It has been one of the wettest May’s on record in the Alps, with landslides in northern Italy, and in Chamonix we have seen flooding and storm damage. Part of the reasons for this have been the huge snow melts caused by the warm southerly winds, which in turn have created mountain foehn winds, that have further melted the spring snowpacks. Many of the rivers are at bank full levels, and the ground is saturated. Finally the weather forecast seems set to improve and from this weekend onwards, better weather is due to arrive, with the normal south westerly winds and settled weather patterns. We have been asked many times if this is usual for an interseason in the Alps, the answer is yes it’s normal, although this year has been especially wet! Each year we stop our winter courses at the end of April, and do not start our summer courses until early June. This month break is always characterised by massive snow melt in the mid-level mountains, and often unsettled weather. At least now we can look forward to summer!