First Snow or Not First Snow ?

When is the first snow really the first snow?

Is it the first snow that falls, or is it the first snow that doesn't melt or get washed away before it becomes the winter snowpack?

This is a question I am pondering as a few days ago all around was lovely and white as you may have seen from the snow reports.

I was cutting trees a few days a go, with the snow deep enough to cover my boots. In the last few days the temperature has soared and the wrong kind of water has been falling out of the sky by the bucket load....rain.

The same part of the hill is now looking decidedly bare. This does look a bit depressing I know. On the other hand, the mountains are so high here that it was cold enough high up for all the rain to fall as snow. The Brevent has had some snow and the Midi has been plastered.

So which is the 'first snow'? The stuff I played in or the stuff that I hope is going to fall this week and actually get to ski on...?

Report from Tom Greenall - Natives Resort Reporter in Chamonix

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