Day 4 didn’t warrant a post on it’s own, heavy snowfalls, high winds and poor visibility were the order of the day. Temperatures had warmed in Italy so that wasn’t an option so we headed to Grands Montets for a day of resort powder skiing with the hordes. I don’t think anyone in the group took a photo. We had a couple of nice runs but spent the day in anticipation of the weather clearing and the prospect of heading up the Aiguille du Midi the following day.

And fortunately the weather co-operated – we woke to clear skies and not much wind aloft, but a forecast of a foehn wind coming from the Italian side in the afternoon. So we arrived at the tram station bright & early but after some classic French miscommunication by the lift company ended up on the 4th tram instead of the first. When we saw Glen Plake in the line we knew we were in the right place.

We rode the two cable cars and within a matter of minutes we were up at 3810m at the top of the tram, which is as much a space station as a ski lift. A few snaps were taken on the bridge, but then it was time to don crampons and rope up for the arete.

The famous arete is perhaps the most nerve-wracking section of the Vallee Blanche, it’s an exposed ridge that you need to walk down, with significant drops on either side. However it is expertly roped by the lift staff and with soft snow, expert guides and the right equipment it’s not as death-defying as it might seem. We split into two groups to walk the arete and everybody completed it with aplomb. When we reached flat ground it was time to remove crampons etc, a lot more happy snaps and get in to ski mode.

We split into two groups for the descent, one group took the classic Vallee Blanche itinerary and the others went on the Moyen Envers variation which is a little steeper and more technical.

As over a metre of new snow had fallen during the storm the skiing was excellent – after the first pitch in blower powder we decided to get the drone out to film some skiing – unfortunately it was actually windier lower down so we weren’t able to use it again.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRL1fLPBIz9/

The Moyen Envers twists and turns its way down the glacier and we descended in perfect snow marvelling at the amazing glacial serac formations.

The Moyen Envers group rejoined the classic route and met up with the other group down on the flats of the Mer de Glace. Once you reach the Mer de Glace it is a long flat descent where you can relax a little and marvel at the scenery towering above. The forecasted foehn wind was definitely blowing down from the Italian side and led to an unusual situation where it was colder lower down than higher up.

After a few kilometres it was time to decide how to get back to Chamonix. Typically there are two options, you can ski down to the tongue of the glacier, make a short walk up the moraine wall then ski the ‘James Bond’ track to Chamonix – however this being a low snow year we thought that this might not be the best idea. The alternative is to climb up a set of steps that are bolted to the moraine wall, with another set or two being added each year as the glacier sadly recedes, until you reach a small lift that brings you up to the Montenvers train. However on this day the lift was not running so it was a pretty hefty walk all the way up to Montenvers, somewhere between 3-400m vertical we estimated. But we all made it up with a minimum of fuss and rode the train down to town for the obligatory end of day beer.

It’s a pretty substantial day for somebody who has never experienced it before and can be quite emotionally draining, as there are usually quite a lot of nerves leading up to it, and our crew did exceptionally well and completed the day without incident. A great achievement.

We woke to a similar situation as the previous day except that the snow line had dropped and it was dumping in Chamonix with an accumulation overnight at town level, but wind meant that many of the lifts were on hold either temporarily or for the day

So we decided to head back in to Italy but a little further this time to a tiny resort called Crevacol. We had been there a couple of times before, each due to foul weather, and when we skied there it was apparent that it would be a ton of fun on a powder day. It is a classic little mum & dad resort with two chairlifts and a magic carpet, but most importantly nobody in the car park. It’s quite a drive from Cham, almost 1h40m but when the alternative is not appealing the travel is worth it.

The plan was to ride both the lifts, ski down a short distance then skin approx 300m vertical to the very top, at which point we would ski over the back of the resort down to where the Grand St Bernard tunnel goes underground. From there we could either push on the roof of the covered roadway back down to the resort or ski a little lower to a taxi pickup.

When we arrived at the top we were surprised by the almost complete absence of wind given the conditions in Chamonix, and it was also lightly snowing with visibility coming in and out. We donned our skins and began climbing towards the peak, Fanny breaking trail and the crew in tow. As we headed higher we were treated to views across the valley to the famous Grand St Bernard monastery.

There was one other skinning party in the area but they headed for a lower col, and when we we reached the top after about an hour it was apparent that we would have an entire face to ourselves – 1000m vertical of completely untracked powder. Nice.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRIJ1JJhgn1/

Everyone got their fill on the way down, plenty of envy-inducing videos were shot and after untracked turn after untracked turn we were in the valley. We skied down past the tunnel infrastructure and along a beautiful forest track, it was extremely peaceful and we then skied on to the snow-covered summer road up to the monastery. This was a bit of a push but we eventually made it to the road closure where Jerome had called a taxi to take us back to the resort, where we had time for one more run on the lifts, complete with freshies at the end of the day – an unheard of occurrence in a busy resort.

