Chamonix Ski Tour Experience: Overview of the March 2015 LGA Trip

Chamonix, France- home to the first winter Olympics in 1924 and the birthplace of modern day extreme sports. When we first started thinking of locations for our Europe, a Chamonix ski tour was at the top of the list. Rich in history, culture, and surrounded by some of the most majestic peaks in the world, this valley has dedicated itself to be one of the most highly sought after destinations in the world. Iconic peaks such as Mont Blanc and the famous Aiguille du Midi are among the many famous landmarks that lay within this incredible valley. One week in this valley is not nearly enough time but it allows an individual the opportunity to get a peek into the life and breath of Chamonix. There are so many reasons Why You Have to Ski Chamonix, France! The trip is 7 nights and 8 days of skiing in the Chamonix Valley as well as Courmayeur, Italy and Verbier, Switzerland. On one pass (the Chamonix Unlimited) it provides users with a wealth of opportunities to ski 3 countries in one week, experience 3 different cultures and sample some of the best skiing in the world as well as Italian cappuccinos. Even with a low snow year, one can still easily find powder on a daily basis. All you need is a good guide (highly recommended!), a sense of exploration and an open mind to ski touring or hiking to the next valley. We had the privilege to have Hank de Vre’ on our trip with us this year. Hank is a legendary photographer in the ski world and has been photographing the sport over the last 30 years. Each guest has the opportunity to not only have their pictures taken in this iconic location from a legendary ski photographer, but also to go home with a collection of professional photos from an incredible trip.

Ski Chamonix Day 1

One of our main goals at LGA is working with local businesses, individuals and guides in all of the areas we visit. Not only does this support the local community but it’s also a small way that we can give back to the areas we visit. Without these areas our experiences in life would be limited and it helps to maintain the culture for the next generations of skiers and adventurers. Our home for the week would be the Chalet Cosmique nestled in the Les Pelerins area of the valley, about 10-15mins walking distance to the center of town. Gilles and the team at the Chalet of everything dialed in for a week of skiing, snowboarding and mountain biking the valley as well as local knowledge to some of the lesser-known hot spots. Today is a rest day for most but with the crew of skiers and snowboarders we had on this trip, it would soon be a day on the slopes skiing the Grand Montets. With a little fresh snow and a couple openings of the clouds, our guests quickly got a glimpse of what was in store for the week. At night the crew of the Chalet Cosmique starts the week off with an incredible dinner cooked in the chalets kitchen. In true tradition the food was outstanding and we enjoyed the time getting to know everyone on the trip.

Ski Chamonix Day 2

Our first day of skiing Chamonix and what a better way to start by going up to the Grand Montets. This is the best lift served mountain in the valley if you want to ski some big laps as well as multiple glacier runs if the conditions are good. It is also the start for the famous Haute Route ski tour over to Verbier and/or Zermatt. The ski area starts in Argentiere at 1252 meters and ascents all the way up to 3275 meters or 6,600+ feet of vertical! Not a bad way to start the ski trip. Our first descent into the Argentiere Glacier, after taking in the views of Mont Blanc, the Aiguille du Midi, the Valle Blanche/Mer de Glace, was a mix of conditions but given the recent warm weather it was still a great run. As always you need to stop at the hut to have a hot drink or refuel before you go back up. We had some great powder turns from the top section and over to the Bochard lift. With typical high alpine fashion the clouds rolled in around midday, but that did not stop us from going back up to the top for one more glacier run and some powder turns. With everyone feeling good it was worth the 6,600’ foot descent back into town to end of the day. A quick hot tub soak and après at the chalet, ends the first day with amazing views of the mountains and a perfect Chamonix sunset. As always the food the team cooked at the chalet that night was top notch, the Haute Savoie wine flowed with local cheese, meats, and baguettes and the stoke was high for everyone on their first day in the Chamonix valley.

Ski Italy Into France Day 6

After a long day in Italy and skiing the Valle Blanche as well as a little fun après session by the group back at the Chambre Neuf Bar in Chamonix, it was time to do a little ski touring off of Courmayuer and into the Italian Alps. We decided to ski tour over to the area the Freeride World Tour uses for one of their big mountain competitions each year. Skiing the Valle D’Aosta area of Italy is one of the most scenic and incredible locations to visit. We finally go to the top of the Arp cable car after the Youla stop. Lots of great skiing off both lifts but the Arp really allows you to access even that much more terrain. After a couple of pictures, a quick traverse across the ridge and we had our first powder turns of the day.

It was a quick warm up for the next 25-minute skin up the ridge and on to the next bowl we would ski. The next bowl was a great treat with lots of powder turns to be farmed and it’s also the lower section of one of the venues for the Freeride World Tour on Mont Fortin. The group split as some went for the peak while others stayed on the lower bowl and farmed out lap after lap of powder. The group would actually end up meeting after the highest skin track of the day was set in and the other group coming down from the top of Mont Fortin. This was one of the best runs of the trip as it offered a 1,000+ vertical of great skiing while looking across the valley to the Italian side of Mont Blanc. In true fashion we skied down to Val Veny and with a quick phone call, had a snowmobile ride out of the valley and back to the bottom of Courmayeur. What a great way to finish off the day!

Ski Verbier / Ski Aiguille du Midi Day 7

The last day of the trip and wow what a week it has been. The group split up to explore a couple of different areas before the end of the trip. Verbier, Switzerland and the infamous Aiguille du Midi are 2 of the best places a skier or snowboarder could ever visit. The Valle Blanche crew had a little bit of a line to wait through but it paid off as the ride up and the ski through the valley is one not to miss. With low visibility but good conditions they were able to ski the Grands Envers and into the Mer de Glace. This is a great run and on a powder day, could very well be one of the best ski runs of your life.

