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Jacob

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I was in Tignes December 9-16, and it snowed every day that I was there, including a big dump on the 10th and 11th. They actually had too much snow and had to close a bunch of lifts a couple of the days I was there due to avalanche dangers.

It looks like the snow has continued since then in the western Alps. I think they had a short warm spell a little while ago, but it looks like more snow over the next few days.
 

Seldomski

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Going to Cortina end of January (~1 month from now). Anyone have experience in that area this year? How are things shaping up?
 
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Goran M.

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Happy New Year to all !!!

Looks like La Thuile/Courmayeur/La Roseire (6day San Bernardo Pass) plus 2 Mountain Collective days at Chamonix/Argentiere/Vallorcine and 2 extra days at Megeve will do it for this years winter Euro trip.

I was able to arrange on my return flight to leave from Geneva.

So Flying to MXP, bus to La Thuile, local bus to get me around La Thuile/Courmayeur, skis/lifts to get me to La Roseire, transfer to Chamonix (Mont Blanc tunnel), local bus/train to get me around Chamonix Valley, transfer to Megeve, on to Geneva ...

About Mountain Collective - included ticket is only valid for limited Chamonix ski pass (Brevent, Argentieres - no top and Vallorcine). I would have to buy extra ticket to ski Les Houches - this seems to be a good year to really experience this area. Good thing is that Mont Blanc Unlimited Pass is good for all areas ($150 for 2 days) - just in case...


Suggestions about hotels/places to eat/drink and any good sights and scenes are welcomed !
 

James

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Happy New Year to all !!!

Looks like La Thuile/Courmayeur/La Roseire (6day San Bernardo Pass) plus 2 Mountain Collective days at Chamonix/Argentiere/Vallorcine and 2 extra days at Megeve will do it for this years winter Euro trip.

I was able to arrange on my return flight to leave from Geneva.

So Flying to MXP, bus to La Thuile, local bus to get me around La Thuile/Courmayeur, skis/lifts to get me to La Roseire, transfer to Chamonix (Mont Blanc tunnel), local bus/train to get me around Chamonix Valley, transfer to Megeve, on to Geneva ...

About Mountain Collective - included ticket is only valid for limited Chamonix ski pass (Brevent, Argentieres - no top and Vallorcine). I would have to buy extra ticket to ski Les Houches - this seems to be a good year to really experience this area. Good thing is that Mont Blanc Unlimited Pass is good for all areas ($150 for 2 days) - just in case...


Suggestions about hotels/places to eat/drink and any good sights and scenes are welcomed !
Well, if you can you really should go up Aiguill du Midi. Do the Vallee Blanche. To do that you need, you actually don't -but highly recommended, to get a guide. Just go to the guide office in town. Or you can book online with other groups. One can even go to Courmayeur with a guide. Did it one day and they just bused us over in a van, then at the end dropped us off where where you stay in Chamonix. No extra fee.

If one only has two days in Chamonix, Les Houches wouldn't be the place. Aiguille du midi and Les Grand Montets. You need the unlimited ticket. Weather can curtail the Midi lift and the top of Grand Montets can be in total fog so other areas might be worth checking out.

Don't really know restaurants, but a good realtively cheap and quick area on the main street, Avenue De L'Aguille du Midi is the crepe place.

On that street, Pain de Traditions is a good little bakery. Their coffee is from a machine, but it was quite good. Up the street, across the river is a fancier pastry bakery probably with better coffee. Aux Petits Gourmands .Same side of street. Has some pretty spectacular looking pastries large and small. They make a "Mont Blanc" cake.

La Poele, opposite side of street,( from Pain du Traditions) and also past the river, has great quick omlettes and crepes. A good relatively cheap dinner.

The Boot Lab, also called Sole,(I think) is a small shop just over the river but around behind the store fronts. That guy, (co owner?)used to post on epic as SmallZooKeeper. There you can experience the joys of boot fitting, all in another country. They're very english oriented so language is not an issue.

Chamonix is certainly the place for touring and climbing gear.

