Grands Montets

The tour of the Trois Cols is a popular high-alpine skitour near Argentière and leads into a world far away from the infrastructure and ski hustle and bustle. Thanks to lift support in the Grands Montets resort, you can cover a considerable number of metres in just one day and cross several impressive glacier basins along the way. This very varied tour rewards you with magnificent views of the steep north faces of Argentière and the Mont Blanc massif.

There is hardly a place on this planet where the contrasts between urbanity and extreme nature are as close together as in the Chamonix valley. This has advantages, but also disadvantages - and you are definitely never alone in the El Dorado of alpine superlatives.

Pete Houghton lives in Chamonix and has years of experience on the classic and less classic steep descents in the area. He recently climbed a couloir on the Becs Rouges. After good snow in the upper section and two abseils, he traversed into his intended exit couloir and found out: The exit from the gully had slipped since the inspection and no longer existed. Rockfall and wet snow threatened from above.

In the ski mecca of Chamonix, the powder slopes in the off-piste area are extremely fast. It's a good idea to pack your skins. As soon as you have to walk up a bit, there are far fewer people on the slopes. However, this does not mean that you will be alone.

The Chevalier Couloir is relatively little used, at least if you consider its easy accessibility from the Grands Montet mountain station. However, it is an interesting, consistently steep couloir, even if the start admittedly often presents some difficulties.

From March 23 to 25, 2012, the BigLePowSki– event series took place in Chamonix (France) for the first time. No other ski resort in the Alps can keep up with the off-piste possibilities of the five resorts in the Chamonix Valley, so it seemed only a matter of time before the Dude made an appearance here too. With sunshine and good snow conditions, the participants were able to explore the off-piste terrain of Les Grands Montets on Saturday and Brévent / Flégère on Sunday with the local guides. The BigLePowSki is organized by Black Diamond, Arc?teryx, Diamir, Freeride Maps, Pieps and Polartec.

Part 2 of the report from our intrepid Chamonix exiles. This time with pictures from the Freeride World Tour Qualifier event, tips on accommodation, a short trip to central Switzerland and, of course, steep couloirs again.