Chamonix
Situated just under 1 hour from Geneva Airport Chamonix is a world renowned alpine resort nestling underneath Europe's highest mountain - Mont Blanc. Chamonix is a bustling resort full of shops, restaurants, bars, hotels, chalets and apartments. The centre of Cham is now car free.
Chamonix has six ski areas from Les Houches at the entrance to the Chamonix Valley over to La Tour at the far end of the valley. Chamonix is famous for beig steep off piste descents. But don't let this put you off, there is skiing for everyone in the Chamonix VAlley from beginner through to expert.
The Skiing
Les Houches is the first resort you come to as you come into the Chamonix Valley. Les Houches has hosted the Mens World Cup downhill the last couple of January's. Les Houches offers glorious treeline skiing with blues and reds snaking down either side of the ridge - perfect for the snowy days!
From Chamonix its self the Aiguille du Midi cable car climbs up to 3842 m in two stages up to ... The Aiguille du Midi - Mont Blanc is a further 1000m higher off to the right! The cable car opens up one of the world's greatest off piste routes - The Vallee Blanche - a 22km ski down the Tacul glacier then on over the Mer de Glace dropping 2000 vertical metres to Montenvers. In good snow conditions you can ski all the way back to Chamonix, but generally most who have conquered the Vallee Blanche take the train back down top Chamonix.
On the otherside of the Chamonix is Bervant and Flegere - originally two separate ski areas they have now been connected by the 'Liason' cable car. The Plan Praz bubble lift departs from Chamonix. Carrying on upo Brevent opens up a steep black and some gnarly off piste. Heading over to the right are a seris of blue pisted to the Cornu Chairlift. There are a choice of long stunning red back down. Jumping on the Liason cable opens the Flegeve - a bowl of blues and red with the odd black. Often over looked Brevant and Flegere often have some of Chamonix's finest skiing!
Argentiere and the world famous Grand Montets is around 20 minutes further on from Chamonix. The Grand Montets is not for the faint hearted and while there are a coupl eof blue runs, beginners and early intermediates should really head elsewhere. For the rest the Grand Montets is a wonderful playground with long reds and blacks - vast open steep snowfields, narrow shoots and gullies and the start of the Haute Route - ski mountaineering route from Xhamonix to Zermatt.
La Tour is att he end of the Chamonix valley and is often ignored. While the skiing is lower (upto 2250m), the main bowl provides a great resbite with perfectly groomed blues and reds . From Tete de Balme and Aiguillettes des Postes a blue and red wind down to Vallorcine. This area also offers wonderfull off-piste - high open snowfields cascade down into the treeline and on to the bubble at Vallorcine