If you want to see what our planet is like, go up to the Vallee Blanche with a guide. If offerred the choice to go to the refuge, go, you can get soe hot driks up there. You'll need beacon, probe, crampons. All can be rented along with a backpack in town. A harness is a good idea because then you can rappell if the group is small enough and the guide wants to. Guides will have some harnesses but the group will have to be small I think for rapelling unless there's two guides.

If you want a very cheap hostel place to stay but your own room, let me know. I think it was 45 euros with optional breakfast. I believe they may have been renovating last summer so it could be more now.

I brought my own skis up to Vallee Blanche and the rappelling, ( at Brevent I think), and regretted it. We literally were walking over rocks with skis after the refuge.

Here, edging on rock with more to go. Oh, and after that next ridge you have to go down/traverse through rocks. Faling would be a mess and potentially very bad, without skis would be worse. And to think at the Guide office I said I didn't want anything crazy, making a 45 deg pitch sign with hand. Well then our group of 8 was cancelled due to wind. So, hanging out in the square in front of the lift I ran into the German woman and her friend. We called the guide office to arrange another guide. Turns out it wasthe same guide who was there. We waited about 45 min and then he decided it was ok, so the three of us got harnesses from him and went up.

Honestly, that day was the most scared I've been on skis. Amazing though, so beautiful up there! Simply incredible. And there's easier stuff one can do, where the guide isn't saying, "Here you don't fall, or we don't see you again..."

I would recommend, if you have it, a helmet etc mounted cam that can take hands free pictures. Because there's spots you cannot stop or have your hands on a camera. Like the initial ridge walk after the tram even. The guide will not be happy if you're trying to take a photo while roped up to him.
It's also "go, go, go!" Because we were trying to get done in a certain time frame, to go to another spot. A just Vallee Blanche trip may be different but guides like to keep moving to reduce risk.
DSC_5946.JPG



DSC_6009.JPG
DSC_6010.JPG
This is after the rappel later that day, opposite side of valley from Aiguille du Midi. I think it was Brevent. It was that woman's 1st day on snow of the year! The steepness is constantly reinforced by staring down at the town. It ain't Alaska, just make the turn withut a lot of eergy at the end. Guide wanted us not to link turns there actually to reduce falling risk.
 
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Goran M.

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Thank you so much, but ...

Those pictures scared the s''t out of me !!!

I will have last 4 days of skiing in Chamonix Valley. Might use Mountain Collective and was thinking moving on to Megeve further down the road (I am a sucker for cute towns covered in snow). Or might just get 2 day Mont Blanc Unlimited Pass in addition to MC days.

Depending how it goes I might find some courage to do Aguille du Midi and Grand Montets. Coming off really nasty Achilles injury - we'll see how fitness and mind hold up.

Someone, somewhere mentioned that Les Houches has some nice tree skiing if snow cover is sufficient. It looks conditions might be right this year.

Thanks again !
 

James

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Thank you so much, but ...

Those pictures scared the s''t out of me !!!

I will have last 4 days of skiing in Chamonix Valley. Might use Mountain Collective and was thinking moving on to Megeve further down the road (I am a sucker for cute towns covered in snow). Or might just get 2 day Mont Blanc Unlimited Pass in addition to MC days.

Depending how it goes I might find some courage to do Aguille du Midi and Grand Montets. Coming off really nasty Achilles injury - we'll see how fitness and mind hold up.

Someone, somewhere mentioned that Les Houches has some nice tree skiing if snow cover is sufficient. It looks conditions might be right this year.

Thanks again !
Chamonix is not a cute or quaint town. Just fyi. It does have it's moments though. Everyone from Texas Suitcase carrying boot clompers to the best steep skiers in the world can be there. It's probably more pipular in summer.

You can also take the train to Argentierre. But the bus is usually easier. I've taken trains, 3 - but easy, and separately, a shuttle van from or to Verbier from Cham. The train stops at a gondoa up to town ir take a bus. Geneva Airort is easy from/to Cham. Like 1 1/2 hrs . Verbier islike 2 1/2-3.

Don't be scared off of Grands Montets. There's a groomed intermediate trail from the top. You can also just ski mid down. There's somenice tree stuff too.

The worst part going to the top is getting off the lift and down the stairs. The views are stunning, and I was there in the fog with just a couple minutes clearing. Really, this is breath taking stuff.

