Welcome to our first TMB conditions report of 2025. In the lead up to the start of the 2025 season and through the summer we will be bringing you updates from the trails. These will consist of current snow conditions in the early season and anything to watch out for on the trail.

Make sure to bookmark our main Trail Updates page so you can get more information next month! We will also try to add information on local events that may be happening during your hike.

Disclaimer: Conditions change very quickly in the mountains, these posts just report on what we found on our recent adventures. To travel in the high mountains you must be an experienced hiker and use your own judgment if not hiking with a guide.

In general winter 2025 has been fairly warm and not excessively snowy. In Chamonix we had great skiing and a good amount of snow in the early season. For keen skiers the middle of the season was not great- March was warm and very dry with hardly any snowfall in the entire month.

April on the other hand brought one of the largest snow storms in recent years with the snowline plummeting to 600 meters in altitude. The whole TMB trail got a fresh coat of snow on April 16th and 17th! There was around 30cm of fresh snow in Chamonix town center and up to 1.5 meters higher up the mountain. The Swiss and Italian sectors reported the most snowfall. In La Fouly village there was 90cm of fresh snow! Many roads were closed due to avalanches and landslides, and many areas in the region had power cuts.

We then went straight into very warm weather! There were record temperatures on April 30th and into the first days of May. The temperature hit 27 Celcius in Chamonix, and the hot temperatures brought large thunderstorms. As a result, we’ve seen rapid snow melt in the lower elevations. The photos below were taken just days apart at around 1000 meters altitude close to Les Houches.

This mix of dry spells and huge snowfalls has left us in a fairly average position in terms of snow cover. It is certainly not a low snow year – the higher passes still have up to 2 meters of snow pack remaining – but at the same time the valleys are snow free.

Currently we are losing around 5cm of snow depth per day so things are moving in the right direction for summer!

At the moment the higher trails such as the TMB are not possible on foot. The high passes are snowy and would require mountaineering experience and specialist equipment such as skis or snowshoes.

Our lower valley trails are mostly snow free. If you stay below 1800 meters, there is excellent hiking to be had in the valleys close to Courmayeur, Chamonix, Les Contamines, Trient and La Fouly. A few snow patches remain in thicker forests, on north faces and in other shaded areas. Below 1800 meters, you may also encounter hazards such as wet slab avalanches, and large debris fields if you hike closer to the snowline.

We have been out skiing in the high mountains and hiking on the lower valley trails. Below you can read what we found in each sector of the TMB and see some photos from these adventures!

On 4th May Grant and Charlie took a walk around Le Tour and Tré le Champs. They walked on the lower balcony trails which are snow free and dry. The Aiguillette des Possettes on the TMB trail will be snow free within a few days as little snow remains. The Le Tour side of Col de Balme is melting very quickly and will also be snow free within the next weeks. Beware as the Swiss side is always much snowier and takes a long time to melt!

Heading towards Lac Blanc, the snow has melted off the trail to the foot of the ladders. Above remains very snowy all along across the Grand Balcon Sud also.

Col de La Seigne

On 29 April Grant skied from the summit of Mont Blanc and got a good view all around the TMB! Below you can see an aerial view of Col de la Seigne from the summit. As you would expect it is still holding a lot of snow and not yet possible on foot.

A few days later Joel also snapped a great photo of Col de la Seigne from the summit of Mont Tondu, which is above Les Contamines. The climb up to of Col de la Seigne often holds snow on its upper slopes well into June.

CONDITIONS PHOTO GALLERY

Col du Bonhomme & Les Contamines

To climb Mont Tondu, Joel cycled up the valley from Notre Dame de la Gorge. The trail was dry and snow free all the way to the Refuge Balme where the real climbing towards the Col du Bonhomme starts. The pass has an average amount of snow for this time of year. Surprisingly Joel saw groups already crossing the col on foot! It was a holiday weekend in France so many people were out in the mountains. We don’t recommend this as the route is still very snowy and the way looked very difficult in deep snow!

La Fouly & Grand Col Ferret

The Swiss sector is more snowy than France. The Grand Col Ferret is holding lots of snow still and many people are still skiing the classic tours of the area on Mont Dolent. This is changing quickly with the higher temperatures though.

The refuge at La Peule is still under lots of snow, as are the Grand (red arrow) and Petit Col Ferret (Purple arrow).

The weather has cooled off slightly since the heatwave over the last week, and the rainy weather that is more typical of May has returned. The temperatures currently remain quite warm and the freezing level is high. This means the snow is washing away quickly in the rain.

Of course, the weather can change quickly, especially in May, and trekking season is still a few weeks away so keep checking in as we report how conditions develop!

We will be back next month with conditions reports from the Italian side too.

See you soon and happy hiking!