Unfortunately we were to say goodbye to Simon this afternoon, but we certainly sent him off with some superb experiences!

Despite going to bed with clear skies, and in spite of our disbelief that the forecasted snow would arrive, arrive it did and by morning we were woken to pretty steady rain and evidence of snow not too far overhead.

As is often the case in Chamonix the wind was keeping the top lifts closed so we made the call to head through the tunnel to Italy.

This is often a winning option – and this was reinforced when we exited the tunnel to see at least 20cm of fresh snow adorning the railings. There was talk of perhaps heading to La Thuile for some ski touring, but when we saw how much snow had fallen on the Italian side we pulled into the nearest carpark with a ski lift and decided to ski some pow. The top lifts weren’t open but Courmayeur has a good amount of sheltered tree skiing which is less in abundance on the Chamonix side. We split into a couple of groups and went powder hunting – once we got up the mountain at least 35cm had fallen and it snowed hard all day.

We kept the terrain pretty mellow due to avalanche possibilities and stuck pretty close to the lifts but in the afternoon we decided to check out one the lower half of the Dolonne area. It was whiteout visibility near the top, but when the pitch mellowed and the visibility improved we were treated to a lovely stretch of powder skiing with faceshots in abundance. We got some lovely video footage which definitely was received with envy by our friends at home!!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BREYwtmBVjR

However eventually it was time to pay the piper – the couloir narrows at the bottom and the exit follows a creek bed – this could well have been completely dry preceding this snowfall, so we definitely found some sharks under the snow and our skis were definitely worse for wear at the exit. Doesn’t matter skied powder.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BREjoC1hnKy

The groups met at the Maison Vielle restaurant for a late lunch which became an italian extravaganza with all sorts of local delicacies and the quirky atmosphere it is famous for.

We rolled out of lunch and made our way back to the car, including a few freshies of course, after a fantastic powder day that nobody anticipated.

When we returned to Chamonix the snow line had dropped and it was dumping in town, it was time for a spa and a beer at the Chalet before another wonderful dinner & anticipation of the day ahead with the potential for freshies….

Our group assembled at the Chalet on Sunday afternoon – and we were greeted by a facility that greatly exceeded our expectations – a lovely large space, towering views of the peaks on both sides of the valley, a lovely deck with a spa & comfortable rooms. Jerome and our second guide Fanny came over for a meet & greet which was followed by a discussion on safety and group goals for the week.

Dinner was served & our Chalet chef Whitney soon became everyone’s favourite as each course proved a winner. To quote Pulp Fiction, which I had re-watched recently “this is some serious gourmet shit”. The amazement continued as we woke to a stunning breakfast spread which we devoured as we would need the energy for the day’s activities.

The weather was clear with blue skies but high winds aloft, so we chose to do a mid-altitude ski tour in the Aiguilles Rouges – Jerome and Fanny met us at the Chalet to discuss the days plans. This is always a great option as the terrain is excellent and the views across to the Mont Blanc massif are peerless. Plus we had a group member who had not used touring gear and skins before so this is an excellent location to start out – no crazy steep icy kick turns etc but enough to start acquiring skills.

We ascended the lifts at Flegere, and then completed a bone-rattling traverse to the point where we donned our skins and commenced climbing. After a few switchbacks we reached the beautiful Lac Blanc area, we crossed the frozen lake and continued upwards until a decision needed to be made whether we would climb to Col du Belvedere which was the obvious valley straight ahead, or up to the lookers right to Col des Dards which could hold better snow.

While we were climbing Jerome made a detour to check out the snow and decided that the second option would be the best so we diverted left and reached the col after about 500m vert of climbing. Spirits were high as we lunched at the col, admiring the spectacular views, and then we began our descent in some lovely windblown powder, the terrain in the Aiguilles Rouges is very playful and we descended through a couple of bowls and a couloir with plenty of terrain features to keep it interesting. As we descended further the fresh snow transitioned into corn snow which was equally superb.

However this being a low snow year, and skiing on the sunny side of the valley we were soon made to pay for the lovely corn turns as we were not able to directly traverse back to the lift as a face had melted out, so we needed to bush bash a little to get back to the lifts. This was all in good humour and before long we were back at Flegere.

We decided to use the last couple hours of daylight to listen to an avalanche briefing from Jerome and Fanny, and we each conducted a beacon search. It is something that a committed off-piste skier should do regularly and we all benefited from the practice. There was a storm forecast but the skies remained clear as we went to bed and we were a little uncertain if it would arrive….

Prologue

And so begins a new chapter of our aussieskier journey.

It has been apparent to us for a number of years that there would be an appetite for Australians to visit the Alps and experience the amazing off-piste skiing and ski touring that is on offer. Regular aussieskier readers will have observed our own personal journeys beginning in 2010, the year we first started making these sorts of trips. Richard had previously skied in Europe, but never to this extent.

