After a good early winter and lots of treeskiing, it's time to tackle the big lines. Where better to do this than in Chamonix? After a long wait, we have finally arrived in Chamonix and will be reporting on our experiences over the next three weeks.
Freeride Mecca Chamonix
Camonix is the meeting point of alpinism in France. The town, which hosted the 1924 Winter Olympics, is located in the Rhone Alps region. In addition to around 10,000 inhabitants, Chamonix can accommodate 60,000 guests at peak times. In winter, Chamonix is primarily a meeting place for freeriders and extreme skiers.
The municipality of Chamonix also includes the villages of les Bossons, les Praz de Chamonix, les Tines, le Lavancher, Argentière and, in the north of the Chamonix valley, Le Tour. Argentiere in particular is well known for the Les Grand Montets ski area.
The highest point in the ski area is the Aiguille du Midi at 3842 meters. This gondola is preferred by mountaineers who want to ascend to Mont Blanc. However, the legendary cable car architecture of the summit station is also very important for freeriders, as well-known runs such as the Mallory Route, the Cosmiques Couloir, Rond Glacier or Mer de Glace can be reached from there. In addition to the Aiguille du Midi, Chamonix also has the areas of Le Brevent with the famous E.N.S.A. Couloir and la Flegere.
A day ticket for the entire area costs 48.50 ? in high season. There is no lift network between the areas, but buses and trains take lift users comfortably from area to area. We have the Mont Blanc Unlimited season pass. It costs 700? in advance. This card also includes Verbier and for an extra 7 euros you can ski all 4 valleys in Verbier. There are also some vouchers for free tickets for areas such as Les Portes du Soleil.
The first few days
Since there were no lifts operating in Chamonix at the beginning of the week due to heavy snowfall and wind, we headed to Verbier for some treeskiing. It is about 50 km from Argentiere to Le Chable (Verbier valley resort), which takes about 45 minutes by car. In heavy snowfall, however, keep a close eye on the Col des Montets pass (1461 m). A closed pass means the end of the fast crossing. On the way back from Verbier - with a powder grin to match - we were faced with unexpectedly red-colored road signs: "Col des Montets - CLOSED". This meant an uncomfortable drive via Geneva: a three-hour drive, a detour of 200 km and expensive French highway tolls!
The sun was still not shining and the pass was still closed. So we made our way to Le Tour, as there are some promising forest sections there. As there were still hardly any lifts in operation due to the heavy rainfall and strong winds of the previous days, the crowds were concentrated in Le Tour with endless queues at the lifts. Unfortunately, not all of the lifts were in operation there either, which also led to the slopes quickly becoming snowy. In no time at all, fine powder slopes turned into moguls. Yes, that's Chamonix too. Nevertheless, even under these circumstances, we found nice tree runs without competition.
Sun + fresh snow + Chamonix = big lines
After a few days without sunshine and only tree runs, we were looking forward to open terrain with big turns again for a change. Our wish was not to come true for the time being. So we drove to Brévent in heavy snowfall once again. We still had a little hope, as there was a 10 percent chance of sunshine that day. Once we arrived at Brévent, we headed up to the highest point (2525 m). Once at the top, we decided to do a warm-up run in the Couloir Allais (300 m 30°-35°). On the way there, the unexpected happens: the first rays of sunshine give us a glimpse of the couloir.
The snow is a dream! Deep, unbound, stable, fast and even the sluff is harmless today. It seems as if Brévent has been spared the strong winds of the past few days. The couloir leads into the Brévent Bowl, where the "bushwacking" or "combat skiing" begins. The large bowl is well filled and there are almost no tracks to be seen. In these conditions, it is not a "combat" at all, but rather a "high speed shredding". The bowl also offers a view down to the valley floor and to Cahmonix - unique.
Then we went into the Bellin couloir (400 m up to 40°) and the visibility became significantly worse again. However, you still had an acceptable view through the rocks and the snow was a dream. After a few 1500 m high-speed runs through the Bellin, the weather gods took pity on us. Towards the end of the ski day, the sun finally made a full appearance, which we shamelessly took advantage of to ski the famous E.N.S.A. couloir (400 m, the first 20 m 42°, then around 40°). The ridiculous three tracks we found in the couloir didn't dampen our downhill fun in the slightest at the end of this phenomenal day.
