Chamonix

And so here we are at another of our very much anticipated European resorts!

Chamonix sits nestled on the valley floor either side of some pretty amazing mountains. On one side you have a ridge reaching 2525m, but then on the other you have the Needles, reaching up to 3824m, and if that’s not enough, then you have the one and only Mt Blanc, soaring to a truly mind blowing 4810m. Wow. And isn’t it just beautiful. Not some jagged rocky peak for France and Europe’s highest mountain, but a perfectly smooth and snowy dome, glistening in the sun, flanked on either side by a pair of totally amazing glaciers flowing down the valley almost as if in a freezed frame hanging in suspense, all green and fearsome looking. As if at any moment, they could resume their rapid descent and totally wipe out anything in their path. You wouldn’t want to mess with them!

One of the glaciers hanging above Chamonix

One of the most amazing things to do here is take the stupefying cable car up to the top of the Aiguille du Midi, from Chamonix central at an altitude of 1035m, to 3842m in all of 15 mins. You get out of the car at the very top, and your breathing becomes laboured and your head may almost start to reel. You are VERY HIGH UP! And if you fail to realise that, take a walk outside onto one of the viewing decks. Totally (and literally) breathtaking!.

The summit here is also the starting point for the famous Valleé Blanche. This is an offpiste (obviously!) 24km run over the top of a glacier which takes about 1.5 hours. This would truly be one amazing experience, but not one naturally suited to snowboarders due to the very flat nature of part of the run. We met a very game couple who we rode up the car with who were all set to do it on their own on boards, who’d hired a guide the day before who’d taken them down a steeper route, and were coming back to do it again on their own. But given the sunny conditions and the nature of glaciers, it’s not the kind of thing you’d want to do on your own with no prior experience. Something we’ll look into!

Us at 3842m!

View back down to Chamonix

Awesome views down the Glace de Mer

And so once you get over the scenery it’s time to think about the snow.

Well, the thing with Chamonix, is that after you’ve been hanging out at places like Arcs and other large fields, it’s a bit of a let down to discover that all the (on piste) ski areas are well spread out across the valley and totally unconnected. The first area we checked out, Grands Montets, well it wasn’t for us. Ultra slow lifts, limited runs, and at times it seemed as if the ski populations of France and the UK combined where there. The final descent come 5pm resembled on of those Brughel paintings, with hundreds of people of all abilities labouring to get down several kilometres of giant mogul pits. Not the nicest experience really.

Just add moguls and another hundred people

But it was well worth suffering for our couple of days up at Le Tour. Sunny skies, soft snow and a manageable population on the slopes on the first, coupled by snow, snow and lots of fresh powder on the second! It is the ultimate playground, with natural dips and bowls and halfpipes so much fun to be had. We met up with some friends we’d made the day before, who we mucked about with, and who taught us some switching techniques (where you flick the board around and ride back to front), in exchange for teaching some jump turns in the fabulous natural bowl we found.

About to drop into a great natural bowl at le Tour

Coming to a rapid stop

Virgin tracks in the powder

Even Wickse got to enjoy the powder fun

But we also had one of the most sobering days ever. On day one, on our way up the first gondola, it slowed to a stop to allow a helicopter attend to a very serious accident on the descent. As we passed over, we saw blood all over the slopes, and numerous paramedics in attendance. On our next ascent, we witnessed the helicopter once again, this time to come retrieve the bodybag. A real reality check. It makes you fully realise just how vulnerable we really are out here in the face of nature.