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Chamonix 1/29-2/6

santacruz skier

Angel Diva
Great photos. I went to Chamonix in 2013 and 2014. Highlight was skiing Les Grandes Montets.
 

BlueSkies

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Great photos. I went to Chamonix in 2013 and 2014. Highlight was skiing Les Grandes Montets.
Never made it to Les Grandes Monetets. After spending about 3 hrs on Mont Blanc, the altitude got me and I took another day to recover while DH and a friend skied Le Brevent and Flegere. Skied Les Houches on our final ski day.
 

santacruz skier

Angel Diva
Never made it to Les Grandes Monetets. After spending about 3 hrs on Mont Blanc, the altitude got me and I took another day to recover while DH and a friend skied Le Brevent and Flegere. Skied Les Houches on our final ski day.
Le Brevent/Flegere was really fun and also skied Les Houches one day. I remember skiing an area called Le Tour. Does that sound familiar ?
BTW, I'm scared of heights and was afraid to ski Valle Blanche. I was told Les Grandes Montets is more difficult to ski but being up there on the Valle Blanche roped together terrified me !
Stayed in a British run chalet both weeks. Once in Argentiere and once near Brevent/Flegere....
 

BlueSkies

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Le Brevent/Flegere was really fun and also skied Les Houches one day. I remember skiing an area called Le Tour. Does that sound familiar ?
BTW, I'm scared of heights and was afraid to ski Valle Blanche. I was told Les Grandes Montets is more difficult to ski but being up there on the Valle Blanche roped together terrified me !
Stayed in a British run chalet both weeks. Once in Argentiere and once near Brevent/Flegere....
,
Le Tour was the first day, ( seems many of the places can be identified by several different names -area, town, mountain..)
As for the Valle Blanche, the initial descent looked interesting, crampons required. And I'm told the glacier has receded so that it's a quarter mile or so hike into town at the end. Not my cup of tea.
 

santacruz skier

Angel Diva
Is Domaine de Balme the same as Le Tour? Also on a different trip, I skied Courmayeur ! That was a really nice resort..... Also skied Verbier but now can't remember if it was a different trip. Your pictures are fantastic!
 

Myriad

Diva in Training
Never made it to Les Grandes Monetets. After spending about 3 hrs on Mont Blanc, the altitude got me and I took another day to recover while DH and a friend skied Le Brevent and Flegere. Skied Les Houches on our final ski day.
Grands Montets is amazing when there is a fair bit of fresh snow, but in the conditions we've had recently (thin cover, icy hardpack) I don't find it as enjoyable as Le Tour or Flegere.
 

Myriad

Diva in Training
Is Domaine de Balme the same as Le Tour? Also on a different trip, I skied Courmayeur ! That was a really nice resort..... Also skied Verbier but now can't remember if it was a different trip. Your pictures are fantastic!
Yes, Balme / Le Tour are the same area, at the Eastern end of the valley, and over to the Vallorcine side.
 

SkiRed

Certified Ski Diva
I was there at the end of January, amazing scenery and food! Skied Le Tour/Balme, Brevent/Flegere and Les Grands Montets. Stayed in Argentiere. Surprisingly Les Montets was the least enjoyable probably because of the conditions as Myriad mentioned. Here is "Charles Bozon" run at Le Brevent (very "bumpy":bump: ).
2023-01-24 1220 Samsung Galaxy S21-5G Elena (25).jpg
 

santacruz skier

Angel Diva
A lot of scary drop offs on Les Grandes Montets I remember. We finally arrived at a lodge/chalet and our server exclaimed, "You guys skied that without a guide?"

Also remember Brevent/Flegere had some drop offs as well, but nothing like Les Grandes Montets.....

This was 8 years ago and there was a lot of snow. It was actually nice after walking carrying skis down about 200 metal steps when we departed from the cable car.
 

Myriad

Diva in Training
Yes, in good snow years Grands Montet is a lot of fun! Definitely the hardest resort skiing in the valley (and Chamonix is somewhere for stronger skiers to start with). I haven't skied that black down the glacier from the top station at Grands Montet though - it's on my list!

Speaking of food, for anyone who may be staying in Argentiere, I highly recommend eating at Rencard (pizza, pretty casual, also does takeout) and Les Cheserys (less casual, but amazing food).
 

KathrynC

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I'm just back from a week in Chamonix. They had some great snow in early January, which I caught the tail end of. I was doing a guided off-piste week, so not too many photos as I was spending too much time trying to listen to what the guides were telling us, so just two group shots:

First, day 1 in the Canadian Bowl, Grand Montets. Visibility wasn't great, but lovely snow.
IMG-20240108-WA0000.jpg

Second, secret powder stash at Le Tour (outside of the patrolled area, requires a short bootpack or skin to access).

IMG-20240112-WA0001.jpg

I thought I was adding to a recent thread, but I haven't gotten used to it being 2024 yet - I just realised this is from last year. Never mind!
 

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