Chamonix, Verbier, Geneva, ZUrich

[Buster Highmen]

Does not look like any pricing for Mt. Blanc Unlimited ski passes after "High" Season ends on April 5....will there still be lifts spinning (besides the Aiguille) beyond that date?

https://www.chamonix.com/aiguille-du...es,180,en.html

[Dee Hubbs]

Sorry, I should have phrased my question differently.
I was inquiring about the trouble that they have had with the cable on the upper part of lift that services Aiguille du Midi from Plan de l'Aiguille? Some reports say that it would reopen by December and other are saying it will not open at all for the season.
And about the fire on the Grands Montets Cable Car, that is out for the season for sure, or are they currently working with hopes to reopen this season.

[LeoK]

check this official press release here (link to the midi page included).

on the midi:
"The team of experts appointed by the Compagnie du Mont-Blanc is currently finalising the plan of action to replace the cable on the second section of the Aiguille du Midi lift so that we can open it to the public as soon as possible. We will shortly announce the exact date when this will happen but the Aiguille du Midi will be in operation during the winter season.
Otherwise, the works needed to repair the Panoramic Mont-Blanc due to the effects of Storm Eleanor are currently taking place. We are ready to announce that the lift will reopen in the spring of 2019.

"

it will be open for the winter season. The panoramic never runs in winter.

[Bruce Springskiin]

Ok plans are coming together. Getting into Geneva Jan 2nd, taking some shuttle up to Chamonix, got a cheap and super simple VRBO right in Chamonix. Have a course scheduled for the 7th. Fly back to US on the 8th. Planning to get a 4 day pass, likely unlimited. Will have the broken bindings with only a day or two of conditioning on the legs.
Any tips or tricks for a euro and Chamonix jong. Not opposed to grabbing a wine and charcuterie with a maggot if anyone is in the area. Open to turns to if anyone is keen to put up with green legs


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[alfajores]

Awesome. Flights to Geneva are under $300 from the west coast. We will be out there the third week of February.

[Bruce Springskiin]

Wow! I got the same price out of NYC and thought it was a good deal.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[LeoK]

hi Bruce "The Boss" Springskiin - I might migrate to cham the first week of January, too. Not so likley as my car is currently broken down... but I would let you know!

Apart from that your otions are a little more limited with the Grands Montets being out of service. But still plenty of stuff to do:

Aiguille du Midi, Courmayeur (not sure about how the shuttle works), Brevent / Flegere are the one I would argue you want to cover in your short time frame. I assume you are getting along the backcountry by yourself? Do you bring skins?

[Bruce Springskiin]

Thanks for the ski tips Leo, I’ll check out Brevent and Flegere.
It is a bummer that Grands Montets is down while I am there but I’ll find plenty to do with my time. Odds are I’ll take the opportunity to visit Courmayeur and Verbier off the unlimited pass.
I am bringing back country gear, and the ability to repel. But I am looking forward to a long ski season so not intending to take any big risks.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[Foggy_Goggles]

Bruce, there are plenty of thread on "how to Cham", I will let you search for those. Here are a couple of my opinions.

Take what the mountains and conditions give you. If it is dumping, look for safe powder skiing. If it is high pressure and good stability, get up high. Being it is your first time, solo is going to be a challenge. I'd try to go directly to somewhere like the Vagabond and chat up as many people as you can to find out about conditions and possibly people to ski with. Make sure your have a phone that works there and know how to get in touch with the PGHM. If you have the $, consider a guide. Get the Vamos off piste guide. Cour and Verb are awesome but don't feel like you need to go there. The Cham valley is giant.

In summary, be mentally prepared and on your game, try and find somebody to skiing with, don't try to swim upstream by being objective focused.

[Bruce Springskiin]

Much appreciated foggy, just trying to shake out as much info as I can, plus it is a lot more fun to think about than the task at hand. The weather tip is great. I do not have grand elisions of getting into spring skiing type lines. Just looking to enjoy and soak up something new
My rough plan is to get my bearings and ski a little the first day. Then hopefully link up with some one to explore a little further. Going over the borders will have to be a game time decision.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[Foggy_Goggles]

My rough plan is to get my bearings and ski a little the first day

This is kinda my point, "what is getting your bearings?" Dependent on conditions and comfort, this could be a few things.

a. if conditions warrant and you are feeling on it, go directly to the Midi and follow the guide tracks down the Valle Blanche.

b. if you want the views, go up the Brevant cable car and rip the pistes around there.

c. if you want to explore the whole valley, take the train up to Vallorcine and ski up there.

d. if the visibility sucks, try to find someone to show you the bottom couloirs at the Grand Montet

Everybody is different. Generally, there are two things people complain about it Cham. One is "the scence". This can be observed from a distance. If you don't want to wait in lines and deal with it, it can be avoided. The exception may be the Midi but even that is manageable given that they give out bid numbers usually. The second it that people find themselves cruising around on the bus and generally having no plan and ending up doing a bunch of shitty skiing. It usually goes something like, "we got in line for the bus at Cham Sud on a powder day at 9:30. 3 buses passed us 'cause they were full. When we finally got there at 11, we had to wait another hour for our tickets. My the time we got to the mid stations, we were hungry. I paid like $20 for some shitty fries and a coke. Then is got cloudy and the snow was shitty so we just ended up taking the Pierre a Ric down and it was super icy."

You, as a prepared TGRer, will have already gotten your Unlimited Pass at the train station or tourist office the evening before. You got up early, hit the Casino for you pocket lunch and walked to the Brevant gondola. Once up at the top to the gondola, you went inside the restaurant and started to make a plan. What lifts are open? How is the weather? Any locals around to help me figure this out? Should a freeride here? If the weather clearing, should I go up the Midi? The Grand Montets is usually quiet is the afternoon, I could take the connect to Flegere, ski around there and bus up to Argentierre.

