Ski resorts: Balme - Brevent - Flegere:
Balme: The nearest of all 6 resorts, and only half a mile from the chalet are the sunny intermediate slopes of Le Tour/ Balme. Though accessed by gondola, you can choose to ski back down the long red Charamillon run – and when conditions are good, continue right back to the door of the chalet. Close to the foot of the gondola are some of the best beginners’ slopes in the valley - La Vormaine – the combination making Le Tour the ideal family resort.
Brevent - Flegere: Fifteen minutes away, these sunny pistes offer excellent skiing for advanced and intermediate skiers, as well as some superb off-piste runs for experts. Take the second cable car to the top of Le Brévent, at 2,525m (almost 8,000ft) this is the viewpoint for the world-famous skyline across the valley – stretching from Mont Blanc and the Aiguille de Midi to the granite cathedral of le Dru.
All offer plenty of easily accessible ungroomed terrain at the sides of the pistes.
Ski resorts : Les grands montets - Les Houches:
Les grands montets: The jewel in Chamonix’s crown - the challenging slopes of Argentière’s Grands Montets. Thanks both to its elevation and huge area of accessible terrain, this is one of the world’s most famous arenas for off-piste skiing, and a must-do for the good skier or snowboarder. By taking the “Top-Tin” you can also ski the long glacier runs of the Pylones or Pointe de Vue - and with the aide of a mountain guide, innumerable off-piste variations – or even the mythical Pas de Chèvre, which takes you right down to join the Mer de Glace at the end of the Vallée Blanche..
Les Houches: Another 10 minutes past Chamonix is an excellent intermediate area. On the (thankfully) infrequent days when high winds temporarily close the other valley ski areas, Les Houches are the most likely to remain open. They are also a good choice in bad visibility, as it’s slopes follow the contours of grassy meadows with very few rocks and virtually no cliffs. It is also great for skiing in trees.
Aiguille du midi - Vallee blanche:
Good adventurous skiers should definitely hire the services of a mountain-guide and ski the famous “Vallée blanche”. An off-piste glacier itinerary in the heart of the mountains, taking you from the Aiguille du Midi at 3,842 metres (12,000 feet) down into Chamonix at 1,000 m, this takes the entire day. (Note: Glaciers are changing all the time and though you may read that the Vallée Blanche could be skied by “Red standard skiers”, at the present time this should be increased to skiers confident on Black runs with some off-piste experience, though by next season this may change back again).
(Our thanks to Al Churcher for helping to write and compile this information. An outdoor writer and photographer, Al has been climbing and skiing in the Chamonix and Aosta Valleys for more years than he cares to remember, and has spent the greater part of the past 6 winter seasons here.)
