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Thread: Chamonix Late April

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Chamonix Late April

    I will be traveling through the Cham valley towards the end of April and was curious if anyone had any beta regarding cheaper hotels/hostels and the availability of skiing this late in the year. Any info would be helpful. We will be coming from Geneva...

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
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    cant help ya on cheap lodging .... where's that vitamin ski guy? i always stay at hotel les grand montets.

    late april there will be skiing but highly variable. spring mank mostly, corn at the right altitude/time, some pow up high, maybe get lucky and get a late spring dump. i think the last day of the season is the first or second weekend of may.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
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    19

    Cham hotel

    www.leverthotel.com

    Good stuff.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
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    There are several cheap hostels in town. You may also want to try the Hotel le Chamonix http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...el_le_Chamonix. The hotel is centrally located behind the Marie.

    Last winter when I left in mid April the crevasses were starting to open up off the Aguille du midi. Keep track of the Euros thread for current conditions before you leave.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
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    Gary Bigham is an American that owns a chalet near the top of the Chamonix valley and welcomes guests as long as they are cool and can put up with his five star sense of humor, cooking, musicianship, and ability to get young girls to kiss him. He is a Chamonix legend and is a total hoot. He also might give you a tour of Le Grand Montets when you stay with him.

    Seriously though, I can't recommend him enough and he loves to entertain guests. His chalet is probably the coolest I've ever stayed in and I've stayed in a lot of chalets throughout the Alps. It has incredible views. I think he charges $60 Euros/night including dinner.

    He can be reached at:

    vitamin_ski@yahoo.com

  6. #6
    Join Date
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    Thanks for all of the great advice everyone...my only hopes in emailing Gary is that this is not another ..."your in luck, rontele is the head of vail ski ops..." gag...but it cant hurt to try. Thanks for the info...so far the cheapest i have seen has been $55 usd / night for the Hôtel Les Campanules which appears to be down the valley 2-4km or so...however I would definitely spend some additional euro to spend a night in an amazing chalet with good food.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
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    Chamonix/Franconia, NH
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    Lightbulb

    You can always stay in a gîte with shared rooms.

    The Belevedere in Argentiere is 14€ per night + 1€ cooking.

    The place caters to serious skiers and climbers.

    Good access to the Grands Montets

    You might be struggling to get back to the Montvers, but the radical skiing will be in shape ...

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
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    713
    Gite Chamoniard Volant is cheap dorm style housing, many people doing the Hauta Route come through while on the tour. April in a good snow season is perfect for high alpine touring. The season I was there you could ski to the valley floor until about mid April. The end of April all the crevasse were opening up by the day,routes changed overnight!

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
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    Quote Originally Posted by jwolter7 View Post
    Gite Chamoniard Volant is cheap dorm style housing, many people doing the Hauta Route come through while on the tour. April in a good snow season is perfect for high alpine touring. The season I was there you could ski to the valley floor until about mid April. The end of April all the crevasse were opening up by the day,routes changed overnight!
    Cool, was Summit there to tell you how its done?
    Summit: The Nancy Grace of TGR

  10. #10
    Join Date
    May 2006
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    Vienna/Europe
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    I was there in late April 2006, which was a very good year snowwise (reported 480cm on the top of GM). Since it was off-season, there were only few tourists in town (I stayed in Argentiere). Very relaxed ... no queues at the GM top section. Most sectors were bumps though ... (esp. Levancher). Skiing was possible down to the valley floor (in Argentiere and in Le Tours, the valley around Chamonix town was snow-free already).

    Here are some shots:

    GM front side (La Face)


    Comb du Cordier - Glacier des Rognons


    Comb du Cordier - Glacier des Rognons: heavily tracked


    If you are lucky you will have a late dump and no crowds to compete with (especially since Easter is very early this year).

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Leysin, Switzerland
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    1,262
    I 2nd the Belvedere for cheap and location.
    I skied 1m+ on 18 April 1999 in Cham.
    That vitamin guy sounds worth the trip.

    May the force be with you.
    Ski, Bike, Climb.
    Resistence is futile.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Banff
    Posts
    567
    When we were there, we stayed in a place called the Gite Vagabonds. Cool atmosphere, really convenient location, just don't expect many frills or personal space.

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