We quickly realised that there were a few key elements to a successful adventure in the alps. First and foremost is guiding – the mountains here are wild and unforgiving. Incredible lifts whisk you to improbable locations within minutes, but with this incredible facility comes an element of danger – primarily avalanches and crevasses, but also local knowledge of snowpack, wind, aspects etc are required to safely navigate these areas. Especially for Australians who have grown up skiing locally, and typically visited resorts in North America and Japan, many of these concepts and skills are rather foreign, and most of us are extremely underequipped to safely ski off-piste in Europe.

Fortunately there are a legion of mountain guides available to safely shepherd you through these dangers and show you an amazing time in the alps. The IFMGA/UIAGM qualification is extremely comprehensive and difficult to obtain and our experiences with these guides has always been extremely positive. We have skied with Jérôme Para since 2010 and he has taken us all over the Chamonix & Aosta Valleys, plus on the Haute Route from Verbier to Zermatt, and also into the Ecrins and Queyras mountain ranges – keeping us safe and showing us a great time.

The second most important element of a successful adventure is transport. We are incredibly indebted to Jérôme and his willingness to travel, we have done thousands of kilometres over the years in his van chasing the snow. The mountains here are huge, and they funnel, magnify and block storms, so being able to drive to where the snow and good weather presents itself is absolutely vital – this might mean crossing through the Mont Blanc tunnel to Italy or over into Switzerland.

Also even within the Chamonix valley, the various resorts are spread out, so while there is a good bus system in town there’s nothing like being dropped off at the door. Without the ability to travel your Chamonix experience will be severely limited and compromised.

Finally there is the need for accommodation. In what is probably a foreign concept to Australian skiers, dotted through the Alps are fully catered chalets. A number of staff are on hand to provide hearty breakfasts and amazing dinners, with daily room service as well. Off-piste skiing and ski touring is an energetic affair and being able to return to a Chalet and relax by the fire or with a beer in the hot tub is just superb, knowing that a delicious dinner is being prepared.

Our first year of hosting tours in the Alps is upon us – due to work pressures we launched our venture a little too late in the year which meant that a lot of interested people were already committed to an overseas holiday but we are amazingly grateful to the small group of skiers who jumped on the opportunity to come along and experience a week of skiing like no other.

Day 0 – Col d’Argentiere

As Nicole and I were warming up in Chamonix and organising the tour, one of our guests Simon let us know that he would need to leave early for work reasons, but he was going to be in town the day before the tour started so I decided to book a guide and take him for a day out. Neither Jérôme or Fanny were available so they suggested their friend Julien and he was a fantastic choice. The weather was fine after a few cm of snow 2 days earlier, so after some decision making the night before Simon indicated that he would like to go touring so we chose a trip up the Glacier du Tour Noir towards the Col d’Argentiere. This is a particularly pretty ski tour that I have done a couple of times before, it’s great as a shakedown day as you can turn around whenever you like and head back down, and the scenery is off the charts. For both Simon and myself this was our first day touring so we were likely to feel the altitude.

We met early at Grands Montets and got the first tram to the top which is always special, we then headed down the Glacier des Rognons towards the Glacier d’Argentiere – this is always a great part of a ski tour from Grands Montets as you have a near 1000m descent often in great snow to warm up before you get going.

We skinned up once we had descended onto the Glacier and began our trip up the Bassin d’Argentiere – it is a pretty mellow skin with spectacular scenery as you are dwarfed by the enormous peaks that surround you on three sides.

You eventually head up to the left side of the glacier and then the pitch increases as you go on the Glacier du Tour Noir. It was a relatively popular tour that day with a number of parties out all enjoying the sunshine and fresh snow.

We climbed until we reached approx 600m of altitude gain, at which point there was a nice plateau to enjoy some lunch and the spectacular view, we were still a couple of hundred metres shy of the col, but based on our energy levels and how our legs felt we decided that was plenty for our first day of touring so we transitioned to ski mode and made our descent. We found some lovely fresh snow on the skiers left of the glacier and enjoyed the untracked all the way down to the flat.

I really enjoy the ski back from this area as you get a good powder descent, then a schuss along the flat glacier marvelling at the scenery, you then pick your way down alongside a couple of icefalls before you reach the piste at Grands Montets, and then you find yourself on the home trail with snow quality turning to slush at the base – depending on how high you have skinned this run will have descended approximately 2000m vertical and I really like the changing of the scenery and outlook as it progresses, not to mention the extra oxygen filling your lungs and powering your legs.

A well earned beer was had at the base, then we said our goodbyes to Julien and we headed back to the Chalet, during the day Nicole had been to Geneva and picked up our van and we grabbed the crew to move in to the chalet in anticipation of a wonderful week ahead.