Times Visited

6-15 Times

Review Detail

CHAMONIX THE Mountain capital of the world!Well certainly in Europe. This place is buzzing all year round and should be on every boarders list of must visit places before I die. It is a short 45min drive,mostly on motorway up from Geneva airport and with the low cost airlines of today and the huge amount of places to stay there has never been a better time to plan a trip to this great town. Chamonix has grown and spread out along the magnificent valley as tourism has grown over the years. Anyone who had bought property 20 years ago in the town is now sitting on an absolute fortune. It is not unknown for wealthy city types to knock on the door of a property they desire and to make the owner an offer. Anyone wanting to buy property here now has to move further out along the valley. Chamonix is a town full of real mountain people and the place does not have the same sophisticated air to it like say Zermatt or other trully great mountain towns. It is more laid back and down to earth but the town centre with its cobbled streets has a special atmosphere no matter which month of the year you visit. A few years ago we spent a few days camping here in July and it did not stop raining, but our spirits were certainly not dampened. In my view the greatest setback to Chamonix is the reopening of the Mont Blanc tunnel to heavy vehicles. It is such a shame that areas of outstanding natural beauty like the Chamonix valley should be subjected to these huge amounts of polution. From a skier/boarders point of view it does give easy access through to Italy where a day can be spent on the slopes of Courmayeur, although if you only got 1 week in Cham I certainly would not be heading over the border as there is so much to do and explore here. On all my visits to this place we have always had our own transport to get around and this is certainly a great advantage in getting the most out of the area. The slopes are spread out for nearly 25 km along the valley from Les Houches at one end to my favourite at the other end – Argentiere. Having your own transport allows you to visit other resorts on the Mont Blanc lift pass, these include Les Contamines and Megeve (a very pretty resort) among the 13 areas included in the pass. As I said earlier there are plenty of places to stay from appartments, hotels and a lot of chalets, guesthouses(gites) to campsites. This February we are going to stay in the Hotel Excelsior near Les Praz followed by a few days at Auberge du Manoir in the town. The Gite Belvedere at Argentiere is also worth staying at. We stayed here in May 2001 and it is a very friendly place. Although, our visit brought home to us just how dangerous the mountains can be here. We met 4 guys over from the states who all worked as ski instuctors or piste patrol in Utah. They were here to finish off a great season and had been skiing the deep and the steep around the valley. We said goodbye to them one evening as they were flying home in a couple of days and we were heading to Switzerland to do some ski-mountaineering. On our return to Argentiere we were saddened to here that one of them returned home in a box in the aircrafts hold! It just made me think more seriously when I put myself into a difficult situation the next day high above Argentiere on Les Grand Montets. This is really steep terrain and usually has good snow until mid May. To ride up here you really need the help of a local guide to get the most out of the place. The Glacier is huge with stunning views of crevasses and you would be foolish to ride here on your own without a good local knowledge. Access to the area is via the Grand Montets cable car which rises to 3235m, where you might well feel the effects of altitude so take your time especially on a really warm day. From here you can climb up some metal steps to the observation platform from where the views are some of the best you will find anywhere giving an impressive panorama of Mont Blanc. There are numerous runs down from here with the Poit de Vue and Pylones being long and fairly challenging. These runs are unpisted. One of the best off-piste routes is the Pas de Chevre which crosses over to join the Vallee Blanche run. I prefer Argentiere to all the other areas but that is not to say they have not got a lot to offer themselves. Le Tour – has not a lot of tough terrain but I have been told that there are often good off-piste posibilities here down to the village of Vallorcine although if you go over here you would need to get picked up. Le Brevent – there are some steep couloirs to attempt here and good off-piste at times. The slopes here are mostly south facing so do suffer at times with ice and slush. The same can also be said of La Flegere. Les Houches – There are tree runs here which are good for intermediates. A must for anyone is to take the Aiguille du midi cable-car up to 3840m and to do the Vallee Blanche. This is not a difficult run and any competant intermediate will have no problems with it.The worst aspect is that there are a few flat sections as well as crevasses but the scenery and views are something you will always remember. What I am going to say next goes against what I am always telling people with regards to safety. Firstly I never advise anyone to ride off- piste without local knowledge ( a guide or experience ) and without the proper equipment (tranciever/probe/shovel ) and the ability to use them, but if it is a good clear day and the forecast is good then save yourself some cash and do this route without a guide as there are plenty of tracks and others around. But do be aware that there are a number of routes down and some are quite difficult. You may not be able to ride the full 24km down to Chamonix if snow conditions do not permit so you will have to catch the train down from Montenvers. Chamonix has something for everyone although it is not the best place for a beginner to come to, better improve at a more suitable resort then come here with a few miles under the belt so to appreciate it all the better.

Strengths

Great expert terrain, unlimited off-piste, high and good snow reliability high up. Brilliant scenery and nightlife, great atmosphere in town. Lots of places to stay, plenty of shops to buy/rent equipment.

Weaknesses

Several separate areas which are not linked. Not often able to ride back down to valley. Not an ideal place for beginners.

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