Time gentlemen, please

It’s been raining, some of the trees in the valley have started to yellow and town’s filling with ultra-runners, it can only mean one thing: the summer’s coming to an end, and the lifts shut down till the snow comes.

The Chamonix lift closures are staggered across the next 2 months:

VALLORCINE: 2^nd Sept

PRARION: 2^nd Sept

BREVENT CABLECAR: 2^nd Sept

LE TOUR GONDOLA & CHAIRLIFT: 9^th Sept

GRANDS MONTETS: 9^th Sept

PLANPRAZ GONDOLA: 16^th Sept (then Oct 27^th to Nov 7^th)

FLEGERE: 16^th Sept

BELLEVUE: 23^rd Sept

TRAMWAY DU MONT BLANC: 23rd Sept

What’s not mentioned is that the Vallorcine DH track, & gondola for bike uplift, closes for the season on Friday due to the Ultra Trail races, so anyone wanting to hit every lift in the valley in a day better get cracking. If you’re looking for a race to end your Chamonix biking season then conveniently the Club des sports de Chamonix have organised a 24hr VTT race in the valley over the weekend of the 22nd/23^rd September. For more information click

Outside of the valley, lift closing days start from the end of August and by October Champery & Verbier are pretty much your only choices (though Brevant’s back open again by then, which is nice.)

Grand Massif, started closing on the 26th, all done by 31^st Aug: http://www.grand-massif.com/ete/accedez_tarifs.php

La Thuile 2^nd Sept : http://www.lathuile.net/datapage.asp?id=41&l=3

Portes du Mont Blanc, 2^nd Sept : http://www.combloux.com/en/activities/summer/pass.html

Tignes / val d’isere 2^nd Sept (still FREE up till then!): http://www.tignes.net/en/summer-sports/free-and-unlimited-activities-252.html

Pila, 9^th Sept:  http://aostavalleyfreeride.com/index.php with desarpa bike mass dh the weekend after 15^th/16th http://www.piladh.eu/en/desarpa-bike/

Portes du Soliel starts closing the weekend of 02nd September and is mostly closed by the 9^th, except Champery which keeps going to 7^th Oct: http://en.portesdusoleil.com/summer-lifts.html

Verbier 17th Sept, then weekends till 20/21^st Oct (if weather’s ok): http://www.verbierbikepark.ch/

As for conditions in the Chamonix valley at the moment, the complaints about the temperature and lack of rain have been answered and there’s been a few days of drizzle and a day of torrential rain. My friend Claire had come over for the weekend to get a break from the Scottish summer in Chamonix, fortunately she packed the goretex.

The skies cleared up on Sunday and, despite a cold grey start, the quick drying trails at Le Tour ensured normal summer service was resumed. The weather is still a bit cooler than it’s been of late, so things are not drying quite as fast as before and as a result there’s lots more grip on the trails. The natural trails are still very busy, though with the Ultra Trail Mont Blanc being at the weekend, the pedestrians are generally moving faster than the cyclists so it’s not the same problem, and in one week it will all be different…