf.ch/lawineninfo/lawinenbu ... s/index_EN
And since Mt Blanc is so close to Switzerland some info may be transferable.

http://www.chamonix-meteo.com/ is certainly THE address for a comprehensive weather forecast for the area.

by **phlipdascrip** » Thu May 06, 2010 2:58 am

Oh there you go, it's linked from the OHM site:
http://france.meteofrance.com/france/MO ... ige/DEPT74

Can't find a link to other languages though..

Snowshoes on Mt. Blanc this time of year?

Snowshoes on Mt. Blanc this time of year?

Re: Snowshoes on Mt. Blanc this time of year?

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