The other group decided to head over to Verbier to get a day of skiing in Switzerland in as well as a chance to see some friends compete at the final stop of the Freeride World Tour and the Bec de Rosses. It was great to see friends and other Tahoe locals such as Daron Rahlves and Jackie Passo compete this day, as it is one of the most iconic venues in the world. We had great skies and blue bird conditions for the first powder run after a short book pack up to the Highway to Heaven traverse. One of our guests would find his way into a beauty of a couloir and have it all to him self, not a bad way to spend your first day in Verbier. The group got to ski a beautiful North Facing aspect with powder and end the day on a high note. No trip to Verbier is complete without a stop at one of the many Après hotspots on the mountain to listen to some great music with even better views of the French and Swiss Alps. After a short stop in the village to see old friends and share the excitement from the competition day, it was back to Chamonix for the final night with the crew and an incredible Mexican dinner by the one and only Chef Adam. Gracias Amigo!

After 7 days of non stop skiing, adventure, lots of fresh cooked local food, skiing three countries and fresh powder turns every day, it’s easy to say everyone had a great week of skiing in the Alps. To many, this was their first time skiing in Europe and hopefully not the last as the smiles and excitement had them looking forward to the next trip. If you are curious to see more, check out our SKI CHAMONIX VIDEO from 2015. We are already building our March 2016 Chamonix ski trips and can’t wait to host another group like this as well as a women’s only ski week/camp with local professional female guides and athletes.

We hope to see you on an upcoming Chamonix Ski Tour!

Ski Chamonix Day 3

Time to start hiking and exploring the endless ski options behind the Brevent and Flegere ski areas. The day started with an amazing ride up the Brevent with spectacular views of the Mont Blanc/ Aiguille du Midi range on the other side of the valley. The views from the top of the Brevent lift allow an individual to look into Switzerland and France in all directions. It is quite an impressive sight that hopefully everyone gets to experience one day. The day would start with a ski tour via the Col des Aiguille Crochues as we exited the top of the Floria draglift. There were a couple dozen people on the route and made for an interesting boot pack as we watched the other groups. Boot packing up was a lot easier vs. skinning to the top as you had to boot pack the last 100 meters to the top. The next couloir we would ascend would put us up to the Pointe Alphonse Favre and looking down on to a powdery Glacier Mort (yes, the glacier of death which is receding every year due to warm temps and is significantly smaller vs. a decade ago). The ski out along the Berard valley and the creek down to Le Buet is always an interesting one. It is a given that at least one person will slip into the creek at some point and get a little wet but it makes it more fun that way. In our case both snowboarders got a nice little fresh water treat on the way down 🙂 Once we are all at the bottom of the valley and back in Le Buet, its time for a nice cold beer to celebrate a long day in the mountains. A small group went over to Le Tour and got another couple runs in as you can easily ski down the XC path to access those lifts. Overall this was an excellent day and one that many would call the highlight of the trip.

Ski Courmayeur Day 4

Today was the first road trip to find fresh snow on the other side of Mont Blanc and through the Mont Blanc tunnel over to Courmayeur, Italy for some fantastic Italian powder skiing. No ski trip to Italy is complete without sampling one of the many on mountain restaurants, the fine and inexpensive cappuccinos, and of course an after ski Bombardino! The day would force us to stay high on the mountain around the Youla cable car as the Arp cable car was closed due to the storm. This option allowed us easy access to dozens of north facing couloirs right from the top with minimal traversing. Nice, steep and powder filled lines between 45-50 degrees in pitch and 500+ meters long which led into nice powder filled bowls that we could lap. The mountains would play games with us and give everyone a sneak peak at the Italian side of Mont Blanc and the pure beauty of the area. The energy of the group continued to build as each day kept getting better and everyone’s hopes of finding fresh snow was coming true, especially those from Tahoe.

Ski Courmayeur Day 5

Back to La Palud Italy for fresh snow and a chance to ski into the Valle Blanche from the Italian side of the mountains. Blue skies and a little powder, offered us the option to ski couloirs and open bowls off of the Helbronner area located on the Italian side of Mont Blanc. One group would head over to the Glacier de Toule for some fresh powder turns and the second group would ski The Couloir di Riffugio (45 deg) and the “Sous les Cables” back down to the mid station for a snack before lunch at the top station. As with most high alpine ranges you will consistently come across mixed weather and conditions. Once at the top we were in a thick cloud of pea soup with very low visibility. Our guide Phil Ashby and LGA Owner Jeff Robertson, decided to go for a little walk to see what the conditions might be like going into the Vallee Blanche. With very little visibility and passing a couple groups of Italian military personnel on their way back from a training tour, Jeff & Phil decided to go for the window and see what happens. As the group finished up the homemade lasagna and cappuccinos, the decision was made to head into the Valle Blanche in search of fresh snow. The decision paid off and as the group started to break through the clouds and into the sun looking at the Aiguille du Midi and the upper sections of the Valle Blanche, sounds of stoke and excitement started to fill the air. The Valle Noir was in great condition and offered some of the best turns of the trip with fresh snow and bluebird conditions. This would be one of our best powder runs of the week! The perfect moment for everyone as we skied away into the lower part of the Mer de Glace that was covered in fog and onto the Montenvers Cable way back into Chamonix. To cap off the day the group headed to Chambre Neuf for a little Après and live music before a night on the town at the Le Vert Hotel for dinner and more live music. With numerous couloirs and open glaciated areas to ski, this is an area that all skiers to the Chamonix valley should experience.