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Between the pistes
© copyright Chamonix Promotion - Maison du Tourisme - John Norris
The top: Grands Montets
Arguably the world’s top off-piste ski mountain, the Grands Montets has it all; sadly that includes lots of skiers. We've got a special Les Grands Montets between the pistes section on it.
Good with bad weather: Les Houches
Les Houches is the annual venue for the valley’s only World Cup Downhill event. Its low elevation means snow cover seldom matches the quality of the higher stations but when bad weather closes in it can come into its own and I have had exceptional skiing here tracking fresh powder all day.
Great for beginners: Le Tour
Of all the Chamonix valley stations Le Tour has undergone the biggest transformation in recent years. The completion in summer 2004 of the lift out of Vallorcine, its neighbouring village to the north, has expanded the options further. Along with La Flegere it has lots of great terrain for introducing you to off-piste without being too intimidating, though it still demands respect. Les Jeurs in particular is notorious for avalanches.
It also has the best tree skiing in the valley. From the top of the teleski du Plan des Rennes head NNW, right of Les Esserts piste where wonderful rolling terrain awaits you.
Great choice on powder days: La Flegere
Although similar in aspect to Le Brevent, La Flegere has arguably even more stupendous views as it looks directly onto the Mer de Glace and the Grandes Jorasses. It is also less intimidating as the terrain is more rolling and the slopes wider. For me it’s a great choice on busy powder days to introduce skiers to deep snow when Les Grands Montets is a bun fight.
Two bowls await you from the top of the Index lift: la Combe Lachenal (named after the first alpinist to climb an 8000m peak, Annapurna) and la Combe des Crochues. Although pistes now run down both of them there is still plenty of off-piste. The route finding is very straightforward in la Combe Lachenal, but less straightforward in the Crochues bowl where numerous variants exist. The latter is always my favourite area for spring snow skiing where the abundance of sun and views, but lack of crowds, make it very special.
Wild skiing close to lifts: Le Brevent
On the northern side of the valley, with fabulous views across to Mont Blanc and the Chamonix Aiguilles, Le Brevent is directly accessed from the centre of town by a cable car built in 1932. There is plenty of ‘wild’ skiing easily reached from the lifts on which to hone your steep skiing technique, epitomised by the short steep runs in the ‘Brevent Col’ area.
From the top of the Le Brevent cable car follow the ‘Charles Bozon’ piste for 250m to the first sharp right turn; turn left and pass through a narrow canyon with steep rock walls on your left (great climbing in the summer) and ski along an airy crest. A variety of descent options to re-join the piste now appear to your right.
Remember the southerly aspect of these slopes means the snow undergoes considerable changes throughout the day - not only have you got to deal with the angle you’ve got to handle varying snow quality. Early morning can be icy while by mid-afternoon the slope might soften enough to slide, before crusting up again as temperatures drop. As you negotiate the ruts just remind yourself there’s no such thing as bad snow, only bad skiers.
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Avalanche gear
Away from the marked runs, you depend on your friends and your equipment should anything go wrong.
Make sure you have the best gear, available from Facewest.
Make sure you have the best gear, available from Facewest.
Avalanche guide
Some passages in this section are extracted from Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain by Bruce Tremper, Director of the Utah Avalanche Center.
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