As for Aiguille du midi...( More breath taking) Again, you can get guided intermediate ways down. Look online. The British ones seemed not to go Sundays. Maybe all of them don't go. If course the 1st tie I had Suday only. Thus booking an instructor for Grands Montets.

The guide office in Cham is the easiest thing ever. I think it was 85 euros each to be in group of eight -10? They out the groups together unless you do. Had eight to Courmayeur, 3 up in the Vallee Blanche so it cost more.
The other guy was not a strong skier. The guide got him down the couloir by staying right below him. He did have guts though. The girl was just ok, it was her 1st day on snow, but had serious nerves of steel. She was going come hell or the ice age. She was a German surgeon.

You will have to hike across the ridge roped up. Some think it's "no big deal". I've heard that a bunch. There is usually a secured rope to hang onto on your left. The town side. The trick is to not look down at the town. Really just look down at where your walking.
And you want crampons I think. Plenty do without, but who knows what the snow is like. Walk deliberately, toes out to not catch crampon on pants.

Even if you don't go to ski Vallee Blanche, I would recommend going up the Aiguille du Midi lift. Just for the view. Where else in the world do you go from a coffee shop in town up 9,200 ft? In two stages, the second having no towers, just beginning and end.
Really, it's incredible.plenty of people just go to look. Or stand on the glass box. Like the one in Chicago Willis Tower. Except instead of 1,000 ft, it's 1,000 meters below the glass floor. I had to crawl out onto the Chicago one. Not sure I could do the Aiguille.

DSC_5910.JPG
This is the ridge you have to go out. To the left, 9,200 ft below, is the town. The left is also the North Face of the Aiguille du Midi. It's very serious. You don't want to ski there. That can quickly get into world class steeps, rappelling, exposure, etc. I believe there are relatively easier ways down though. But you'd deal with 40-45 pitches.

DSC_5911.JPG
Same sign in the above photo, looking more left. That's Cham down there.

DSC_5912.JPG
Same spot looking even more left. Yep, that's the town.


Hopefully, someone will chime in who knows Cham well. I've only been there maybe 4 or 5 days, skied 2. Hardly an expert on the place. Plus 1 day in Courmayeur. (Italian side of Mont Blanc. "Monte Bianco". Gorgeous, in a different way. Never went to town.)The day at Grands Montets I basically learned how to ski in fog. So foggy, the Instructor I booked for the afternoon to ski from the top cancelled. I ended going up later anyway. Big break through on the fog skiing.

Seriously, go up there just to look even if you don't ski. It's worth it. One of the most special places on earth that's easily visited. A year from now it'll be worth more than half a day skiing trees. There's few places on the planet like L'Aiguile du Midi. Just the fact they built a lift to it is kind of crazy. You're up there in some insane Lord of the Rings set but it's real.

Speaking of crazy. Left side of the rope...

 
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James

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No helmet :eek:
I know, right? Yeah, I don't get it. What about sliding into rocks? Most guides though use no helmet. Hell, they don't even use a full hat if it's not real cold.

This is a fantastic video of L'Aguille from a drone, the walk down the ridge, and skiing the Vallee Blanche. As you can see, once you get down from on high, a lot of it, is spent in very flat taversing type trails. So if you do ski it, don't bring some 3-d oriented potato chip of a ski. It'll be a total nightmare getting down.



Unless one is skiing through Sequoias, tree skiing simply doesn't compare to that. When you're going down the glacier you feel like you're alone on the planet. And tiny. Amazing.
 
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sinbad7

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We're off to the Dolomites again mid-January; three weeks staying in Campitello / Corvara / Campitello. It's looking great over there. The area's had regular snow since before Christmas, and it's forecast to snow a little every day for the next ten / eleven days, with a couple of decent dumps in there as well.
 

lone pine

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I know, right? Yeah, I don't get it. What about sliding into rocks? Most guides though use no helmet. Hell, they don't even use a full hat if it's not real cold.

This is a fantastic video of L'Aguille from a drone, the walk down the ridge, and skiing the Vallee Blanche. As you can see, once you get down from on high, a lot of it, is spent in very flat taversing type trails. So if you do ski it, don't bring some 3-d oriented potato chip of a ski. It'll be a total nightmare getting down.