So some awareness and preparation goes along way. You have to use the confusion to your advantage and zig when everyone else zags.

[Bruce Springskiin]

Again much appreciation foggy for the additional ski tips.
By bearings I was referring to aligning my expectations to the scene on the ground. Snow conditions, getting around, scale of things, and what I can plan on doing in a day, my green legs appetite for vertical. Odds are I’ll head up Brevent the first day.
I just discovered there will be a Telemark ski race at le hooches over the weekend I am there. Odds I’d rather be elsewhere than around a race course. But an option.
My style of travel is usually little planning, maybe some research, and avoid lines and crowds


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[Foggy_Goggles]

"Don't go to Les Houches, it is the Keystone of France".

If you are walking distant to Brevant, that is a great option for day one as you can take advantage of just about any condition there and it is usually less crowded. It is south facing primarily so take that into consideration.

Lets revisit a couple of days prior. Many mags can probably give you assistance from the internet while you are there.

[Bruce Springskiin]

"Don't go to Les Houches, it is the Keystone of France".

Haha! Well at least it isn’t the Deer Valley of France.

What is your history with Chamonix?
Thanks again.
Just hoping to avoid a few jong traps while there. If all goes well I’ll post a trip report


- I am here for the stoke

[Foggy_Goggles]

Just a handful of trips over a decade or so. I have been fortunate to have been shown the way by some local masters. It is a crazy place, good and bad.

[californiagrown]

Heading to Chamonix in February with my GFs family. They are all highly against me traveling with skis, for the obvious logistical and general PITA traveling with a giant ski bag issues. What are some shops in chamonix that rent more freeride oriented type of skis in long lengths 185+? Does anyone know generally how much it would cost for a 4-5 day rental?

[alwayslost]

Les Houches can have good skiing when vis sucks up high. It has some protected low angle tree skiing when the high country is a little too western.

Brevent can be loads of fun, and an easy walk from Cham Sud. Plan it right and get a pastry and coffee for the gondola ride up.

Sounds like Midi is up and running.

If your looking for guides... Smartmountainguides.com are based in Chamonix. They have deep Tetons/Jackson roots. Give em' a buzz even if you are solo. They might be able to fit you into a group of like minded skiers at an affordable rate. Spent three days with them early on my trip last year and gave me a great overview of the valley, current snowpack, and how to ski it. That local Beta made the trip for me. I skied good snow for two weeks, only leaving the valley once for a day riding Courmayeur.

[alwayslost]

Oh yea.. and get the Rapid card online before you leave the states. You'll get better Pricing for lifts. Its like $29.00. Pick the pass up the day before you ski at the train station. (In the office opposite the ticket windows)

[californiagrown]

Heading to Chamonix in February with my GFs family. They are all highly against me traveling with skis, for the obvious logistical and general PITA traveling with a giant ski bag issues. What are some shops in chamonix that rent more freeride oriented type of skis in long lengths 185+? Does anyone know generally how much it would cost for a 4-5 day rental?

Bump. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Ive tried to look into it myself but i only seem to find shops offering the same tiered rental packages with the same general skis.

[PNWbrit]

Bump. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Ive tried to look into it myself but i only seem to find shops offering the same tiered rental packages with the same general skis.

Take your own skis.

[alpinevibes]

Bump. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Ive tried to look into it myself but i only seem to find shops offering the same tiered rental packages with the same general skis.

We flew in last March and our ski bags didn't make it out of the ORD clusterfuck. We rented from Hurycana on the way up to Argentière - https://www.chamonix.com/hurycana-sp...146299,en.html. Cool people, small shop with a good selection. We chose it primarily because we were skiing GM first day and it was en route. 50 euros for a package; I had 189 and 188 Black Crows, wife had Kastle 95HP and some 180s Black Crows. They had Blizzard, Dynastar, Rossi, Nordica too?

I'd planned on renting from Concept, near the base of the Aiguille; they appear to have a pretty wide selection in their Adv/Exp listing. Friends of ours lived in an apt above the shop and really liked the crew in there - https://www.conceptproshopchamonix.c...al_order_items

[jonzo]

Bump. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Ive tried to look into it myself but i only seem to find shops offering the same tiered rental packages with the same general skis.

Concept near the Midi. I think that I ended up with a set of JJ’s which was just fine as it snowed 3m while I was there last. Don’t worry about picking a specific ski, you can choose from what they have on the rack and swap out if you need to.

Hired a gent named Jacques from chamonixguidedesalpes.com and had a great experience on a lesser traveled route down vallee Blanche. Very friendly people, make sure pack the guide a lunch.

[Bruce Springskiin]

Great news I am going to hit Chamonix in the middle of a nice phat high pressure system!!


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

[NWFlow]

Great news I am going to hit Chamonix in the middle of a nice phat high pressure system!!


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

Good for vis!!

[Kirby]

The wife has to travel to Geneva in early March for work and I think I'm going to take advantage of the opportunity and try to get a few days of skiing in (I will be staying in Geneva and looking to do day trips up to the local resorts). Research seems to show that it shouldn't be too much of a problem finding daily shuttles, but since this is my first time off the continent (let alone ski on another continent) I wanted to see if anybody could give a dirtbag from Canada some advice on skiing out of Geneva:

1. Where should I go? Chamonix is obvious, but as a first timer with limited days are there better options (e.g. La Clusaz)? Too be honest, it's the size of Chamonix that worries me, as I want to maximize skiing and minimize flailing around trying to figure out where to go. For reference, I'm an advanced skier who learned to ski on and off piste in the Canadian Rockies.

2. Can anyone recommend a particular bus/shuttle company?

3. Any other advice?