• The Vallée Blanche

    The skiing: The Vallée Blanche is entirely off-piste, unmarked and unpatroled. The weather alone determines snow conditions. Plan on spending 4/6 hours depending upon conditions, route chosen and group level.
    Standard: Open to all abilities (from a good red level on slopes) because different routes down can be chosen according to the groups ability (Envers du Plan, Rognon glacier...), though note well; the most important thing is to have control over your skiing no matter what your personal ability. A well behaved snowplough is preferable to an out of control parallel turn !


    Dates:     From Christmas to may, depending on snowfall and mountain conditions.


    Note:     The cable car is free with an unlimited valley skipass (47 euros for the 1 day unlimited pass including train lifts) and costs 35 euros (one way to Aiguille du Midi) if there is snow down to Chamonix.


    VALLEE BLANCHE WEEK-END :
    An unforgettable week end, discovering two of the main off piste skiing areas in the Chamonix valley : the Grands Montets and the Aiguille du Midi with as a bonus a night spent in the ambiance of a mountain hut, normally very calm at this time of year.

    Description :

    D 1 : Morning. At the Grands Montets (3300 m). Skiing on the Argentière glacier and many other off piste routes of this outstanding ski area, depending on your skiing ability. Afternoon. Cable car to the summit of the Aiguille du Midi (3842m), then the first part of the Vallée Blanche to the Cosmiques hut for the night.

    D 2 : Ski down the Vallée Blanche, returning to the Grands Montets for the afternoon.

    Skiing standard     : French ski school levels 2 and 3.

    Dates: Every weekend from mid-february until mid-may, depending the snow conditions. (4 pers. minimum)

    Price:     300 € per person. Includes : guide, mountain hut on half-board basis and 2 days valley skipass.(4 personns minimum)
     
    THE VALLEE BLANCHE
    Early meeting with your Mountain Guide at the bottom of Aiguille du Midi lift. After checking your safety equipment and fitting your harnesses and avalanche tranceivers, you take the cable car. This ascend takes from Chamonix to 3842 meters about 20 minutes.
     
    The start of the Vallee Blanche route is accessed by a short snow ridge, fixed with rope handrails and steps, to reach a flat where you put on your skis/snowboard. The guide will usually clip you on to a rope  to ensure your safety. There are many routes down the Vallee Blanche, so the guide will choose the best depending on the level of your group. All of the routes converge at the Requin mountain hutte, where there is a restaurant.

    From the Requin you descend over the snow bridges through the Salle à Manger icefall, and the Guide will show the best passages through the towers of ice for avoiding  the crevasses. This section of the route is impressive, and also the most technically demanding. You need to have good ski or board control, with experience of side slipping and varying snow conditions from icy crusts to soft powder. Soon you reach the easier, flatter surface of the Mer de Glace glacier, where boarders are advised to have some telescopic poles or keep up a good speed. It is a fairly straight run down towards the Montenvers mountain railway station, from where you can catch the mountain railway to Chamonix.

    If there is good snow conditions at the bottom of the valley, you may be able to descend all the way through the forest down to Chamonix. Normally you arrive in mid afternoon.

    The Vallée Blanche is not a classic slope but a route on glacier in high altitude mountains which is not marked, not secured and not patrolled. The glaciers are changing constantly, some crevasses can appear anytime and there can be risk of ice or snow avalanche. The quality of the snow is only depending on the natural conditions( no machine for compacting snow)

    Price: 300 € for a group from 1 up to 4 personns; 25 euros per extra personn above this number up to 6 personns. We advise you against bigger groups.


    Because of the conditions of the mountain, the level of the group and others, the guide could organize a different planing or even a different descente somewhere else.

    Yan Raulet Mountain Guide Chamonix Off Piste Mountaineering Vallée Blanche Glacier Travel Ski Touring Climbing Mont Blanc