Vallee Blanche guide in Chamonix Mont Blanc, off pist routes in Chamonix valley for intermediate skiers
Vallee Blanche guide in Chamonix Mont Blanc, off pist routes in Chamonix valley for intermediate skiers
VALLEE BLANCHE and Ski Guiding around Chamonix Mont Blanc with a Mountain Guide
Ski Guiding in & around Chamonix
Appropriate objectives: with a mountain guide to enjoy amazing skiing even if you aren't experts.
Beautiful ski runs both on and off-piste accessible from the Chamonix Mountains including the classic routes of the Grands Montets and Vallée Blanche. Easy skiing in Cervinia -Zermatt.
Info about the Vallée Blanche...
Some ideas:
With the Mountain Guide Warm-up to do the Vallée Blanche..
Day1: Skiing at Brévent and Flégère
Day2: Skiing at Grands Montets
Day3: Vallée Blanche
And why not Italy or Megéve?
The VALLEE BLANCHE
The "classic" Valley Blanche is the original descent. Avoiding the steep slopes, this option is the easiest one. You will ski in the middle of the Mont Blanc range. Amazing views on Monte Rosa, Matterhorn, Switzerland, Italy, les Drus and Grandes Jorasses
You' will be on one of the most impressive ice falls descending from the Mont Blanc summit.
Remember that you can have all the snow conditions in this area because nobody prepares the snow on this off piste route.
Because of the conditions of the mountain, the level of the group and others, the guide could organize a different planing.
Yan Raulet Mountain Guide Chamonix Off Piste Mountaineering Vallée Blanche Glacier Travel Ski Touring Climbing Mont Blanc
Level: from the equivalent of a French ski course 2 (stem and skidding). Skiers must know how to control their speed, skid well and turn at moderate speed on the trajectories controlled by the route, the snow cover and the configuration of the glacier.
Dates: from Christmas to May depending on snow cover.
The ski lifts are included in the Chamonix unlimited ski pass (1 day 56 euros for the cable car train), if you go down to Chamonix the price of the one-way ticket to the Aiguille du Midi is 42 euros
VALLEE BLANCHE WEEKEND: programmable during the week
2 days to discover two hot spots for off-piste skiing in the Chamonix valley: the Grands Montets and the Aiguille du Midi with one night in a high mountain refuge guarded during the winter season.
Dates: At your convenience with a group of at least 4 people from mid-February to mid-May depending on snow conditions.
Common fund additional costs including night in refuge with breakfast and dinner, ski lift pass (price per person for group already made up of 4 people minimum)
For groups of less than 4 people with a private guide, a tailor-made rate will be considered.
D1 Morning at Grands Montets (3300 meters). Skiing on the Argentière glacier and on the many off-piste routes of this resort depending on your level. In the afternoon, climb by cable car to the Aiguille du Midi (3842 meters above sea level), descent into the solitude of the ridge and overnight at the very comfortable and welcoming Cosmiques refuge.
D2: Descent of the Vallée Blanche before the first departures of the Aiguille du Midi cable cars: early departure to enjoy the colors of the high mountains and be alone in front of the skiers leaving from Chamonix.
VALLEE BLANCHE DAY
Meet in the morning with your guide. After checking your equipment and having equipped you with a harness and an ARVA (avalanche transmitter), we take the Aiguille du Midi cable car (3842 m) and in 20 minutes, arriving at the summit, we note how much the The air is thinner at this altitude and we slow down. Magnificent views of Mont Blanc, Italy, Switzerland and the Matterhorn.
The start of the Vallée Blanche is an impressive and narrow ridge that you descend on foot but which is equipped to facilitate the descent of fixed ropes. The guide, for total safety, ropes you up and thus eliminates any possibility of accidents.
After having communicated the safety rules to you, the guide will begin the descent and watch you ski before deciding which route he will choose.
There are many variations (from intermediate to expert) to the classic Vallée Blanche route and we will choose the route according to the level of the team and the mountain conditions. The panorama is fantastic. The roads converge towards the Requin refuge where it is possible to stop for something to eat. With the guide, you continue the descent carefully, bypassing the crevasses of the Dining Room. Once on the Mer de Glace, a long false flat takes us to the Montenvers train station. If there is enough snow, we don't take the train and go down to Chamonix.
The Vallée Blanche is not a ski slope but an unmarked high mountain route. The glaciers are constantly evolving, crevasses can open from one day to the next and there are risks of avalanches or ice falls depending on the state of the snow and the glacier. The weather conditions alone determine the quality of the snow.
Because of the conditions, the level of the group or others, the guide can adjust the day and suggest another descent.
Several routes for different ski levels
The classic "Vallée Blanche" is descended while remaining on the flattest and least turbulent parts of the glacier.
This is the path that the ancients took at the beginning of the century, it is also the most convenient path, if we sometimes wrongly speak of a red trail or a fairly easy trail, this is not the case, since the condition of the snow and the amount of snow cover can greatly increase the difficulty.
The views are the most beautiful that can exist on all the neighboring peaks.
The Italian route: an interesting idea when you want to avoid the descent of the Aiguille du Midi ridge, you take the "funivie Monte Bianco" cable car in Courmayeur, the departure on skis is from Pointe Helbronner 350 meters from altitude to reach the classic via vast fields of snow before the Requin refuge.
You will need a shuttle bus to go to Courmayeur in the morning or in the evening to return to pick up the car in Italy.
The Gros Rognon is one of the most beautiful routes on the Géant glacier, with very wide slopes. It's an excellent area to test your possibilities of going off-piste without a big commitment, the big one is never very far from the classic and you can reach more marked areas in the classic almost whenever you want.
The area is less busy and you can often leave your signature in the virgin, powdery snow.
The True White Valley is wrongly called the White Valley of the ancients. At the beginning of the century, the ancients avoided this kind of glacial labyrinth.
The real VB is the topographic name of the glacier just to the left of Gros Rognon.
It is a route with a very spectacular entrance into a maze of ice walls, seracs and crevasses.
The right path is not easy to find.
You also need good snow cover to be able to practice this complicated route.
L'Envers du Plan is a more demanding sector with steeper descents twisting around the ice cliffs on a steep and wilder part of the Vallée Blanche sector. The other side of the Plan is a very sought-after off-piste sector which will delight good practitioners, many combinations in this sector are possible.
The Grand Envers is the most difficult route. Its descent is very technical and challenging with sustained slopes of 40 to 45 degrees. Falling on certain sections is not possible, great technical expertise is mandatory and self-control will be essential in the steepest passages. For very strong skiers.
