Off-piste ski and snowboard

The Chamonix valley has an abundance of off-piste possibilities. Skiers and snowboarders come here year after year to explore all that is on offer, and the pragmatic use of lift-systems means that several different off-piste areas can be accessed in a day. With a choice of Grands Montets, La Flegere, Brevent and Le Tour, as well as the extensive Vallée Blanche descent the possibilities are limitless. In case of bad weather, the Mont Blanc mountain range is often high enough to keep weather systems on one side of the valley – it is not uncommon to have bad weather on the French side but sunshine in Italy. In that case we have the whole Courmayeur area to explore, just 15km away through the Mont Blanc tunnel.

Chamonix Mountain Guide specialise in finding the best snow and most exciting descents while keeping safety a high priority.

 

Grands Montets

Facing north, and with more than 2000m of descent, Grands Montets has some of the most extensive off-piste skiing available in Europe. From famous descents such as Pas de Chèvre and Glacier des Rognons, to less well known areas, your guide will always be able to find for you the best skiing to be had. Access is by the Grand Montet lift system above Argentiere.

La Flegere / Brevent

La Flegere – With naturally undulating terrain, and an almost unlimited number of possibilities, there will be something here for all skiers. Frequently quieter than Grands Montets on popular days. Being south facing it is often sunny and there are outstanding views of the Mont Blanc range.

Brevent – Near to the top of the Brevent lift are a choice of semi-technical and technical couloirs. Mainly on the south-side, the starts are directly from the top of the lifts. There is also an easy link to the Flegere ski area. An abundance of possibilities are also available on the North side with the use of skins (see ski-touring for more information).

Le Tour / Balme

Le Tour is well known for its wide open slopes facing the Chamonix valley, but go over the other side and you will find the challenging and fairly steep north descents of Les Posettes, including many possibilities of turns among larches in the second part. Straddling the French / Swiss border there are also some interesting descents from Col de Balme all the way down to the little village of Trient. All aspects of slopes are available here with up to 1000m of height lost, all within a 10 minute approach from the top of the ski lifts.

Glacier de Toule & Courmayeur

The Glacier de Toule on the Italian side of Mont Blanc is not as famous as Vallée Blanche, but the skiing is every bit as good. Courmayeur also offers some exciting skiing, providing some of the most varied descents in the north / south-east sides of the Mont Blanc region. The starts are directly from the top of lifts into wide, open slopes. Some descents also offer tree skiing.

 

Off-piste ski courses

Confident skiing on-piste but new to off-piste? Chamonix Mountain Guide offer courses in off-piste skiing and safety techniques. There is more to off-piste than just powder so we will search out a variety of terrain and aim to hone your technique so you are prepared to handle anything. We will also spend some time looking at the safety aspects of off-piste skiing such as transceiver training (avalanche safety device) as well as what information to gather and how to use it in order to assess the relative safety of where you are skiing.