Unless one is skiing through Sequoias, tree skiing simply doesn't compare to that. When you're going down the glacier you feel like you're alone on the planet. And tiny. Amazing.

We did the Valle Blanche tour with a guide and had the same thoughts as we negotiated that rope line. Don't fall! But equally chilling was skiing over snow bridges over unseen crevasses, following the guide, who was firm about us staying within his width of turns. For good reason, once we looked back up the glacier in the flat light and saw what he led us over. And ending the tour by skiing past cows grazing in the pasture was a hoot....finally settling into a Fischer or two at the nearby bar at the bottom.
 

Slim

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This is a fantastic video of L'Aguille from a drone, the walk down the ridge, and skiing the Vallee Blanche. As you can see, once you get down from on high, a lot of it, is spent in very flat taversing type trails. So if you do ski it, don't bring some 3-d oriented potato chip of a ski. It'll be a total nightmare getting down..

Isn’t the skier in the video on Rossi Soul 7s (or another S series ski) something very rockered and tapered anyway, pretty potato chippish I would say?

I love your pics above, looking down at the town, great photo’s!
 
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Goran M.

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Question for James:

Do you happen to know what is the locker situation at the base of the ski areas in Chamonix Valley?

I can not find any information about any day lockers. I would hate (or not really enjoy it) to have to do all these bus transfers with boots on.

OTOH, the life threatening storm is hitting Wester Alps right now, with up to 6ft. of snow for Val D’Isere.
And then another storm during the weekend !
 

Jacob

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OTOH, the life threatening storm is hitting Wester Alps right now, with up to 6ft. of snow for Val D’Isere.
And then another storm during the weekend !

To be fair, they've already had to deal with big storms a few times this season, so it's starting to get mundane. It's been a stormy winter in Western Europe this year.
 
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Goran M.

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Couldn't wait ... changed tickets and off on Monday. United had good FF availability ORD-ZRH-GVA and British Airways will bring me back.

I will drop a pic or two on Wednesday evening from LaThuile.
 

Nobody

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It has been dumping quite a lot lately. So much that access road to places like Cervinia have been closed due to avy danger.
Cortina has been hit quite a lot as well. For those who plan to ski offpiste, be wary, last week an avalanche in Val Venosta has caused the death of a girl and her mother, and 50 skiers are under investigation (to trigger an avalanche is a criminally chargeable offence in italy) for that.
Even at my current "home ski area" (Pontedilegno-Tonale, formerly know as Adamello Ski), there's tons of snow and all runs are opened, which is something was not happening since quite some season (well one run in fact was not opened in the past seasons due to lack of snow on its bottom portion. Even if it is a very nice run, but sometimes certain things cannot be helped, not even with man made snow) and the classic off piste itinearies there must be spectacular (and I am thinking of Madesimo as well)
On all accounts, for offpiste skiing...Do hire a guide.
It looks a good year, snow-wise, but temperatures are now on the rise.
Oh, btw , I am tired to play the "sacrifical virgin" and get sick or injuried to propitiate the good snowfall. I would say it's somebody else turn!
(been sick at home since Jan 1st, before that kid was sick so I could only manage to put in three meager days during this Christmas time, whereas usually I log 12-14 days)
Each time, since 2005, that I get sick or can't ski due to surgery, accidents or injuries...it snows a ton. I am quite frankly fed up of this.
 

Nobody

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A Sestriere condo was hit by an avalanche yesterday evening, news report, no victims fortunately. Cervinia is again isolated.
Avy danger all throughout Aosta Valley is set to 5.
Yesterday it was a mellow day, temperatures wise, and more snow is coming
And in the East (Cortina and the Dolomites) is going to get dumped a ton as well.
 

Jacob

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It's been surprisingly warm in Arosa this week, which is killing me. It's not warm enough to really soften up the snow off piste, but it's warm enough to make it crusty.

So much snow on so much easy-access terrain, but almost none of it is nice to ski on at the moment.
 

James

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Watching the World Cup in Adelboden, it's warm there. The road was taken out by a mudslide I think and the trains were not running due to avy conditions and or mud slides. It was a little confusing and they didn't spend much time on it.
 

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